Fighting between the forces took place from 28 to 30 October after Moestopo told his troops that the British would attempt to forcibly disarm them; the fighting culminated with Mallaby's death.
Pertempuran pecah pada tanggal 28-30 Oktober setelah Moestopo mengatakan kepada pasukannya bahwa Inggris akan berusaha untuk melucuti paksa mereka, puncak pertempuran ditandai dengan kematian Mallaby.