Maarten Tromp

Naval career

Maarten Tromp was supreme commander of the Dutch fleet during the later part of the Eighty Years' War and throughout the First Anglo-Dutch War. He is widely considered the best Dutch naval commander during most of this time. Tromp's former superior, Admiral Piet Pieterszoon Hein, once told a friend that Tromp as a seaman and a commander possessed a sound character that distinguished him from all the captains he had ever known. Tromp joined the Dutch navy as a lieutenant in July 1622, entering service with the Admiralty of the Maze based in Rotterdam, serving aboard the Bruynvisch. On 7 May 1624, he married Dignom Cornelisdochter de Haes, the daughter of a merchant; in the same year he became captain of the St. Antonius, a fast sailing dispatch and escort yacht. His first distinction was as Lieutenant-Admiral Hein's flag captain on the Vliegende Groene Draeck during the fight with Ostend privateers in 1629 in which Hein was killed, after which Tromp returned home with his body.

Eighty Years' War

During the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648), Tromp was appointed as full captain in 1629 at the initiative of stadtholder Frederick Henry himself, where Tromp demonstrated that he was very successful in fighting the Dunkirkers as a squadron commander, functioning as a commandeur on the Vliegende Groene Draeck. Despite receiving four honorary golden chains, he was not promoted further. The Vliegende Groene Draeck foundered and new heavy vessels were reserved for the flag officers while Tromp was relegated to the old Prins Hendrik. After Tromp's first wife died in 1634, with whom he had three sons left for Tromp to support, he subsequently left the naval service that year in disappointment. He became a deacon and married Alijth Jacobsdochter Arckenboudt, the daughter of Brill's wealthy schepen and tax collector, on 12 September 1634.

In 1637 Tromp re-enlisted in the Dutch navy and was promoted from captain to Lieutenant-Admiral of Holland and West Frisia, under the Stadtholder, Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange. This occurred following the resignation of Lieutenant-Admiral Philips van Dorp, and the dismissal of Vice-Admiral Jasper Liefhebber, and other flag officers due to incompetence, neglecting the Dutch navy which had fallen into a deplorable state, with several captains resigning their commissions and seeking service with the army. With the resignation of van Dorp on 27 October the States of Holland once again asked Tromp to accept the command of the Dutch navy. Tromp accepted but under the conditions that afforded him greater authority than was allowed for the navy’s previous commanders, remembering how badly the fleet had been neglected by them under van Dorp. Tromp insisted on a greater number of ships, which were to be well outfitted with supplies, and well manned. The States gave Tromp their solemn promise that they would grant all his requests. The terms of Tromp’s official appointment from the Stadtholder further strengthened his position. Witte de With, a year younger, very brave but brutal and ill-tempered, was appointed as his vice-admiral. Both were born in Den Briel and served as flag captains under Piet Hein. Although formally ranking under the Admiral-General Frederick Henry of Orange, he was the de facto supreme commander of the Dutch fleet, as the stadtholders never fought at sea. Tromp was mostly occupied with blockading the privateer port of Dunkirk.

With his flagship, the Aemilia, Tromp promptly re-established the neglected blockade of Dunkirk and took steps to hinder the transportation of Spanish troops to Flanders. Tromp out-maneuvered Oquendo's fleet which was bound for Flanders but was forced to retreat to England at the Downs, behind the sandbanks of the Kentish coast, where they remained trapped, while a prolonged debate preceding the Wars of the Three Kingdoms continued in London. Tromp was already familiar with the channel from his cruising during 1637 and 1638, and sailed to Calais Roads, blocking the southwestern entrance of Dunkirk, where he resupplied his fleet from Calais with the support of Cardinal Richelieu. Now with a reinforced fleet Tromp, in spite of the objection of Charles I, who was on good terms with the Spain,. attacked on 21 October, during the Battle of the Downs, destroying a large proportion of Oquendo's armada. During the Fight in the Channel, a preliminary action to the Downs, Tromp was the first fleet commander known for the deliberate use of line of battle tactics, marking the end of Spanish naval power. For his landmark victory Tromp was rewarded by the States-General and knighted by Louis XIII of France, a close Dutch ally in the war against Spain. Shortly thereafter his second wife died. Tromp married again in 1640, to Cornelia van Berckhout. In 1643 the deputy of parliament in Holland made a loud protest in the General Assembly against the Prince of Orange for his orders to Tromp to allow two of the frigates bought by English royalists in Dunkirk, to be released for their use and command.

