A decisive French victory near Dunkirk that hastened the end of the Franco-Spanish War and led to the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659.
Key Facts
- Date
- 14 June 1658
- Location
- Near Dunkirk, Spanish Netherlands
- French Commander
- Turenne
- Spanish Commanders
- John Joseph of Austria and Louis, Grand Condé
- English Role
- Commonwealth of England troops supported France
- Dunkirk transfer to France
- England sold Dunkirk to France in 1662
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
As part of the ongoing Franco-Spanish War and concurrent Anglo-Spanish War, a French army under Turenne, allied with English Commonwealth forces, besieged the strategically vital port of Dunkirk in the Spanish Netherlands. Spain assembled a relief force under John Joseph of Austria and the French exile Louis, Grand Condé, augmented by Royalist troops and Fronde rebels, to break the siege.
On 14 June 1658, the Spanish relief force attempted to lift the French siege of Dunkirk but was decisively defeated by Turenne's Franco-English army on the sand dunes outside the port. The battle, also called the Battle of Dunkirk, resulted in a severe Spanish defeat, leaving Dunkirk unable to resist capture.
The defeat accelerated the financial exhaustion of both France and Spain after years of costly warfare, prompting negotiations that produced the Treaty of the Pyrenees in November 1659, ending the Franco-Spanish War. England retained Dunkirk as a reward for its alliance but sold the port to France in 1662 under Charles II.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
2 belligerents
Turenne.
Side B
3 belligerents
John Joseph of Austria, Louis, Grand Condé.