BATTLE OF QUIBERON BAY

The naval 'Battle of Quiberon Bay' took place on 20 November 1759 during the Seven Years' War in Quiberon Bay, off the coast of France near St. Nazaire. The British Admiral Sir Edward Hawke with 23 ships of the line caught up with a French fleet with 21 ships of the line under Marshal de Conflans, and after hard fighting, sank, captured, or forced aground most of them, thus giving the Royal Navy one of its greatest victories.

Contents

Origins

Battle

Aftermath

The rival fleets

France

Britain

Sources and references

External links

Origins

During 1759, the French had made plans to invade England and Scotland, and had accumulated transports and troops around the Loire estuary. The August defeat at the Battle of Lagos made the invasion plans impossible, but Choiseul still contemplated a plan for Scotland, and so the fleet was under orders to escape from the British blockade outside Brest and make its way down to the Loire.
During the first week of November, a westerly gale came up, and after three days, the ships of Hawke's blockade were forced to run for Torbay on the south coast of England. In the meantime, a small squadron from the West Indies joined Conflans in Brest, and when an easterly wind came on the 14th, Conflans slipped out. But Hawke was already returning from Torbay, got the reports of Conflans's sailing, and went in pursuit.

Battle

::See also Robert Duff
Hawke caught up with Conflans at dawn on the 20th, just as Conflans was about to enter the treacherous waters of Quiberon Bay. Hawke decided to follow them in, essentially relying on the lead of the French ships and their local pilots; a daring move made even more dangerous by a rising westerly storm.
The shooting began at about 14:00, with the British van attacking the French rear just as they were rounding the Les Cardinaux rocks at the entrance to the bay. By 15:30, the French ''Formidable'' was captured, and ''Superbe'' had capsized, with tremendous loss of life. As more of the British fleet came up, ''Héros'', badly damaged already, struck her flag and ran aground, while ''Thesee'' lost her duel with ''Torbay'' and foundered.
The early nightfall of the season forced the British to break off their attack, and they anchored for the night. The British ships ''Essex'' and ran aground and were lost, but the fleet's presence forced the French to desperate measures; more of their ships also ran aground, including the flagship ''Soleil Royal'', which found itself amongst the British ships the next morning and hastily retreated. 7 ships squeezed over the bar into the estuary of the Vilaine River (where they stayed for over a year, 3 being wrecked there), leaving only eight to escape to Rochefort.

Aftermath

The power of the French fleet was broken, and would not recover before the war was over; in the words of Alfred Thayer Mahan (''The Influence of Sea Power upon History''), "The battle of 20 November 1759 was the Trafalgar of this war, and [...] the English fleets were now free to act against the colonies of France, and later of Spain, on a grander scale than ever before".

The rival fleets

France

'Name'	'Guns'	'Commander'	'Men'	'Notes'
'''First Division'''
''Soleil Royal''	80	Capt. B. de Chasac	950	Flagship of Marquis de Conflans – Aground and burnt
''Orient''	80	Capt. N. de la Filière	750	Flagship of Chevalier de Guébridant Budes – Escaped to Rochefort
''Glorieux''	74	Villars de la Brosse	650	Escaped to the Vilaine
''Robuste''	74	Fragnier de Vienne	650	Escaped to the Vilaine
''Dauphin Royal''	70	Chevalier d'Uturbie Fragosse	630	Escaped to Rochefort
''Dragon''	64	Vassor de la Touche	450	Escaped to the Vilaine
''Solitaire''	64	Vicomte de Langle	450	Escaped to Rochefort
'''Second Division'''
''Tonnant''	80	Capt. St Victoret	800	Flagship of Chevalier de Beauffremont – Escaped to Rochefort
''Intrépide''	74	Chastologer	650	Escaped to Rochefort
''Thésée''	74	Kersaint de Coetnempren	650	Foundered
''Northumberland''	70	Belingant de Kerbabut	630	Escaped to Rochefort
''Superbe''	70	Montalais	630	Sunk by ''Royal George''
''Eveillé''	64	Prévalais de la Roche	450	Escaped to the Vilaine
''Brillant''	64	Keremar Boischateau	450	Escaped to the Vilaine
'''Third Division'''
''Formidable''	80	Capt. St André	800	Flagship of De Saint André du Vergé – Taken by ''Resolution''
''Magnifique''	74	Bigot de Morogues	650	Escaped to Rochefort
''Héros''	74	Vicomte de Sanzay	650	Surrendered, but ran aground next day during heavy weather, burnt
''Juste''	70	François de Saint Allouarn	630	Wrecked in the Loire
''Inflexible''	64	Tancrede	540	Lost at the entrance to the Vilaine
''Sphinx''	64	Goyon	450
''Bizarre''	64	Prince de Montbazon	450	Escaped to Rochefort
'''Frigates and corvettes'''
''Hébé''	40		120	Returned to Brest
''Vestale''				Escaped to the Vilaine
''Aigrette''				Escaped to the Vilaine
''Calypso''				Escaped to the Vilaine
''Prince Noir''/''Noire''				Escaped to the Vilaine
'''Other'''
''Vengeance''	?

Britain

'Name'	'Guns'	'Commander'	'Men'	'Notes'
''Royal George''	100	Captain Campbell	880	Flagship of Sir Edward Hawke
''Union''	90	Captain J. Evans	770	Flagship of Sir Charles Hardy
''Duke''	80	Capt. Thomas Graves	800
''Namur''	90	M. Buckle	780
''Resolution''	74	H. Speke	600	Wrecked on Le Four shoal
''Hero''	74	G. Edgecumbe	600
''Warspite''	74	Sir John Bentley	600
''Hercules''	74	W. Fortescue	600
''Torbay''	70	Augustus Keppel	520
''Magnanime''	70	Viscount Howe	520
''Mars''	70	Commodore James Young	520
''Swiftsure''	70	Sir Thomas Stanhope	520
''Dorsetshire''	70	Peter Denis	520
''Burford''	70	G. Gambier	520
''Chichester''	70	W. S. Willet	520
''Temple''	70	Hon. W. Shirley	520
''Essex''	64	Lucius O'Brien	480	Wrecked on Le Four shoal
''Revenge''	64	J. Storr	480
''Montague''	60	Joseph Rowley	400
''Kingston''	60	Thomas Shirley	400
''Intrepid''	60	J. Maplesden	400
''Dunkirk''	60	R. Digby	420
''Defiance''	60	P. Baird	420
''Chatham''	50	J. Lockhart	350
''Minerva''	32	A. Hood	220
''Venus''	36	T. Harrison	240
''Vengeance''	28	F. Burslem	200
''Coventry''	28	D. Digges	200
''Sapphire''	32	J. Strachan	220

Sources and references

★ Clowes, W.L. (ed.). ''The Royal Navy; A History, from the Earliest Times to the Present'', Volume III. (London 1898).

★ Jenkins, E.H. ''A History of the French Navy'' (London 1973).

★ Mackay, R.F. ''Admiral Hawke'' (Oxford 1965).

★ Marcus, G. ''Quiberon Bay; The Campaign in Home Waters, 1759'' (London, 1960).

★ Tunstall, Brian and Tracy, Nicholas (ed.). ''Naval Warfare in the Age of Sail. The Evolution of Fighting Tactics, 1650-1815'' (London, 1990).

★

External links

★ Royal Navy page on the battle