The Battle on the Zuiderzee (October 11, 1573[1]) was a naval battle during the Eighty Years' War in which a Dutch fleet destroyed a larger and better-equipped Spanish fleet on the Zuiderzee.
During the years prior to the Battle of the Zuiderzee, the largest Dutch city, Amsterdam, had not joined the uprising and remained loyal to the king of Spain. Because supply routes for cities in the area controlled by both the Spanish and the Dutch almost exclusively went through the Zuiderzee, Dutch rebels (calling themselves de Geuzen) attempted to disturb this route as much as possible in small skirmishes and raids against Spanish ports. In 1573 the Spanish Governor Maximilian de Henin Count of Bossu sent a fleet consisting of about 30 ships with a crew of over 1,300 people with the prerogative to halt the attacks and destroy the enemy force. This fleet also included his flagship, the Inquisition.[3] Weighing in at just over 250 tons, the Inquisition had reinforced sides consisting of armored plating. Opposing Henin's fleet was a small fleet the Gueux managed to assemble. This fleet consisted of 24 much smaller and lightly armed ships. Altogether, this fleet consisted of around 700 men.
Battleedit
Henin and his fleet left Amsterdam on October 5 and immediately hit a standstill in the midst of his attack. Gueux forces continually attacked Henin's fleet. Due to the Gueux's lack of heavily armed ships, instead of a frontal assault against the Spanish fleet, they had chosen to attempt to board, and if possible capture the Spanish ships. If capture was not possible, the boats would be destroyed. Trying to minimize their casualties against the heavier guns, the Gueux attempted to head straight for the Spanish ships. But during the battle, heavy winds hindered the Dutch's attempts greatly, as the winds prevented their ships from getting near to the Spanish ships, and thus halting their chance of boarding. With their main mode of attack thwarted, the Dutch fleet was no match for the Spanish guns, and suffered heavy losses.
It was not until October 11 that the wind turned and the Dutch could execute a surprise attack. During this attack, the Spanish flagship was boarded by the Dutch and during the course of the battle ran aground.
The rest of the Spanish fleet fled and Maximilien de Hénin-Liétard and his crew surrendered after the Dutch promised to spare their lives.
Aftermathedit
After this lost battle and the failed Siege of Alkmaar, Alva realized that the struggle to conquer North Holland was lost, and he abandoned Amsterdam and returned to Spain.
Referencesedit
^ abGawronski, Jerzy; van Holk, André; Schokkenbroek, Joost (September 25, 2017). Ships And Maritime Landscapes: Proceedings of the Thirteenth International Symposium on Boat and Ship Archaeology, Amsterdam 2012. Barkhuis. p. 78. ISBN9492444291.
^Grant, R. G. (October 24, 2017). 1001 Battles That Changed the Course of History. Book Sales. p. 286. ISBN0785835539.
^Duke, A. C. (December 6, 2012). Britain and the Netherlands: Volume VI War and Society Paper Delivered to the Sixth Anglo-Dutch Historical Conference. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 22. ISBN9400996748.
battle, zuiderzee, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, august, . This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Battle on the Zuiderzee news newspapers books scholar JSTOR August 2019 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Battle on the Zuiderzee October 11 1573 1 was a naval battle during the Eighty Years War in which a Dutch fleet destroyed a larger and better equipped Spanish fleet on the Zuiderzee Battle on the ZuiderzeePart of the Eighty Years WarThe battle painted by Jan Theunisz Blanckerhoff DateOctober 11 1573LocationZuiderzee now IJsselmeer ResultDutch victory Duke of Alva is forced to abandon AmsterdamBelligerentsDutch Rebels SpainCommanders and leadersCornelis Jansz DirckszCount of Boussu POW 1 Strength24 ships 700 sailors30 ships 1300 sailorsCasualties and losses1 ship lost 25 sailors lost 2 6 ships captured 300 sailors captured Contents 1 Prelude 2 Battle 3 Aftermath 4 ReferencesPrelude editDuring the years prior to the Battle of the Zuiderzee the largest Dutch city Amsterdam had not joined the uprising and remained loyal to the king of Spain Because supply routes for cities in the area controlled by both the Spanish and the Dutch almost exclusively went through the Zuiderzee Dutch rebels calling themselves de Geuzen attempted to disturb this route as much as possible in small skirmishes and raids against Spanish ports In 1573 the Spanish Governor Maximilian de Henin Count of Bossu sent a fleet consisting of about 30 ships with a crew of over 1 300 people with the prerogative to halt the attacks and destroy the enemy force This fleet also included his flagship the Inquisition 3 Weighing in at just over 250 tons the Inquisition had reinforced sides consisting of armored plating Opposing Henin s fleet was a small fleet the Gueux managed to assemble This fleet consisted of 24 much smaller and lightly armed ships Altogether this fleet consisted of around 700 men Battle editHenin and his fleet left Amsterdam on October 5 and immediately hit a standstill in the midst of his attack Gueux forces continually attacked Henin s fleet Due to the Gueux s lack of heavily armed ships instead of a frontal assault against the Spanish fleet they had chosen to attempt to board and if possible capture the Spanish ships If capture was not possible the boats would be destroyed Trying to minimize their casualties against the heavier guns the Gueux attempted to head straight for the Spanish ships But during the battle heavy winds hindered the Dutch s attempts greatly as the winds prevented their ships from getting near to the Spanish ships and thus halting their chance of boarding With their main mode of attack thwarted the Dutch fleet was no match for the Spanish guns and suffered heavy losses It was not until October 11 that the wind turned and the Dutch could execute a surprise attack During this attack the Spanish flagship was boarded by the Dutch and during the course of the battle ran aground The rest of the Spanish fleet fled and Maximilien de Henin Lietard and his crew surrendered after the Dutch promised to spare their lives Aftermath editAfter this lost battle and the failed Siege of Alkmaar Alva realized that the struggle to conquer North Holland was lost and he abandoned Amsterdam and returned to Spain References edit a b Gawronski Jerzy van Holk Andre Schokkenbroek Joost September 25 2017 Ships And Maritime Landscapes Proceedings of the Thirteenth International Symposium on Boat and Ship Archaeology Amsterdam 2012 Barkhuis p 78 ISBN 9492444291 Grant R G October 24 2017 1001 Battles That Changed the Course of History Book Sales p 286 ISBN 0785835539 Duke A C December 6 2012 Britain and the Netherlands Volume VI War and Society Paper Delivered to the Sixth Anglo Dutch Historical Conference Springer Science amp Business Media p 22 ISBN 9400996748 52 33 N 5 10 E 52 550 N 5 167 E 52 550 5 167 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Battle on the Zuiderzee amp oldid 1161882129, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
