This is an excellent study of the campaign and battle of June 1666 – ‘the greatest battle in the Age of Sail’, fought between the Royal Navy and the United Provinces during the Second Anglo-Dutch War. The book is told primarily from the English view, due to the nature of the sources, but the activities of the Dutch, French and Danes are adequately covered, and the narrative is not biased.
The Contents are:
P001: The Generals
P015: The Royal Navy
P036: The Ships
P051: Guns, Flags, and the River Thames
P066: Preparations
P083: Lowestoft
P102: The Indian Prize
P120: The Other Side of the Hill
P136: The Division of the Fleet
P153: Rupert’s Expedition
P168: The French
P182: The Morning of the First of June
P198: The First Day
P219: The Second Day
P236: The Third Day
P251: The Fourth Day
P271: The Aftermath
P287: The Sequel
P304: Epilogue
P313: Appendices A – M
P363: Notes
P387: Sources
P392-404: Index
There are 32 pages of illustrations, and many excellent tactical maps, and the endpapers have a map of the battle area, with the various days’ positions marked, and excellent details of the shoals and banks which defined the area involved.
The book is well laid out in structure, the opening chapters introducing the main (English) characters, the ships and their outfitting and the development of tactics from the previous war. The first major battle of the war in 1665 was at Lowestoft, followed by an attempt to seize the Dutch merchant fleets sheltering in Denmark – with the connivance of the Danish king, who neglected to inform his subordinates of his treachery, and so foiled his own plans. Then there is a study of the Dutch fleet, followed by the English strategic decision to divide the fleet in the face of French intervention and a possible invasion of Ireland, leading to an under-strength fleet being left to face the Dutch. The battle is described day-by-day in great detail, with excellent and informative maps of the fleet manoeuvres. Rupert’s division returned just in time to save the English from disaster on the third day, but eventually numbers tell, and the Dutch manage to win the day on the final day of the battle. Despite being severely outnumbered in ships, the tactics and greater firepower of the Royal Navy managed to keep the battle going for four days, and there were several occasions during the battle when a victory for both sides was feasible. We also see the ‘breaking of the line’ achieved several times, by both sides, and we see demonstrated successes that in later line-breaking sea fights could only be dreamed of by the victors.
This is a well-written and readable account, though it desperately needs a Glossary for those who are not familiar with the terminology of sailing warfare; you can still follow the action quite easily, but it would not have been difficult to provide one. The author spent twelve years studying the original sources, and the wealth of detail is superb. This is an essential book for anyone interested in the age of fighting sail.
In the second edition, there are 32 pages of illustrations, and many excellent tactical maps, and the endpapers have a map of the battle area, with the various days’ positions marked, and excellent details of the shoals and banks which defined the area involved. The original edition of 1996, which is a large-format book, similar to the author's Great Ships (see link below), contains an extensive set of colour plates of contemporary paintings of the ships and their battles.
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