Ruyter arranged his fleet accordingly, and the two long lines passed
each other on opposite tacks three times, cannonading furiously
at close range. This meant that the force was distributed evenly
along the enemy's line and as against an evenly matched force these
tactics could result, as a rule, only in mere inconclusive artillery
duels which each side would claim as victories. In the battle of
Lowestoft, however, several of the captains in the Dutch center
flinched at the third passing and bore up to leeward, leaving a
wide gap in de Ruyter's line. The English broke through at this
point and hammered the weakened Dutch line in the center with a
superior force. This was the decisive point in the battle and de
Ruyter was forced to retreat. The Dutch would have suffered even
greater loss than they did had it not been for the masterly fashion
in which Cornelius Tromp--son of the famous Martin Tromp--covered
the retreat.

The defeat of the Dutch was due to the bad conduct of the captains
in the center, four of whom were shot by order of de Ruyter and
others dismissed from the service. It is interesting to note that
while the first half of the battle was fought on the formal lines
that were soon to be the cast iron rule of conduct for the British
navy, and led to nothing conclusive; the second half was characterized
by the breaking of the enemy's line, in the older style of Blake,
and led to a pronounced victory.

At this time Louis XIV had pledged himself to give aid to the
Netherlands in case of attack by a third Power. But when the Dutch
and his own ministers called on him to make good his promise he
offered more promises and no fulfillment. The rumor of an approaching
French squadron which was to make junction with de Ruyter, who had
now been placed in command of the Dutch fleet, caused the English
government to make the grave mistake of detaching Prince Rupert
with 20 ships to look for the mythical French force. This division
left Monk, who was again in command of the fleet, with only 57
ships. Hearing that de Ruyter was anchored on the Flanders coast,
Monk went out to find him. De Ruyter left his anchorage to meet the
English, and on June 1, 1666, the two forces met in mid-Channel,
between Dunkirk and the Downs. As the Dutch force heavily outnumbered
him--nearly two to one--Monk might have been expected to avoid
fighting, but he acted in the spirit of Blake. Having the windward
position he decided that he could st