Battle of Augusta


The Battle of Augusta took place near Augusta, Sicily on 22 April 1676 during the Franco-Dutch War. It featured a French fleet under Abraham Duquesne, and a combined Dutch-Spanish fleet, under the overall command of Francisco de la Cerda.
For much of the battle, only part of each fleet was engaged, and despite heavy casualties and severe damage, neither side lost any ships. It ended when the Dutch admiral, Michiel de Ruyter, extracted his squadron from being attacked by superior French numbers, although he was mortally wounded in doing so. The fleets separated next day without resuming the battle, and the result was inconclusive.

Background

Since both Louis XIV of France and the Dutch Republic viewed control of the Spanish Netherlands as essential for security and trade, it was a contested area for much of the later 17th century. In the 1667-68 War of Devolution with Spain, France occupied much of the region before the Dutch-led Triple Alliance forced them to withdraw in the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. After this, Louis decided the best way to achieve his territorial ambitions was to first defeat the Dutch.
When the Franco-Dutch War began in May 1672, French troops quickly overran large parts of the Netherlands, but by July the Dutch position had stabilised. Concern at French gains brought the Dutch support from Brandenburg-Prussia, Emperor Leopold, and Charles II of Spain. In August 1673, Louis withdrew from the Netherlands, retaining only Grave and Maastricht. In January 1674, Denmark–Norway joined the anti-French coalition, while in February the Treaty of Westminster ended the Third Anglo-Dutch War, depriving Louis of a key ally against the Dutch.
The war expanded into Germany, while in July 1674, the Sicilian town of Messina expelled its Spanish garrison and asked for French protection. A small French squadron arrived in September, but had to withdraw in the face of a larger Spanish fleet. In January 1675, a reinforced French force of 20 ships escorted a supply convoy through the Spanish blockade, then defeated the Spanish fleet in a battle off the Aeolian Islands on 11 February 1675, ending the blockade of Messina.
The Spanish then asked for Dutch assistance. Michiel de Ruyter was sent to the Mediterranean with eighteen larger warships and a number of smaller vessels although, because Dutch resources had been strained by the continuing Franco-Dutch War, these ships were not fully manned. On 8 January 1676, de Ruyter fought a French fleet of roughly equal numbers but greater firepower in the inconclusive Battle of Stromboli, in which the Dutch lost one ship. Later in 1676, de Ruyter was joined by a Spanish squadron under Admiral de la Cerda, who assumed command of the combined force. The two agreed to attack Augusta and force the French fleet to leave Messina.

Battle

The attack on Augusta had the desired effect of drawing the French fleet out to sea and, on 22 April 1676, the two fleets met in the Bay of Catania north of Augusta. De la Cerda rejected de Ruyter's suggestion of mingling Dutch and Spanish ships, and the Spanish formed the combined fleet's centre squadron, with Dutch squadrons in the van, led by de Ruyter, and rear, under Jan de Haan. Both available sources agree that there were 29 French ships of the line and 13 Dutch warships, not all fit to fight in line. Jenkins mentions ten Spanish warships, Blackmore 14, besides several Dutch and Spanish frigates, and also five French frigates and eight fireships, and he also suggests that the French fleet was superior in firepower to its opponents.
Both fleets sailed in line ahead and were organised into three divisions. The battle was largely an intense fight between the two van squadrons, as de la Cerda kept the centre at long range from its French counterpart, possibly because his ships were short of gunpowder. Some ships in the rear of de Haan's squadron had engaged the tail of Gabret's squadron, but otherwise this squadron kept in line with the Spanish centre for most of the battle. The conduct of the Spanish centre enabled the leading ships of Duquesne's centre to join in the attack on de Ruyter's van squadron and engage his outnumbered ships on both sides.
In the fierce fighting between the two van divisions, the French ship Lys was forced out of line and the commander of the French van, Lieutenant-Général Alméras was killed. Towards the end of the day, de Ruyter in Eendracht attacked Duquesne in Saint-Esprit with the intention of boarding. but Tourville in Sceptre, aided by Saint Michel went to their admiral's aid.
Lack of Spanish support allowed the French to envelop de Ruyter's squadron. As a result, the Dutch van suffered more severely than their opponents, with three ships so badly damaged they had to be towed to port by Spanish galleys. Disaster was averted when de Haan moved to support de Ruyter, allowing him to extricate his ships. De la Cerda finally intervened by shielding the Dutch while they retreated from the battle, but de Ruyter was hit in the leg by a cannonball, and died a week later at Syracuse, Sicily.

