Battle of Scheveningen

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Battle of Scheveningen
Part of First Anglo-Dutch War
The Battle of Scheveningen, 10 August 1653 by Jan Abrahamsz Beerstraaten, painted c. 1654 shows the view of the battle from the Dutch shore where thousands gathered to watch.
Date August 10, 1653 Location Scheveningen, The Netherlands Result English tactical victory Dutch strategic victory
Combatants
Commonwealth of England	United Provinces
Commanders
George Monck	Maarten Tromp
Strength
120 ships	100 ships under Tromp 27 ships under De With

The Battle of Scheveningen (also known as the Battle of Texel or the Battle of Ter Heijde) was the final naval battle of the First Anglo-Dutch War. It took place on 8–10 August 1653 between the fleets of the Commonwealth of England and the United Provinces.

After their victory at the Battle of the Gabbard in June 1653 the English fleet of 120 ships under General at Sea George Monck blockaded the Dutch coast, capturing many merchant vessels. The Dutch economy began to collapse immediately: mass unemployment and even starvation set in. On 3 August, Dutch Lieutenant-Admiral Maarten Tromp put to sea in the Brederode with a fleet of 100 ships to lift the blockade at the island of Texel where Vice-Admiral Witte de With's 27 ships were trapped by the English. On 8 August the English sighted Tromp and advanced to the south, allowing De With to slip out and rendezvous the next day with Tromp off Scheveningen, after Tromp had positioned himself by some brilliant manoeuvring to the north of the English fleet.

The English caught up with the combined Dutch fleet early on 10 August and attacked. Battle was ferocious with both fleets moving through each other four times. Tromp was killed early in the fight by a sharpshooter in the rigging of William Penn's ship. His death was kept secret in an attempt to keep up the morale of the Dutch, but by the late afternoon twelve of their ships had either been sunk or captured and many were too damaged to continue the fight. In the end morale broke and a large group of vessels under command of merchant captains fled to the north. De With tried to halt their flight but had to limit himself to covering the retreat to the Texel. However, the English fleet, also much damaged and with many wounded in urgent need of treatment, had to return to port to refit and was unable to maintain the blockade.

Oddly both sides claimed a victory: the English because of their tactical superiority, the Dutch because the strategic goal of their attack, the lifting of the blockade, had been achieved. Tromp's death was a severe blow to the Dutch. Few now expected to beat the English; the Orangist faction lost political influence and Grand Pensionary Johan de Witt was willing to give formal treaty assurances to Cromwell that the infant William III of Orange would never become stadtholder turning the Netherlands into a base for a Stuart Restoration. Peace negotiations began in earnest, leading to the Treaty of Westminster (1654).