This battle took place between 17 and 19 September 1639 when a Dutch squadron under Maarten Tromp and Witte Corneliszoon de With met with a much larger but poorly led Spanish fleet under Antonio D'Oquendo consisting of 40 to 45 men-of-war and 40 to 50 transport vessels filled with some 13000 Spanish soldiers who were being transported to Dunkirk. Tromp with 12 ships spotted the Spanish fleet on the 16th but waited for de With to arrive with five more ships before attacking.Despite his numerical inferiority Tromp got the upper hand in a running fight which lasted into the night.The next day Zeeland Commodore Joost Banckert arrived to reinforce the Dutch with 12 more ships.Fighting continued until the Dutch ran out of gunpowder when D'Oquendo retreated to the roadstead of the Downs hoping on English protection which would eventually lead to the Battle of the Downs were D'Oquendo was decisively defeated and marked the end of Spanish seapower. Image:Marten Harpertszoon Tromp. ... Witte Corneliszoon de With (28 March 1599-8 November 1658) was a Dutch naval officer of 17th century. ... Location of Dunkirk in the arrondissement of Dunkirk Location within France Dunkirks seafront Map of Dunkirk courtesy of the Calgary Highlanders. ... Capital Middelburg Queens Commissioner drs. ... Downland, a geographical feature Down Syndrome or Downs Syndrome, a human hereditary/congenital/genetic disorder the Downs, sea area between Goodwin Sands and East Kent coast. ... Combatants Spain United Provinces Commanders Antonio de Oquendo Maarten Tromp Strength 77 ships 117 ships Casualties 15,200 dead 60 ships destroyed or captured 100 dead 1 ship burned The naval Battle of the Downs took place on 31 October 1639 during the Eighty Years War and was a decisive...

This fight is notable because Tromp used the line of battle for the first time. British and Danish ships in line of battle at the Battle of Copenhagen (1801). ...