Sea battle in the Solebay
In the sea battle in Solebay , the first sea battle in the Third Anglo-Dutch War , jul met on May 28th . / June 7th 1672 greg. the fleet of the United Provinces of the Netherlands to the combined fleets of the restored Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of France in the North Sea off the east coast of England.
The battle
The Dutch fleet under Admiral Lieutenant Michiel de Ruyter , Adriaen Banckert and Willem Joseph van Ghent consisted of 75 ships, a crew of over 20,000 and almost 4,500 cannons. The Anglo-French fleet, 93 ships, nearly 35,000 men and over 6,000 cannons, anchored in the Solebay near Southwold in Suffolk on the east coast of England.
The Dutch surprised the anchored fleet and attacked in broad formation. The French, who formed the vanguard, only fought light battles with parts of the Dutch vanguard. The bulk of the Dutch fleet attacked the English. The fight lasted until evening and both sides suffered heavy losses.
The Dutch were able to prevent the impending blockade of their coast. In the First Sea Battle of Schooneveld , both parties met again.
Remarks
In 2007 the Royal James , the English flagship sunk in battle, was discovered by wreck divers.
