C05 Southwold Bay 1672

Southwold Bay
May 28th 1672

Anatomy of a sea battle
Barry Hilton
How to use this guide
This scenario recreates a section of the Battle of Solebay per cent of the Dutch fleet is used in the game and the
or Southwold Bay, which took place along the Suffolk same percentage of the English ships are present. If the
coast on May 28th, 1672. A Dutch fleet of seventy-five French ships are added to the total, the English
ships attacked a combined Anglo-French fleet of ninety- represent eleven per cent of the total fleet. The French
three ships. The Allied fleet was in a leeward position fought a separate action against the Dutch squadron
and anchored along a stretch of the coast extending for under Banckert’s comprising twenty-five ships meaning,
fifteen miles. The battle was a long and bruising affair the tabletop force used by the Dutch in this refight
lasting from dawn until dusk the details of which are not represents twenty-five per cent of the ships which
fully understood. Its outcome is variously described as attacked the two English squadrons. Although the
inconclusive and a Dutch victory in subsequent accounts proportion of ships may seem biased towards the Dutch,
and evaluations. Much controversy surrounds it, the points values in Mad for War terms are identical
particularly regarding the performance and political with the Dutch having 2,529 points and the English 2,530
motivations of the French contingent which formed the points. The English are disadvantaged in two significant
White or van squadron of the fleet. The Allied fleet was ways which mirror the conditions of the actual battle.
commanded by James Stuart, Duke of York, Lord High Firstly, they are at anchor in an extended line very close
Admiral and heir to the throne. The Dutch fleet was to a lee shore. This position and the direction of the wind
commanded by Lieutenant-Admiral Michiel mean the only option available to the Duke of York is to
Adriaenszoon de Ruyter. The Dutch attacked from an turn into the wind and get out to sea. Easy to say,
easterly or south easterly direction preceded by a wave incredibly difficult to do. In the scenario, English ships
of fireships and frigates. The wind was light, and the must check at the beginning of each game turn to
battle started early in the morning. This large wargame determine whether they are ready for sea. Until each
involves a fraction of the ships on each side but is ship passes the check it cannot move or fire as it is
representative in terms of ship type and mix. Seventeen assumed that crew is still arriving from shore, or the
4Play wargaming scenarios WordTwister Publishing 2022

How to use this guide
ship is being prepared. This variability simulates the The idea of this game and supporting document is to
surprise advantage gained by the Dutch on the day. The explain the mechanics of recreating a 17th century sea
portion of the English fleet chosen as representative is battle on the tabletop and to encourage other gamers to
the central division of the Red Squadron – the heart of engage and be captivated by its fascination and beauty.
the fleet formed around the flagship Prince of 100 guns. Age of Sail gaming is so unpredictable. The assets are an
All but three battleships and a single frigate from the important component, but the game is governed by the
division are depicted on the table. The Dutch force weather and the sea. What gamers might wish to do,
models the van division of de Ruyter’s central squadron. plan to do, must be offered first to the elements to
Although some of the named ships may have sailed in determine whether they agree with the decision. No
other parts of the squadron, no definitive list has been wargames I have ever played are as difficult to second
found and I am confident it is paradigmatic of the mix guess. Even when the chips or ships are down, it is still
and type of ships serving under Lieutenant-Admiral Aert possible to gain some weather luck and pull back a near
van Nes on the day. The allocation of frigates and hopeless situation. The guide is laid out in a form which I
fireships is proportional to the total number used in the hope caters to the widest church of gamers. There is
first wave attack and represents one sixth or roughly detail on the forces and points values aplenty. There is a
seventeen percent of those types of ships as detailed in carefully recorded narrative of the game written in real
Quintin Barry’s From Solebay to the Texel. The officers time over six three-hour gaming and photography
named are all historically accurate although some have sessions which aimed to catch the essence of the battle
been elevated as character personalities within the and all its exciting and quirky little moments. There is a
points system of Mad for War and provide a rules-based mechanical breakdown of key moments, ship
advantage as opposed to a simple historical name check. movements, maps, scenario background, a fleet list,
One example of the former is Jan van Brakel aboard rules analysis, tactical reflection and, there are lots of
Groot Hollandia. Rear-Admiral John Chicheley stats on shooting, damage and outcomes.
commanding Royal Katherine is an example of the latter. Welcome to the battle!

The Dutch Fleet
The Fleets – Dutch (2,529 points)
Eendraght
Category 8 (24 Strength points). 76 guns. Gun type: Heavy. Speed: Constant. Hull: Sturdy. Crew: Salts. Marines: Yes.
Characters: Lieutenant-Admiral Aert van Nes, Master gunner, Carpenter, Chirurgeon 490 points.
Eendraght belonged to the Admiralty of the Maze and was built in 1665. She is closely associated with Aert van Nes and
featured prominently in all the major battles of the 3rd Anglo-Dutch War – Southwold, Schooneveld and The Texel. She
carried 14 x 24 pdr and 26 x 18 pdr, the reason for her gun rating for this scenario. She is a very powerful flagship.
Category 8 (24 Strength points).
Reigersbergen
72 guns. Gun type: Middling.
Speed: Weatherly. Hull: Solid.
Crew: Able. Marines: Yes.
Characters: Master mariner.
319 points. Built in 1665 for the
Admiralty of Amsterdam. She
carried 6 x 24pdr and 20 x 18 pdr.
She was also known as Blauwe
Reiger or Reiger. Reiger means
heron. She is not listed in the
Dutch order of battle for any of
the other major battles of the 3rd
Anglo-Dutch war. She was sold
out of the fleet in 1690. At
Southwold Bay her captain was
Commandeur Jacob van der
Meeuwen.

The Fleets - Dutch
Waesdorp
Category 7 (16 Strength points). 68 guns. Gun type: Middling. Speed: Weatherly. Hull: Solid. Crew: Able. Marines: Yes.
Characters: Carpenter, Pastor. 214 points.
Waesdorp was built for the Amsterdam Admiralty in either 1663 or 1664 and seems to have served until 1691. She was
part of the central squadron at the battles of Schooneveld and The Texel. Her captain at Southwold Bay had an army rank.
Provincie van Utrecht

60 guns. Gun type: Middling.
Speed: Weatherly. Hull: Solid.
Crew: Salts. Marines: Yes.
Characters: Captain Jan van
Gelder. 270 points.
Built for the Amsterdam
Admiralty in 1663, she served
until 1696. She was transferred to
Cornelis Tromp’s van squadron
for the battles of Schooneveld
and The Texel. She was part of de
Ruyter’s squadron in the
Mediterranean in 1676 fighting in
the Dutch-Spanish fleet at the
battles of Stromboli, Etna and
Palermo against the French.

The Fleets - Dutch
Deventer
Category 7 (24 Strength points). 60
guns. Gun type: Middling. Speed:
Weatherly. Hull: Solid. Crew: Able.
Marines: Yes. Characters:
Carpenter. 203 points.
Deventer was built for the

Amsterdam Admiralty in 1665 and
was wrecked whilst damaged in
1673. Although listed as carrying 66
guns, she appears to have shipped
only 60 at Southwold Bay. Her first
commander François Palm, was the
officer commanding Waesdorp at
Southwold Bay. Deventer was part
of the central squadron under de
Ruyter at the Battle of
Schooneveld.
Category 7 (16 Strength points). 60 guns. Gun type: Middling. Speed: Weatherly. Hull: Solid. Crew: Salts. Marines: Yes.
Characters: Captain Jan van Brakel, Master gunner, Master mariner, Carpenter. 420 points.
A Maze Admiralty ship built as a result of the 1st Anglo-Dutch War. She carried 66 guns in 1667. She had 4 x 24 pdr guns.
Groot Hollandia

The Fleets - Dutch
Utrecht
Characters: Master mariner. 191 points.
Utrecht was a Maze Admiralty frigate built in 1660 and sometimes called Wapen van Utrecht (Arms of Utrecht). She was
present at the Battle of the Texel but appears to have transferred to Banckert’s Rear squadron. She is listed with 42 guns.
Fireships
Draak
Draak Velsen Category 5 (10 Strength points). 4
Vrede
guns. Gun type: Light. Speed:
Weatherly. Hull: Weak. Crew:
Able. Marines: No. 60 points.
Also known as Draeck or Groene

Draak. She had a crew of 20.
Vrede and Velsen

Weatherly. Hull: Weak. Crew:
Able. Marines: No. 60 points.
Typical Dutch branders.

The Fleets - Dutch
Windhond
Edam Damiaten
Characters: Carpenter, Pastor. 214 points.
Frenetic activity strove to ready every ship before the Dutch descended upon the extended line of the Allied fleet
stretched along the Suffolk coast from beyond Southwold Bay in the north, to Aldeburgh in the south. The first three
Frigates
Category 5 (10 Strength points). Gun type: Light. Speed: Lively. Hull: Weak. Crew: Able. Marines: No.
Damiaten: 34 guns. Characters: Master mariner 110 points.
This Amsterdam Admiralty frigate was built in 1663 and served till 1693. She is listed as present at all the major battles of
the 3rd Anglo-Dutch War. She was chartered to the Danish Navy between 1666 and 1667. She was heavily damaged at the
Battle of Etna in 1676 and her captain was killed during the action.
Windhond: 34 guns. Characters: Carpenter 85 points.
This was a Friesland Admiralty frigate built in 1667. She was fitted out as a brander during the 3rd Anglo-Dutch War but
never deployed as such. She does not appear in the OoB for Schooneveld but is included for The Texel carrying 30 guns.
Edam: 32 guns. 60 points.
An Amsterdam Admiralty frigate built in 1662 and serving till 1686. She was pierced for 36 guns and had a crew of 160.
She was present at both Schooneveld and The Texel.

The English Fleet
The Fleets – English (2,530 points)
Prince
Category 10 (36 Strength points). 100 guns. Gun type: Heavy. Speed: Hulking. Hull: Sturdy. Crew: Able. Marines: Yes.
Characters: The Duke of York, Master gunner, Master mariner, Carpenter, Chirurgeon 766 points.
This mighty First Rate was launched in 1670 displacing 1,400 tons. She carried an enormously heavy set of cannon
including 24 x cannon of seven and 32 culverins. Her broadside weight was nearly 1,000 imperial pounds. She had a
wartime complement of 800 men and served as flagship to the Lord High Admiral, James Stuart, Duke of York.

66 guns. Gun type: Heavy. Speed:
Constant. Hull: Solid. Crew: Salts.
Fairfax Marines:
Carpenter.
Yes. Characters:
270 points.
Commissioned for the Republic in
1654, she served in the Anglo-
Spanish War and was a hard
working fighting ship until she ran
aground and was scrapped in
1674. She carried 26 x 24 pdr and
24 x 12 pdrs. Winfield lists her
carrying 72 guns in 1672.

The Fleets - English
Victory
Category 9 (30 Strength points). 84 guns. Gun type: Heavy. Speed: Hulking. Hull: Sturdy. Crew: Able. Marines: Yes.
Characters: The Earl of Ossory, Carpenter. 386 points.
One of the original Stuart era Great Ships, Victory was rebuilt in 1664. She was a heavy old warhorse which fought in
several major battles. She carried 20 x cannon of seven, 6 x 24 pdrs, 26 culverins and 28 demi-culverins. At Southwold Bay
her complement was nearly 550 men. She was eventually scrapped in 1691, too rotten to be rebuilt again.

76 guns. Gun type: Heavy. Speed:
Royal Constant. Hull: Sturdy. Crew:

Able. Marines: Yes. Characters:
Katherine
Master gunner 339 points.
She was one of the first major

units built after the Restoration
and came into service in 1665.
She was scuttled on the Medway
in 1667 to prevent capture but
was raised and refitted. At the
time of the battle she carried 10
cannon of seven and 12 demi-
cannon, 30 culverins, 22 demi-
culverins and 2 sakers. Royal
Katherine went on to serve into
the 18th century.

