The next New Vanguard title is on the warships of the Anglo-Dutch wars. This was a time of much turmoil in Europe with the Dutch having defeated the Spanish and the British undergoing the throes of the Republic, followed by the Restoration and its excesses. (Editor's note: in actuality, I should use Commonwealth in place of British, but British is easier to type and you know what I mean).

One thing that remained fairly constant is that the British needed a sizeable fleet, but then so did the Dutch as this was at probably the height of their expansion. Since both nations were concerned about dominance on the high seas, it was inevitable that there would be strife. This resulted in a succession of three wars, all of which were won by the Dutch.

These wars were pretty much wars at sea and fought by two nations that were rather different in their make-up. While the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland was somewhat unified under one rule, the Dutch Republic were much looser in that each province had their own ship building yards and they did not conform to a national standard as did the British. Both the British and Dutch fleets were comparable in size, and general structure of the ships, but that is where the similarity ended.

British ships were more strongly built and of a deeper draft than Dutch ships. Dutch ships were limited by the shallow waters around their nation and so their ships were lighter built and of shallower draft. However, they were wider, which made them excellent gun platforms and also made the ships faster and more maneuverable. The more strongly built British ships were able to take more damage and able to carry larger guns. However, this was often overshadowed by superior Dutch seamanship which prevented the British from using their heavier weight of broadside.

During the first war, the way these battles were fought were for each captain to act independently of the others, thus turning sea battles into huge melees with ships everywhere. By the time of the second war, the British had figured out that having all ships under one command and sailing in line would provide more firepower on either side and protect the front and rear of the ships. Getting British captains to do this, however, was not the easiest to do and so the Dutch again won.

In the third war, the British had finally gotten the idea, and while this made such an impression on the way sea battles were fought until Nelson, the Dutch, despite having almost no new ships since the last war, still used their superior tactics and luck to win the third war.

Author Angus Konstam does a superlative job of discussing both the historical background of these wars as well as the ships involved, the tactics used and the way crews were trained. Not surprisingly, getting crews in time of war was difficult for both sides. The British impressed people into service while the Dutch used a lot of Scandanavian hires. It is interesting to read that the Dutch, instead of laying up ships in between the wars, used their warships in the trade routes.

I also found it interesting that many of the drawings of ships of both sides came from Dutch artists Willem van de Velde the Elder and Younger. These period drawings are of just the hulls, minus the masts, sails and rigging. This is enhanced by various paintings and the art work of Peter Bull.

Overall, an excellent reference and most interesting read in a period of history that has escaped the notice of many of us. Highly recommended. 

December 2011

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