Battle of Dogger Bank (1696)
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The Battle of Dogger Bank is the name of a battle which took place on June 17, 1696 as part of the War of the Grand Alliance. It was a victory for a French force of seven ships over a Dutch force of five ships and the convoy it was escorting.
The battle
On this date the French privateer Jean Bart found a Dutch convoy of 112 merchant ships, escorted by five Dutch ships near Dogger Bank.
The French had more warships and more cannons than the Dutch. Furthermore the French crews were very experienced and led by an exceptional commander, so the outcome of the battle was very predictable. But the French had to hurry, because a large English squadron under admiral John Benbow was aware of the French presence and was looking for them.
The battle started on 19:00 h. when Jean Bart on the Maure attacked the Dutch flagship, the Raadhuis-van-Haarlem. the Dutch fought valiantly for three hours until their captain was killed. Then they surrendered and so did the 4 other ships, one after another.
Jean Bart captured and burned 25 merchant ships until Benbow's squadron of 18 ships approached. The French squadron fled towards Denmark. They remained there until July and then slipped through the allied lines into Dunkirk with 1200 prisoners, on September 27.
Ships involved
France
- Maure, frigate, 54 cannons, flagship of captain Jean Bart: 15 killed, 16 wounded.
- Adroit, frigate, 44 cannons
- Mignon, frigate, 44 cannons
- Jersey, frigate, 40 cannons
- Comte, frigate, 40 cannons
- Alcyon, frigate, 38 cannons
- Milfort, frigate, 36 cannons
- Tigre, fire ship
- Saint Jean, long boat
- Deux Frères, long boat
- Lamberly, 8 cannons, privateer
- Bonne Espérance, 6 cannons, privateer
Netherlands
- Raadhuis-van-Haarlem, 44 cannons, flagship of captain Rutger Bucking (killed): captured and burnt
- Comte de Solnis, 38 cannons, captured
- Wedam, 38 cannons, captured and burnt
- ?, 24 cannons, captured and burnt
- ?, 24 cannons, captured and burnt
- 112 merchant ships, of which 25 were captured and burnt
Bibliography
- Jean-Jacques Michaud, "Le Soleil de glace", revue Navires et Histoire, numéro 36, June/July 2006.
