Battle of the Dunes (1658)

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Battle of the Dunes
Part of the Franco-Spanish War Anglo-Spanish War
Date June 14, 1658 Location near Dunkirk, France Result French victory
Combatants
France England United Provinces	Spain
Commanders
Vicomte de Turenne	Juan José de Austria Louis II de Condé
Strength
26,000 and ships	15,000
Casualties
500 dead or wounded	2,000 dead or wounded 4,000 captured

The Battle of the Dunes, fought on June 14 (Gregorian calendar), 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 John of Austria the Younger and Louis II de Condé. It was part of the Franco-Spanish War and the concurrent Anglo-Spanish War, and was fought near present-day Dunkirk.

The 20,000 French 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 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.^[1][2][3]

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.

[edit] English involvement

When the Lord Protector formed an alliance with France's Louis XIV, the exiled Charles II of England allied himself with Philip IV of Spain. Charles set up his headquarters in Bruges. The Spanish supplied only enough money to form five regiments. This was a disappointment for the Royalists who had hoped to be able to form an army large enough to contemplate an invasion the English Commonwealth. The Grenadier Guards can trace their origins back to Lord Wentworth's Royal Regiment of Guards which was one of five regiments raised in 1656. The Life Guards can trace their origins back to two cavalry troops raised at this time His Majesty's Own Troop of Horse Guards and The Duke of York's Troop of Horse Guards.

English regiments were named after their colonels:

• French army: New Model Army: on the left (by the coast): Cochrane, Alsop, Lillington and Morgan, on the right 200 Montgommery musketeers. Cavalry: Lockhart, Gibbons and Salmo.

• Spanish army: English/Irish royalist battalions: York, Lord Wentworth, Lord Bristol and Lord Newbourgh.

[edit] Further reading

• The Second Battle of the Dunes 14 June 1658 Anglo-French Victory (Strategic)
• East Kent Branch of the Grenadier Guards Association: Origins

[edit] Footnotes

1. ^ This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition article "The Fronde", a publication now in the public domain.
2. ^ Plant, David; Battle of the Dunes, 1658
3. ^ The English had learnt a lot about war since two rabbles had met at the battle of the Battle of Edgehill in 1642.