French cavalrymen trotted across the frozen waters of the Dutch coast on the night of January 22, 1795, advancing directly toward an ice-bound squadron of warships anchored near Den Helder.
The unusual operation unfolded during a period of severe winter freezing that locked the Dutch fleet in place. ElDiario.es reported that the capture of the roughly 850-gun squadron on January 23, 1795, stands out as one of the most singular military episodes of the French Revolutionary Wars. C. de Jonge tallied 15 ships, of which 11 were fully manned and capable of sailing.
Political Turmoil and Freezing Waters Forced the Fleet Seizure
The seizure of the fleet without a shot being fired was shaped by the rapid disintegration of the Dutch Republic. Internal political turmoil had crippled the nation’s command structure. Stadtholder William V fled to Great Britain on January 18, and pro-French revolutionaries proclaimed the Batavian Republic the following day.
Faced with a crumbling government, Dutch authorities issued orders on January 21 instructing military forces to avoid any armed conflict with advancing French troops. Those directives strictly tied the hands of naval officers stationed along the coast.
The harsh winter of 1794 to 1795 had frozen canals and coastal waters solid. A severe storm had earlier driven several warships to seek shelter in Nieuwediep, near Den Helder and opposite Texel island, where floating ice rapidly immobilized them. French general Jean-Charles Pichegru learned of the trapped fleet and tasked Johan Willem de Winter, a Dutchman serving France, with preventing the ships from escaping or falling into British hands.
Cavalry Approach Without Combat
The French advance began under the cover of darkness between January 22 and 23, deploying units of infantry and light cavalry across the frozen surface. Accounts differ on the tactics used, with some narratives suggesting soldiers wrapped their horses’ hooves in cloth to muffle the sound of iron horseshoes on the ice.
Ahlé, a ship’s surgeon aboard the Snelheid, later described to historian De Jonge how a French horseman suddenly appeared right alongside his vessel. That firsthand account confirmed the presence of cavalry on the ice, though it bore little resemblance to a traditional combat charge.
Despite their immobilization, the warships retained formidable defensive capabilities, as their heavy guns could easily sweep the surrounding ice. Military historian David Blackmore noted in Blunders and Disasters at Sea that Captain Hermanus Reintjes, who held provisional command of the squadron, briefly considered spiking the cannons and scuttling the ships to deny them to the enemy. Ultimately, neither scuttling nor a French assault took place. An attack across the ice would have required specialized scaling ladders and heavy weaponry to board high decks, exposing attackers to devastating naval gunfire. The political orders issued from land prevented either side from testing those defenses.
Negotiation Over Legend
Historical records diverge sharply regarding the exact role played by individual officers during the operation, most notably Baron Lahure. In a letter published in February 1846, the former lieutenant general claimed he had led the push using light cavalry and sharpshooters transported in wagons.
Lahure maintained that Dutch sailors welcomed his men aboard with open arms, though his account was committed to paper more than fifty years after the events. De Jonge found much of Lahure’s timeline plausible while noting likely exaggerations of the officer’s personal prominence.
Instead of a battlefield conquest, the transfer of power was settled through an agreement that allowed the vessels to retain the Dutch flag and their crews to maintain naval discipline. Five days after the encounter, the sailors formally swore to obey French directives and pledged not to move the fleet without authorization.
French military histories and writers such as A. G. M. Macdonell later popularized the tale as a spectacular cavalry charge that conquered a fleet of warships. In reality, the squadron was subdued through a combination of a punishing winter frost, political paralysis, and direct negotiation.
