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The Capture of the Dutch fleet at Den Helder or the Battle of Texel occurred in the night of the 23 January 1795, and presents a rare occurrence of a "naval" battle between warships and cavalry; a French Hussar regiment surprised a Dutch fleet frozen at anchor between the port of Den Helder and the island of Texel.〔(Hérodote, ''La bataille « navale » du Texel'' )〕 After an extraordinary charge across the frozen Zuiderzee, the French cavalry captured 14 Dutch ships and 850 guns.〔(Tony Jaques, ''Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: P-Z'', p.1009 )〕 This capture of ships by horsemen is a unique feat in military history.〔(Gregory Fremont-Barnes, ''The French Revolutionary Wars'', p.36 )〕〔(George McDonald, ''Frommer's Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg'', p.353 )〕 The French units were the 8th Hussar Regiment and the 15th Line Infantry Regiment of the French Revolutionary Army. Jean-Charles Pichegru was the leader of the French army that invaded the Dutch Republic. The Dutch fleet was commanded by H. Reintjes. The actual capture was accomplished by Jean-Guillaume de Winter and Louis Joseph Lahure. The action happened during the War of the First Coalition, part of the French Revolutionary Wars. ==Background== Den Helder is located at the tip of the North Holland peninsula, south of the island of Texel, on the Zuiderzee (Dutch for ''Southern Sea'' ; cf North Sea). Since the Zuiderzee has been closed off in the 20th century, it forms now the Wadden Sea. During the War of the First Coalition of the French Revolutionary Wars, General of Division Jean-Charles Pichegru was commanding the autumn 1794 campaign during which the conquest of the Netherlands occurred. The French Army entered Amsterdam on the 19 January 1795 to stay there over winter. Well informed, the general found out that a Dutch fleet was anchored at Den Helder, approximately eighty kilometers north from Amsterdam. The winter of 1794-1795 was exceptionally cold, causing the Zuiderzee to freeze.〔Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie, "Histoire humaine et comparée du climat Tome 2: Disettes et révolutions 1740-1860" ()〕 Pichegru ordered General of Brigade Jean-Guillaume de Winter to lead squadron of the 8th Hussar. de Winter had been serving with the French since 1787, and would later command the Dutch fleet in the Battle of Camperdown. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Capture of the Dutch fleet at Den Helder」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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