Warfare- Navy Flashcards
Battle of the Glorious First of June
1794
Admiral Lord Howe commanded British Channel Fleet
Preventing passage of French grain convoy from the US
Howe pioneers breaking the line- more piecemeal than intended bc crews didn’t fully understand
British captured/sank 7 Fr ships, killed/captured 7 thousand sailors
Fr grain ships managed to reach shore and stave off famine
Demonstrated inherent problems:
Both sides claimed victory
Both admirals faced crew disobedience
Bad discipline and training
Short handed crews
Battle of Cape St Vincent
February 1797
Admiral Sir John Jervis commands British Mediterranean Fleet
1796 Spain allied with France, so Br ships set out to blockade Spain
Sp Fleet escorted merchant convoy nearly double the size of the Br- Nelson passed through the fleet in heavy fog so could tell Jervis where they were
Jervis formed single column and charged at them (cut through), destroying the Sp Fleet!
Made Nelson’s name- located enemy, disobeyed orders and stopped Sp ships sailing away, captured 2 Sp ships by leading crew across decks of one to the other!
Shortly after this he lost his arm in another battle
Battle of Camperdown
October 1797
1795 Dutch republic organised into Batavian Republic dominated by France
Admiral Duncan commanded British North Sea Fleet
Blockaded Dutch Fleet
When Dutch managed a raid, Duncan waited as they came back:
Attacked Dutch line in two groups
One group quickly outnumbered Dutch, then went to help other group
Forced surrender of 11 ships including Dutch flagship
Heavy casualties
Strategic gains- forced French to abandon plan to invade Br via Ireland, returned public confidence after naval mutinies
Battle of the Nile
August 1798
Rear-Admiral Nelson
Trying to prevent Napoleon taking Egypt and then planning campaign against British India
French Fleet were anchored in Aboukir Bay
Nelson ordered immediate attack (evening- unexpected)
2 divisions of British Fleet,
Captain Foley on the Goliath brought one division between anchored French and the shoreline (Fr landside guns not ready to fire), other division on seaward side
French surrendered and only 4/17 ships escaped
Consequences: solidified Navy’s dominance, encouraged other countries to defy France!, trapped Napoleon in Egypt and then humiliating 1799 retreat.
Nelson made a Baron.
Battle of Copenhagen
April 1801
Admiral Parker has Nelson as second in commandant ordered him to lead the attack
First ship would enter narrow King’s Channel (lined with Danish warships), anchor and fire. Second ship could then travel a bit further and anchor, and so on.
Danish floating gun platforms fought back
Parker signals to stop fighting, but Nelson ignores this!
Nelson sends a letter to Crown Prince of Denmark, implying the British were winning and that if the Danes continued resisting he would set fire to the floating batteries without rescuing the prisoners.
The Prince accepted a truce.
Nelson was able to get damaged ships out of enemy range and keep hold of the 12 Danish ships he’d taken.
Enhanced his reputation- put in charge of the Baltic Fleet
Lead up to Battle of Trafalgar
Jan 1805
Nap wants Villeneuve to lure Nelson to the Caribbean, lose him there and return to help the Fr Fleet overwhelm Br Channel Fleet and invade Britain.
Villeneuve launches Fleet from Toulon but returns due to fear and bad weather.
April 1805
Nelson pursues Villeneuve’s Fleet to West Indies but arrives later due to false intelligence.
Villeneuve sails for Europe but Nelson realises and follows, with frigate ahead to warn of danger
August 1805
Nap lifts invasion threat by retreating
October
Napoleon orders Fr ships to support campaign in Italy against Austria
Villeneuve ignores and leaves Cadiz, chased by Nelson
Villeneuve can’t get back to Cadiz in time so faces .Nelson in makeshift line
Battle of Trafalgar
21st October 1805
Br ships in one column headed by Nelson, other by Vice-Admiral Collingwood
11.40am
battle starts on Nelsons signal
Light wind so Br ships move slowly towards Fr line under heavy sustained fire (poor enemy aim!)
12.10pm
Collingwood on the Royal Sovereign reaches enemy
The Victory was under fire for 40mins and lost 50 men before reaching the Redoubtable
Fr soldiers want to board the victory but fire from the Temeraire keeps them at bay.
1.15pm
Nelson is shot in the chest by Fr sniper
1.45-2.35pm
Fr flagship the Bucentaure surrenders with only 98/643 men unharmed
Captain Hardy tells Nelson they have 12/14 enemy ships
4.30pm
Nelson is told of victory before dying, worries about storm
Br took 18 Fr ships but 11 were destroyed in the storm
No Br ships were lost!
Aftermath
Decisive victory
Invasion already postponed so this didn’t stop it
Nap still defeated Aus, Prus, Rus in 3rd Cialition by 1807
Ended Fr hopes of challenging Br naval supremacy
