Capture of the Dutch fleet at Den Helder
in Den Helder, NetherlandsCategory: Attraction
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Polderweg 108, 1782 EC Den Helder, Netherlands Print route »
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The Capture of the Dutch fleet at Den Helder or the Battle of Texel occurred in the night of the 23 January 1795, and presents a rare occurrence of a "naval" battle between warships and cavalry, in which a French Hussar regiment surprised a Dutch fleet frozen at anchor between the port of Den Helder and the island of Texel. After an extraordinary charge across the frozen Zuiderzee, the French cavalry captured 14 Dutch ships and 850 guns. A capture of ships by horsemen is an extremely rare feat in military history. However, some sources (Dutch) say that no battle actually took place, and that the French Hussars merely accepted a previously agreed-upon surrender of the Dutch fleet.The French units were the 8th Hussar Regiment and the 15th Line Infantry Regiment of the French Revolutionary Army. Jean-Charles Pichegru was the leader of the French army that invaded the Dutch Republic. The Dutch fleet was commanded by H. Reintjes. The actual capture was accomplished by Jean-Guillaume de Winter and Louis Joseph Lahure. The action happened during the War of the First Coalition, part of the French Revolutionary Wars.