Dreadnought
Category 7 (16 Strength points). 60 guns. Gun type: Heavy. Speed: Constant. Hull: Sturdy. Crew: Able. Marines: Yes.
Characters: Master gunner. 240 points.
Originally built in 1654 for the Commonwealth as Torrington, she was renamed at the Restoration. She had many famous
captains including Henry Terne, John Harman, Edward Spragge and Robert Mohun. Sir John Chicheley, who is aboard
Royal Katherine was her captain in the year before the battle.
Yarmouth
guns. Gun type: Middling. Speed:
Marines: Yes. Characters: Carpenter.
153 points.
Launched during the Commonwealth

era in 1654, she saw extensive service
through her entire life until scrapped
in 1680. She fought in the major
battles of both the 2nd and 3rd Anglo-
Dutch Wars. Her heaviest ordnance
was 22 x 24 pdrs. She also carried 2
culverins and 20 x demi culverins.
Yarmouth was a typical navy
workhorse and ships like this did
much of the heavy lifting in terms of
days at sea and foreign service.

Bristol
Characters: Captain Charles Wylde. 153 points.
Another Commonwealth era ship commissioned in 1653 and with extensive service. She fought at Santa Cruz in 1657,
served frequently in the Mediterranean, fought at the major battles of the 2nd and 3rd Anglo-Dutch Wars. She had many
famous captains including Sir John Chicheley, Sir William Berkeley, Arthur Herbert and Henry Killigrew.

Adventure guns. Gun type: Middling. Speed:
Marines: No. 90 points.
Launched during the Civil War in

1646, this ship was a veteran with
service at countless major battles
through from the pursuit of Prince
Rupert in 1648 to several significant
actions of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd
Anglo-Dutch Wars, the
Mediterranean against pirates,
duties in the Baltic and fighting
against the French. After a rebuild
in 1691 she had been reclassified as
a fifth rate vessel.

Phoenix
Category 6 (12 Strength points). 40 guns. Gun type: Middling. Speed: Weatherly. Hull: Solid. Crew: Able. Marines: No.
90 points. Phoenix was a very new ship, launched in 1671 with Southwold Bay being her first action. She was classed as a
fourth rate frigate and carried 20 x demi-culverins and 18 x sakers as her main armament. She performed extensive
foreign service in the Mediterranean, Caribbean and the Far East being a typical ship used by the navy for these kinds of
duties including anti-piracy patrols. She was run aground off Malaga in 1692 to prevent capture by a French squadron.

Fanfan
Lively. Hull: Weak. Crew: Salts.
Marines: No. 33 points.
This ketch/yacht was built in 1666

and was a royal plaything. She
saw active service and
participated in the great raid on
the Vlie in the year of her launch
under Robert Holmes. Her captain
at Southwold was John Pibust.
She had a crew of thirty and her
four minion guns fired a shot
weight of 6 pounds, a mere 0.6%
of the broadside weight of the
biggest ship in the fleet Prince.
She was active until 1692.

The Scenario
The Scenario
The table used for this game was 6 x 4 feet. The set up pattern below is followed. The Dutch must be led in by
photograph shows 4 x 4 feet as the full deployment of three fireships each accompanied by a frigate. The
each force was contained within this area. The extra 2 x remaining frigate and six men o’ war come behind. The
4 foot section was placed to the left (or north) of the set English ships should be laid out with the flagship within
up below. As the English ships began to move, the action the central two feet of the four feet north-south
will spill north. Only after Turn 12 did the additional deployment. The ships should be within 20 inches of the
section of table become a significant. Placing this set up leeward table edge. None of the English ships are ready
in context, the van division of the Red squadron would as the action begins. Throw a signature die for each on
be further to the left and the rear division, to the right of T1 and subtract 2 from the score. If it passes the skill
the photo. Beyond those, to the north would be the check of 5+ it is activated. On T2, subtract 1 from the
entire Blue squadron, and to the right, beyond the rear score for each ship, passing on 5+. From Turn 3 make an
division, the White (French) squadron. With this table unmodified skill check for each until all are active. Un-
representing roughly three miles by two, the full battle activated ships cannot move or shoot. The Dutch are to
might cover a length of 30 x 6 feet. The ship models are windward so gain +1 on initiative scores. As this is a
1/1200 scale and the rule system is Mad for War with surprise attack they gain an additional +1 meaning most
one model representing one ship. Each game turn turns, the initiative roll off gives +2 to the Dutch. On Turn
approximates to around twenty minutes of real time. 3, check to determine if the wind drops. Throw a d3. On
The game begins at 5am on May 28th (June 7th), 1672, so a score of 1 it has, meaning; every turn, each ship
it is after dawn has broken. The game has no turn limit throws a d2 losing 1 or 2 inches from its move. This will
and should be played to a conclusion. The deployment of affect the slower ships. Consequently, often they don’t
the two forces is not prescriptive as long as the general move. Allow them a single turn in such situations.
Wind (ESE)
Leeward table edge

Maps
Lowestoft Lowestoft
Rear
Rear
Centre
Centre
Southwold Southwold
Van
Southwold Southwold
Bay Bay
Van
Wind
Wind
Aldeburgh Aldeburgh
North North
Finding accurate information and particularly maps of I chose to imagine the Dutch moving more from the
the battle, has been very difficult. The left-hand version east. This is still a difficult position relative to the wind
here is a facsimile of something I found on Pinterest but the attack direction would be far more
(source: Morgan Buckhurst). I have no idea of the advantageous and makes it difficult for the Allies to
provenance of this diagram. The three Allied squadrons move out to sea. The scenario itself is located in the
are oriented with the van toward the north east in each white box area overlaid on the English Red squadron.
case. Note the wind direction. The Dutch appear to be There would have been a similar number of Red
moving in an extremely odd direction – straight into the squadron ships both to the north and the south of the
south easterly wind. The three squadrons then peel off battle area. This is of course pure conjecture on my
south west to attack the heads of each Allied squadron. part but it puts the tabletop action in context both
The French are known to have headed south east and geographically and in terms of the orientation of
away from the English squadrons followed by nearly one hundred and seventy warships.
Banckert’s van squadron.

Chronology
An analysis of the wargame
Chronology
This section walks through the battle turn by turn with of how challenging it can be to change course and make
wide-angled shots of the table to enable readers to repeated runs back into action. As in real life, this can
follow the movement of the ships relative to each other. take quite some time on the table top. A perfect
What is noticeable is how the ordered deployments example is provided by the most southerly English ship
gradually disintegrate as ships become engaged and as the battle opens, Fairfax. She got underway just after
damaged. Naval battles can look very confusing and to 6 am but was not in a position to contribute to the battle
enable as much clarity as possible, ships in action or with until after 1 pm. The most significant factor during this
notable events associated, are labelled and the slow moving engagement was the light wind. Originally
accompanying text explains in detail what is happening. south by southeast, it dropped off just before 6am and
In almost every photograph each flagship is identified remained so light that most heavy ships spent much of
with an ensign near or above it. Wrecks are in general, the action moving extremely slowly. It is useful to read
not identified and as the battle progresses, the number this factual and sequential battle timeline in conjunction
grows creating a hazard-littered environment which with the prose version of the battle in the next section.
greatly influences the course of the ships remaining in That provides the most complete view of the massive
action. The battle lasted over eleven hours of real time amount of interesting events and incident which took
with each turn equating to approximately twenty place. Additional perspective is offered by also consulting
minutes. Following individual ships gives an indication the Ship Tales, Statistics and rules mechanisms sections.
5am. Van Nes’s division catches the English Red squadron at anchor in Southwold Bay on the Suffolk coast.

The battle’s evolution
Wind (ESE)
0500 hours / Turn 0: Wind from east by south east and light. Visibility is good and the weather dry. The van division of
the Dutch 1st Squadron approaches the Centre Division of the Allied Red Squadron at anchor in Southwold Bay. The Dutch
attack is preceded by three branders escorted by three fast frigates. With these the Dutch hope to panic the enemy and
prevent any kind of cohesive response. All along the battle line a similar approach has been adopted by the Dutch fleet.
Wind (ESE)
0520 hours / Turn 1: Three English ships have completed their preparations and are underway. The 100-gun flagship
Prince (indicated by Union flag), Chicheley’s 76-gun Royal Katherine and Prince Rupert’s private yacht Fanfan. The Dutch
are bearing west by northwest with the slow flagship Eendraght (indicated by the Prinsvlag), already trailing. The fireships
and their escorting frigates are attempting to penetrate the fleet whilst avoiding its large guns which all point seaward.

Wind (ESE)
0540 hours / Turn 2: Five English ships are now operational. The faster Dutch frigates are outrunning their branders. Two
pairs have altered course to make a pass to stem and stern of Royal Katherine which is furthest to windward of all the
English vessels. Fanfan is picking up speed but Prince is struggling to make headway in the light wind have weighed
anchor nearly three quarters of an hour prior. Eendraght is trailing further behind her division.
Wind (ESE)
0600 hours / Turn 3: The wind has just dropped away significantly. Victory is now underway but lies out of shot to the
right. Captain Cox aboard Prince is slowly bringing her behind the anchored Adventure to avoid fireship attack. Royal
Katherine has frigates about to pass off her bow and stern almost simultaneously. A group of Dutch ships is heading into
the bay well north of the English squadron with the intention of attacking southward. This is led by the frigate Damiaten.

Wind (ESE)
0620 hours / Turn 4: Cox has manoeuvred Prince to leeward of Adventure. The Dutch frigates are passing Royal
Katherine in parallel and the battle begins in earnest. The combined fire of around thirty guns at this range inflicts heavy
damage on Chicheley’s ship. The frigate Phoenix manoeuvres to interdict the smaller and faster Dutch frigates luffing up
off the larboard quarter of Royal Katherine. Yarmouth has hauled up her anchors and gets underway.
Wind (ESE)
0640 hours / Turn 5: Royal Katherine (RK) wreathed in gun smoke is destroying the burning fireship Draak, off her
starboard beam. Windhond is under ineffective fire from Dreadnought at centre. The main actors of the next hour are
named for positioning. Yarmouth marks the extreme north of the English position. Note the location of Victory, a very
slow moving ship which will work hard for the next seven hours to come to the support of her flagship in almost windless
conditions. Beyond her to the south is Fairfax. The slower English ships had much to do to be relevant in the battle.

Wind (ESE)
0700 hours / Turn 6: In trying to aid Royal Katherine, Phoenix came under the guns of Deventer. Her magazine exploded
causing fatal damage. Provincie van Utrecht holed Bristol which ultimately led to her loss seven hours later. Adventure
can be seen firing a rare double broadside at left. Note the orientation of Deventer to Victory. They would become
entangled within the hour. Note the wreck of Draak to the left of the burning Phoenix.
Wind (ESE)
0720 hours / Turn 7: The barely perceptible wind is now hampering both sides as ships are unable to manoeuvre and
coordinate. Deventer miss-times a raking broadside on Bristol and her course has sealed her fate. Royal Katherine is
trying to gain sea room but three large Dutch units are closing on her. Velsen has recently collided with Deventer and
drifts, badly damaged. Note the positions of Waesdorp and Adventure and the two Dutch frigates completely through the
English positions and now between them and the lee shore.

Wind (ESE)
0740 hours / Turn 8: Deventer has collided with Victory. Royal Katherine in now facing three large and powerful Dutch
men o’ war alone. Prince is involved in a farcical game of cat and mouse with the brander Vrede which is trying to find an
angle of attack. Van Brakel’s Groot Hollandia makes her entrance and is met with ineffectual fire from Yarmouth which
fired only once more in the battle. A life or death struggle between Waesdorp and Adventure is well underway. Three
Dutch frigates are now to leeward of the English squadron.
Wind (ESE)
0800 hours / Turn 9: Ossory orders his men to grapple Deventer and she is quickly captured. Far to the north, Adventure
and Waesdorp remain locked in a desperate struggle. Royal Katherine opens fire on Reigersbergen with some success.
Prince’s mighty guns speak for the first time reducing Edam to a wreck as she and Windhond plague Dreadnought. Van
Brakel enters the fray with an opening broadside on the English flagship. Yarmouth attempts in vain to beat up to assist
the struggling Adventure.

Wind (ESE)
0820 hours / Turn 10: Adventure beats the odds and captures Waesdorp. Royal Katherine is under real pressure as three
of van Nes’s most powerful ships threaten to overhaul her. Prince struggles to avoid the attention of the nimble Vrede. As
Ossory installs a prize crew about Deventer, Utrecht pours fire into her larboard quarter. Fairfax has finally managed to
struggle to the edge of the fighting zone but is still well off the action. It would be another five hours before she was able
to make any meaningful contribution .
Wind (ESE)
0920 hours / Turn 13: The dramatic and unexpected end of Dreadnought. Already crippled by Groot Hollandia and
hopelessly circling, a further broadside ignites her magazine and she is blown apart. At the moment of destruction her
guns were firing at Vrede which ironically was sunk by pieces of flying wreckage from Dreadnought. Reigersbergen has
assumed responsibility for sinking the damaged Royal Katherine and dogs her relentlessly. Adventure and her prize sail
north.

