On its arrival at the colony, the Batavian squadron anchored in Saldanha Bay to take on fresh water before deciding to abandon the operation and sail to the French base at Île de France in the Western Indian Ocean.

The ships of the captured Batavian force were taken into the Royal Navy, joining the squadron at the Cape Colony; Elphinstone was later made Baron Keith in recognition of his achievements.

The key to controlling European access to the region was the Dutch Cape Colony on the tip of Southern Africa; a naval force based there could dominate trade routes between Europe and the East Indies, in particular the economically vital links between Britain and British India.

The Dutch defenders withdrew, but Elphinstone's forces were low on food and ammunition and not numerous enough to launch a major attack on Cape Town.

[4] Elphinstone turned his attention to planning operations against the Dutch East Indies and the French island base of Île de France.

He sailed for Madras in his flagship HMS Monarch to take command of the East Indies Station, but maintained a strong garrison and naval presence at the Cape Colony under Sir James Henry Craig and Commodore John Blankett.

[9] Lucas' expeditionary force sailed from the Texel on 23 February 1796, together with another squadron destined for the Dutch West Indies, under Vice-Admiral Adriaan Braak, intending to pass through the North Sea and around Scotland before entering the Atlantic Ocean and turning south.

Leaving the merchant ships to make their way unescorted, Mozelle followed Lucas for several days and then sailed south with all haste to bring a warning to the Cape Colony.

[15] After spending no less than 34 days taking on water and supplies at Las Palmas, Lucas on 26 May sailed to Praia on Cape Verde, before continuing south on 29 May in the direction of the Brazilian coast, hoping to profit from favourable trade winds and currents.

[16] The Batavian expeditionary force did not encounter another vessel during this time and thus had no information regarding British dispositions when it eventually reached the South-African coast on 26 July.

The Admiralty had already responded to the threat by diverting substantial resources to the Cape Colony: in addition to Elphinstone and Blankett's forces a convoy of transports led by Captain William Essington arrived on 28 May and a small squadron under Pringle followed on 28 July, joined that day by Mozelle with the most detailed reports to date of Lucas' movements.

[18] Subsequent reinforcements arrived from the squadron based in India, so that by August there were seven ships of the line and seven smaller vessels under Elphinstone's command and the garrison of the colony stood at 9,400 troops.

In May, a French frigate squadron under Counter-Admiral Pierre César Charles de Sercey had sailed past the colony without stopping, observed by HMS Sphynx, which it chased back to Simon's Town.

On 6 August Elphinstone sailed southwest from False Bay in search of Lucas, but a fierce storm caught the British, inflicting damage on the ships, including the loss of the mainmast on Monarch and flooding on HMS Ruby.

[22] The fleet returned to Simon's Bay in a battered state on 12 August, to learn on arrival that Lucas' force lay at anchor to the north.

[26] Craig sent cavalry to Saldanha Bay to harry Batavian shore parties and organised the withdrawal of the local population and livestock to prevent their capture.

[23] Lucas held a council of war with his senior officers, debating whether an attack on Cape Town was practical or whether they should abandon the operation.

By 16 August the decision had been made to sail for Île de France, but Lucas delayed, unwilling to leave his sick men ashore.

[31] His flagship Monarch passed right through the French fleet of the Expédition d'Irlande during a snow storm, anchoring in a disabled state at Crookhaven on 25 December.

Only the intervention of Captain Charles Brisbane, who threw a noose around the ringleader's neck and threatened death if the disobedience was repeated, succeeded in intimidating the mutinous sailors.

[36] The expedition has however been criticised for its lack of preparedness; while it is true that promised French support failed to appear, the Batavian troops were insufficient in number to threaten seriously the British garrison.

"[24] An unintended effect of the campaign however was to forestall a British invasion of Île de France, which Elphinstone had postponed to prepare for Lucas' arrival and which was ultimately cancelled entirely.