Battle of Augusta

Battle of Augusta
Part of the Franco-Dutch War
Combat naval devant Augusta dans le golfe de Messine, 21 avril 1676, oil on canvas by Ambroise Louis Garneray, 1836
Date 22 April 1676 Location Off Augusta, Mediterranean Sea Result Indecisive
Belligerents
Dutch Republic Spain	France
Commanders and leaders
Don Francisco de la Cerda Michiel de Ruyter †	Abraham Duquesne
Strength
27 ships of the line and frigates 6 snows 4 fire ships 2 supply ships 1,300-1,450 guns[1][2][3][4]	29 ships of the line 5 frigates 8 fireships 1,760–2,200 guns[1][2][5][4]
Casualties and losses
~2,000 killed or wounded[6]	~2,000 killed or wounded[6]

The Battle of Augusta, also known as the Battle of Agosta and the Battle of Etna,^[7] took place on 22 April 1676 during the Franco-Dutch War and was fought between a French fleet of 29 men-of-war, five frigates and eight fireships under Abraham Duquesne, and a Dutch-Spanish fleet of around 27 warships (17 Dutch, 11 Spanish) besides several frigates and five fireships with Francisco de la Cerda in overall command and Dutch Lieutenant-Admiral-General Michiel de Ruyter in command of the Dutch contingent ships.

The battle was intense although only a part of each fleet was engaged for much of its duration. It ended when de Ruyter skillfully extracted his outnumbered squadron from being attacked on both sides by superior French numbers, without the loss of any ships; however, he was mortally wounded in the process. The next morning the fleets separated without resuming fighting. Neither side lost a ship, so the result was tactically inconclusive. However, the Dutch casualties were greater than those of the French and, as Dutch-Spanish fleet had hoped to defeat the French fleet and attack Messina, it was a strategic defeat for them.