Wind (ESE)
0940 hours / Turn 14: Adventure has returned, leaving her prize to travel to Lowestoft unaccompanied. The respective
flagships are the nearest the have been all day with Prince attempting to relieve pressure on Chicheley’s ship by firing on
Reigersbergen. Van Brakel is windbound to leeward of the battle and hemmed in by various wrecks and hulks. A new and
intense phase of fighting will shortly begin as Provincie van Utrecht pushes north to menace the scattered English vessels.
Wind (ESE)
1000 hours / Turn 15: Reigersbergen continues the reduction of Royal Katherine as Bristol and Fairfax cram on full sail
in an attempt to come up to support her before it is too late. Victory has spotted the trapped Groot Hollandia but her
progress is painfully slow. The crew of Velsen affected significant repairs in the hours since her collision with Deventer.
She now picks her way through the mayhem in an effort to attack the flagship still some distance to the north.

Wind (ESE)
1020 hours / Turn 16: The area of combat is once more condensing and becoming claustrophobic. Royal Katherine finally
has support, but Bristol is already listing from previous damage and may herself fall prey to enemy fire. Velsen has closed
the gap on Prince but she has been spotted by the gentlemen adventurers aboard Fanfan which is steering to intercept.
Provincie van Utrecht appears outnumbered and outgunned, but is about to deliver a masterclass in naval warfare.
Wind (ESE)
1040 hours / Turn 17: Provincie van Utrecht has reloaded quickly after her ranging shots and rakes York’s flagship. The
English frigates are windbound and helpless. Van Brakel’s crew exhale as Victory was not able to reload in time to rake
their ship which now navigates through the narrowest of channels between the wrecks of Dreadnought and Windhond.
Fanfan has ‘charged’ Velsen and her young bucks are swarming aboard the lightly crewed brander.

Wind (ESE)
1120 hours / Turn 19: Adventure, windbound and immobile has been boarded by Provincie van Utrecht and is fighting
for her life, and losing. The two flagships finally range close enough for Prince to open fire with her last ammunition whilst
Eendraght is distracted by Bristol. Fanfan has captured the brander Velsen and a plan is hatched to use it against
Eendraght. Fairfax has finally managed to attain an advantageous shooting position across van Nes’s stern.
Wind (SSE)
1140 hours / Turn 20: The wind has moved to south by southeast but is no stronger. Just before noon, the English are
beset with disasters, all caught in this shot. Adventure is already a prize. Yarmouth has surrendered in a lighting follow-on
by Captain van Gelder. Victory and Fairfax can only offer ragged fire against Eendraght despite their raking positions. The
Dutch flagship tears Bristol apart whilst Reigersbergen finally delivers the grace shot to Royal Katherine causing her to
explode and sink. The Red squadron is disintegrating.

Wind (SSE)
1240 hours / Turn 23: The flagships are broadside to broadside but Prince has long since run out of ammunition and
Eendraght is unable to reload to take the shot. Velsen has just bounced off her starboard side whilst an attempt to ignite
was bungled resulting in damage to the fireship. All Dutch vessels bar the flagship have spent their ammunition and are
headed for home including van Gelder’s two prizes (top left). Victory is low in the water and barely moving. Only a handful
of ships remain mobile and operational.
Wind (SSE)
1300 hours / Turn 24: Victory expends her last ammunition whilst Fairfax keeps up the pressure on van Nes’s lone
flagship. The Dutch admiral seeks out the perfect position from which to rake Prince.

Wind (SSE)
1400 hours / Turn 27: Van Nes finally takes the shot he has been searching for and although it wrought enormous
damage it was not enough to put the English flagship out of action. At this point the few other ships still remaining in the
battle are far away. Fairfax is manoeuvring to come about into the wind to northward whilst Velsen is attempting to
come north to have another fire-run at Eendraght. The rest of the Dutch squadron and its prizes, are moving southeast.
Wind (SSE)
1420 hours / Turn 28: Eendraght expends her last ammunition which causes further damage to Prince but the great
flagship is large and able to absorb enormous punishment. She remains operational.

Wind (S)
1520 hours / Turn 31: The wind has moved into the south but remains very light. Velsen’s amateurs had done well to
bring her around and pursue Eendraght but the effort was fruitless and having successfully fired, she burnt out
harmlessly. The two flags ships danced out to sea with three boarding attempts by Van Nes’s ship being unsuccessful.
Fairfax worked hard, cramming on sail in an effort to overhaul the outnumbered Dutch vessel.
Wind (S)
1600 hours / Turn 33 Fairfax shoots to slow Eendraght before attempting to board her. This was successful although
Prince was unable to do likewise and the smaller English ship was overwhelmed. The battle ended by half past four.

Southwold Bay
May 28th 1672
Battle report
The Battle of Southwold Bay
Frenetic activity strove to ready every ship before the of the Red squadron lying exactly at the midpoint of the
Dutch descended upon the extended line of the Allied fifteen miles long line, was under attack from the van
fleet stretched along the Suffolk coast, from beyond division of Lieutenant-Admiral de Ruyter’s squadron. In
Southwold Bay in the north, to Aldeburgh in the south. command of this segment of the Dutch thrust was the
The first three vessels of the Red squadron to get highly capable Lieutenant-Admiral Aert van Nes with his
underway were the 100-gun Prince, the 76-gun Royal flag in Eendraght, a new and powerful 76-gun ship, and
Katherine and well to leeward, the yacht Fanfan. Prince one of the largest in the fleet. Ahead of his battleships a
was flagship to the entire fleet including the French screen of branders shielded by light frigates attempted
White squadron lying off Dunwich at the southern tip of to disrupt English efforts to form up by targeting the
the line and the Blue squadron, anchored north of largest and slowest vessels. This advanced guard was
Southwold Bay. In command was James Stuart, Duke of directed by Jan van Brakel, hero of the Medway, in Groot
York, Lord High Admiral and brother to the king. His Hollandia. Just as the leading Dutch ships reached
performance today, having let his fleet be surprised at extreme range, the southeast wind dropped slowing
anchor, would have enormous implications for the attackers and defenders alike. Clearly seeking out the
kingdom and the monarchy. Each active vessel English flagship, Windhond and Edam passed to stem
attempted to bear north by northeast and exit the bay. and stern of the slow-moving Royal Katherine as she
Soon, the 60-gun Dreadnought and 40-gun Phoenix had toiled to build any momentum. These sleek frigates
joined the other ships on the move. This central division opened the battle with cruel raking fire whilst gliding by.
5am. Looking east. The Dutch approach led in by frigates and branders. Prince, the English flagship is third left.

6.30am Looking north. Royal Katherine destroys the brander Draak. Dutch frigates swarm amongst the fleet.
Damage aboard Sir John Chicheley’s ship was significant, the tide for hours afterward. Victory lay well to the south
but she remained operational with efforts to repair and slowly deployed sail in an attempt to come up in
commencing almost immediately both had passed. The support, but in the almost calm conditions such a heavy
respite was brief. Alarums followed almost immediately ship found progress painfully slow. The nimblest
when what looked like a fireship was spotted to response came from Ralph Sanderson’s new frigate
windward about 500 yards distant. Royal Katherine’s Phoenix. She had been anchored astern and to leeward
starboard ports were opened, and all guns run out as it of Royal Katherine. Her crew readied quickly, bringing
became obvious that attaining sufficient speed to outrun the ship into the wind and attempting to protect the
the burner was impossible. Soon she was ablaze, and her larger vessel. The Dutch, with what wind existed at their
crew had taken to a shallop. Chicheley gave the order to backs, proved too quick and evaded. About an hour after
shoot when the blazing Draak was dangerously close. the Dutch appeared, Yarmouth, Bristol and Fairfax were
Royal Katherine delivered a thundering broadside and finally underway. Fairfax had lain furthest south and
the lightly built burner disintegrated without exploding. nearly five hours later despite relentless effort, remained
All that remained as the heavy smoke slowly dispersed well off the fighting. From his position on the lumbering
were small fragments of floating debris which bobbed on Prince, York was fully cognisant of his situation and

ordered that the flagship shelter in the lee of the last

English vessel to clear for action - Captain John Tyrwhitt’s
Commonwealth-era Adventure. Cursed by the Lord High
Admiral for her torpid efforts, she was to receive the
most fulsome praise from the self-same man later in the
battle. Notwithstanding their adroit handling, the Dutch
frigates were slow to reload and missed several chances
to inflict further hurt upon the lumbering Royal
Katherine and other vessels struggling to get underway.
Dreadnought, lying to leeward of Chicheley and further
north, did manage to get off several shots at Windhond
as she slipped between the two larger English ships.
Despite the presence of one of the fleet’s most notable
master gunners, the fire was trifling and did little
damage. The conflation of ships combined with the
relatively windless conditions to create many near
collisions. Both groups were moving at roughly right
angles and vessels were frequently forced to alter course
as situations demanded. Adventure found herself passing
between the Dutch frigate Damiaten to leeward and a
6.30am. Dreadnought (fore) engages Windhond.
fireship to windward, each heading in the opposite

direction. Tyrwhitt ordered the unusual step of firing
both broadsides simultaneously but to little effect
despite the extremely close range. Prince was held
perilously immobile in the tide as enemy ships circled.
Yarmouth and Adventure did their best to provide
distraction and protection, but the lack of propulsion
resulted in neither being able to offer any material
assistance to their commander. Despite the presence of
notable mariners aboard, the large and unwieldy flagship
could not orientate herself to make any forward
progress and remained stationary and vulnerable at the
centre of a swarm of angry hornets. The Dutch were not
immune to the conditions despite holding the weather
gauge. Windhond found herself becalmed and hugely
exposed amidst the looming English men of war. The
brander Velsen unable to alter course in time, thudded
into the starboard quarter galleries of Deventer. Luckily
for both and several other proximate ships, there was no
explosion although damage was sustained by each.
Fireship volatility remained a clear and present danger
for both sides and forced many evasive manoeuvres.
6.30am. Adventure fires a rare double broadside.

Deventer was almost immediately presented with a rare abandoned as Chicheley’s crew manhandled burning
opportunity when Sanderson’s Phoenix bore off her wreckage over the side. Even gunners came up to
starboard side attempting to luff up to Royal Katherine. prevent their ship suffering the same nightmarish fate as
Engel de Ruyter ordered his ship to fire and with a Phoenix. Matters took a further calamitous turn as the
perfectly timed broadside, the English frigate erupted as Amsterdam ship Provincie van Utrecht opened fire on
a shattered magazine blew her asunder. Although the Bristol as she struggled to reach the scene of the
hulk remained afloat and smouldering, Sanderson struck unfolding fight. The shots hit low, and the English ship
his colours, but no ship had time to stop and take immediately began taking in water. She listed to
possession of a worthless wreck. Collateral damage, starboard as the lower deck flooded to a depth of several
particularly to the proximate Deventer, was ruinous. feet. Charles Wylde’s ship slowed almost to a standstill
Debris crashed down on several ships including as the ordeal continued. Deventer, moving inshore from
Windhond and the unlucky Velsen. Most sorely hurt was the destroyed Phoenix and her recent bump, quickly ran
Royal Katherine as the blast propelled the heaviest out her larboard guns as she swept across Bristol’s bow
wreckage in her direction just as her crew endeavoured at barely thirty yards. The anticipated coup de grâce
to make good the havoc wrought by the recently passed failed to materialize. Engel de Ruyter’s gunners, perhaps
frigates. All attempts to stay battle – ready were distracted by the recent trauma, mistimed their shots
7 o’clock Phoenix erupts showering wreckage over a wide area. Deventer lies off her starboard bow.

