Battle of Schooneveld facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Battles of Schooneveld
Part of Franco-Dutch War
The first battle of Schooneveld, 7 June 1673 by Willem van de Velde, the elder, painted c.1684.
Date 7 June 1673 and 14 June 1673 Location North Sea Result Dutch victory
Belligerents
England  France	Dutch Republic
Commanders and leaders
Rupert of the Rhine Jean II d'Estrées Edward Spragge	Michiel de Ruyter Cornelis Tromp Adriaen Banckert
Strength
86 ships 24,295 men 4,826 cannon	64 ships 14,762 men 3,157 cannon
Casualties and losses
2 ships	1 ship

The Battles of Schooneveld were two important naval battles. They happened during the Franco-Dutch War in 1673. These battles took place off the coast of the Netherlands.

The fighting involved an allied fleet from England and France. This fleet was led by Prince Rupert of the Rhine. They faced the fleet of the United Provinces. The Dutch fleet was commanded by Michiel de Ruyter. The Dutch won both battles. These victories, and another one later, helped save their country from invasion.

Why did the battles happen?

The Franco-Dutch War (1672–1678) started because Louis XIV of France wanted to take over the Spanish Netherlands. In 1672, French, Münster, and Cologne troops invaded the Netherlands by land. At the same time, England's navy attacked Dutch ships. England also threatened to invade by sea. The fight between England and the Dutch Republic is known as the Third Anglo-Dutch War.

How the Dutch defended their land

The years 1672-1673 were very difficult for the Dutch. The French army was stopped only by the Holland Water Line. This was a clever defense where large areas of countryside were deliberately flooded. Guns and men were even taken from the navy to help the army. William III of Orange became the Admiral-General of the Dutch fleet.

A surprise attack by De Ruyter in June 1672, called the Battle of Solebay, was very important. It stopped the English and French from controlling the North Sea. This kept the sea lanes open, which were vital for Dutch trade.

Political tensions among the Dutch

After the French invasion, a new political group, the Orangists, took power. There were some disagreements and suspicions within the Dutch leadership. For example, Lieutenant-Admiral Cornelis Tromp joined the Dutch fleet again in 1673. He was known to be friendly with the English.

Michiel de Ruyter, the top commander of the Dutch fleet, had a plan. He wanted to block the main English fleet in the Medway River. But the English fleet sailed out in time to stop this. So, De Ruyter moved his fleet to the Schooneveld. This area was near the mouth of the Schelde River. It was a narrow basin between two sandbanks. This narrow space meant the larger allied fleet could not use its size to full advantage.

De Ruyter was joined by Tromp, adding more ships to the Dutch fleet. De Ruyter read a message to his captains. It told them they were fighting for their nation and for all of Christendom. He warned any cowards that they would face severe justice and hatred from their people.

The First Battle of Schooneveld

The first Battle of Schooneveld

On June 2, 1673, the allied English and French fleet approached the Dutch. Prince Rupert of the Rhine led the allies. They had many more ships (86 vs. 64), men, and cannons than the Dutch. The Dutch admirals even called their own fleet the "Little Hope." A storm stopped the battle that day.

Starting the fight

On June 7, with the wind blowing from the northwest, Rupert tried again. His English squadron was at the front. The French squadron, led by Jean II d'Estrées, was in the middle. Sir Edward Spragge's English squadron was at the back. For the Dutch, Tromp led the front. De Ruyter himself was in the middle with Lieutenant-Admiral Aert Jansse van Nes. Lieutenant-Admiral Adriaen Banckert led the rear.

Rupert thought the smaller Dutch fleet would retreat. So, he sent a special group of lighter ships to cut off their escape. But De Ruyter did not move. When Rupert's special group returned, the Dutch fleet started to move. But they moved towards the enemy! This forced Rupert to attack right away. He had to attack before the Dutch could get into a better position.

