Holmes's Bonfire 1666
_-_%27Holmes%27s_Bonfire%27,_the_burning_of_Dutch_Merchant_Ships_between_Terschelling_and_Vlieland,_19th_August_1666_-_RCIN_406560_-_Royal_Collection.jpg){kind=link}
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 20 August 1666 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1666 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | Early modern (1500–1799) | derived from year |
| Location | Netherlands | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Second Anglo-Dutch War | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 53.3608, 5.2156 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
Holmes's Bonfire was a raid on the Vlie estuary in the Netherlands, executed by the English Fleet during the Second Anglo-Dutch War on 19 and 20 August 1666 New Style (9 and 10 August Old Style). The attack, named after the commander of the landing force, Rear-Admiral Robert Holmes, was successful in destroying by fire a large merchant fleet of 140 ships. During the same action, the town of West-Terschelling was burnt down, which caused outrage in the Dutch Republic.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Holmes's Bonfire (revision 1370622834), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of the Afsluitdijk 1940 · 33 km
- Battle of Boksum 1586 · 40 km
- Action of 24 October 1798 1798 · 40 km
- Battle of Texel 1673 · 47 km
- Battle of Texel (1694) 1694 · 47 km
- Battle of the Boarn 734 · 50 km
Other battles of the Second Anglo-Dutch War
- Battle of Barbados (1665) 1665
- Battle of Lowestoft 1665
- Battle of Vågen 1665
- Four Days' Battle 1666
- St. James' Day Battle 1666
- Battle of Landguard Fort 1667
- Battle of Martinique (1667) 1667
- Battle of Nevis 1667
- Raid on the Medway 1667
- Recapture of Fort Zeelandia (1667) 1667
All 11 battles of the Second Anglo-Dutch War →
Browse more: battles in Netherlands · Europe · Early modern battles