- Battle of Vélez-Málaga
Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of Málaga
caption=The "Battle of Malaga" by Isaac Sailmaker. Oil on canvas, 1704.
partof=theWar of the Spanish Succession
date=August 24 ,1704
place=nearMálaga ,Spain
result=Indecisive, Allied strategic victory
combatant1=flagicon|France|restauration [George Ripley, Charles Anderson Dana, "The American Cyclopaedia", New York, 1874, p. 250, "...the standard of France was white, sprinkled with golden fleur de lis...". * [http://www.anyflag.com/history/fleur23.htm] The original Banner of France was strewn with fleurs-de-lis. * [http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/dgdisplaylargemeta.cfm?strucID=585779&imageID=1236061&parent_id=585395&word=&s=¬word=&d=&c=&f=&sScope=&sLevel=&sLabel=&lword=&lfield=&num=0&imgs=12&total=98&pos=1&snum=] :on the reverse of this plate it says: "Le pavillon royal était véritablement le drapeau national au dix-huitième siecle...Vue du chateau d'arrière d'un vaisseau de guerre de haut rang portant le pavillon royal (blanc, avec les armes de France)." [http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Flag] from the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica: "The oriflamme and the Chape de St Martin were succeeded at the end of the 16th century, when Henry III., the last of the house of Valois, came to the throne, by the white standard powdered with fleurs-de-lis. This in turn gave place to the famous tricolour."]Kingdom of France
flagicon|Spain|1701 Kingdom of Spain
combatant2=flagicon|EnglandKingdom of England
flagicon|Netherlands|pri United Provinces
commander1=Comte de ToulouseVictor-Marie d'Estrées
commander2=George Rooke
strength1=50 warships
6 frigates
(3,577 guns)
24,275 men
strength2=53 ships of the line
6 frigates
7 fireships
(3,614 guns)
22,543 men
casualties1=1,600 dead or wounded
casualties2=2,700 dead or woundedThe Battle of Málaga (or
Vélez-Málaga ) was the largest naval battle in theWar of the Spanish Succession that took place on24 August 1704 south of Málaga, Spain.The Battle
Less than a week after the Capture of Gibraltar,
Admiral George Rooke received intelligence that a French fleet under the command of Toulouse and d'Estrées was approachingGibraltar . Leaving half his marines to defend the newly won prize, Rooke immediately set off with his combined English-Dutch fleet to engage the French.The outcome of the action that followed, the Battle of Vélez-Málaga, was indecisive. Not a single vessel was sunk or captured on either side but the mutual battering left many ships barely seaworthy and casualties on both sides were high.
Byng's squadron, having expended so much ammunition in the previous bombardment of Gibraltar, was obliged to quit the line.
During the following day, the French kept their distance. On the next morning, the French fleet was nowhere to be seen. Rooke was fearful that it might have gone ahead of him to Gibraltar. In fact, the French had returned to
Toulon claiming a great naval victory. The reality was, however, that by retreating to Toulon the French turned what had been a tactical stalemate into an Allied strategic victory, because after the Battle of Vélez-Málaga the French Navy never again emerged from port in full strength.__NOTOC__
hips involved
England/Netherlands (George Rooke)
(90-gunners and above were 3-deckers)
Vanguard
*"Prince George" (96, flag of Vice-Admiral Sir
John Leake , Captain Stephen Martin)
*"Newark" (80, Captain Richard Clarke)
*"Boyne" (80, Captain James Berkeley)
*"Norfolk" (80, Captain John Knapp)
