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186

The defeat avenged

[1666

again," as disabled ships were refitted, so that an attack on the English at their moorings would have been hazardous. The chief trouble of the English commanders was lack of men. The last battle had left the fleet ill-manned, and the counter-attraction of privateering proved a serious competitor. Vigorous pressing supplied quantity rather than quality; and, though the deficiency was to some extent met by shipping soldiers — an expedient freely employed by the Dutch-in the end some fifteen vessels of no particular value were left behind, and their crews distributed through the fleet. At length, on July 19, the fleet, eighty-eight men-of-war and seventeen fire-ships, left the Nore, and after managing to pass the Narrows at one tide reached the Gunfleet (July 22), the Dutch withdrawing eastward to bring the shelter of their friendly shoals close at hand in case of defeat. Next day, the English sailed again with the wind at S.S.E. and stood out through the King's Channel after the Dutch.

Bad weather prevented a battle till the 25th, when daybreak found the Dutch on the port tack, steering S. by E. with the wind at N.N.E. As they, though to windward, made no attempt to engage, the English bore down upon them, Sir Thomas Allen, who led the van, closing "as soon as he came to the head of the enemies' fleet." The action speedily became general; and, though the Dutch appear to have deliberately adopted the "half-moon" formation, which was considered an effective method of meeting an enemy attacking in line ahead, the English "plied them so close that they could not tack on us." For some hours the battle was evenly contested; but about 3 p.m. the Frisian and North Holland squadrons, which formed the van, disorganised by the fall of Evertsen and two other flag-officers, gave way in disorder; whereupon de Ruyter, unable to withstand any longer the fierce attacks of Monck and Rupert, was forced to follow suit with the centre. In the rear, where Tromp and the Zeelanders were opposed to Sir Jeremy Smyth, matters were more even. The Blue, the weakest of the English squadrons, included several heavy sailers, which were lagging behind, and Tromp was able to hold on towards the south, keeping the wind of Smyth, who, however, held on with him; so that before long the rears were completely separated from their main bodies which were standing away eastward, the Dutch making for home, the English in pursuit. Fortunately for de Ruyter, who exerted himself most gallantly to cover his "maimed ships," the wind dropped considerably; so that the Dutch, who could sail better in light winds because they drew less water, were able to keep ahead of their pursuers until, on the evening of the 26th, Monck and Rupert had the mortification of seeing their quarry gain the shelter of the sand-banks and make their way into the Dearloo Channel. There remained, however, the hope of intercepting Tromp; and to this end the commanders anchored where he was likely to pass, though most of their ships failing to follow this example were carried by the tide to the leeward. Moreover Smyth, nervous about venturing too near

1666] Blockade of the Dutch coast.-Peace negotiations 187

the banks, failed to keep very close on Tromp, so that the Zeeland squadron also gained the Wielings and safety (July 27, O.S.). Yet, though the Dutch had reason to congratulate themselves on having escaped with the loss of only five or six sail, their defeat was more decisive than that of the English in the "Four Days' Battle." Their shattered vessels had to lie inactive in harbour, powerless to hinder Monck and Rupert, who continued on the Dutch coast, holding their privateers in check, capturing many prizes—a vessel taken on August 21 is spoken of as the eightyfifth taken since the fleet came out-and inflicting upon Dutch commerce damage estimated at £1,000,000 by destroying the town of Brandaris on the island of Schelling, together with some hundred-and-sixty merchantmen lying in the Vlie (August 8).

But England was as incapable of following up on land the successes which she had gained at sea as was her adversary; and she could no longer rely on the renunciation of the Bishop of Münster, who had been forced to make peace in April, restoring to the Republic all his conquests. Lack of provisions at length drove the English home; and the Dutch, who were still hoping for a junction with de Beaufort, put to sea about the end of August. Hearing of this, Rupert and Monck hastily sailed from Southwold Bay (August 30); and, though a violent storm which compelled them to bear away down Channel to St Helen's (September 2), baulked them of the battle they desired, no junction was effected, and the Dutch returned to the Wielings. By September 13 Rupert was again at sea, and he continued cruising in the Channel till the end of the month; while de Beaufort, who had ventured as far as Dieppe, but was by no means anxious to risk his raw crews in action, returned to Brest after a very brief stay within the reach of danger. Once again de Ruyter put out; but again, just as Rupert was on the point of bringing him to action, an exceptionally violent gale prevented the fleets from engaging by driving them both to shelter, September 25; and thus operations came to an end on both sides.