Aftermath

Next morning, the fleets separated without further fighting, and combined Dutch-Spanish fleet withdrew to Palermo to repair their battle damage, abandoning any attempt to attack Messina. A month later, on 28 May 1676, the French fleet attacked combined Dutch-Spanish fleet and a squadron of Spanish galleys, all at anchor in Palermo harbour in the naval Battle of Palermo and destroyed two Dutch warships by gunfire seven Spanish warships and two galleys and another Dutch ship by the use of fireships in the enclosed harbour. De Haan, who had assumed command of the Dutch fleet, was killed during the battle. Despite this significant victory, the French withdrew from Messina in 1678, and the Spanish regained control of the city.

Order of battle

France (Abraham Duquesne)

Van Squadron (Alméras)

  • Fidèle 56
  • Heureux 54
  • Vermandois 50
  • Pompeux 72
  • Lys 74
  • Magnifique 72
  • Parfait 60
  • Apollon 54
  • Trident 38
;Fireships:
  • Ardent
  • ''Orage''

    Centre Squadron (Duquesne)

  • Fortune 56
  • Aimable 56
  • Joli 46
  • Éclatant 60
  • Sceptre 80
  • Saint-Esprit 72
  • Saint Michel 60
  • Mignon 46
  • Aquilon 50
  • Vaillant 54
;Fireships:
  • Salvador
  • Imprudent
  • ''Inquiet''

    Rear Squadron (Gabaret)

  • Assuré 56
  • Brusque 46
  • Syrène 46
  • Fier 60
  • Agréable 56
  • Sans-Pareil 70
  • Grand 72
  • Sage 54
  • Prudent 54
  • Téméraire 50
Fireships:
  • Dangereux
  • Hameson
  • ''Dame-de-la-Mère''

    Netherlands/Spain (Michiel de Ruyter/Francisco De la Cerda)

De Ruyter Dutch squadron (van)

  • Spiegel 70
  • Groenwijf 36
  • Leiden 36
  • Leeuwen 50
  • Eendracht 76
  • Stad en Lande 54
  • Zuiderhuis 46
  • Damiaten 34
  • Oosterwijk 60
  • Tonijn 8
  • Kreeft 8
  • Ter Goes 8
  • Salm 4
  • Melkmeisje 2
  • Zwarte Tas 4

    De la Cerda Spanish squadron (centre)

  • Nuestra Señora del Pilar 64/74 Almirante Francisco Pereira Freire de La Cerda
  • Santiago 80
  • San Antonio de Napoles 44/46
  • San Felipe 40/44
  • San Carlo/Salvator delle Fiandre/San Salvador 40/42/48
  • San Joaquin/San Juan 80
  • San Gabriel 40
  • Santa Ana 54/60
  • Nuestra Señora del Rosario 50
  • Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe
  • ''Nuestra Señora del Rosario y Las Animas''

    De Haan Dutch squadron (rear)

  • Steenbergen 68
  • Wakende Boei 46
  • Edam 34
  • Kraanvogel 46
  • Gouda 76
  • Provincie van Utrecht 60
  • Vrijheid 50
  • Harderwijk 46
  • Prinsen Wapen 8
  • Rouaan 8
  • Roos 8
  • Sint Salvador 6
  • Jakob en Anna 4
  • Witte tas 4

    Commemoration

The French Navy has commemorated the Battle of Augusta by naming both the and the submarine, lead ship of the successful, after it.