 In comparison with the first two wars, where both sides, and particularly the Dutch, often relied on aggressive tactics that resulted in the loss of a significant numbers of ships to the defeated fleet, in the Third Anglo-Dutch War, both sides adopted line-ahead formations in mist battles, an essentially defensive formation that resulted in far fewer ship losses and, in the Battle of Texel, to no ships lost on either side.In the winter of 1673, the French failed to cross the Water Line over the ice, thwarted both by thaws and special Dutch sailor companies moving on ice skates, organised by temporary Lieutenant-Admiral Johan de Liefde.In the spring, attempts to drain the northern part of the line or to cross on rafts, proved unsuccessful.