By this time both combatants were heartily anxious to end the war. The hopes which had caused Charles II to embark upon it had been disappointed. Far from proving lucrative, it was a heavy drain on financial resources already unequal to the requirements of an extravagant Court, and an ill-managed administration. The Plague, the Great Fire, disaffection at home, and risings in Scotland, combined, as has been shown in an earlier chapter, to make peace urgent; while de Witt, alarmed by the designs of Louis XIV on the Netherlands, wanted to be quit of a struggle which was inflicting serious losses on Dutch commerce and shipping. Hence, when Charles made overtures (October, 1666) they were favourably received; and in May a conference met at Breda. With peace thus appearing assured, Charles was reluctant to spend money on preparations for a campaign which might not take place. Accordingly, instead of restoring the fleet to a war footing

188 English fleet laid

up.

The Dutch in the Medway [1667

by refitting the first- and second-rates which, as was then usual, had been laid up during the winter, it was decided to send out a few light squadrons to attack Dutch commerce. For commerce-destroying as a weapon of the weaker belligerent a fairly plausible case can be made out; but its deliberate adoption by the combatant who had till then certainly had the best of the contest, not merely threw away dearlywon advantages, but might have entailed utterly disastrous as well as disgraceful consequences, had the enemy been able to improve the occasion properly. Moreover, it seems clear that all the experts were against these proceedings, not merely Rupert and Monck, but the Duke of York also. However, Charles was determined to spend no more on the fleet, and the command of the sea was deliberately allowed to go to the Dutch by default. It would be easier to treat this misguided step as a mere error of judgment, if adequate preparations had been made for local defence of places likely to be attacked, or if the English Government had been without information as to the movements and intentions of the Dutch. No such extenuating circumstances can, however, be pleaded. So early as April it was reported that the Dutch meant to block up the Thames; and at the end of the month thirty sail appeared in the Firth of Forth, and, after demonstrating uselessly against Edinburgh, bombarded Burntisland without much more result. But all warnings were neglected, and on May 24 the King ordered that, to avoid further expense, the thirdrates also should be laid up, and only small parties sent out "to distract the enemy and to disturb their trade." Orders were also issued for putting the various ports into a state of defence; but, as the Council declined to provide any money, "the peace being as good as made," the orders remained a dead letter.

De Witt was not the man "to be registered to posterity as casting away arms of offence and defence while in treaty with armed and active enemies"; and he eagerly grasped the chance of carrying out a project he had for some time entertained of attacking the English in their harbours. Early in June some sixty-six sail left Holland on this errand, and by 7 p.m on the 10th the half-finished works at Sheerness were in de Ruyter's hands, and all was uproar and panic at Chatham. Monck, hastening to the scene of danger, did all that one man could accomplish; but the fatuous negligence of the Council had made effective measures of resistance impossible: guns, ammunition, stores of every kind were lacking, and he was none too well supported by the dockyard officials. All in vain ships were sunk to block the passage of the Medway, and so cover the vessels lying unmanned and unfitted in Gillingham Reach. June 12 saw the humiliating results of Charles II's policy. Not only were the triumphant Dutch able to inflict on their impotent adversaries a loss far heavier than that suffered in the "Four Days' Battle," sixteen vessels in all being taken, burnt, or scuttled by the defenders, among them the famous Royal Charles and three other vessels of almost equal strength; but these losses were as nothing in comparison with the

1667]

The Peace of Breda

189

disgrace and ignominy thus gratuitously incurred. The King's reluctance to spend money on national defence was the sole cause of a humiliation which might easily have been averted. In the previous autumn there had been murmurs enough against the inadequate protection given against privateers, and men had remembered how "in Oliver's time there was better care taken to secure the coasts than now"; thus the exploits of the Dutch in the Medway throw a lurid light on the Stewart conception of the duty of national defence.

