Battle of Palawan
Professor Grinny walks into the semi-crowded lecture hall in a huff. His presence was not immediately felt by the class of freshmen until the he thrown his textbooks on the lecture desk. “Bang”.
“Now do I have all of your undivided attention?” he says in jest.
“To all of you who are not here last week and I see a few”, as the Professor points to a group of young men sitting in the middle of the hall. “My name is Professor Grinny. Welcome to Naval Warfare History, lesson deux.
The Professor switched the projector on. “Last week we are just about to discuss the Battle of Palawan, at Sulu sea when the dreaded bell deprive you of that joy”. A feel minor giggling was heard.
“Of course for all you non-geeks out there, Sulu Sea is not in Africa, it has absolutely nothing to do with the Zulu either. As you see from the projector, Sulu sea is located at the south west of Philippines”.
Professor Grinny took a bite at his apple on the desk before continuing, “The year was 1855, the date 30-11-1855. As I mentioned last week, Spain has declared colonial war on Netherlands hoping to wrest North Borneo away from the Dutch. The Battle at Palawan would be the first major Naval Battle after Trafalgar. So it was on this eventual day, that the Dutch Fleet encounter the Spanish Armada of the coast of Palawan”.
Click (slide changed). “And who do we have on both sides? Yes ladies and gentlemen, on your red corner, weighing at a combined strength of 7 man-of-war and 14 frigates with 700 guns (10-pounders), we have Admiral Xaxier Hernandez Alfarro and on the Orange corner, weighing at a combined strength of 5 man-of-war and 10 frigares with 800 guns (12-pounders), we have the legendary Vice-Admiral Pierre de Vries (as he then was).
“Jeremy, you seems to be the geek here, can you name all the ships in this battle?” the Professor direct his question to an enthusiastic looking guy at the 1st row.
Jeremy proudly says, “Of course. The Spanish Armada line of ships consists of Miguel, San Sino, Cristal, Hernandez, San Juan, Valencia, Malaga, Estefan, La Fuentes, Mallorca, Seville, Granada, Borchelo, Octavio, Luzon, Alfredo, Cimcanti, Tiko, Alca, Alva and Coruna. The Dutch Far-East Fleet are made up of Hr.Ms William I, their flagship, Java, Palembang, Groningen, Stuyvesant, Minuet, Renssalaer, Verhulfst, Kieft, Haarlem, Batavia, Riebecks, van Diemen, Klein Amsterdam and ..Wezel”.
“Bravo”, as the Professor claps his hand. “Here, have an apple as your reward” as the Professor toss an apple to Jeremy before he continues.
“ At around 11 a.m, de Vries spotted the Spanish Armada off the coast of Pahlawan island, in the Sulu Sea, The weather had suddenly turned calm following a week of gales. As de Vries get ready to line up his ships in line, he noticed another fleet coming from his left flank. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it belongs to the Spaniard.”
“Professor, but you said last week that Vice-Admiral de Ruyter was anchored at the Spanish coast to prevent the break-out”, asked a student.
“Yes. Indeed that was what de Ruyter was assigned to do. But what the Dutch High Navy Command did not know was that the main bulk of Spanish Armada have already left for Philippines one year before the war broke out. Yes I know, you want to ask surely a fleet of that size would have been detected by the Dutch Navy patrolling the Java Sea. The Spaniard though of that as well. In the end they took the other route, vide the Pacific. Of course it’s a long and dangerous journey but it’s a risk they are willing to take.”
“So you mean the 1st Fleet was just sitting there watching over a phantom fleet?”
“Precisely. Now where am I, Yes, At this point de Vries have calculated that the Spanish Armada would have easily 6 more ships than him. Gun-wise the margin might be lowered. Of course, in hindsight we all know now in fact the Dutch have more guns as the Spaniard fleet is not fully equipped but de Vries doesn’t know this”.
“11:15a.m, de Vries was forced to make changes to his initial plan of classic line of ships battle. For you naval warfare illiterate, line of ships battle refers to a situation where ships were line up in a single vertical line as oppose to individual ships battling each other. The obvious advantage to this tactic over previous naval tactics — in which ships closed on each other for individual combat — that each ship in the line can fire its broadside without fear of hitting a friendly ship.
11:35, de Vries called for his second, Rear Admiral Schnoops, to discuss his new plan. Believing that the balance of power have tilted in favour of the Spaniard. De Vries suggested to Schnoops that they are going to do a modified ‘Nelson’.