During his career, his main rival was Vice-Admiral Witte de With, who also served the Admiralty of Rotterdam (de Maze) from 1637. De With temporarily replaced him as supreme commander for the Battle of Kentish Knock. Tromp's crew would not permit De With, who had a reputation of severity when disciplining a crew, to raise his flag on their ship, and insisted that he use the Prins Willem as his flagship. Tromp's successor was Lieutenant-Admiral Jacob van Wassenaer Obdam.

Tromp commanded the Dutch squadron that escorted Queen Henrietta Maria in 1643 when she returned from The Hague to King Charles I. Opposed to her returning to England the Parliamentarian squadron under William Batten threatened to attack the Queen's convoy when it landed at Bridlington but was thwarted by Tromp to withdraw.

First Anglo-Dutch War

In the First Anglo-Dutch War of 1652 to 1653, Tromp commanded the Dutch fleet in the battles of Dover, Dungeness, Portland, the Gabbard and Scheveningen.

Prior to the war, Oliver Cromwell and the Rump Parliament had issued an ordinance prohibiting foreign trade and requiring all foreign fleets in the North Sea or the Channel to lower their flag in salute and as a sign of compliance. A Dutch embassy was in London trying to negotiate a lifting of the Navigation Acts, but without much success. On 19 May 1652, Tromp was cruising in the English Channel with a fleet of forty ships between Nieuport and the mouth of the Meuse River, with general orders to protect Holland's commerce, while keeping watch over the English navy, which was searching and seizing Dutch merchant ships prior. English Admiral Robert Blake had recently seized seven richly laden Dutch merchant ships, off the coast of Fairlight. Blake was now lying in Dover Roads with fifteen ships, while eight others were anchored in Bourne in the Downs. When Tromp failed to lower his flag in salute, Blake, aboard his flagship James, believing Tromp had just received orders from a dispatch ketch to commence battle, fired two warning shots with no cannonballs. The Battle of Dover was begun when Tromp refused to strike his flag and instead hoisted a red battle flag in defiance, which prompted James to fire a third shot, hitting Tromp's ship and wounding some crew members. This was followed with Tromp returning fire with a warning broadside from his flagship Brederode. James in turn fired a broadside and a five-hour battle ensued. The fighting continued until nightfall, where both sides withdrew, the battle having no distinct victor. Shortly after the battle a board of commissioners, which included Cromwell, after questioning witnesses, had concluded that Tromp had deliberately provoked hostilities. Subsequently the Dutch Republic withdrew its three ambassadors from Westminster, and on 8 July 1652 England declared war against the Dutch.

Tromp, with a larger fleet than he had ordered for, sailed to the Downs and found that Blake had made it to the north-east coast, where he set sail for the Thames River. Near the mouth of the river he came upon an English squadron commanded by Sir George Ayscue, which had the advantage of the weather gage, thus preventing Tromp from engaging effectively. Subsequently, Tromp decided to return to the Dutch coast, which was a decision that was not at all well received by the Dutch government, resulting in his removal from command, with Vice-admiral Witte de With taking his place.

On 8 October 1652, with Tromp's command still in suspension, De With underestimating Blake, with 60 ships, attempted an attack at the Battle of the Kentish Knock, but ended with Blake sending the defeated De With back to Holland. Although De With was the more adept tactician, he was no match against Blake's force that included the heavy English ships Resolution and Sovereign, the two largest warships in the world at the time. The significance of De With's defeat was received over-optimistically by the Council of State, leading them to assume that Blake now had control over the English Channel. The Council subsequently dispersed their fleets to protect English interests in the Baltic Sea and North Sea, while another fleet was sent to reinforce the English squadron in the Mediterranean. This left Blake with about forty ships that were in anchor in the Downs, and a situation that was compounded by a lack of funds to pay for badly needed repairs and for the crews.