8 o’clock. Ossory’s Victory has taken Deventer. Utrecht is at foreground. The damaged Bristol limps north behind.
and although further damage was inflicted, the battle. He suffered no such hesitation and ordered his
floundering Bristol serendipitously survived this men grapple Deventer. Very quickly, English soldiers and
encounter. For much of the next few hours Wylde’s men sailors had overwhelmed the enemy vessel and a
affected feverish repairs although nothing could be done stunned de Ruyter surrendered. Deventer was a large
to caulk the several gaping holes below the waterline. but somewhat battered prize. A crew and marines were
Bristol was for many frustrating hours, a mere spectator installed, and Victory readied herself to come up in
to the unfolding carnage evolving to the north, but later support of the flagship still a considerable distance to the
in the fight she was to return to the spotlight in a most north. The captured ship headed southeast and against
dramatic manner. The young de Ruyter’s glory ride was the wind, hugging the shore in search of an anchorage.
rapidly approaching the terminus. Deventer had At the same time which was around 7 o’ clock, about a
insufficient sea room to change course and within ten mile up Southwold Bay an unlikely tale of heroism was
minutes had collided bow to bow with the large and unfolding. Despite the opprobrium heaped upon the
heavy Victory. Both ships shuddered, but the sturdier head of Captain Tyrwhitt for his lacklustre response to
English vessel was better placed to absorb both impact the initial call to arms, and his ship’s misfire as it passed
and the associated damage. The Dutch crew seemed between two inferior Dutch ships, his moment had
temporarily paralysed, possibly by the cumulative arrived. It started however, with yet another miss-step
intensity of their experiences. The commander of Victory as Adventure picking up speed and catching some of the
was Lord Thomas Butler, Earl of Ossory, and fresh to the light breeze, sailed under the bowsprit of Waesdorp, a

large 68-gun Amsterdam ship. Her previously fired about forty minutes of continuous hacking, shooting and
starboard guns had not been properly reloaded and a bludgeoning, Waesdorp’s men were pushed back onto
chance to rake the larger enemy vessel was missed. In a the deck of their own ship and suddenly, begged quarter.
potentially career limiting moment, this gaffe was once Sometime after 8 o’ clock the prinsvlag was thrown over
more witnessed by York from the quarterdeck of Prince a the stern and the English ensign raised in triumph. York
few hundred yards to the south whereupon he was could hardly believe his eyes and conveniently forgot his
almost chewing his hat. The Dutch captain François Palm, frustrations with Captain Tyrwhitt whose career
seized the moment and ordered Adventure grappled and prospects had just markedly improved. An exhausted but
boarded. Marines and sailors swarmed from Waesdorp’s jubilant prize crew was promptly installed. The Dutch
fo’c’sle onto Adventure’s waist and a desperate struggle ship was largely intact, and both the battered Adventure
began. Superior numbers began to tell although the and her trophy hastily set course north for Lowestoft as
English crew fought with great vigour. A bellicose pastor to their rear, an ominous cluster of large Dutch vessels
wielding a blunderbuss in lieu of a bible, was killed was closing in. The greatly diminished complement of
leading the attack as the Dutch tasted victory in the Adventure worked vigorously to return the ship to an
smoky air. Tyrwhitt’s crew hung on tenaciously and after operational state and having been underway for some
8.20 am. Adventure achieved a startling triumph by capturing the much larger Waesdorp. They are alongside.

8.40 am. The swashbuckling Jan van Brakel in Groot Hollandia makes his entrance strafing Prince to no reply.
time Tyrwhitt, with a constant eye on the southern in uneven close combats and van Nes’s most powerful
horizon, ordered his ship about and back to the battle as units remained well out to windward and making feeble
it was clear that the flagship containing the heir to the progress into Southwold Bay. His frigates by contrast,
throne, was isolated and under threat. In making this had done their job, penetrated the anchored English
magnanimous gesture, the fate of his ship was sealed. fleet but now found themselves trapped between the
Although the English were finding the lack of wind leeward shore and sandbanks on one side and a wall of
frustrating, it was having far more serious implications iron and oak on the other. After the destruction of the
for van Nes. Following the initial shock and confusion first fireship, two others found themselves gingerly
created by his surprise attack, the pendulum began to navigating through a herd of massive, angry beasts
swing back as the Dutch lost momentum. The scares hungry for a target. Velsen, unfortunate victim of a
around the most windward and exposed capital ships collision with the now captured Deventer, wallowed
Royal Katherine and Prince, the shocking loss of Phoenix aimlessly near the partially sunken wreck of Phoenix
and the crippling damage to Bristol had been weathered, whilst a comic farce unfolded as the tiny Vrede circled
albeit temporarily. Two large Dutch ships had been taken around the English flagship attempting to find the right

veteran crew quickly reloaded and Groot Hollandia
swung round to fire again. The persistent and irritating
brander Vrede got right under the bowsprit of Prince
blocking the shot. Van Brakel thought twice about taking
it and hitting both fireship and flagship thus creating a
historic and potentially dynasty-extinguishing pyre.
Perhaps, memories of his own days as a brander-
schipper stayed his hand, and Groot Hollandia’s guns
remained loaded. The interplay was not over as soon, a
further opportunity presented itself to engage the
flagship, this time supported by the frigate Damiaten
which had sailed inshore from the northeast. Both
rocked York’s ship with van Brakel’s salty gunners
displaying astounding accuracy. Prince sustained
significant damage and many casualties during this phase
of the battle. Out to sea, Chicheley’s Royal Katherine had
been busy making repairs but little headway and was
drifting north at a snail’s pace with three large Dutch
ships closing on her from the starboard quarter. As the
most windward of the English ships, she would remain
an obvious target and although formidable, the odds
were against long-term survival. She next fired just after
8.40am. Royal Katherine comes under pressure.
moment to ignite and burn her. Prince meanwhile, was

unable to manoeuvre quickly enough to bring her guns
to bear despite both ships being a mere sixty yards apart.
This cat and mouse game continued for nearly two hours
as van Nes brought his bigger vessels slowly into play.
One captain bucking the trend of lost initiative was Jan
van Brakel whose performance on the Medway in 1667
had redeemed his career and placed him in command of
the important 60-gun Maze Admiralty ship Groot
Hollandia. He led in the frigates and branders with his
characteristic swashbuckling style, charging with them
rather than standing off to direct the attack. Groot
Hollandia was fast and powerful. She cut through the
jumbled mass of the Red squadron with exemplary skill
and his impertinent bravery was non-discriminatory. As
his ship passed across the bow of Prince, she delivered a
roaring broadside which smashed into the fo’c’sle and
beak of the flagship. This was the heaviest incoming fire
York’s ship had yet received prompting him to praise the
Dutchman for his chutzpah. Van Brakel was denied a
second golden opportunity to tweak the royal nose as his
8.45am. Utrecht engages the mighty Victory.

0800 as the first of the triumvirate Reigersbergen, came Reigersbergen proved the most persistent and
up on her starboard side. Chicheley’s ship gave good dangerous pursuer. She swung westward in an effort to
account, but all the enemy vessels were large and strong overhaul Royal Katherine although her fire had slackened
with Reigersbergen being van Nes’s most powerful after noticeably. Further damaged was sustained, but
Eendraght. Soon his captains had manoeuvred to ensure Chicheley’s men stood to the task attempting to nurse
all three could fire upon Royal Katherine simultaneously. their stricken ship to safety. Just after 8 o’clock, Prince
Chicheley’s heavy guns required considerable time to fired for the first time. As the mayhem unfolded around
reload and in that interim period over one hundred guns her, the flagship’s guns had remained silent, and her
from Eendraght, Provincie van Utrecht and ports shut. Barely able to change direction and on
Reigersbergen shredded the starboard side of the English constant look out for fireships, she sat at the centre of
ship causing horrific damage and loss of life. Royal the storm becoming a target for occasional rounds from
Katherine ceased to be operational as in the carnage, all enemy frigates as they cut between the English ships. It
her remaining ammunition was lost or burned and she was as if Prince was a grandstand at the centre of an
now lay defenceless yet defiant with her crew continuing event giving York full view of the unfolding battle to
preparations to repel any potential boarding attempt. destroy his ship but in which he and it, were mere
Chicheley gave the order to alter course inshore to gain spectators. The jolt from van Brakel’s brazen sweep-by
some support and respite, but his ship was barely able to raised the level of urgency and the larboard guns were
move and was repeatedly overhauled by the predators. rolled out as a Dutch frigate approached from leeward. It
York’s flagship Prince thunders for the first time, destroying the frigate Edam. In the distance RK fights for her life.

Just after 9 o’clock, Prince’s guns erupted for a second time, causing the frigate Damiaten to be consumed in a ball of fire.
was part of a pair which had been baiting Dreadnought the flagship fully operational. The next domino to fall
for some time, wearing her down without right of reply. was the 36-gun Utrecht which had snuck through the line
Now, Prince had a direct line to rake her from the bow at and come around the stern of Victory, hammering her
the 250 yards mark and fired a shot weight of nearly with accurate fire as she disentangled herself from the
one-thousand pounds. Edam, which had opened the capture of Deventer. Utrecht sailed with empty guns and
battle three hours prior, was smashed like matchwood hemmed against the lee shore, and now it was Victory’s
and simply disappeared. Some small wreckage remained, turn. She ripped the frigate apart with precision. The
and a few survivors clung to shattered spars, but their situation aboard Utrecht was beyond endurance and the
ship had disintegrated. This did not bode well for other dis-masted and immobile wreck, struck her colours.
smaller Dutch units trapped to leeward and now Although by 9 o’ clock the Red squadron had been very
hemmed-in by massive English vessels such as Victory roughly handled, losses on the Dutch side were
and Dreadnought. Prince’s vice-flag captain Narborough, mounting. Two capital units had been captured, one
a Norfolk man destined for greatness, performed an frigate sunk, and another so battered that it
excellent executive role, efficiently ordering his crew to surrendered. A brander had been lost early in the battle
repairs as the action progressed. Although the ship has and other leeward ships appeared in great peril. The
endured a level of damage which would have put most English had fought back hard after appearing to be
others out of action, timely attention to necessity kept caught asleep at the helm. This proved to be one of the

most intense phases of the battle with the amount of reply, had her rudder and steering gear shot out forcing
shot expended between eight and nine o’ clock being the her into a circular course bearing to larboard. Without
highest of the whole engagement. Dutch losses were support, Dreadnought was finished. Notwithstanding her
very soon to mount dramatically, and it is testimony to impressive contribution, Groot Hollandia now lay
the fleet’s high morale that the remaining ships stayed in between the English fleet and the lee shore and was
the fight. This was perhaps symptomatic of the intense herself in some difficulty. She sat pointing into the very
and compartmentalized nature of the action. By nine, light wind and all but becalmed. Van Brakel had
Prince had swung her head north by northeast and this however, maintained an angle of fire on the disabled
brought her guns to bear on another stinging insect, the Dreadnought and set about reloading his guns to further
frigate Damiaten. She repeated her rolling, thunderous increase her agony. Although hard pressed, Dreadnought
cannonade and the Dutch ship erupted in a fireball. stuck to her primary goal of protecting the flagship,
Directly astern was another frigate, Windhond. She took ignoring Groot Hollandia’s punishing fire. An opportunity
the full force of the blast and being partially dis-masted, to rid the fleet of the pestilential fireship Vrede finally
her captain struck his colours. The explosion carried presented itself as she executed a turn off the starboard
debris over a wide radius, landing on the deck of Groot side of Dreadnought, which let fly. The heavy shot
Hollandia which at that point was delivering close-range crunched into the target, and it was clear her captain
raking fire into Dreadnought. The English ship, unable to had endured enough as she slowly came about to head
The third ship to explode was Dreadnought just before 9.30am., Van Brakel’s Groot Hollandia did the damage.

out of the bay. This was to be the last thing the crew of being almost blocked in by wrecks and at the same time,
Dreadnought ever saw. Groot Hollandia having reloaded, windbound. To add to the tension, his hard fighting ship
pumped a fatal broadside into Dreadnought which was down to the last rounds beside the guns and from
ignited her magazine and ripped her apart. The blast was the south, he was well aware of the approach of Victory.
so violent that ships over one hundred yards away Ossory had proved a formidable leader thus far and
suffered damage and in an act of divine retribution, a although his ship carried scars, it was by far the most
particularly heavy piece of wreckage smashed down dangerous vessel in the fight excepting the respective
upon the limping Vrede causing her to capsize and sink. flagships. As she sailed, she was on a bearing that would
The number of damaged, partially sunk and wrecked allow her to pummel Groot Hollandia with impunity
ships in the central area was now proving a serious unless van Brakel could free his ship from the wreckage
navigation hazard. Reigersbergen in her obsessive and current inertia. It transpired that Victory, rather than
pursuit of the fatally wounded Royal Katherine, ran be arbiter of van Brakel’s fate herself fell prey to a deadly
straight over the wreck of Vrede tearing a hole in her crossfire. As the Dutch captain navigated through the
larboard bow and causing enough damage to slow her wreckage bringing her out behind Victory’s stern,
noticeably. Van Brakel’s spectacular achievement in Reigerbergen, windbound upon Victory’s starboard side,
destroying Dreadnought had resulted in his own vessel also opened fire. This bruising fusillade badly holed
Just before Damiaten was blown apart the frigate Utrecht was pounded into submission by the 84-gun Victory.

