Michael de Ruyter Dutch Admiral

[Anatol]

Michiel de Ruyter (( Dutch. Michiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter March 24 , 1607 - April 29 , 1676 ) - Dutch admiral . Commanded the Dutch fleet in the Anglo-Dutch Wars of the 17th century . Won several major victories over the British and French, including the famous Medway raid . Was mortally wounded in a battle off the coast of Sicily during the war with France .
At the age of 11 he was already a cabin boy on a ship; in 1635, as a captain, he went to Greenland , then visited Brazil several times for trading purposes ; in 1641, Ruyter takes part in the battle of the Dutch, allied with the Portuguese , against Spain at Cape São Vicente . Then Ruyter successfully fought against the Barbary pirates . When the war with England began in 1652 , Ruyter with the Dutch fleet went to the shores of England, at Plymouth he entered into the Battle of Plymouth with the English fleet, which was under the command of Admiral George Ayskew, and forced it to retreat without losing a single ship, while the British lost 3 ships and 1500 soldiers; then, however, Ruyter had to leave, as reinforcements arrived for the British.
The following year he participated in the military actions of Admiral Tromp . Ruyter's further activities were aimed mainly at exterminating sea robbers in the Mediterranean Sea ; His name alone struck fear into the pirates.
Sent to the Mediterranean in 1675 to help the Spaniards, Ruyter freed from captivity 30 Hungarian Reformed priests who were languishing on Neapolitan galleys.
On 8 January 1676, the first meeting between the Dutch-Spanish squadron under Ruyter and the French fleet under the command of one of France's greatest naval heroes, Abraham Duquesne , took place off Stromboli . Duquesne had 20 ships, Ruyter had 24. Both were in the corps de battle. The admiral's ships of Duquesne and Ruyter collided with each other and after a long artillery fight, the allied Dutch-Spanish squadron was forced to retreat. Ruiter attributed the victory to himself, although he admitted that he “had never been in such a hot business.” However, there is no doubt that the strategic victory belonged to Duquesne, since Ruyter could not prevent him from connecting with the squadron remaining in Messina .
The second battle between Duquesne and de Ruyter took place at Agosta . Duquesne's squadron had 33 ships and 8 fire ships, and Ruyter's allied squadron had 29 ships, 10 galleys and 4 fire ships. Duquesne was in the corps de battle , Ruyter was in the vanguard . Ruyter was the first to begin the battle, attacking the French vanguard under the command of d'Almeiras. The French steadfastly withstood Ruyter's attacks, but the death of d'Almeiras, killed by a cannonball, shook their steadfastness. At the same time, Duquesne arrived in time to the vanguard, and again a fierce artillery duel began between the admiral's ships. The wound in both legs received in battle by Ruyter caused confusion in the Dutch fleet and led to the retreat of the entire fleet, which took refuge in the Bay of Palermo. A week later, on April 29, Ruyter died from his injuries near Syracuse [3] [4] .
Ruiter's embalmed body was sent to Holland on the frigate Concordia. On the way, the ship was captured by Duquesne , but having learned about the ship's mournful mission, Duquesne released it and saluted his great enemy. Wanting to keep up with the nobility of his admiral, King Louis XIV of France ordered the Concordia to be given free passage to Holland and saluted at every French port it passed.
Ruiter's burial took place on March 18, 1677 in Amsterdam . His tomb is decorated with the inscription “He shines with unsullied honor.” [5]
There are monuments to him in Amsterdam , Vlissingen and Debrecen .
The name Ruiter was and is carried by several ships of the Royal Netherlands Navy, currently it is a guided missile frigate of the De Zeven Provincien class .
The 49th Motorized Regiment from the 23rd SS Volunteer Division Nederland, formed in 1945, was named in Ruyter's honor .
PMR 2019;[P].
Source:https://ru-m-wikipedia-org.translate.goog/wiki/ Ruyter Michiel de .