Subsequent to De With's defeat, Tromp was reinstated as commander, on 8 May, which proved to be a big boost for Dutch naval morale, which was the highest it had been since he was dismissed months before in July. The Battle of Dungeness occurred on 30 November 1652, and proved to be the most important Dutch victory during the war, with Tromp's fleet winning for the Dutch the temporary control of the English Channel. A great convoy of 300 merchant ships was ready to leave the Netherlands headed for the Bay of Biscay, accompanied by a large fleet of 73 warships and a small number of fireships which were sent in escort to protect it. Tromp was in command, with Jan Evertsen and De Ruyter as his subordinate commanders. Admiral Blake had seriously underestimated Dutch strength, possibly due to poor visibility, as his fleet was outnumbered, two-to-one. Blake sailed parallel to the Dutch fleet along the English coast towards Dungeness, with the coastline beginning to bend to the south. As the fleets were approaching Dungeness Point Blake's fleet became pinned against the shore bringing the two fleets close together. Tromp subsequently hoisted the red battle-flag and advanced on Blake’s new flagship, the Triumph. The battle that developed involved only a part of the Dutch fleet as the winds were preventing the others from engaging in a timely fashion. There was much hand-to-hand fighting that lasted until about 5:00 pm with the advance of nightfall, with the Dutch fleet prevailing, capturing several English ships, while Blake retreated to the mouth of the Thames. Tromp's victory prompted the English navy to issue several major reforms. According to contemporary English sources, after his victory at Dungeness, Tromp attached a broom to his mast as a symbol that he had swept the English from the sea.

The naval Battle of the Gabbard, took place on 2–3 June 1653, (12–13 June 1653 Gregorian calendar) off the coast of Suffolk, England near the Gabbard shoal. Tromp, aboard his flagship Brederode with de With aboard Vrijheid, was in command of 98 ships and six fireships, divided in five squadrons, while Generals at Sea George Monck and Richard Deane were in command of 100 ships and five fireships, divided into three squadrons. Tromp's fleet was organized mostly for boarding actions and were largely crewed with soldiers for that purpose, while the English employed the use of superior firepower. Blake joined the English fleet on 3 June. Though his fleet was very low on ammunition Tromp decided for a direct attack, but at the time the winds became almost still, leaving the Dutch fleet vulnerable in the face of superior English fire. Subsequently the Dutch lost seventeen ships captured or sunk, while the English lost none. Deane was killed during the action. It was one of the worst defeats ever suffered by the Dutch navy, leaving the English in control of the English Channel.

During the Battle of Scheveningen, the last battle of the war, on 31 July 1653, Tromp was killed by an English sharpshooter in the rigging of William Penn's ship. Tromp's flagship, the Brederode, broke through the English line where an intense battle ensued, resulting in Tromp's imminent death. Tromp's last words were, "It is all over, O Lord, be merciful to me and thy poor people." Members of his crew carried the mortally wounded Tromp below deck to his cabin, where he died. His acting flag captain, Egbert Bartholomeusz Kortenaer, on the Brederode kept up fleet morale by not lowering Tromp's standard, pretending Tromp was still alive. At this point Evertsen assumed command, and with this the Dutch admirals returned to their ships and resumed battle with "unabated vigour". The loss of Tromp was a severe blow to the Dutch navy. The battle proved to be a tactical victory for the English, but a strategic victory for the Dutch in that they had the blockade removed.

Legacy

Tromp was held in high esteem in the Dutch navy and with the general public. His death was a severe blow to the Dutch navy but also to the Orangists, who sought the replacement of the Commonwealth of England with the House of Stuart. Republican influence strengthened after Scheveningen, which led to peace negotiations with the Commonwealth, culminating in the Treaty of Westminster. He received a state funeral in August 1653 at the Oude Kerk in Delft where a monument was erected to his honour. Tromp, a "sea hero", was immensely popular with the Dutch public, a sentiment expressed by poet Joost van den Vondel, who wrote a poem describing the marble grave monument to Tromp in Delft showing the admiral at his moment of death with a burning English fleet on the foreground:

Here rests the hero Tromp, the brave protector

of shipping and free sea, serving free land

his memory alive in artful spectre

as if he had just died at his last stand

His knell the cries of death, guns' thunderous call

a burning Brittany too Great for sea alone

He's carved himself an image in the hearts of all

more lasting than grave's splendour and its marble stone

Tromp's second son, Cornelis Maartenszoon Tromp (1629-1691) was also a distinguished naval officer. Cornelis later became Commander of the Dutch navy, in the rank of Lieutenant-Admiral-General, after previously having commanded the Danish navy. Several ships of the Royal Netherlands Navy have carried the name HNLMS Tromp after them.

In the 2015 film Michiel de Ruyter Maarten Tromp is portrayed by Rutger Hauer.