The Battle of the Gabbard, was a naval battle fought from 2 to 3 June 1653 during the First Anglo-Dutch War. It took place near the Gabbard shoal off the coast of Suffolk, England, between fleets of the Commonwealth of England and the Dutch Republic. It resulted in a significant English victory.
Battle The English fleet had 100 ships commanded by Generals at Sea George Monck and Richard Deane and Admirals John Lawson and William Penn. The Dutch had 98 ships under Lieutenant-Admiral Maarten Tromp and Vice-admiral Witte de With, divided in five squadrons. On 2 June 1653 the Dutch attacked but were beaten back because the English employed line-of-battle tactics, making the Dutch pay a high price for attempting to board. The Dutch fleet, consisting of lighter ships, was severely damaged and lost two ships.
Tromp's fleet was organized mostly for mélée fighting. His ships were crewed with a much greater proportion of soldiers for that purpose than the English, whose methods employed the use of superior heavy guns and with musketry fire. That could overwhelm the enemy’s upper decks, with attention aimed at officers, followed up with grappling and boarding, with the objective of leaving relatively few crewmen below deck who would be committed to manning the cannons. Tromp also relied far more on the use of fireships to finish off damaged or inoperable ships, relying on his superior seamanship and experience to out- maneuver the English so as to concentrate his whole strength against a single division.
On 3 June the English were joined by Admiral Robert Blake, but Tromp decided to try again a direct attack though his ships were practically out of ammunition. A sudden lull however made his ships sitting ducks for the superior English guns. The Dutch were routed, the English chasing them until well in the evening, capturing many Dutch ships. The battle ended with the Dutch losing a total of twenty ships, of which nine were sunk and eleven captured. The English lost no ships, but Deane was killed. Tactically this was the worst defeat in Dutch naval history with the exception of the Battle of Lowestoft. Strategically the defeat threatened to be disastrous.
The victory meant that the English control over the English Channel, regained by the Battle of Portland in March after it had been lost in the Battle of Dungeness, was now extended to the North Sea. After the battle, the English imposed a blockade on the Dutch coast, capturing many merchant ships and crippling the Dutch economy . The fleets met again on 29–31 July 1653 (8–10 August 1653 Gregorian calendar) at the Battle of Scheveningen.
Reports of the battle were read in London with great exclamation. The victorious battle was the first great naval action which England had fought since the reign of Elizabeth I.
Ships involved
England Red Squadron ShipGunsMenCommanderNotesRef.Resolution88550General-at-Sea George MonckGeneral-at-Sea Richard DeaneCaptain John BourneWorcester50220Captain George DakinsAdvice42180Captain Jeremy SmythDiamond42180Captain William HillSapphire38140Captain Nicholas HeatonMarmaduke42160Captain Edward BlaggPelican40180Captain Peter MoothamMermaid26100Captain John KingGolden Fleece44180Captain Nicholas ForsterHired armed merchantmanLoyalty34150Captain John LimbryHired armed merchantmanSociety44140Captain Nicholas LucasHired armed merchantmanMalaga Merchant36140Captain Henry CollinsHired armed merchantmanMartin1490Captain John VessyFortune1030FireshipFox1030FireshipRenown1030FireshipTriumph62350Vice-Admiral James PeacockCaptain ProudLaurel48200Captain John StoakesAdventure40160Captain Robert NixonProvidence33140Captain John PeirceBear46200Captain Francis KirbyHeartsease36150Captain Thomas WrightHound36120Captain Jonah HideAnne and Joyce34119Captain William PileHired armed merchantmanLondon40200Captain Arthur BrowneHannibal44180Captain William HaddockHired armed merchantmanMary37120Captain Henry MaddisonThomas and William36140Captain John JeffersonHired armed merchantmanSpeaker56300Rear-Admiral Samuel HowettCaptain John GibsonSussex46180Captain Roger CuttanceGuinea34150Captain Edmund CurtisTiger40170Captain Gabriel SandersViolet40180Captain Henry SouthwoodSophia38160Captain Robert KirbyFalmouth26100Captain John JeffreysFour Sisters30120Captain Robert BeckeHired armed merchantmanHamburg Merchant34110Captain William JesselHired armed merchantmanPhoenix34120Captain Henry Eaden
White Squadron ShipGunsMenCommanderNotesRef.James66360Admiral William PennCaptain John GilsonLion50220Captain John Lambert Ruby42180Captain Robert SandersAssistance40180Captain William CrispinForesight42180Captain Richard StaynerPortsmouth38170Captain Robert DanfordAnne Piercy33120Captain Thomas WareHired armed merchantmanPeter32100Captain John LittletonExchange30100Captain Henry TedmanHired armed merchantmanMerlin1290Captain George CrapnellRichard and Martha46180Captain Eustace SmithHired armed merchantmanSarah34140Captain Francis StewardHired armed merchantmanLissa Merchant38160Captain Simon BailyHired armed merchantmanFireship1030Victory60300Vice-Admiral Lionel LaneCenturion42200Captain Walter WoodExpedition32140Captain Thomas FoulesGillyflower32120Captain John HaywardMiddelburg32120Captain Thomas WithingRaven38140Captain Robert TaylorExchange32120Captain Jeffery DareHired armed merchantmanGlobe30110Captain Robert ColemanPrudent Mary28100Captain John TaylorHired armed merchantmanThomas and Lucy34125Captain Andrew RandHired armed merchantmanAndrew56360Rear-Admiral Thomas GravesCaptain George DakinsAssurance36160Captain Phillip HollandCrown36140Captain ThompsonDuchess2490Captain Richard SeafieldPrincess Maria38170Captain Seth HawlyWaterhound30120Captain Giles ShellyPearl26100Captain James CadmanReformation40160Captain Anthony EarningIndustry30100Captain Ben SalmonHired armed merchantman
Blue Squadron ShipGunsMenCommanderNotesRef.George58350Admiral John LawsonCaptain Peter StrongKentish50180Captain Jacob ReynoldsGreat President40180Captain Francis ParkNonsuch40170Captain Thomas PenroseSuccess38150Captain William KendallWelcome40200Captain John HarmanOak32120Captain John EdwinBrazil30120Captain Thomas HeathHired armed merchantmanEastland Merchant32110Captain John WaltersHired armed merchantmanAdventure38160Captain Edward GreeneHired armed merchantmanSamaritan30120Captain Shadrach BlakeHired armed merchantmanFireship1030Vanguard56390Vice-Admiral Joseph JordanHappy Entrance43200Captain Richard NewberyDragon38260Captain John SeamanConvert32120Captain Philip GethingsPaul38120Captain Anthony SpatchurtGift34130Captain Thomas SalmonCrescent30115Captain Thomas ThorowgoodSamuel Taboat30110Captain Joseph AmesHired armed merchantmanBenjamin32120Hired armed merchantmanKing Ferdinando36140Captain Richard PaineHired armed merchantmanRoebuck30100Captain Henry FennRainbow58300Rear-Admiral William GoodsonnConvertine44210Captain Anthony JoynAmity36150Captain Henry PackDolphin30120Captain Robert DavisArms of Holland34120Captain Francis MardrigTulip32120Captain Joseph CubittJonathan30110Captain Robert GravesHired armed merchantmanDragoneare32110Captain Edward SmithHired armed merchantmanWilliam and John36120Captain Nathaniel JessonHired armed merchantmanNicodemus1240Captain William LedgartBlossom30110Captain Nathaniel CockHired armed merchantman
Netherlands 98 ships – of which 6 sunk and 11 captured , 54 (flagship of Admiral Tromp)
See also of the British Royal Navy was named in honour of the battle.
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