The battle took place in Vågen (meaning "the bay, voe" in Norwegian), the main port area of neutral Bergen, Norway.

Due to a delay in orders, the Norwegian commanders took the side of the Dutch, contrary to the secret intentions of the King of Norway and Denmark.

After having been dispersed by a storm on 29 June, most ships gathered in the neutral Bergen harbour for shelter in July to wait for the repair of the Dutch home fleet after its defeat.

Except for Diemermeer and Amstelland, the Dutch ships were heavily armed, and many were specially-built company vessels with the dual function of warship and merchantman.

On 30 July, after a merchantman from Ostend had reported the other VOC ships had also arrived, a small task force was dispatched to Bergen to capture or at least block the convoy.

The flotilla under Rear-Admiral Thomas Teddeman first had 22 warships but was reduced to 14 after eight ships sailed too westerly, were swept beyond Bergen and could not beat up the wind to the south.

The beginning of the English action was inauspicious: Teddeman's flagship Revenge ran aground that same evening at Cape Nordnes, and it was only by much effort that it managed to work itself free.

The entrance of the bay being only about 400 m wide, the English could position only seven ships there: from north to south Prudent Mary, Breda, Foresight, Bendish, Happy Return, Sapphire and Pembroke.

[1] In fact, a secret oral agreement had been made a week earlier between the English envoy, Sir Gilbert Talbot, and Frederick III.

That made Lord Sandwich send his namesake nephew, the courtier and adventurer Edward Montagu (1635–1665), with Teddeman to ensure everything would proceed according to plan.

Teddeman had been ordered to act as quickly and forcefully as possible to avoid an involvement of the main English fleet, which would compromise secrecy.

Many citizens fled, and De Bitter hastily called back the Dutch crews, most of whom on shore leave in Bergen, by ringing the church bells.

As few of them had much fighting experience and many were not even Dutch, he raised their spirits by promising three months of extra wages in case of a victory.

At about 300 meters from the English line, De Bitter positioned from north to south the Slot Hooningen, Catherina, his flagship the Walcheren, the Gulden Phenix and the Rijzende Zon.

[1] The Dutch convoy suffered some damage to its ships, especially the Catherina, a Mediterranean fleet vessel, and about 25 dead and seventy wounded.

With the Dutch merchant vessels still in Bergen, Ahlefeldt travelled to the English fleet at Herdla the next day to try to repair the damage and offered a chance to attack again without interference from the fortress.

[1] As the wind turned north, they expected a direct attack from Teddeman, but the English rear-admiral had rejoined with the eight vessels that had separated but limited himself to observing the harbour.

[1] On 13 August, Sandwich, learning that De Ruyter had reached the Republic on 27 July, took sea again and sailed to the east but failed to meet Teddeman's flotilla, only thirty miles to the north of him.

Both English forces were unaware of each other and of the fact that less than fifty miles east of them, De Ruyter was heading north since on arrival, he had been appointed lieutenant-admiral and supreme commander of the rebuilt combined Dutch fleet.

On 23 August, he left again to shield a planned escape by the merchant fleet, but adverse gales forced him to return two days later.

Sandwich, now east of De Ruyter, managed to intercept and take on 3 September a straggling group of four warships (Zevenwolden, Westvriesland, Groningen and Hoop) and, much more importantly, two VOC vessels (Slot Hooningen and Gulden Phenix).

Montague would afterwards be severely criticised, as he had lost an excellent opportunity to destroy the Dutch in detail or at least to capture more of the treasure ships.

[1] On 9 September, however, he managed to intercept and to capture a second group with two WIC vessels, four warships and seven fluyt naval supply ships.

After his arrival in the Thames he illegally, perhaps with connivance of Charles, took goods of considerable value from the hulls of the captured Slot Hooningen and Gulden Phenix, sold them in secret and divided the gain among his nine flag officers and reserved for himself £4000.

Samuel Pepys thus described the impression of wealth when he visited one of the captured ships in his diary entry of 16 November: "So I on board my Lord Bruncker.

There he and Sir Edmund Pooly carried me down into the hold of the India shipp, and there did show me the greatest wealth lie in confusion that a man can see in the world.