Battle of Landguard Fort
Who Fought
1,500 marines and 500 sailors
England: 450 militia and marines; 500 infantry (arrived late in battle); 1 galliot
History & Significance
The Battle of Landguard Fort or the Attack on Landguard Fort was a battle towards the end of the Second Anglo-Dutch War on 2 July 1667 where a Dutch force attacked Landguard Fort near Felixstowe. It was intended to clear the way for an attack on the English Royal Naval anchorage at Harwich. After repeated attempts the Dutch attack planned by Michiel de Ruyter was repelled and as a result the planned attack on Harwich was abandoned. It was one of the last battles of the war in Europe before the Treaty of Breda was signed.
In the aftermath of the great Dutch victory on the Medway in June 1667 Michiel de Ruyter now had command of the Thames Estuary which allowed the Dutch to establish a naval blockade of London. Further attempts to operate in the Thames met with less success, and so at the start of July de Ruyter decided to attack Harwich, the next good safe anchorage up the coast from the Thames, and a naval base since 1657.
Before they could attack Harwich itself the Dutch needed to neutralize Landguard Fort, the port's outermost line of defense. Landguard Fort is situated on a spit of land that runs south from Felixstowe across the mouth of the River Stour and River Orwell estuaries, and was built to protect the anchorage at Harwich, on the opposite side of the estuary. The governor of Landguard Fort was Nathanial Darrell and was defended by 400 experienced musketeers of the Duke of York and Albany's Maritime Regiment. The Fort itself had forty cannon with approximately one-hundred men and officers for gun crews.
De Ruyter split two of his squadrons in the attack with one squadron operating inside the estuary and one out to sea. As they moved forward they came across unexpectedly shallow water which meant that the attack from the estuary was totally abandoned, but seaward squadron could fire a few shots at long range. He had intended to support this attack with naval gunfire at relatively close range but De Ruyter still pressed ahead.
The Dutch now sent the marines into boats and rowed to shore with some 1,500 marines and 500 sailors under the command of Colonel Thomas Dolman (a hardliner Parliamentarian turncoat), the English commander of the Dutch land forces. They landed on the coast to the north of the fort at Cobbold's Point. This put them out of range of the guns in the fort, but also meant that they had to split their forces. The Dutch left the smaller part of their force at the cliffs the vast majority of them sailors, and this left the marines to attack on their own. The marines marched south to attack the fort while they had the hard task of dragging their cannons across the shingle.
The ground they fought on
The site of Battle of Landguard Fort lies on Lambeth Group, bedrock that formed in the Paleocene. The rock here is clay, silt, sand and gravel.
- 150 killed, wounded or captured
- England: 10 casualties
Frequently Asked Questions
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- Battle of Landguard Fort · Wikidata
- Battle_of_Landguard_Fort · Wikipedia