Admiral: Command and Conquer

The sort of movie a Scotsman will watch and then make a sour remark about English people when he tries to review it. It's a good movie.Shame about Scotland.

Brilliant Film! I have to be honest I didn't expect much but this was well acted, an eye opener in terms of history, brutal in parts and genuinely well made. Thoroughly enjoyed this film.

“Wars are fought by many, history is made by few….” The official synopsis reads: “When the young republic of The Netherlands is under attack by England and France, and faces its own civil war no less, only one man, Michiel de Ruyter, can lead the county’s strongest weapon: the Dutch fleet.” The film tells the story of the career of the great admiral of Zeeland, Michiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter, during the three Anglo-Dutch Wars (1652–1654, 1665–1667 and 1672–1674). The Third Anglo-Dutch War was itself part of the Franco-Dutch War (1672–78). A master tactician, de Ruyter’s brilliant tactics in the Third Anglo-Dutch War ranks as his greatest achievement: his victories over larger Anglo-French fleets off Solebay (1672), Ostend and Kijkduin (1673) eliminated the threat of invasion by sea. On 22 April 1676, de Ruyter engaged the fleet of Vice-Admiral Abraham Duquesne (French/Huguenot –d. 1688) in the battle of Augusta off the Ionian coast. De Ruyter was mortally wounded. Louis XIV of France, often de Ruyter’s opponent, subsequently paid homage to his heroism, calling him “a man who did honour to humanity.”