Ossory’s ship further slowing her pedestrian progress

and forcing her to evacuate the lower gundeck which
was rapidly flooding. The fighting had continued
unabated for five hours, and both commanders were
taking stock. The attacking Dutch had suffered horribly
losing two of their terror weapons, all four frigates and
two ships of the line. Morale, nevertheless, had held up
and three of the four remaining battleships were to
windward of the enemy and in relatively good shape
with adequate supplies of ammunition. The brander
Velsen, who’s canny schipper had hidden his floating
bomb from passing enemy ships, performed a minor
miracle in getting her almost completely seaworthy once
more. Stealthily threading through the mayhem, she was
on bearing which would with a little luck, allow her a run
at the stern of Prince if nothing got in the way. This plan
had not accounted for the presence of the sleek yacht
Fanfan, owned by Prince Rupert. She had been one of
the first vessels to get underway moving relatively
quickly up the bay and out to sea where she was
becalmed for some time. There appeared little she could
11 o’ clock. Fanfan has secured the brander Velsen.
do in the midst of such mighty ships and for hours she

hovered on the fringes of the battle awaiting her
moment, and now it had come. Her captain spotted
Velsen approaching the flagship directly astern, and he
set his swift charge weaving through the mountainous
ships to intercept. With a crew of less than thirty men
there appeared little such a small pleasure-craft could do
no matter how experienced or motivated her
complement, but fireships also carry skeleton crews and
there was a real possibility of success as Fanfan swept in
on the breeze. She grappled Velsen nose to tail on the
starboard side. The fight was brief as the yacht contained
many gentlemen there only to watch the epic sport but
who knew well how to conduct themselves in a fight.
Such a merry jape was just the thing to talk about at
court. Velsen was taken almost without a struggle. Not
satisfied with simply saving the flagship from attack, a
fanciful plan evolved to crew the fireship for its original
purpose, but turn it upon its previous masters. With the
minimal number of men left aboard Fanfan, the
10.45 am. Provincie van Utrecht rakes Prince.

Panorama around 10.30am. Dutch ships are to both windward and leeward of the English. Note three wrecked frigates (fore).
gentlemen, together with the fireship schipper, his mate, content watching Velsen burn out harmlessly as the two
the artillerist and some key crewmen, set to preparing flagships jockeyed out of the bay. Just before noon, a
Velsen, turning her seaward to face the incoming bulk of conference on the quarterdeck of Prince gave York some
Eendraght. At around half past midday Velsen with her reasons to be satisfied with his navy’s performance thus
crew of gentlemen adventurers, made her first run on far. Eight enemy vessels captured, sunk or wrecked and
van Nes but this was badly bungled. Either their Dutch only two ships lost, both to magazine explosions. A
prisoners advised them poorly or they acted closer look at the situation gave less cause to be
incompetently. A failure to ignite the ship resulted in it sanguine. His best ships were still too far to the south
grinding along the length of Eendraght’s larboard side and finding it difficult to reach the action. Royal
and being much bruised as guns tore at the timbers and Katherine was almost gone and only luck, contrary winds
spars. Between then and three o’clock, the plucky and inept enemy reloading prevented her loss as Rear
plutocrats brought her through the maze of wrecks and Admiral Chicheley could do no more with his ship already
round for a second attempt. By that time Eendraght was down by the bows and for all purposes, immobile. Two
locked in a chase with Prince. They fired her on a second frigates were windbound to leeward and unable to beat
attempt but chose their angle of attack poorly. The up to support him. Most concerning of all, his flagship
courtiers had already taken to a boat and had to be was running short of ammunition as she had not fully

provisioned and rearmed before the action began. The thrust was the 60-gun Provincie van Utrecht. She had
affair might go either way. Desperate times call for gone wide around the English ships and now cut inshore
drastic measures. It is against all principles to cram on to bear on Prince. Her opening broadside missed
full sail in the midst of a sea battle but Bristol and Fairfax completely leading the English to believe God to be with
both committed to piling on canvas in an effort to reach them this day by preserving the life of their future king.
the combat zone in time. Van Nes aboard Eendraght In response, Prince’s guns roared to relieve the pressure
noted it and brought her about to head off this upon the beleaguered Royal Katherine. Reigersgbergen
dangerous reinforcing manoeuvre. Bristol was under was the target and the monstrous cannon of seven tore
great strain, full of water and listing heavily. The extra into her hull as the lighter shot shredded her upper
sail was pushing her into an alarming starboard tilt as she works. Commandeur Jakob van Meeuwen was cut in two
moved under the Dutch guns. Eendraght fired low and by a shot as the Dutch ship received her second
the number of holes in her hull multiplied exponentially. punishing broadside of the battle. This contribution by
Wylde’s ship stopped dead, with waves lapping over her Prince provided a welcome if brief reprieve for Chicheley.
starboard gunwales. This selfless sacrifice distracted Van Nes’s flagship had fared little better than the York’s
Eendraght enough to allow the fresh and well-manned in terms of progress but now she was in the central area
Fairfax to take over. The third element of the Dutch of fighting and although continuing to labour in the calm
Around 10.20am. Bristol and Fairfax (top right) have come up after much effort and receive the attention of Eendraght.

Midday. A graveyard of ships. Bristol is going down, Royal Katherine burns to her right, victim of Reigersbergen’s persistence.
conditions, her presence would be increasingly felt. She explosion was intense, damaging only Dutch ships and
overhauled Bristol and delivered the mercy blow around Reigersbergen most sorely of all. As the fighting was
a quarter before 12 o’clock. Riven in multitudinous confined to a relatively compact area at this point,
places, the partially submerged ship broke up and almost every vessel bore witness to the tragedy. As this
slipped to the bottom of the shallow bay. The end of drama played out, an equally desperate and remarkable
Royal Katherine less than fifty yards distant was an series of events unfolded at the most northerly edge of
altogether more tumultuous affair. Reigersbergen had the battle area. Provincie van Utrecht was the archetypal
worked around her larboard quarter being so close that Dutch ship of the line in 1672. With a crew of just under
her men were firing down into the shattered and gaping three-hundred men including around fifty soldiers,
hull with pistols. This broadside tore her apart from the average-weight armament and 60 guns, she represented
stern and she caught fire and exploded. Somewhere the bulk of frontline battleships. Her distinguishing
aboard must have been a store of powder although her feature on this day was the calibre of her crew and in
guns had long ago fallen silent possibly because there particular, her captain. She had been in action earlier
were too few able men remaining to serve them. The and began the train of events which led to Bristol’s

destruction sometime between half past six and seven this time smashing the larboard fo’c’sle area and causing
o’clock. Her broadside shot low causing the English ship consternation amongst the admiral’s coterie of officers.
to list heavily and slow down. With the main gun deck Two English frigates the Yarmouth and the lately
flooded Bristol was unable to make any meaningful returned Adventure, lay to leeward of the flagship and
contribution to the fight. Later, Provincie van Utrecht windbound. They had been trying for over half an hour
passed the wounded Royal Katherine and landed telling to beat up and out to sea to prevent just the manoeuvre
shots upon her. Moving more swiftly than most ships on van Gelder had completed. The closest was Adventure
the day, she curled into Southwold Bay across the bows which stood less than half a cable’s length off Prince’s
of Prince but her gunners badly mistimed their narrow larboard bow. Those aboard Prince knew not where to
window to shoot and all rounds fell short of the target look. Backward at the horror of Bristol and Royal
causing York to comment scornfully on her poor Katherine or, ahead at the audacious enemy cruiser? Van
showing. He would rue those remarks moments later. Gelder brought his ship directly at Adventure almost as if
Jan van Gelder brought his ship very close to the wind to ram her but manoeuvred so as to grapple beakhead to
and with guns reloaded at lightning speed, fired again, beakhead. His men were clearly ready, and as lines were
11.00am - midday. Provincie van Utrecht attacked and captured both Adventure and Yarmouth in spectacular fashion.

Midday. Provincie van Utrecht delivers a valedictory broadside to the English flagship before shepherding her prizes away.
secured, they leapt onto the English ship fighting their succour, the Dutch captain pressed his advantage. A
way up the length of her and winning. York ordered that prize crew was very hastily placed in charge of Adventure
Prince should attempt to grapple and board the and the lines were cut. She slowly made off to the
Dutchman not only as their duty, but to repay the debt northeast and out of the bay following almost the exact
of honour to Captain Tyrwhitt who had captured same course as Waesdorp some hours before. With
Waesdorp and then returned to the battle only to drums beating and trumpets blaring, Provincie van
support his prince. Try as they might, the helmsmen Utrecht set her nose at Yarmouth which also lay bow-on
were unable to bring her up close enough to secure lines and motionless. Within fifteen minutes, van Gelder’s ship
and the giant flagship sat helpless watching the drama had grappled her in an almost identical fashion.
unfold from front row seats. No amount of effort could Yarmouth was relatively unscathed and had played a
bring Prince any closer and although Tyrwhitt’s tired and minimal role in the fighting thus far. Her contingent of
courageous crew fought to the last, Adventure was soldiers should have made her at least a match for
overcome, her decks awash with blood and some of that, Provinicie van Utrecht, but all the fight seemed to have
from the hero van Gelder who had led the attack and left the Englishmen who had recently witnessed their
was wounded for his efforts. The feat was admirable opponents overcome Adventure. Captain Henry Clarke
even from the English perspective, but the intrepid van shamefully surrendered his ship within minutes and the
Gelder was not finished. Being to windward and with the situation for the Red squadron had so deteriorated in
flagship lying at an angle whereby she could offer no under an hour that disaster seemed inevitable. Aboard

1 pm.. Eendraght. is the only Dutch ship with ammunition and faces three enemy ships – Fairfax, Prince and Victory.
Prince the atmosphere was sombre but resolute. There deck, bowed low to the royal ship but did not lower his
was no option but to fight on and York evinced courage colours. In return, the Duke of York nodded his approval
and optimism despite the straitened circumstances. As a of exemplary leadership and bravery. Two prizes with
morale boosting placebo, he ordered than the remaining Dutchmen at the helm were making their way out of the
ammunition be distributed to the starboard side guns bay, the jubilant but exhausted Dutch crew slumped
and that these fire at Eendraght now slowly approaching beside their empty guns. Provincie van Utrecht was out
to windward. The Dutch flagship was quite far out but of ammunition and ready to sail for home. About noon
even at that range the heavy shot could be seen to cause the wind shifted to south by southeast but did not pick
palpable damage. This raised a ragged cheer somewhat up. Some ships noticed this as they began to move more
dampened by an impertinent departing broadside than previously but by then it was much too late to have
delivered from Provincie van Utrecht as she swept any significant impact on the outcome. The climax of the
passed the flagship on her lee side. This was the heaviest action was close and that was clear to all. Only one
and most ruinous fire Prince had endured all day and the Dutch ship Eendraght, had ammunition but not much of
carnage caused on the main deck was gruesome. As the it. Of the remaining three English ships, the hobbled
smoke thinned, Captain van Gelder upon his quarter Victory was down to the powder and ball stacked beside

the guns, the flagship was out and only Fairfax was fully engagement with the battered Red squadron. His goal
operational and replete. She first fired just after 11 was clearly York’s flagship and he manoeuvred for more
o’clock having worked her way to windward and behind than hour to gain the shot he craved. During this time
the enemy. Fairfax was commanded by Captain George the crew of Prince busied themselves with repairs and
Legge who would go on to be Admiral of the Fleet when preparing the ship for more action. Victory and in
the Dutch invasion of 1688 occurred. Today, his particular Fairfax, worked hard to preoccupy the solitary
performance, perhaps in a foretaste of future events, enemy, occasionally firing until at about one-thirty,
was also disappointing. Fairfax cut across Eendraght’s Victory fired for the last time, only able to use her lighter
wake gaining the perfect raking shot, but the broadside upper deck armament owing to her main guns lying
was badly laid and the Dutch flagship escaped with completely underwater. Ossory had done as much as
glancing hurt. By half after midday all the remaining possible, but his ship was flooded and he had no powder
Dutch ships and their prizes were heading southeast and or shot remaining. Only Legge in Fairfax could support
towards home. Only the aggressive van Nes in his still York now and shadowed van Nes from well to leeward
armed and dangerous flagship sought out more looking for an opportunity to approach without risking
Just before 2pm Eendraght. Finally gained the position van Nes craved and devasted Prince with a stern-raking broadside.

