Sea battle at Camperduin
Naval Battle at Camperduin by Thomas Whitcombe, painted 1798.
| date | October 11, 1797 |
|---|---|
| place | off the Dutch coast near Alkmaar |
| output | British victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| 16 ships of the line and 8 smaller ships |
16 ships of the line and 9 smaller ships |
| losses | |
|
193 dead and |
520 dead and |
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First Coalition War (1792–1797)
Verdun - Thionville - Valmy - Lille - Mainz (1792) - Jemappes - Namur - Neerektiven - Mainz (1793) - Famars - Valenciennes (1793) - Arlon (1793) - Hondschoote - Meribel - Avesnes-le-Sec - Pirmasens - Toulon - Fontenay-le-Comte - Cholet - Lucon - Trouillas - Menin - Wattignies - Biesingen - Kaiserslautern (1793) - First Battle of Weissenburg (1793) - Second Battle of Weissenburg (1793) - Boulou - Tourcoing - Tournay - 13th Prairial - Fleurus - Vosges - Aldenhoven - San-Lorenzo de la Muga - Genoa - Hyeres - Handschuhsheim - Mainz (1795) - Loano - Montenotte - Millesimo - Dego - Mondovi - Lodi - Borghetto - Castiglione - Mantua - Siegburg - Altenkirchen - Wetzlar - Kircheib - Kehl - Kalteiche - Malsch - Neresheim - Deining - Amberg - Würzburg - Rovereto - Bassano - Limburg - Biberach I - Emmendingen - Schliengen - Arcole - Fall von Kehl - Rivoli (1797) - St. Vincent - Diersheim - Santa Cruz - Neuwied - Camperduin
In the sea battle at Camperduin during the First Coalition War on October 11, 1797, a British fleet met ships of the Batavian Republic in the North Sea off the Dutch coast near Alkmaar . In English this battle is called the Sea Battle at Camperdown .
background
The French planned a landing in Ireland to be covered by the Dutch fleet under Vice Admiral Jan Willem de Winter . But preparations were delayed until it was too late in the year to start the company. Despite this, the Dutch government insisted, against de Winter's will, that the fleet set sail in early October.
The majority of the British fleet under Admiral Adam Duncan was at that time to take up provisions in the port of Yarmouth , while only a small squadron was off Texel . When Duncan received the news of the departure of the Dutch, he immediately lifted anchor and sailed to the Dutch coast with a strong wind at his back. The fleet headed south and sighted the Dutch formation (16 ships of the line ) on the morning of October 11, 1797, about seven nautical miles off the coast between Egmond and Camperduin .
The battle
The wind was blowing inland. The Dutch formed a northbound battle line, and Duncan knew they would quickly reach shallow water - where the British with their heavier ships could not have followed if he did not attack immediately. He planned to cut off the retreat of the Dutch by sailing between their line and the coast. At first he tried to bring his fleet into a battle order, but quickly realized that there was no more time and gave the signal to break through the enemy line of battle and attack from Lee - trusting that his captains would master the situation.
"I made the signal to bear up, break the enemy's line, and engage them to leeward, each ship her opponent, by which I got between them and the land, whither they were fast approaching."
The British attacked in two columns, and their two top ships broke through the opposing battle line. The remaining ships laid down next to Dutch ones, and in a bitter hand-to-hand combat the British were able to capture or sink eleven Dutch ships of the line, taking Admiral de Winter prisoner. The rest escaped as the British ships were also badly damaged. In total, the British side had 193 dead and 622 wounded, the Dutch 520 dead and 952 wounded. The invasion plans of the French were thus thwarted.
Web links
- Cannons, carronades, chaos - the naval battle of Camperdown 1797 (a detailed analysis of the battle)