Battle of the Dunes (1658)
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| Battle of the Dunes | |||||||||||||||||
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| Conflict | Franco-Spanish War Anglo-Spanish War | ||||||||||||||||
| Date | June 14, 1658 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place | near Dunkirk, France | ||||||||||||||||
| Result | Anglo-French victory | ||||||||||||||||
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The Battle of the Dunes, fought on June 14, 1658, is also known as the Battle of Dunkirk. It was a victory of the French army, under Turenne, against the Spanish army, led by Don John of Austria (an illegitimate son of the Spanish King Philip IV) and Louis II de Condé). It was part of the Franco-Spanish War and the Anglo-Spanish War. and was fought near present-day Dunkirk.
The 20,000 French including the bodyguard of King Charles II under the command of Lord Wentworth supported by 6,000 troops from English Commonwealth besieged Dunkirk in May 1658.
A Spanish army of about 15,000 men was divided in 2 corps, the Spanish Army of Flanders on the right and the small corps of French rebels, of the Fronde, on the left under the command of Condé. The Spanish corps included a force of 3,000 English/Irish Royalists – formed as the nucleus of potential army for the invasion of England by Charles II, with Charles' brother James, Duke of York, amongst its commanders – was sent to relieve the town.
Leaving some men to continue the siege, Turenne advanced to meet the Spanish army. The battle on June 14, 1658 the which resulted from this manoeuvre, became known in England as the Battle of the Dunes because the red-coats of the New Model Army under the leadership of Sir William Lockhart, Cromwell's ambassador at Paris, in Turenne's army astonished both armies by the stubborn fierceness of their assaults particularly with a successful assault up a strongly defended sandhill 50 meters (150 feet) high.
The battle lasted for about two hours and ended with a rout of the Spanish forces, who lost about 6,000 killed, wounded, and captured with their opponents losing about 500. The French corps of rebels on the left under the command of Condé retreated in good order. The Royalist Cavalier regiments fighting for the Spanish left the battle in good order when they and the Roundheads agreed not to shed any further English blood on a foreign battle field.
When Dunkirk surrendered to Turenne on June 14, Cardinal Mazarin honoured the terms of the treaty with Oliver Cromwell and handed the port over to the Commonwealth.
External links
- The Second Battle of the Dunes 14/06/1658 Anglo-French Victory (Strategic) (http://www.geocities.com/ao1617/Dunes58uk.html)fr:Bataille des Dunes