Just before 3 pm Eendraght’s. final broadside failed to stop Prince. The Dutch and their prizes are seen moving south east.
his own ship. Just before 2 o’clock, Eendraght finally got parallel and to the north. Although a smaller ship, she
into position behind Prince and let rip. The broadside was fresh and powerful and fighting two determined
tore down the full length of the hull first shattering the enemy vessels might be too much even for his Dutch
staterooms and officers cabins and shredding the gun veterans. A well intentioned but farcical attempt to burn
deck. Eendraght came about hard to starboard and ran Eendraght with a captured Dutch brander failed during
up close on the larboard side having performed a this chase but the Dutch admiral ignored it. The
miraculous reload. She hammered Prince again and the flagships, out of ammunition and carrying significant
flagship sagged under the shock, but such great ships damage, ran neck and neck for an hour and a half.
were built to absorb tremendous punishment and Between 3 o’ clock and a quarter before the hour,
despite the damage, the flagship moved slowly eastward Eendraght made three abortive passes to grapple Prince.
and out to sea. Van Nes had used up his last ammunition Each time her lines fell short or were cut by the English.
and now a momentous choice faced him. Would he During that time the straining Fairfax had overhauled her
attempt to board and capture the weakened Prince or to larboard and twice got off rounds but at long range.
sail for home? His ebullient nature and innate sense of She was creaking with the extra canvas maintained
optimism compelled him to seek glory. He could see the during the chase. York’s crew led van Nes further out to
English ship cramming on sail in a vain attempt to outrun sea, all the time building their own strength with
him. He ordered the same and noted Fairfax had done carpenters and officers willing the men to greater
likewise making great speed to catch him as she ran exertions. At 4 o’clock, York was confident that

his flagship was in good enough order to go onto the had to deal with a large and powerful vessel commanded
offensive. The wind had shifted again to the south and all by one of the Republic’s most renowned warriors and
three vessels were sailing on convergent bearings east manned by hand picked veterans drawing from a deep
by southeast. The nearest Dutch ships were now almost well of combat experience. The fight was quick and
out of sight and van Nes was on his own. Without a bloody. The English never got over the gunwales and the
signal between them, both Legge and York decided to try Dutch sailors boarded Fairfax so quickly that Legge was
and board Eendraght and altered course to sandwich forced to surrender whilst still in his cabin. Successful
her. As lines were cast, Fairfax was successful and hauled gamblers know when to cash in. Van Nes placed aboard
in to board, the flagship however could not grapple his prize crew and cut the lines. Fairfax bore east and
Eendraght and so, the contest did not go to plan. Fairfax Eendraght unfurled more canvas, pulling away from
was a fine, fresh ship with a good crew, but she now the slower and exhausted Prince. The battle was over.
By 4.15pm Eendraght had captured Fairfax. York’s flagship was too slow and too damaged to chase and the battle was over.

Statistics
Battle stats – gains and losses
This section deals with the number crunching aspects of fighting. A good example is the Dutch brander Velsen
the battle. Twenty-three ships fighting over thirty-four which was damaged by flying debris from an explosion
turns generated an enormous quantity of data much of followed by a collision with a friendly ship around 7am.
which was collected. Roster sheets are an excellent way This almost sunk her but the action passed her by and
of tracking ammunition use, damage and repairs. When by half past ten, having spent some time lying to the
the stats are referenced it will be clear that many ships south, was back in action making an attack run on the
sustained damaged far in excess of their original strength English flagship. Several of the larger ships had Carpenter
points. This is possible because ships successfully characters which make the repair skills checks easier and
conducted running repairs during the action keeping this get vessels back into action more quickly, just as
them battleworthy or in some cases, bringing them back happened during the period. Statistics can be contorted
into action having had periods of time away from the to say anything, but these provide an objective picture.
NUMBER OF GAME TURNS 34
Approximate battle time 11 hours
Initiative split over 34 turns Dutch 28 English 6
Dutch losses (raw) 1,630 from 2,529 64.5%
English losses (raw) 1,906 from 2,530 75.3%
Dutch prizes (value with replacement Able crew 264 1 x category 7

and damage taken into account) 2 x category 6
English prizes (value with replacement Able crew 211 2 x category 7
and damage taken into account) 1 x category 5
Dutch losses net 1,366 from 2,529 54%
English losses net 1,695 from 2,530 67%
Battle outcome Dutch victory

(0-5% draw, 5-10% marginal win, >10% win)
Dutch characters and officers killed, wounded or Captains Gunners Mariners Carpenters Other
captured. 9 1 2 3 1
English characters and officers, killed wounded or Captains Gunners Mariners Carpenters Other
captured. 7 2 0 2 0

Result analysis
This was a bloody and bruising encounter and seemed to English but, if Prince had successfully grappled, it is likely
simulate well, the real battle of Southwold Bay. The the English would have taken Eendraght and won the
objectives for both sides were to force the enemy fleet battle. The loss of the two frigates to van Gelder was also
to disengage. What finally brought about the end of the a pivotal moment. Had this not happened, Eendraght
battle was a lack of ammunition and some forced errors. would have been overwhelmingly outnumbered. Van
The points values indicate a Dutch victory by a margin of Gelder most likely was the deliverer of victory at that
more than 10% but in was by no means a major defeat point. Royal Katherine’s loss of all remaining ammunition
and it could have gone either way. There were several just before 0900 made her vulnerable and an expensive
key moments and decisions which influenced the liability. The dropping off of the wind also greatly
outcome. The most obvious was the decision to attack inhibited English ability to manoeuvre and compelled a
Eendraght just before 1600. This lost the battle for the defensive battle with many assets out of position.
Van Nes brings off his surviving ships which escort the three captured English ships Yarmouth, Fairfax and Adventure.

Battle stats – The ships
Ship Strength Strength Broadsides Hits Hits Fate

Start Close Taken scored
Available Used
h/c*
Prince 36 18 4 4 37 26 Operational
Victory 30 21 6 6 14 13 Operational
Royal Katherine 24 0 5 5 32 13 Wrecked by gunfire and exploded
Dreadnought 16 0 6 2 16 5 Destroyed in an explosion
Fairfax 16 16 (hull) 6 5 0/7 7 Taken by Eendraght
Bristol 12 0 6 3 19 3 Sunk by gunfire
Yarmouth 12 10 (hull) 5 2 2/7 2 Taken by Provincie v Utrecht
Phoenix 12 0 6 0 12 0 Destroyed in an explosion
Adventure 12 10 (hull) 6 2 19 11 (crew) Taken by Provincie v Utrecht
Fanfan 4 2 5 0 0/2 5 (crew) Operational
Eendraght 24 11 6 6 19/1 23 Operational
Reigersbergen 24 12 6 6 17 13 Operational
Waesdorp 16 16 (hull) 5 0 0/9 0 Taken by Adventure
Groot Hollandia 16 11 5 5 10 18 Operational
Deventer 16 8 (hull) 5 2 6/7 7 Taken by Victory
Provincie van Utrecht 16 12 6 6 0/3 22 Operational
Utrecht 12 0 5 1 12 4 Wrecked by gunfire
Windhond 10 0 6 2 6 5 Struck her colours
Edam 10 0 4 2 10 4 Wrecked by gunfire
Damiaten 10 0 6 2 10 5 Wrecked by gunfire
Draak 10 0 0 0 10 0 Sunk by gunfire
Velsen 8 0 0 0 8/5 0 Burned
Vrede 8 0 0 0 8 0 Destroyed in an explosion
*h/c – hull/ crew hits

Anomalies between hits scored and received are due to collisions, explosions and other incidents.

Performance ratings
Ship Performance - scale (1-5)
Prince
Victory
Royal Katherine
Dreadnought
Fairfax
Bristol
Yarmouth
Phoenix
Adventure
Fanfan
Eendraght
Reigersbergen
Waesdorp
Groot Hollandia
Deventer
Provincie van Utrecht
Utrecht
Windhond
Edam
Damiaten
Draak
Velsen
Vrede

How the rules
shaped the game
Ship speed, wind and weather
movement particularly amongst the leeward English

ships. The flagship floundered for several hours not far
from her original anchorage whilst Fairfax, originally
anchored some two miles or so from the heat of the
action took five hours to come up and make a
contribution. Ironically, she was finally one of the most
far-ranging English ships and eventually captured by the
enemy far from her starting position. The Dutch suffered
less because of several factors. Their ships were
generally lighter and faster, they had the weather gauge
and all ships were underway as the battle commenced.
This created far more movement in the Dutch squadron
and most ships moved double or more of the distance
covered by English vessels. The weather did not vary
during the entire action although the very light wind did
move from ESE to SSE and finally in the afternoon, to
South. This impacted at several key points either freeing
up windbound ships or placing ships against the wind
unexpectedly and preventing them from moving as they
wished. Taken in the round, the weather, or lack of it
was the single most significant factor in determining the
outcome of this scenario.
Light, manoeuvrable Dutch frigates. All suffered tragic ends.
The four categories of ship speed create one of the

strongest distinguishing dynamics in Mad for War. The
small, lighter ships may seem to zip around the table
whilst the massive men o’ war which carry heavy guns
capable of inflicting enormous damage are slow and
cumbersome, difficult to manoeuvre and can prove
extremely frustrating to command. Players often tend to
prefer men o’ war in the mid range between 50 and 70
guns. These combine the optimum level of firepower and
manoeuvrability. It is no accident when various sources
are consulted to notice that the ships sent by the
Maritime Powers to dominate seas far from home
usually fell into this category. The largest capital ships
rarely if ever ventured far from home waters. Too
difficult to maintain and support, too expensive and
politically too sensitive to lose . This battle attempted to
mirror the reality of Southwold Bay by introducing the
chance that the wind might drop early in the battle and
influence events. This duly happened and the entire
course of the day was determined by extremely slow Eendraght, Prince and Victory the three heaviest ships.

Mad for War – Broadsides
The first fire of every ship is potentially the most

devastating it is likely to offer in a battle. If the vessel is
undamaged or has Sixpenny damage, it will use the
maximum number of available dice. It will also raise its
signature die type one level or if very close to the target,
two levels. This mechanism combined with finite
quantities of ammunition, has done more to limit
unrealistic and speculative shooting than any other
mechanism in Mad for War. Players tend to save their
first fire for the dream shot such as a close-range raking
broadside. Ships with heavy guns and a master gunner
further increase chances of scoring multiple hits. In this
battle containing many large ships, there were several
impressive first broadsides. Royal Katherine loosed hers
at the attacking fireship Draak on Turn 5 scoring a
spectacular ten hits and sinking her outright in a single
shoot. Victory scored six hits on Utrecht with her first fire
in Turn 11 causing a catastrophic hit. Two Dutch frigates
were ruined by Prince; Edam took eight hits with her
first fire on Turn 8 and Damiaten a further eight on Turn
12. Dutch ships too scored notable first- fire successes.
Groot Hollandia’s shooting was consistently accurate.
In Turn 6, Deventer’s murder range first shot exploded
Phoenix without the English ship having done anything in
the battle. Provincie van Utrecht crippled Bristol early in
the action with a broadside which holed her, caused a
list, reduction in speed, put the larboard guns out of
action and restricted manoeuvrability. This handicap
contributed to her ultimate loss hours later. Ships with
Salts crews often demonstrate consistently fine gunnery
three excellent exponents in the battle were van Brakel’s
Groot Hollandia, van Gelder’s Provincie van Utrecht and
van Nes’s Eendraght. During this battle English shooting
was patchy but on occasion, devastating. The generally
lighter-armed Dutch ships scored less spectacular but
more consistent success with their gunnery. The real
trick is waiting for the best angle and range combination
and in this respect, the Dutch delivered far more murder
range, raking broadsides throughout. Many of these
caused catastrophic hits which ultimately debilitated the
English squadron and significantly influenced the
result. Dutch ships can ill-afford to be exposed to heavy
gunned English ships. Witness the fate of the frigates.
Heavy gunned ships like Victory are terrifying opponents.