For those of you who are lost, which I am very sure most of you are, what de Vries is doing is essentially abandoning the vertical line principle and line-up the ships in two horizontal lines instead. The first column would be lead by himself, consisting of his ship William I, Java, Palembang, Groningen, Stuyvesant, Minuet, Renssalear and Verhulfst while the second column to be commanded by Schnoops would make up of the rest of the fleet. They will attempt the break the line, much like punching a hole through a sheet of paper.
As most commanders would place his flagship in the middle of the line, if the charge were successful, not only would it break the line but also the enemy commander himself would be in peril. This would seriously disrupt their organization and communication abilities which are imperative in a ship-in-line tactics.
At around noon, Admiral Alfarro has arranged his ships-in-line. Totalling 21 ships the line however was not perfect as Alfarro makes the fatal mistake of placing the bulky triple-decker San Juan and Valencia as the 6th & 7th ships in line. This mistake will come back and haunt the Spaniard later in the battle.
12:13 p.m, the two columns respectively lead by de Vries and Schnoops charge towards centre of the line. Alfarro sensibly orders fire but the Spanish 10-pounders proved to be less than effective.
Schnoops sailing under Wezer, was under constant fire from Luzon and Alfredo, the two man-of –war breaking ranks and sailing from the van (vanguard) as the Spaniard slowly losing its shape.
Break the line might sound challenging be in actual fact a lot of elements must worked in your favour for you to pull this out. Firstly your opponent line must not be perfect and well coordinated; reference can also be made to Villenueve’s line in Trafalgar. Secondly your ships attempting to break the line will be subjected to constant fire from enemy ships that will be on their broadside and finally you need speed. The more speed you gather the faster you reach the line and greater impact, understand?
Now let’s examine de Vries position. Alfarro’s ships on the line were less than perfect. This is partly due to the lack of quality naval officers in the Spaniard side. Secondly the 10-pounders are not able to inflict the necessary damages on the Dutch Fleet and so finally, de Vries needs his wind. Does he have it?
Yes, as if his prayers were answered, at approximately 12:23 (accoding to his Captain's log) a gust of wind suddenly blow from his rear and increase the charge momentum greatly.
With the wind behind them now, the moment of impact finally comes around 12:45 p.m as the two columns smash the middle line of the Spanish Armada. Alfarro seeing that his line is about to be broken, suddenly panicked. He ordered his fleet to be split into two. Sensing this de Vries thrust behind the line and turn towards the San Juan and Valencia at his left flank, ignoring Alfarro’s flagship Miguel. The Dutch fires their 12-pounders relentlessly at San Juan and Valencia.
In the meantime, Rear Admiral Schnoops, makes a sweeping move towards the right flank of the Spanish Armada, fierce engagement was reported between the Dutch light frigate, Klein Amsterdam and her counterpart Tiko as both ships exchange brutal fires for nearly half an hour.
The raking manoeuvre was employed with great success by the Dutch ships. When attacking the enemy line, a Dutch vessel would steer for a gap between enemy vessels. After brilliant seamanship had gained the Dutch ship an advantageous position, a broadside was fired at one enemy vessel before sailing in front of it to unleash yet another broadside into the stern of the next ship in the line. Yet another broadside was then delivered to that crippled vessel from the other side.
At 1:34 p.m, San Juan and Valencia capitulated but not before she landed a hard hit on Java. The destruction of these two ships caused the rest four frigates at the van (left flank) to be trapped as their escape route was now blocked by the burning San Juan and Valencia. By now the Spanish Armada was in total confusion and disarray. As of 2:00p.m, Alfarro has lost San Juan, Valencia, Seville, San Sino, Octavio, Malaga, La Fuentes and Cristal while de Vries only have one casualty, Java.
Out number and outgun, Alfarro decides to flee the battle scene but not before de Vries has order two of his lighter and speedier frigates, Renssalaer and Stuyvesant to gives chase. Their order is strict. Do not sink Miguel, just attack the mast and immobilized her.
Seeing their Admiral fleeing the battle, the Spaniard quickly surrendered in masse. Around, 2:45 p.m, the speedier Dutch frigates have caught up with Miguel and a fierce battle ensured. Despite boosting more guns, the triple-decker Miguel was unable to match the seamanship of the Dutch frigates. By 3:10p.m, Miguel was all but a sitting duck floating in the middle of the ocean awaiting the arrival of Hr.Ms. William I. The battle of Palawan was over.
All and all 12 Spanish’s ships were sunk while the remaining 9 including Alfarro’s Miguel were captured. The only Dutch casualty are the double-decker Hr.Ms. Java and Hr.Ms van Diemen.
The battle of Palawan effectively ended the Spaniard Navy presence in the Asia Pacific. The Royal Netherlands navy (Koninklijke Marine) now have total control of the sea.
The end of the war now is just a matter of time".