To the general relief, the Dutch proved unable to follow up the blow they had given. Retiring to the Nore (June 16) they remained inactive during all the next fortnight, merely hindering trade by their presence at the mouth of the Thames. Now at last something was done to put the coasts and forts into a proper state of preparation. Everywhere the militia were called out. Rupert hurried down to Woolwich to erect defences such as would prevent the Dutch from coming up the Thames to London; and, though exasperation and indignation with the Government for its culpable negligence were universal, men flocked to arms. Early in July the Dutch at last bestirred themselves to assault Landguard Fort; but they were repulsed with loss, and some troops whom they landed at Felixstowe as a diversion were so warmly received by the local militia that they "had much ado to keep themselves from disorder when reembarking." Equal unsuccess attended a squadron which was sent down Channel to intercept the home-coming "Straits fleet." The prey got safely into Dartmouth, which de Ruyter found too well prepared for him to venture on an attack; and, meanwhile, the ships he had left in the Thames had been assailed by fire-ships and other small vessels under Sir Edward Spragg (July 24), and had been forced to retire seawards. But the blow at the Medway had done its work: the English negotiators had had to abate their demands, and on July 26 official news was received that peace had been concluded on the 21st. By its terms the Dutch retained Pularoon and Lord Willoughby of Parham's settlement at Surinam which they had just captured (March, 1667); the Navigation Act was also somewhat modified in their favour, and the commercial treaty of 1662 was reaffirmed. But they had to recognise that "right of the flag," which had been so long a cause of contention, and also to leave New Amsterdam in English hands, thereby losing their foothold in North America. Simultaneously England and France made mutual restoration of their conquests in the West Indies, England also evacuating Nova Scotia, which she had conquered in 1654.

That after the Dutch raid on the Medway England should have obtained such favourable terms is largely to be ascribed to de Witt's moderation, and to his anxiety not to estrange England in the face of the growing danger from Louis XIV. little to gain by continuing operations. little prospect of repeating the Chatham

But the United Provinces had The events of July had shown success, and their command of

190

The development of tactics

[1665-7

the sea rested on the somewhat doubtful title of the deliberate neglect of the English to contest it. Had Charles listened to reason and put his fleet on a war footing in 1667, he might have obtained very favourable terms. Up to the end of 1666 the balance of advantage had certainly lain with the English, well as de Ruyter had done. Many of the Dutch captains were still, as in 1652-4, indifferent fighting men, and the efficiency of the Dutch fleet had been gravely marred by the old fault of indiscipline, exhibited at times by subordinate flag-officers such as Tromp and van Nes, no less than by disobedient captains and mutinous crews. On the other hand, while it cannot be denied that the service suffered not a little through faction and the rivalries of the different commanders and their followers, as has been seen the licence and low moral standards of the Restoration period had not yet altogether corrupted the English navy. Certainly in tactics and the handling of fleets the English were superior to their enemy. In Myngs, Lawson, Penn, Allen, and many others, the English navy possessed capable and accomplished subordinates; and, while James acquitted himself creditably enough at Southwold Bay, it is certainly unfair to dismiss Rupert as a mere cavalry officer at sea. Monck too, whatever his shortcomings on the seaman's side of the admiral's art, was anything but an amateur in tactics. Indeed, there seem to be good grounds for attributing to him a very important share in the introduction of the new system of tactics, the development of which can be traced in the Fighting Instructions of the period. These show clearly that the close-hauled line ahead was a purely English innovation, adopted because it admitted of the full utilisation of the gun-power on which the English principally relied. Whatever the exact stage in its evolution reached in the First Dutch War, in the Second it may certainly be regarded as the established English formation; and the detailed accounts of the battles of 1665 and 1666 certainly leave the conviction, not only that the greater skill with which the English manoeuvred was the result of familiarity with this formation and of constant practice, but that, notwithstanding any opposite impressions based on Pepys' famous report of his conversation with Sir William Penn after the "Four Days' Battle," instead of the English having learnt the lineahead from the Dutch, it was the Dutch who strove to imitate the English formation — not always with much success. "Nothing," wrote the French eye-witness of Monck's attack on June 2, 1666, “equals the beautiful order of the English at sea. Never was a line drawn straighter than that drawn by their ships. They fight like a line of cavalry handled according to rule." It is only the blunder which exposed Monck to greatly superior forces in the "Four Days' Battle," and the criminal folly which brought about the humiliation of June, 1667, that prevent us from looking on the Second Dutch War as a period of naval success; and for these errors neither the navy nor its commanders can reasonably be held responsible.

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