Mad for War – Explosions!
Ships can explode in several ways in Mad for War and

this game had no shortage. A fireship may accidentally
explode when it attempts to ‘fire’ . This occurs when an
unmodified 1 is thrown on its skill check or, after it is
ablaze in a subsequent turn when 1 is thrown. Fireships
also risk being exploded when hit by gunfire. Any ship
may explode when destroyed by gunfire and throws 11
or 12 on 2 x d6. A ship may also explode if it sustains a
Catastrophic hit and scores 12 on a d12. This signifies
one or more of its magazines has exploded. The damage
to the ship can be ruinous particularly for smaller vessels.
The impact of being in proximity of an exploding ship is
covered a little later. This battle had a high instance of
ship explosions and when they occur they are always
spectacular and somewhat of a surprise. The first
happened early when the frigate Phoenix was hit by
close fire from Deventer. This was Deventer’s first
broadside and took place at murder range. She was a
fairly powerful ship and scored enough hits on the
category 6 Phoenix to compel a catastrophic hit check.
Phoenix of course, threw a 12 resulting in a magazine
Turn 12. Damiaten blows.
explosion with variable damage of 2 x d6. This, combined

with three shooting hits already sustained immediately
put her in Grave damage causing a morale check. This
was failed with a score which compelled her to
immediately strike her colours. Although not sunk, she
was wrecked and out of the battle having never fired a
shot. A shocking start for the English. The second
explosion was another frigate, the Damiaten. She
strayed too close to the English flagship sustaining eight
hits. As a category 5 vessel, three was enough to compel
the Catastrophic damage check. She also threw 12 and
her magazine went up. The 2 x d6 damage check was
unnecessary as at that moment she had a single strength
point remaining having already be hit by Yarmouth
earlier in the battle. Two 12s – what are the odds? The
third explosion was yet another catastrophic hit with a
12 result and it happened on the very next game turn.
This time the already damaged Dreadnought took 4
murder range hits when pounded by Jan van Brakel’s
Turn 6. Phoenix goes up having never fired a shot.

Mad for War – Explosions!
outstanding ship Groot Hollandia. Dreadnought was not

a lucky ship as she had sustained another catastrophic
hit on the preceding turn. The explosion damage was
enough to reduce her strength points to zero, effectively
wrecking or partially sinking her. The fourth and final
explosion of the game was arrived at by another route.
Royal Katherine had been pounded relentlessly through
the battle and finally zeroed her points causing the 2 x
d6 check for destruction by gunfire. Her score of 11
meant she exploded. When ships are proximate to an
exploding vessel they receive a variable amount of
collateral damage from the blast and flying wreckage.
Ships within two inches take 1 x d6 damage points and
those within two – four inches receive 1 x d3 damage
points. The illustration below is from the destruction of
Phoenix. One English and one Dutch ship are within two
inches. Both Royal Katherine and Deventer sustained a
painful six and five damage points respectively. The two
ships within four inches Windhond and Velsen took one
and three respectively. This is a serious danger in close
actions. Luckily, the brander Velsen did not explode as
she was required to take the d6 fireship check because
of this blast and a collision in the same game turn.
Turn 13. The unlucky Dreadnought destroyed to waterline.
Turn 6. Phoenix explodes showering debris over a wide area and damaging four ships

Boarding
Though line of battle tactics had become standard for

major fleets, when formations broke down and ships got
close, the more traditional method of settling the matter
was used. Boarding and combat between crews is only
possible after a successful skill check. Traditionally, the
Dutch had maintained an appetite for this tactic whilst
the English preferred softening up an opponent with
gunfire before hand to hand combat. The rules cater for
this difference. This battle had its share of exciting
boarding combat but over the eleven hours of fighting
the English made only three successful boarding
attempts. The small band of courtiers on the yacht
Fanfan, captured the fireship Velsen about 11 o’clock
and Fairfax grappled Eendraght in the final act being
promptly captured for her pains. Prince tried on four
occasions to secure lines on enemy ships and failed.
Yarmouth also failed before herself being taken. The
biggest success came through an error of navigation
when Deventer crashed into Victory and the English crew
quickly grappled, boarded and captured her. Grappling is
Victory took an accidental opportunity to capture Deventer.
only the beginning. Fighting through potentially several

rounds of combat is a nail biting activity with danger of
characters being killed in every round as they lead the
fight. Dutch attempts at boarding were extremely
successful. Outcomes however, were variable. The large
Waesdorp saw easy pickings when she grappled
Adventure. She had not reckoned on Captain Tyrwhitt’s
crew and was captured after a bruising fight with the
much smaller ship. Eendraght made three consecutive
unsuccessful attempts to board Prince in a slow sea
chase between 2.30pm and 3.30pm. A remarkable run of
poor fortune for such an experienced crew. A sublime
demonstration was given by Jan van Gelder’s Provincie
van Utrecht which between 11 o’ clock and noon,
boarded two windbound frigates – Adventure and
Yarmouth taking them in sequence and easily. Both were
approached from windward, boarded from the bow and
swept clear in short order. A first round combat bonus is
available for ships boarding broadside to broadside if
they have loaded guns, simulating a final flurry of gunfire
before contact. This handy modifier was not used once in
Prince cannot grapple Provincie which is fighting Adventure. the entire battle due to the angles of approach.

Mad for War – Repairs
Ships often made battle repairs which allowed them to

continue to fight or saved them from sinking. In a big
action like this scenario, the amount of repair efforts
undertaken on every turn by both sides was significant
and had an important influence on the outcome. Repairs
are declared at the beginning of a new turn. They involve
a skill check. Ships repairing damage are compromised in
other ways such as shooting effectiveness or the ability
to undertake other skill based tasks such as firefighting,
re-floating or tacking. Having a Carpenter character as
part of the crew makes the skill check easier to pass. The
amount of repair work is variable and ships can regain
one or two strength points per turn. No ship can ever be
repaired to pristine condition but all can at least regain
sixpenny damage status with enough time and luck. By
consulting the Statistics section of this guide it is obvious
that several vessels saved themselves from destruction
repeatedly during the action. The English ships seemed
particularly good at effecting repairs. Royal Katherine
and Bristol both recovered eight points, Adventure
seven, Victory five and Dreadnought two. Most
impressive of all was Prince which recovered no less than Prince was hit 37 times making good 17 of these.
seventeen points . As she sustained an incredible thirty-

seven hits, which would have sunk her, it is clear that the
process was hugely important to keeping her in the fight.
When the battle closed she was in the grave damage
state. Despite an abundance of Carpenters, the Dutch
made far less repairs. Eendraght made eight,
Reigersbergen six, Groot Hollandia five and Provincie van
Utrecht one. The Dutch vessel which benefitted most
from repairs was the little fireship Velsen which made
five, bringing herself back from grave damage to almost
fully operational. This proved useful to the English
adventurers who captured her in the afternoon and
turned her on her former masters. No ship took the
opportunity to anchor and make repairs, but this is the
most efficient way to approach the task. Overall, the
mechanism for repairing played an extremely important
role in this scenario and prolonged the action.
Carpenters may not sound like the most exciting
characters to choose on a ship list but if heavy damage
from enemy gunfire is a prospect during a battle, then
these gentlemen are an extremely sound investment.
Velsen back from the dead to be turned against her own.

Mad for War – Catastrophic hits
Mad for War handles extreme damage or trauma events through the mechanism of Catastrophic Hits. When a certain
damage level is sustained in a single turn by a ship, it triggers a random catastrophic event. The threshold for this trigger
varies with ship size. A category 6 vessel checks after three or more hits whilst a category 10 behemoth must sustain nine
hits before checking. During this battle, twelve catastrophic events occurred. As there are twelve different outcomes
determined by throwing a d12, potentially a dozen results were possible. It did not work that way. Three magazine
explosions occurred (12), three riven hulls with starboard listing (4) occurred and two of those to the same ship – Bristol.
The commander of Reigersbergen was killed in another event. Utrecht sustained huge crew casualties in another event.
Dreadnought’s rudder was jammed in the turn immediately prior to her exploding and may in itself have sealed her fate
had not subsequent shattering fire from Groot Hollandia destroyed her. In this battle an event was occurring on average
once every three game turns although when the initial four turns of manoeuvring are excluded, this increases to an
average of one every 2.5 game turns. Catastrophic events often have knock-on consequences such as the blast radii of
explosions. They produce great talking points and add a level of flavour to the games which makes them even more
memorable. Three ships suffered two catastrophic events each – Bristol, Utrecht and Dreadnought. Despite receiving a
total of thirty-seven hits during the battle, the Duke of York’s flagship Prince did not fall prey to one catastrophic event.
Dreadnought suffered a catastrophic hit prior to this second and fatal catastrophic explosion which ripped her apart.

Ship’s tales
Ship’s tales - Prince
The Duke of York’s flagship Prince was at the eye of the the frigate Damiaten which lay to leeward, around 8.45
storm from 0500 until Eendraght broke off at 1615. am. About the same time, she sustained much heavier
Having been the first English ship underway, her massive damage from van Brakel’s Groot Hollandia. She
bulk combined with the lack of wind saw her spend responded at 9 o’clock by destroying Damiaten with
much of the first six hours of the battle almost another ferocious larboard broadside. Her starboard
motionless and fending off, avoiding or watchful of, guns first fired about a quarter before 10. Reigersbergen
Dutch attacks. She was engaged by six enemy vessels was at 300 yards and engaging Royal Katherine. Prince’s
during the day. Her first damage was sustained from fire was on mark and punishing. At 1020 Provincie van
Groot Hollandia at 8 o’clock when shot smashed areas of Utrecht fired ranging shots which missed the mark. She
her fo’c’sle. At that point she had herself opened fire for was bearing northwest and about to cross the bow of
the first time with a devastating larboard broadside Prince. She manoeuvred closer, raking the flagship at
which totalled the frigate Edam causing her to partially about a quarter before 11. This bold move caused
sink. She was simultaneously manoeuvring slowly to significant damage around the beakhead and fo’c’sle and
avoid the attentions of the fireship Vrede which had was greatly admired by York as exemplary seamanship.
been circling her and continued to do so for another By 11 o’clock, van Gelder’s ship had boarded Adventure
hour. She took light damage on her larboard side from which lay windbound a few dozen yards off the flagship’s

Ship’s tales - Prince
leeward-side bow. Attempts to grapple the Dutch ship the focus of van Nes’s efforts from just before 1 o’ clock.
failed and York watched helpless as Adventure then The first and deadliest broadside came around 2 pm.
Yarmouth were both taken in quick succession. Around Eendraght was directly off her stern at about 100 yards
1120 am, a run against her stern by the brander Vrede and delivered the most cruel fire of the day. The rake
was successfully intercepted by the yacht Fanfan. If it ripped into the state rooms and galleries and down the
had gotten through there was little the flagship could entire length of the ship. This was followed about twenty
have done to stop it. Prince expended her last minutes later by another cannonade delivered against
ammunition from her starboard guns just before her larboard side. Cox kept Prince as far distant as
11.30am. She scored hits on Eendraght which was possible whilst repairs were affected. Between 2 and 3 o‘
approaching to windward, very slowly. At midday, clock, Eendraght made three abortive boarding passes
Provincie van Utrecht, having concluded her business on Prince’s larboard side. By the hour, York felt his ship
with the frigates, loosed a powerful broadside causing able to go onto the offensive and ordered her board
the heaviest damage up until that moment. This was Eendraght. Fairfax had already done so upon the
delivered from leeward against her larboard side. All day Dutchman’s larboard side but Prince was unable to
her carpenters worked tirelessly and to great effect, secure lines, Fairfax was lost and van Nes withdrew with
making good cumulative damage which would have his prize. Prince was the most heavily and consistently
ruined lesser ships. Moving slowly out to sea she became engaged of all English vessels and fought well all day.
Detailed view of Prince’s course and timeline from the destruction of Edam till the end of the battle.

