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. The Seven Years War, sometimes referred to as the Pomeranian War, (1754 and 1756–1763) pitted Great Britain, Prussia, and Hanover against France, Austria, Russia, Sweden, and Saxony. ... Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke, (February 21, 1705 - October 16, 1781) was an admiral in the Royal Navy. ... The naval Battle of Lagos took place on 19 August 1759 during the Seven Years War off the coasts of Spain and Portugal, and is named after Lagos, Portugal. ... November 20 is the 324th day of the year (325th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1759 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... The Seven Years War, sometimes referred to as the Pomeranian War, (1754 and 1756–1763) pitted Great Britain, Prussia, and Hanover against France, Austria, Russia, Sweden, and Saxony. ... Saint-Nazaire is also a commune of the Gard département of France. ... Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke, (February 21, 1705 - October 16, 1781) was an admiral in the Royal Navy. ... Ships of the line were 1st, 2nd, or 3rd-rated ships in the rating system of the Royal Navy. ... The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the senior service of the British armed services, being the oldest of its three branches. ...

Origins

During 1759, the French had made plans to invade England and Scotland, and had accumulated transports and troops around the Loire River estuary. The August defeat at the Battle of Lagos (1759) made the invasion plans implausible, 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 their way down to the Loire. The Loire is wide; here in Orléans, half of it is shown, up to a dividing half-flooded island. ... The naval Battle of Lagos took place on 19 August 1759 during the Seven Years War off the coasts of Spain and Portugal. ... Étienne-François, duc de Choiseul, French diplomat and statesman Étienne-François, duc de Choiseul (June 28, 1719 — May 8, 1785) was a French statesman. ... Timeline of Scottish history Caledonia List of not fully sovereign nations Subdivisions of Scotland National parks (Scotland) Traditional music of Scotland Flower of Scotland Wars of Scottish Independence National Trust for Scotland Historic houses in Scotland Castles in Scotland Museums in Scotland Abbeys and priories in Scotland Gardens in Scotland... Location within France Brest, at the tip of Brittany Brest (population of the city: 146,000 inhabitants as of 2004 estimates; population of the metropolitan area: 303,484 inhabitants as of 1999 census) is a city in the Bretagne région, north-west France, subprefecture of the Finistère d...

During the first week of November, a westerly gale came up, and after three days, the ships of Hawke's blockade were forced to save themselves and 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' sailing, and went in pursuit. A gale is a wind of at least 28 knots, 32 MPH, or 51km/h; and up to 55 knots, 63 MPH, or 102km/h. ... Torbay is an east facing bay at the western most end of Lyme Bay in the south west of England, situated roughly midway between the cities of Exeter and Plymouth. ... The Caribbean or the West Indies is a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. ... (Redirected from 14 November) November 14 is the 318th day of the year (319th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 47 days remaining. ...

Battle

Hawke's fleet 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. Signal flag H(otel) - Pilot on Board A harbour pilot guides ships through the narrow, shallow and dangerous coastal waters between a harbour and the open sea. ...

The shooting began at about 1400, with the British van attacking the French rear just as they were rounding the Les Cardinaux rocks at the entrance to the bay. By 1530, the French Formidable was captured, and Superbe had capsized, with tremendous loss of life. As more of the British fleet came up, Heros, badly damaged already, struck her flag and ran aground, while Thesee lost her duel with Torbay and foundered. The Formidable was a 80-gun French ship of the line built at Toulon in 1795. ... Capsizing refers to when a boat is inverted such that the bottom of the boat is on top. ... Four ships of the British Royal Navy have been named HMS Torbay, after Torbay on the southwest English coast. ...

The early nightfall of the season forced the British to break off their attack, and they anchored for the night. Their ships Essex and Resolution 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, seven squeezed over the bar into the estuary of the Vilaine River (where they stayed for over a year), leaving only eight that escaped to Rochefort. Five ships of the British Royal Navy have been named HMS Essex, after the county of Essex. ... Resolution in a gale by Willem van de Velde, the younger depicts the first Resolution c. ... A flagship is the ship used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships. ... The Vilaine is a river in Brittany, in the west of France. ... Rochefort is the name of several communes in France, of a municipality in Belgium and a commune in Switzerland: Rochefort in the Charente-Maritime département of France Rochefort in the Côte-dOr département of France Rochefort in the Savoie département of France Rochefort, Belgium Rochefort, Switzerland It is also...

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". Alfred Thayer Mahan Rear Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan (27 September 1840 - 1 December 1914) was a United States Navy officer, geostrategist, and educator, widely considered the worlds foremost theorist of military sea power. ... Rear Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan (27 September 1840 - 1 December 1914) was a United States Navy officer, naval strategist, and educator, widely considered the foremost theorist of sea power. ... The Battle of Trafalgar, fought on 21 October 1805, is part of the War of the Third Coalition assembled by Britain against France. ...

The rival fleets

France

Britain

(With thanks to the authors of the French page on this battle) Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke, (February 21, 1705 - October 16, 1781) was an admiral in the Royal Navy. ...

External links

• Royal Navy page on the battle