Battle of Plymouth

Encyclopedia : B : BA : BAT : Battle of Plymouth

The naval Battle of Plymouth took place on 26 August 1652 during the First Anglo-Dutch War. General-at-Sea George Ayscue of the Commonwealth of England, commanding a fleet of 40 men-of-war and 5 fire ships, attacked an outward bound convoy of the United Provinces escorted by 23 men-of-war and 6 fire ships commanded by Admiral Michiel de Ruyter. The two commanders had been personal friends before the war.

The disparity of forces was redressed by the participation of armed merchantmen from the convoy, and by firing at the English masts and rigging, the Dutch were able to force Ayscue to break off the engagement and return to Plymouth for repair while the Dutch convoy sailed safely to the Atlantic. Ayscue's claim of having won a victory was unconvincing and he was relieved of his command.

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.