The Dutch escort protected 112 merchantmen against a stronger French squadron and still enabled most of the convoy to escape. Its four principal escorts faced Jean Bart's larger force, and the survival of roughly eighty percent of the convoy counts as a meaningful defensive success in this assessment. After the Dutch flagship captain was killed, the remaining officers surrendered and the other escorts followed the flagship's example. Bart captured or burned 25 merchant ships before Rear Admiral John Benbow's 18 ships of the line appeared. The French squadron then used its speed to escape toward Denmark with prisoners rather than risk destruction by the heavier Royal Navy force.
Chapter · 25:20-42:12
Jean Bart's 1696 attack on the Dutch convoy
Jean Bart overwhelms a Dutch escort, captures part of its convoy, and escapes when Admiral Benbow's heavier Royal Navy force approaches.