Having just attended the Chalke Valley History Festival one of the sessions was given by Sam Willis. It was on The Struggle for Sea Power - The Royal Navy v The World 1775-82

In the intro he mentioned some of the amazing moments when the British coast has been exposed. Was it down to intelligence or simply the difficulties of protecting such a long coastline? We tend to think of Hastings, the Spanish Armada & Operation Sealion. There’s many more. I’m going to put out a few examples you may not have heard of.

The naval Battle of Solebay took place on 28 May 1672 and was the first naval battle of the Third Anglo-Dutch War. 

Solebay is near Southwold in Suffolk.

Southwold was mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as a fishing port and after the "capricious River Blyth withdrew from Dunwich in 1328 bringing trade to Southwold in the 15th century" it received its town charter from Henry VII in 1489. Dunwich is now famous for most of it having fallen into the sea after erosion incl. one of its churches. It’s been featured on Time Team in 2012 and by Kate Humble. It was featured on TV recently and the move of trade to Southwold in the background mentioned.

The battle had an inconclusive outcome – although the Dutch withdrew. But just look at how many ships participated!

The Dutch (United Provinces) had a fleet of 75 wars ships (with 20738 men & 4484 cannon) commanded by Lieutenant-Admirals Michiel de Ruyter, Adriaen Banckert and Willem Joseph van Ghent. They surprised a joint Anglo-French fleet of 85-95 war ships (ie contested) of 34496 men & 6018 cannon at anchor in Solebay (these days Southwold bay). The Anglo-French Force was commanded by the Duke of York (later King James II) and Vice-Admiral Comte Jean II d'Estrées.

Just think Anglo-FRENCH ... And they were caught out. THIS intrigues me. How? So it’s going to demand further research.

The Allies planned to blockade the Dutch in their home ports and deny the North Sea to Dutch shipping. The Dutch had hoped to repeat the success of the Raid on the Medway (when they stole the English flagship - it’s figurehead is in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam to this day). A frigate squadron under Van Ghent sailed up the Thames in May but discovered that Sheerness Fort was now too well prepared to pass. The Dutch main fleet came too late, mainly due to coordination problems between the five Dutch admiralties, to prevent a joining of the English and French fleets.

It followed the Allied fleet to the north, which, unaware of this, put in at Solebay to refit. On 7 June the Allies were caught by surprise (hmmm) and got into disarray when the Dutch fleet, having the weather gauge, suddenly appeared on the horizon in the early morning.

Sources = various incl. "Southwold at War - The Battle of Sole Bay". www.southwoldmuseum.org.

A list of ships present is in a separate post.

The French fleet, whether through accident or design, steered south followed by Banckert's fifteen ships and limited its action to long-distance fire. Nevertheless, the Superbe was heavily damaged and des Rabesnières was killed by fire from Enno Doedes Star's Groningen. Total French casualties were about 450.

This left the Dutch vanguard and centre to fight it out with the English, and the latter were hard pressed, as they had great difficulty to beat upwind to bring ships out.

The Duke of York had to move his flag twice, finally to London, as his flagships Prince and St Michael were taken out of action.

The Prince was crippled by De Ruyter's flagship De Zeven Provinciën in a two hour duel. De Ruyter was accompanied by the representative of the States-General of the Netherlands, Cornelis de Witt (the brother of Grand Pensionary Johan de Witt) who bravely remained seated on the main deck, although half of his guard of honour standing next to him was killed or wounded.

Lieutenant-Admiral Aert Jansse van Nes on the Eendracht first duelled Vice-Admiral Edward Spragge on HMS London and then was attacked by HMS Royal Katherine. The latter ship was then so heavily damaged that Captain John Chichely struck her flag and was taken prisoner. The Dutch prize crew however got drunk on the brandy found and allowed the ship to be later recaptured by the English.

The flagship of Admiral Edward Montagu (1st Earl of Sandwich) HMS Royal James, was first fiercely engaged by Lieutenant-Admiral Van Ghent, who in 1667 had executed the Raid on the Medway aboard Dolfijn. Van Ghent was however killed by shrapnel.

Then captain Jan van Brakel on Groot Hollandia attacked HMS Royal James, incessantly pounding the hull of that ship for over an hour which damaged her so much that Lord Sandwich considered to strike his flag but decided against it because it was beneath his honour to surrender to a mere captain of low birth. He then ordered sloops from other ships to board the Groot Hollandia. With his upper deck soon swarming with Englishmen Van Brakel was forced to cut the lines and retreat between friendly vessels to drive the boarding teams off. The Royal James now drifted away sinking and was attacked by several fire ships. She sank two but a third, Vrede, commanded by Jan Daniëlszoon van den Rijn, its approach shielded by Vice-Admiral Isaac Sweers's Oliphant, set her on fire.

HMS Royal James burnt with great loss of life. See attached image.

Sandwich himself and his son-in-law Philip Carteret drowned trying to escape when his sloop collapsed under the weight of panicked sailors jumping in. Montagu’s (ie Sandwich) body washed ashore, only recognisable by the scorched clothing still showing the shield of the Order of the Garter.

During the battle the wind shifted, giving the English the weather gauge, and in the late afternoon the Dutch withdrew.

Losses were heavy on both sides: one Dutch ship, the Jozua, was destroyed and another, the Stavoren, captured, a third Dutch ship had an accident during repairs immediately after the battle and blew up.

The battle ended inconclusively at sunset. 

In a strategic sense, it can be seen as a Dutch victory as it may have deterred Anglo-French plans to blockade Dutch ports.

Tactically both sides sustained heavy damages. Two English ships were sunk, including the fleets flagship the Royal James, as well as two French ships sunk. The Dutch also lost two large ships, in addition to many fire ships.

Sole Bay’s battle is covered in other popular culture:-

• The battle is described in verse, as if in an eyewitness account seen from the coast at Dunwich, in the ballad "A Merry Song on the Duke's late glorious Success over the Dutch", which appears in print (apparently taken from a broadside ballad) in the Suffolk Garland of 1818

• The battle is described in the novel "An Affair of Dishonour" published in 1910 by William de Morgan who was also an artist in glass and ceramics. A wounded survivor becomes an important character in the story.

• The Battle of Solebay forms the historic background to children's adventure novel “The Lion of Sole Bay” the 4th book in the Strong Winds series by Julia Jones

• In his novel, “The Black Tulip”, Alexandre Dumas refers to the historical role of Cornelius de Witt in the battle. (Ch 2 “The Two Brothers”)

• Adnams Brewery created a beer named “Broadside” in commemoration of the battle's tercentenary

So here’s some questions:

How did such a large fleet manage to surprise the Anglo-French?