The Calvary Charge That Captured A Fleet
By: Grant Piper
Tags: Europe, France, Military, History, Netherlands

The Calvary Charge That Captured A Fleet

A lesson on bias and embellishment

Land based French troops capture a Dutch fleet (Charles Louis Mozin)

On the 23rd of January, 1795, a rare instance in military history occurred in the icy waters of the North Sea. A battalion of French cavalry troops managed to force the surrender and capture of a large contingent of Dutch military ships who were at anchor. This was a remarkable feat for a few reasons. First, the French used no naval assets of their own, they were completely land based. Second, it resulted in the capture of fourteen Dutch warships including five ships of the line, a pricey haul. Lastly, this was all done without a single casualty.

This was an important event in the War of the First Coalition which would set up future clashes between the upstart French and the Dutch in Northern Europe.

So how did such an unlikely event unfold?

It depends on who you ask.

The facts

Depending on whose side of the story you take, this event has wildly different details but there are a few things that are agreed upon.

Date: January 23rd, 1795

Location: The straights between Den Helder and Texel

Outcome: Fourteen Dutch warships captured

Casualties: Zero

Outside of these facts, you get two completely different stories from the French side and the Dutch side. Here is how each tells their tale.

The French account

Portrait of Joseph Lahure, the man who allegedly led the French charge (Public domain)

The French’s story is one of wild heroism and unrivaled brilliance. Under the command of General Jan Willem de Winter, the French marched to Der Helder expecting to catch the Dutch fleet at anchor. As expected, they found a large number of dutch warships at anchor but they were put out from the harbor, most likely to avoid being captured by the approaching French.

However, the shallow waters of the Zuiderzee had frozen in the harsh winter temperatures leaving a potential opening for a direct assault on the vulnerable ships.

Deciding to brave the ice, General de Winter ordered his cavalry to mount up. They wrapped the hooves of their horses in cloth to muffle the sound of their approach and prepared to charge into the unknown.

The air was cold and dark. The ice looked solid but no one could be sure. Finally, Lieutenant-Colonel Lahure ordered a charge. Suddenly, dozens of hussars fly across the frozen waters of the North Sea. The ice creaked and moaned but held under the ferocious charge. Now there was an entire battalion of brave Frenchmen thundering across the ice in a charge fit for fiction.

Stunned by the brilliance and bravery of the oncoming troops, the Dutch navy surrendered where she sat, stranded in the ice, and did not fire a shot.

The ships are captured and just a few months later, the Dutch capitulate and are forced to cede territory to the French. It was a glorious victory!

Such a glorious victory it is still talked about in awed voices today. Such bravery, such guts, such an odd military result.

History is written by the victors after all.

The Dutch account

Naturally, the Dutch account is quite a bit different from the French’s story. Instead of a brave charge across the ice, the Dutch claim there were rational negotiations which were made in order to get the best long term outcome.

Instead, the Dutch received orders on January 21st to offer no resistance to the approaching French. The Dutch knew that their fleet was vulnerable and unable to escape the ice which was hindering them. Instead of risking the destruction of their fleet, they decided to surrender the vessels with the intent of winning them back at the end of the war.

According to the Dutch, there was no cavalry charge, instead, the officers met and negotiated the peaceful transfer of the ships into French care.

A letter penned by Lahure in 1846 seems to back up the Dutch claim. Despite also being pegged as the leader of the famous French charge across the ice, he tells of no fighting or glory. He wrote:

“I departed immediately with a company of tirailleurs in wagons and a squadron of light cavalry; before dawn I had taken position in the dunes. When the ships saw us, they prepared their defences. I sent some tirailleurs ahead, and followed with the rest of my forces. The fleet was taken. The sailors received us ‘de bonne grace’ on board.”

He describes being received with grace aboard the ships, much like officers negotiating would have been.

The single greatest fact that backs the Dutch account is that everyone seems to agree that there were no shots fired in this battle. If the French truly were charging across the ice at the ships, the Dutch would have opened fire. Lahure states that the ships had seen them on the shore and prepared defenses. There is no way that the French could have made the mile long charge across open ice and not suffered a single casualty if hostilities were indeed to be met.

Legacy and truth

Signing of the Treaty of the Hague (Public domain)

The legacy of this battle is one of French greatness. The tale is too tantalizing not to be retold. How often can you say a cavalry division captures a fleet at sea with little resistance?

This is a great example of how propaganda is written to embellish tales of glory. It is true, the French captured a Dutch fleet at anchor, something that should be celebrated. However, it is much more likely that the Dutch saw the writing on the wall and willingly gave up those ships.

Despite the grand military victory that the French portray, they returned all fourteen of the ships in May of 1795 in the Treaty of the Hague. The subsequent return of the ships to Dutch hands vindicated their decision to stand down and not risk the expensive navy assets in a battle that day.

This is a great example of how there are three sides to every story: side A, side B, and the truth. The truth usually lies somewhere in the middle.