*"Yarmouth" (70, Captain Jasper Hicks)
*"Berwick" (70, Captain Robert Fairfax)
*"Namur" (96, Captain Christopher Myngs)
*"Barfleur" (96, flag of Admiral SirCloudesley Shovell , Captain James Stuart)
*"Warspite" (70, Captain Edmund Loades)
*"Orford" (70, Captain John Norris)
*"Swiftsure" (70, Captain Robert Wynn)
*"Lennox" (70, Captain William Jumper)
*"Assurance" (66, Captain Robert Hancock)
*"Nottingham" (60, Captain Samuel Whitaker)
*"Tilbury" (50, CaptainGeorge Delaval )
*"Garland" (50, Captain Henry Hobart)Centre
*"Royal Katherine" (90, flag of Admiral Sir
George Rooke , Captain John Fletcher)
*"St George" (96, Captain John Jennings)
*"Shrewsbury" (80, Captain Josias Crowe)
*"Grafton" (70, Captain Sir Andrew Leake)
*"Nassau" (70, Captain Francis Dove)
*"Eagle" (70, Captain Lord Archibald Hamilton)
*"Monmouth" (70, Captain John Baker)
*"Montagu" (60, Captain William Cleveland)
*"Panther" (50, Captain Peregrine Bertie)
*"Kent" (70, flag of Rear-AdmiralThomas Dilkes , Captain Jonas Hanway)
*"Cambridge" (80, Captain Richard Lestock)
*"Royal Oak" (76, Capt. Gerard Elwes)
*"Bedford" (70, Captain Sir Thomas Hardy)
*"Suffolk" (70, Captain Robert Kirkton)
*"Burford" (70, Capt. Kerryll Roffey)
*"Monck" (60, Captain James Mighells)
*"Swallow" (50, Captain Richard Haddock)
*"Ranelagh" (80, flag of Rear-Admiral Georg Byng, Captain John Cowe)
*"Somerset" (80, Captain John Price)
*"Dorsetshire" (80, Captain Edward Whitaker)
*"Torbay" (80, Captain William Caldwell)
*"Essex" (70, Captain John Hubbard)
*"Le Ferme" (70, ex-French, Captain Baron Wyld)
*"Kingston" (60, Captain Edward Acton)
*"Triton" (50, ex-French, Captain Tudor Trevor)
*"Centurion" (50, Captain John Herne)Rear
The rear division comprised the Dutch element of the Anglo-Dutch fleet.
*"Graaf van Albemarle" (64, flag of Lieutenant-Admiral
Gerard Callenburgh ) - blew up on 27th August on the way back to Gibraltar.
*"Unie" (90, flag of Vice-Admiral J. G.van Wassenaer )
*"Gelderland" (72, Capt. P. Schrijver)
*"Dordrecht" (72, Capt. van der Pot)
*"Katwijk" (72, Capt. J. C. Ockersse)
*"Wapen van Vriesland" (64, Capt. C. Middagten)
*"Wapen van Utrecht" (64, Capt. Bolck)
*"Bannier" (64, Capt. J. W. van Ghent)
*"Leeuw" (64)
*"Vliessingen" (64)
*"Nijmegen" (54, Capt. H. Lijnslager)
*"Damiaten" (52)Others
*Five frigates
**"Lark" (40, Captain Charles Fotherby)
**"Roebuck" (40, Cptain Thomas Kempthorne)
**"Charles Galley" (32, Captain Joseph Taylor)
**"Tartar" (32, Captain John Cooper)
**"Newport" (24, Captain George Paddon)
*Two (bomb)s
**"Hare"
**"Terror" (Captain Isaac Cook)
*Seven fireships
**"Firebrand" (Cmdr. Henry Turvill)
**"Griffin" (Cmdr. George Ramsey)
**"Hunter" (Cmdr. Thomas Legge)
**"Lightning" (Cmdr. Archibald Hamilton)
**"Phoenix" (Cmdr. Edmund Hicks)
**"Vulcan" (Cmdr. John Clifton)
**"Vulture" (Cmdr. George Fisher)
*Two hospital ships
**"Princess Anne" (Cmdr. Charles Guy)
**"Jefferies" (Cmdr. Thomas Robinson)
*One yacht
**"William and Mary" (Cmdr. John Robinson)Total
3614 guns, 22543 men
France (Toulouse and d'Estrées)
*"Sérieux" (70, Chamelin)
*"Foudroyant" (104, flagship of Toulouse)Vanguard
*"Fier" (flag of VA de
Villette Mursay )
*"Excellence"
*"Sage"
*"Intrépide" (Jean du Casse )
*"?" (Sainte-Maure)Centre
*"Tonnant" (flag of Toulouse)
*"?" (flag of d'Estrées)
*othersRear
*"?" (flag of RA
de Langeron )
*othersOthers
*6 frigates
*6 fireships
*28 large galleys
*5 tendersTotal
3577 guns, 24275 men
References
External links
* [http://www.gibconnect.com/~loonylenny/tercentenary/1704_malaga/1704_malaga.htm Battle of Velez-Malaga]
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