Professor Grinny walks into the semi-crowded lecture hall in a huff. His presence was not immediately felt by the class of freshmen until the he thrown his textbooks on the lecture desk. “Bang”.
“Now do I have all of your undivided attention?” he says in jest.
“To all of you who are not here last week and I see a few”, as the Professor points to a group of young men sitting in the middle of the hall. “My name is Professor Grinny. Welcome to Naval Warfare History, lesson deux.
The Professor switched the projector on. “Last week we are just about to discuss the Battle of Palawan, at Sulu sea when the dreaded bell deprive you of that joy”. A feel minor giggling was heard.
“Of course for all you non-geeks out there, Sulu Sea is not in Africa, it has absolutely nothing to do with the Zulu either. As you see from the projector, Sulu sea is located at the south west of Philippines”.
Point of Engagement
Professor Grinny took a bite at his apple on the desk before continuing, “The year was 1855, the date 30-11-1855. As I mentioned last week, Spain has declared colonial war on Netherlands hoping to wrest North Borneo away from the Dutch. The Battle at Palawan would be the first major Naval Battle after Trafalgar. So it was on this eventual day, that the Dutch Fleet encounter the Spanish Armada of the coast of Palawan”.
Click (slide changed). “And who do we have on both sides? Yes ladies and gentlemen, on your red corner, weighing at a combined strength of 7 man-of-war and 14 frigates with 700 guns (10-pounders), we have Admiral Xaxier Hernandez Alfarro and on the Orange corner, weighing at a combined strength of 5 man-of-war and 10 frigares with 800 guns (12-pounders), we have the legendary Vice-Admiral Pierre de Vries (as he then was).
“Jeremy, you seems to be the geek here, can you name all the ships in this battle?” the Professor direct his question to an enthusiastic looking guy at the 1st row.
Jeremy proudly says, “Of course. The Spanish Armada line of ships consists of Miguel, San Sino, Cristal, Hernandez, San Juan, Valencia, Malaga, Estefan, La Fuentes, Mallorca, Seville, Granada, Borchelo, Octavio, Luzon, Alfredo, Cimcanti, Tiko, Alca, Alva and Coruna. The Dutch Far-East Fleet are made up of Hr.Ms William I, their flagship, Java, Palembang, Groningen, Stuyvesant, Minuet, Renssalaer, Verhulfst, Kieft, Haarlem, Batavia, Riebecks, van Diemen, Klein Amsterdam and ..Wezel”.
“Bravo”, as the Professor claps his hand. “Here, have an apple as your reward” as the Professor toss an apple to Jeremy before he continues.
“ At around 11 a.m, de Vries spotted the Spanish Armada off the coast of Pahlawan island, in the Sulu Sea, The weather had suddenly turned calm following a week of gales. As de Vries get ready to line up his ships in line, he noticed another fleet coming from his left flank. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it belongs to the Spaniard.”
“Professor, but you said last week that Vice-Admiral de Ruyter was anchored at the Spanish coast to prevent the break-out”, asked a student.
“Yes. Indeed that was what de Ruyter was assigned to do. But what the Dutch High Navy Command did not know was that the main bulk of Spanish Armada have already left for Philippines one year before the war broke out. Yes I know, you want to ask surely a fleet of that size would have been detected by the Dutch Navy patrolling the Java Sea. The Spaniard though of that as well. In the end they took the other route, vide the Pacific. Of course it’s a long and dangerous journey but it’s a risk they are willing to take.”
“So you mean the 1st Fleet was just sitting there watching over a phantom fleet?”
“Precisely. Now where am I, Yes, At this point de Vries have calculated that the Spanish Armada would have easily 6 more ships than him. Gun-wise the margin might be lowered. Of course, in hindsight we all know now in fact the Dutch have more guns as the Spaniard fleet is not fully equipped but de Vries doesn’t know this”.
“11:15a.m, de Vries was forced to make changes to his initial plan of classic line of ships battle. For you naval warfare illiterate, line of ships battle refers to a situation where ships were line up in a single vertical line as oppose to individual ships battling each other. The obvious advantage to this tactic over previous naval tactics — in which ships closed on each other for individual combat — that each ship in the line can fire its broadside without fear of hitting a friendly ship.
11:35, de Vries called for his second, Rear Admiral Schnoops, to discuss his new plan. Believing that the balance of power have tilted in favour of the Spaniard. De Vries suggested to Schnoops that they are going to do a modified ‘Nelson’.
