Battle of Gibraltar - The Battle

The Battle

Van Heemskerk left some of his ships at the bay entrance to prevent the escape of any Spanish ship.Twenty of the Dutch attacking ships were ordered to focus on the Spanish galleons while the rest attacked the smaller vessels. Van Heemskerk was killed during the first approach on the Spanish flagship as a cannon ball severed his leg. The Dutch effectively then doubled up the galleons (in a move that almost two centuries later was copied by Admiral Nelson during the Battle of the Nile of 1798) and a few of the galleons caught fire. One Spanish ship exploded due to a shot into the powder magazine. The Dutch captured the Spanish flagship, but let it go adrift.

Following the destruction of the Spanish ships, the Dutch deployed boats and killed hundreds of swimming Spanish sailors. The Dutch lost 100 men including admiral Van Heemskerk. 60 Dutch were wounded. The Spanish lost most or their entire fleet and between 350 and 4.000 men killed or captured. Álvarez de Ávila was amongst the dead.