On This Day..

[Thagarr]

On this day, October 11'th, 1573, an outnumbered Dutch fleet succeeded in defeating a larger and much better equipped Spanish fleet in the Battle on the Zuiderzee!

Henin and his fleet left Amsterdam on October 5 and immediately hit a standstill in the midst of his attack. Gueux forces continually attacked Henin's fleet. Due to the Gueux's lack of heavily armed ships, instead of a frontal assault against the Spanish fleet, they had chosen to attempt to board, and if possible capture the Spanish ships. If capture was not possible, the boats would be destroyed. Trying to minimize their casualties against the heavier guns, the Gueux attempted to head straight for the Spanish ships. But during the battle, heavy winds hindered the Dutch's attempts greatly, as the winds prevented their ships from getting near to the Spanish ships, and thus halting their chance of boarding. With their main mode of attack thwarted, the Dutch fleet was no match for the Spanish guns, and suffered heavy losses.

It was not until October 11 that the wind turned and the Dutch could execute a surprise attack. During this attack, the Spanish flagship was boarded by the Dutch and during the course of the battle ran aground.
The rest of the Spanish fleet fled and Maximilien de Hénin-Liétard and his crew surrendered after the Dutch promised to spare their lives.