Battle of Solebay

Battle of Solebay
	Part of the Franco-Dutch War and Third Anglo-Dutch War
	; The Burning of the Royal James at the Battle of Solebay, 28 May 1672 by Willem van de Velde the Younger
Date	6 June 1672
Location	Solebay, England
Result	Dutch victory Anglo-French invasion of the Dutch Republic prevented;
Belligerents
Dutch Republic	England; France
Commanders and leaders
Michiel de Ruyter; Adriaen Banckert; Willem Joseph van Ghent †	James, Duke of York; Edward Montagu †; Jean II d'Estrées
Strength
61 ships of the line ; 14 frigates ; 32 fire ships ; 22 smaller ships; 4,500 guns; 20,700 men	80 ships of the line ; 13 frigates ; 24 fire ships ; 28 smaller ships ; 6,158 guns; 35,000-40,000 men
Casualties and losses
1 ship destroyed ; 1 ship captured ; ≈1,600 sailors killed	4 ships destroyed ; ≈2,500 sailors killed

The naval Battle of Solebay took place on 28 May Old Style, 7 June New Style 1672 and was the first naval battle of the Third Anglo-Dutch War.

The battle began as an attempted raid on Solebay port where an English fleet was anchored and largely unprepared for battle. They were then surprised by a Dutch fleet. The battle prevented a planned allied naval invasion of the Dutch Republic and boosted the morale of the Dutch population.

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