Battle in shallow waters

The battle began at noon and lasted nine hours. De Ruyter knew the shallow waters very well. He moved his fleet so close to the sandbanks that the allied ships found it hard to attack without getting stuck.

Rupert first met Tromp's squadron. He had about half of the allied fleet with him. Rupert was criticized for not attacking directly. He turned southwest, and both fleets fired at each other from a distance. The Dutch had fewer ships, but their position helped their cannons shoot further.

De Ruyter had been following Tromp closely. But he saw a gap in the French line. He suddenly turned southwest, separating Tromp from the rest of the Dutch fleet. This surprised the French. The main French force slowly moved away to stay in a good position. De Ruyter commented that his ship, the De Zeven Provinciën, still scared its enemies.

The Dutch center then moved behind the enemy's rear. Spragge realized he could get trapped. He quickly broke formation and escaped. Banckert then joined his squadron with the Dutch center. De Ruyter had gained a great position. The enemy fleet was split into four parts. He could attack the confused enemy rear with more ships.

However, De Ruyter did not know how Tromp was doing. He decided to help his friends first. He turned back towards Tromp. Seeing him approach, Tromp shouted, "There's Granddad! He's coming to help us. I will never leave him!" The fighting brought them together. The allied rear managed to escape.

End of the first battle

When the main Dutch force reached Tromp, they formed a perfect battle line. The allied fleet tried to do the same, but their formations were very messy. The Dutch fleet broke through the allied line many times. Rupert was worried about the growing disorder in his fleet. He was happy to stop fighting when night fell. The Dutch did not chase them.

Two French ships were lost. One Dutch ship was captured and then recaptured. Another Dutch ship, Deventer, sank the next day after getting stuck. Two Dutch admirals were killed.

The Second Battle of Schooneveld

The Second Battle of Schooneveld

The allied fleets stayed off the Dutch coast for a week. They blamed each other for the first battle's failure. The British also argued among themselves. Captain George Legge wrote that the Schooneveld was "too little and the sands too dangerous" to enter again. They hoped to lure the Dutch fleet into open sea.

A new attack

On June 14, 1673, De Ruyter attacked again. He had four more ships and fresh crews. A good northwest wind helped him. In this battle, the allies were very disorganized. This was partly because they had been at sea for two weeks. Also, Spragge, who was supposed to lead the front, was visiting Rupert when the Dutch attacked.

Spragge rushed back to his squadron. But Rupert, fearing Spragge wouldn't make it in time, decided to lead the front with his own squadron. He tried to pass the French in the middle. But the French tried their best to stay in front of Rupert. The result was complete chaos for the allies.

Dutch victory

Rupert kept raising and lowering his battle flag. He saw the confusion among his ships, which made a planned attack impossible. De Ruyter was amazed. He used this confusion to his advantage. He attacked from a distance, firing at the allied masts and rigging. This badly damaged Rupert's squadron. The French, attacked by Banckert, quickly pulled away.

Only Tromp fought fiercely with his rival Spragge until nightfall. A heavy sea made it hard for the allies to open their lower gunports. Strong winds pushed all three fleets dangerously close to the British coast. Rupert tried to get closer to the Dutch to save his fleet. But the Dutch, four miles from the coast, retreated to save theirs. By the morning of June 15, the damaged allied fleets sailed into the Thames River. De Ruyter was safely back in the Schooneveld.

The allies did not lose any ships in this battle. But they suffered a lot of damage and had to return to port for repairs.

What happened next?

De Ruyter, using his clever maneuvers, had fought two battles against a stronger fleet. He caused so much damage that the allies had to stop their blockade and leave. He also avoided the big, decisive battle that the allies wanted.

After repairing their ships and trying to get along better, the allies decided to wait off the Texel coast. They hoped to draw De Ruyter out of the Schooneveld for another fight. But the next battle, the Battle of Texel, was another Dutch victory. England was then forced to leave the expensive and unsuccessful war.