Hafez al-Assad vs Michiel de Ruyter

Hafez al-Assad, then Minister of Defense, launched a bloodless intra-party coup known as the Corrective Movement on November 13, 1970. He ousted the civilian leadership of the Ba'ath Party, assumed the presidency, and established an authoritarian regime dominated by the Alawite minority.

Assad coordinated with Egypt's Anwar Sadat to launch a surprise attack on Israel on October 6, 1973. Syrian forces advanced into the Golan Heights but were repelled by Israeli counterattacks. The war ended with a ceasefire, and Syria failed to regain the Golan Heights.

Assad sent Syrian troops into Lebanon to intervene in the civil war, initially against Palestinian and leftist forces. The Syrian military remained in Lebanon for 29 years, exerting political and military control. The intervention solidified Syria's dominance over Lebanese affairs.

Assad ordered the Syrian army to besiege and bombard the city of Hama to suppress an Islamist uprising led by the Muslim Brotherhood. Over several weeks, between 10,000 and 40,000 civilians were killed, and large parts of the city were destroyed. The massacre ended armed opposition for decades.

De Ruyter served as a captain in the Dutch fleet under Maarten Tromp at the Battle of the Downs, where the Dutch decisively defeated a Spanish fleet. This battle established Dutch naval dominance and marked de Ruyter's early combat experience.

De Ruyter led a Dutch fleet to the Mediterranean to protect Dutch merchant shipping from Barbary pirates and to assert Dutch naval presence. He negotiated treaties with Algiers and Tunis, securing safer passage for Dutch trade.

De Ruyter led a Dutch fleet up the River Medway, attacking the English navy at its Chatham Dockyard. The Dutch burned or captured several major English warships, including the flagship HMS Royal Charles, a humiliating defeat for England.

De Ruyter attacked the Anglo-French fleet at Solebay, preventing a blockade of the Dutch coast. The battle was tactically indecisive but strategically important as it thwarted Allied plans to invade the Netherlands.

De Ruyter commanded the Dutch fleet to a tactical victory over a combined Anglo-French fleet at the Battle of the Texel. This victory prevented an invasion of the Netherlands and secured Dutch independence during the Franco-Dutch War.

De Ruyter was mortally wounded by a cannonball during the Battle of Augusta against a French fleet. He died several days later. His death was a major loss for the Dutch navy and he was given a state funeral with great honors.