Ship’s tales – Royal Katherine
Royal Katherine, commanded by Rear-Admiral Sir John crashed down upon Royal Katherine almost precisely at 7
Chicheley got underway around 5.20 am. She was o’clock, causing massive damage. She spent considerable
anchored furthest to windward and became an obvious time and effort between then and 8 o’clock making
target for the Dutch because of her size and proximity. repairs. Chicheley had turned her nose seaward to gain
Just before 6.30am as she struggled to move forward, some breathing space but it became apparent that three
two Dutch frigates passed her simultaneously at both of the largest enemy ships were bearing down upon her
stem and stern. The forward ship was Windhond and the and she had become isolated. She fired for a second time
rearward, Edam. Their light guns proved very effective at just after the hour landing rounds on Reigersbergen. At
that range and caused considerable damage. Having 8.45am, she was crushed under the combined fire of
passed, both failed to reload quickly enough to find the Eendraght, Reigersbergen and Provnicie van Utrecht.
shot. At 6.45 am, a flaming fireship ran up on Royal During this onslaught she lost all of her remaining
Katherine’s starboard side. This was Draak. The direction ammunition and effectively became a lame duck. She
of attack presented the perfect raking angle and drifted helplessly till 11.30 am making some repairs but
Chicheley’s ship delivered the most devastating unable to defend herself. She survived various abortive
broadside of the battle completely destroying the enemy passes until at 11.40 am Reigersbergen passed
fireship without her exploding. The frigate Phoenix had within 20 yards of her larboard quarter and delivered the
come to her aid but immediately was itself set upon by coup de grâce. Some forgotten powder store ignited and
the larger Deventer. Phoenix exploded and the wreckage she was blown apart.
Much happened to Royal Katherine although she made little progress between getting underway and sinking.

Ship’s tales – Provincie van Utrecht
Provincie van Utrecht first fired at 7 o’ clock as the fourth Van Gelder quickly installed a prize crew, set Adventure
rate Bristol got underway and bore of her larboard side. away and heading for Vlissingen then, performed an
Her fire was accurate and low punching several large identical manoeuvre upon the second ship, Yarmouth.
holes in the English ship’s hull which immediately slowed She was relatively fresh but appeared frozen in terror by
her down and caused her to list heavily to starboard. the attack and her captain shamefully surrendered
She pushed north and next engaged at about a quarter almost without a fight. All of this under the nose of the
past 9 firing in concert with other ships upon the limping English Lord High Admiral. Yarmouth was secured with
Royal Katherine. Captain van Gelder pushed north again her prize crew and set off. At midday, having captured
tracking in to the northwest. She fired ranging shots at two enemy ships single handed, disabled a third and
the English flagship Prince at 10.15 am but was in a engaged the enemy flagship, van Gelder took his ship
position to cross her bows and rake her to great effect at temporarily southwest and expended his last
quarter to the hour. Ahead of her were two large frigates ammunition in a breath taking and deadly act of
windbound in their attempts to clear Southwold Bay and impertinence. His Parthian shot ripped great sections
contribute to the battle. Van Gelder ordered his ship to from the flagship’s hull as he bowed low to the enemy
board the nearer Adventure, bow to bow despite the prince upon his quarterdeck. He brought his ship about,
bulk of Prince looming close off his own larboard quarter. sailing out of the bay bypassing the freshly arrived and
The fight was brisk, but she was captured along with her dangerous Fairfax. Van Gelder’s ship barely had its
heroic captain Tyrwhitt who had earlier taken Waesdorp. paintwork scratched and made a clear run for home.

Ship’s tales – Groot Hollandia
Jan van Brakel’s Groot Hollandia was one of the more Hollandia herself became windbound and stopped dead,
northerly attackers and came upon the enemy squadron but as the enemy ship remained within the arc of her
from the head of its formation. She took some minor guns, the Dutch reloaded very quickly and fired again.
damage from Yarmouth just before 7.45 am and her own This second broadside ignited Dreadnought’s magazine
guns first fired at the enemy flagship Prince almost on and she disappeared in a massive fireball which left only
the stroke of 8 o’ clock. She did not fire again until 8.30 a hollowed-out shell. The time was around 9.20 am.
am, the target again being Prince. Both salvoes found Groot Hollandia remained windbound and trapped
their mark. Just as her guns were being reloaded, Prince behind various floating wrecks for some time. She was in
fired upon the frigate Damiaten and blew her up. At that danger of being outflanked by Victory between 10 and
point, Groot Hollandia was passing her to leeward and 11 o’clock, but the enemy ship had problems of her own
huge pieces of wreckage were blown against her and sailed by. With outstanding navigational skills, van
larboard side and fell upon the deck causing Brakel got his ship through the field of wrecks and
considerable damage. The damage was largely made poured his last ammunition into the stern of Victory as
good and at 9 o’clock, she began to engage the 60-gun she sailed north and he crossed her wake. She narrowly
Dreadnought which was by then to windward and lying avoided a collision with Reigersbergen as both ships
off her larboard bow. Van Brakel’s first broadside against headed out of the bay with guns empty, around noon. It
her smashed the rudder and tiller forcing the English ship had been a successful and eventful battle for Groot
into a circular course bearing anticlockwise. Groot Hollandia. Her damage was disproportionately light.

Using an
English Fleet
Using the English fleet
English ships doing what they did best – pounding the enemy.
The English fleet during the 3rd Anglo-Dutch War is an This battle fully demonstrated the hitting capabilities of
asset of awesome power containing the most formidable the fleet’s capital ships. Only one First rate was included
ships in the world. In a stand up shoot out, it is in the order of battle but the fleet had seven at this time.
unbeatable. Its abundance of large ships with heavy guns The shock impact of the broadsides was self evident
gives it the maximum opportunity to inflict unsustainable when Prince and Victory took out three frigates between
damage in the enemy. Its ships are however, slow and them, each in a single firing. The mid-range ships are also
heavy, potentially prone to grounding in treacherous as powerful as all but a couple of the largest Dutch ships.
waters and there is a distinct lack of light frigates which Royal Katherine failed to exhibit her potential in this
had been forsaken for heavier gunned and more robust battle but on a good day these Second rates will provide
assets. This scenario did not allow a line of battle to be as much firepower as the biggest ships available to the
established which may have proved impossible to beat. Dutch fleet. The English made less use of fireships than
English ships are also a little more reluctant to close an the Dutch but there were many with the fleet at
board with an able and relatively undamaged enemy. Southwold Bay. These all began the day well inshore and
Keeping the ships in mutually supportive positions and the weather conditions prevented them from coming up
close to the flagship is good practice. Choosing in support of the beleaguered ships of the line. English
characters sensibly with a good sprinkling of Master admirals of the period were general very competent and
gunners and Carpenters should provide both offensive offensively minded. These were well able to match all
and defensive capabilities and keep the fleet operational. but a small clutch of Dutch leaders.

Using a
Dutch Fleet
Using the Dutch fleet
The Dutch fleet during the 3rd Anglo-Dutch War is flair for dramatic action and the utilization of unexpected
completely transformed from that which fought in the opportunities. Dutch ships were generally lighter, faster
first war twenty years before. It also differed markedly and more nimble that the English battleships. Only their
from that which fought in the second war. The Dutch largest ships carried guns of compatible calibre to the
had committed to building custom warships to match all standard English vessels and never in the same
but the largest English ships in a tacet admission that quantities. Dutch ships will generally lose in a stand up
their tactics, ships and performance in the first two wars shooting match with the English, but a judicious choice
had generally not been good enough. Although the of plenty of master gunners, master mariners and
second war was seen as a Dutch victory, this was largely carpenters should keep the fleet manoeuvrable and with
achieved through the ability of its outstanding abundant tactical options. The Dutch were particularly
commanders and a lack of English money to maintain keen on the use of fireships or branders as they called
their hugely expensive fleet and keep it at sea. By the them. Proportionately there were usually more of them
beginning of the third war the Dutch had increasing than on the enemy side. One officer who made his name
numbers of ships pierced for seventy to eighty guns and as a brander-schipper and played a prominent role in this
had more or less, adopted the line of battle tactic as the scenario was Jan van Brakel. For those who survived, this
default deployment. Many Dutch admirals had been was a tough and educational training ground. Van Brakel
captains during the first and second wars and retained a did not disgrace himself as captain of Groot Hollandia.
Dutch frigates plagued the English in the foreground, a brander menaces at left and the battleships threaten in the distance.

The 3rd Anglo-Dutch War Further reading
Sources for further perspectives

• Threedecks.org (Naval source website)
• Navy Board Ship Models. Nick Ball and Simon
If you are interested to discover more about the forces
Stephens.
and personalities involved in The 3rd Anglo-Dutch War
• French Warships in the Age of Sail 1626-1786. Rif
here are some sources:
Winfield and Stephen S Roberts.
• Great Ships Frank L .Fox
• Dutch warships in the Age of Sail 1600-1714 James
• British Warships in the Age of Sail 1603-1714 Rif
Bender.
Winfield
• leagueofaugsburg.blogspot.com
• Dutch Warships in the Age of Sail 1600-1714 James
• Solebay fleet lists JD Davies
Bender
• From Solebay to the Texel Quintin Barry • The other Norfolk Admiral Simon Harris

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Southwold Bay

May 28th 1672

4Play wargaming scenarios WordTwister Publishing 2022

4Play wargaming scenarios WordTwister Publishing 2022

Category 8 (24 Strength points).

4Play wargaming scenarios WordTwister Publishing 2022

Category 7 (24 Strength points).

Provincie van Utrecht

4Play wargaming scenarios WordTwister Publishing 2022

Deventer was built for the

4Play wargaming scenarios WordTwister Publishing 2022

Draak Velsen Category 5 (10 Strength points). 4

Also known as Draeck or Groene

Vrede and Velsen

Category 4 (8 Strength points). 4

Typical Dutch branders.

4Play wargaming scenarios WordTwister Publishing 2022

Damiaten: 34 guns. Characters: Master mariner 110 points.

Windhond: 34 guns. Characters: Carpenter 85 points.

Edam: 32 guns. 60 points.

4Play wargaming scenarios WordTwister Publishing 2022

Category 7 (16 Strength points).

4Play wargaming scenarios WordTwister Publishing 2022

Category 8 (24 Strength points).

Royal Constant. Hull: Sturdy. Crew:

She was one of the first major

4Play wargaming scenarios WordTwister Publishing 2022

Category 6 (12 Strength points). 52

Launched during the Commonwealth

4Play wargaming scenarios WordTwister Publishing 2022

Category 6 (12 Strength points). 40

Launched during the Civil War in

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Category 2 (4 Strength points). 4

This ketch/yacht was built in 1666

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Leeward table edge

4Play wargaming scenarios WordTwister Publishing 2022

4Play wargaming scenarios WordTwister Publishing 2022

4Play wargaming scenarios WordTwister Publishing 2022

4Play wargaming scenarios WordTwister Publishing 2022

4Play wargaming scenarios WordTwister Publishing 2022

4Play wargaming scenarios WordTwister Publishing 2022

4Play wargaming scenarios WordTwister Publishing 2022

4Play wargaming scenarios WordTwister Publishing 2022

4Play wargaming scenarios WordTwister Publishing 2022

4Play wargaming scenarios WordTwister Publishing 2022

4Play wargaming scenarios WordTwister Publishing 2022

4Play wargaming scenarios WordTwister Publishing 2022

4Play wargaming scenarios WordTwister Publishing 2022

4Play wargaming scenarios WordTwister Publishing 2022

4Play wargaming scenarios WordTwister Publishing 2022

4Play wargaming scenarios WordTwister Publishing 2022

4Play wargaming scenarios WordTwister Publishing 2022

ordered that the flagship shelter in the lee of the last

fireship to windward, each heading in the opposite

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4Play wargaming scenarios WordTwister Publishing 2022

4Play wargaming scenarios WordTwister Publishing 2022

4Play wargaming scenarios WordTwister Publishing 2022

4Play wargaming scenarios WordTwister Publishing 2022

moment to ignite and burn her. Prince meanwhile, was

8.45am. Utrecht engages the mighty Victory.

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