For those of you who are lost, which I am very sure most of you are, what de Vries is doing is essentially abandoning the vertical line principle and line-up the ships in two horizontal lines instead. The first column would be lead by himself, consisting of his ship William I, Java, Palembang, Groningen, Stuyvesant, Minuet, Renssalear and Verhulfst while the second column to be commanded by Schnoops would make up of the rest of the fleet. They will attempt the break the line, much like punching a hole through a sheet of paper.
As most commanders would place his flagship in the middle of the line, if the charge were successful, not only would it break the line but also the enemy commander himself would be in peril. This would seriously disrupt their organization and communication abilities which are imperative in a ship-in-line tactics.
At around noon, Admiral Alfarro has arranged his ships-in-line. Totalling 21 ships the line however was not perfect as Alfarro makes the fatal mistake of placing the bulky triple-decker San Juan and Valencia as the 6th & 7th ships in line. This mistake will come back and haunt the Spaniard later in the battle.
12:13 p.m, the two columns respectively lead by de Vries and Schnoops charge towards centre of the line. Alfarro sensibly orders fire but the Spanish 10-pounders proved to be less than effective.
Schnoops sailing under Wezer, was under constant fire from Luzon and Alfredo, the two man-of –war breaking ranks and sailing from the van (vanguard) as the Spaniard slowly losing its shape.
Break the line might sound challenging be in actual fact a lot of elements must worked in your favour for you to pull this out. Firstly your opponent line must not be perfect and well coordinated; reference can also be made to Villenueve’s line in Trafalgar. Secondly your ships attempting to break the line will be subjected to constant fire from enemy ships that will be on their broadside and finally you need speed. The more speed you gather the faster you reach the line and greater impact, understand?
Now let’s examine de Vries position. Alfarro’s ships on the line were less than perfect. This is partly due to the lack of quality naval officers in the Spaniard side. Secondly the 10-pounders are not able to inflict the necessary damages on the Dutch Fleet and so finally, de Vries needs his wind. Does he have it?
Yes, as if his prayers were answered, at approximately 12:23 (accoding to his Captain's log) a gust of wind suddenly blow from his rear and increase the charge momentum greatly.
With the wind behind them now, the moment of impact finally comes around 12:45 p.m as the two columns smash the middle line of the Spanish Armada. Alfarro seeing that his line is about to be broken, suddenly panicked. He ordered his fleet to be split into two. Sensing this de Vries thrust behind the line and turn towards the San Juan and Valencia at his left flank, ignoring Alfarro’s flagship Miguel. The Dutch fires their 12-pounders relentlessly at San Juan and Valencia.
In the meantime, Rear Admiral Schnoops, makes a sweeping move towards the right flank of the Spanish Armada, fierce engagement was reported between the Dutch light frigate, Klein Amsterdam and her counterpart Tiko as both ships exchange brutal fires for nearly half an hour.
The raking manoeuvre was employed with great success by the Dutch ships. When attacking the enemy line, a Dutch vessel would steer for a gap between enemy vessels. After brilliant seamanship had gained the Dutch ship an advantageous position, a broadside was fired at one enemy vessel before sailing in front of it to unleash yet another broadside into the stern of the next ship in the line. Yet another broadside was then delivered to that crippled vessel from the other side.
At 1:34 p.m, San Juan and Valencia capitulated but not before she landed a hard hit on Java. The destruction of these two ships caused the rest four frigates at the van (left flank) to be trapped as their escape route was now blocked by the burning San Juan and Valencia. By now the Spanish Armada was in total confusion and disarray. As of 2:00p.m, Alfarro has lost San Juan, Valencia, Seville, San Sino, Octavio, Malaga, La Fuentes and Cristal while de Vries only have one casualty, Java.
Out number and outgun, Alfarro decides to flee the battle scene but not before de Vries has order two of his lighter and speedier frigates, Renssalaer and Stuyvesant to gives chase. Their order is strict. Do not sink Miguel, just attack the mast and immobilized her.
Seeing their Admiral fleeing the battle, the Spaniard quickly surrendered in masse. Around, 2:45 p.m, the speedier Dutch frigates have caught up with Miguel and a fierce battle ensured. Despite boosting more guns, the triple-decker Miguel was unable to match the seamanship of the Dutch frigates. By 3:10p.m, Miguel was all but a sitting duck floating in the middle of the ocean awaiting the arrival of Hr.Ms. William I. The battle of Palawan was over.
All and all 12 Spanish’s ships were sunk while the remaining 9 including Alfarro’s Miguel were captured. The only Dutch casualty are the double-decker Hr.Ms. Java and Hr.Ms van Diemen.
The battle of Palawan effectively ended the Spaniard Navy presence in the Asia Pacific. The Royal Netherlands navy (Koninklijke Marine) now have total control of the sea.
The end of the war now is just a matter of time".
21st October 1805
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