Dreadnought
01-06-2010, 16:32
The Glorious First of June – Third Battle of Ushant
On the 1st June 1794 the British Fleet, under Admiral Lord Howe, engaged the French at the third Battle of Ushant after a month long campaign in the Bay of Biscay.
The Revolutionary War in France had plunged the country into social upheaval with its ports blockaded, and, coupled with failed harvests due to a very harsh winter, the population was starving through a shortage of food. Because France was at war with its neighbours, overland imports of fresh food were also severely restricted, and the only solution to the crisis was to ship in food from the French Colonies in America. Convoys were set up to bring grain supplies across the Atlantic to Brest, escorted by the French fleet. As repayment for French support during the American Revolution, America also provided addition grain supplies, and assistance with the convoys.
April 2nd 1794
The French Convoy left Virginia, and was met by it’s escort of two French ships of the line, plus three other ships, all under the command of Rear-Admiral Pierre Vanstabel. Another five ships of the line and an assortment of warships under the command of Rear-Admiral Joseph-Marie Nielly, sailed from Rochefort to rendezvous with the convoy and Vastabel, in mid-Atlantic. In the port of Brest, a further twenty five ships of the line, under the Command of Admiral of the Fleet Louis Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse, lay in wait to counter any British opposition.
May 2nd
Howe, and the entire British fleet, including twenty six ships of the line (accounts vary), left Portsmouth to escort British convoys to the Western Approaches, and to try and intercept the French Convoy. In the knowledge that Villaret was still in Brest, Howe searched the Bay of Biscay for the convoy and thus began a game of cat and mouse.
May 19th
Howe went to Brest and on discovering Villaret had left three days previously, set off in pursuit into the Atlantic.
Also at sea at this time was a British Squadron of six ships of the line and two frigates, under the command of Admiral George Montagu in HMS Hector, and, another six ships, accompanied by four or five frigates, commanded by Captain Peter Ranier in HMS Suffolk. Both squadrons had been earlier deployed by Howe to provide escort to British convoys to and from the East Indies, East Indies and Newfoundland.
May 28th
British frigates spotted Villaret on the horizon and ordered Admiral Pasley in HMS Bellerophon to take his flying squadron to investigate. After several hours Pasley caught up with the rear of the enemy and the French ship Revolutionaire was engaged by HMS Russell, Bellerophon, Leviathon, Thunderer and Audacious. In a bitter fight, the French ship was severely damaged but managed to limp back to port. HMS Audacious was also badly damaged and also returned to port. Failing light prevented clear signals between the British ships, and this initial advantage was not pushed home.
May 29th
Howe was still to leeward of the enemy and he wanted to gain the weather-gage and break through the French line and split the fleet in half. This failed, mainly due to the lead ship, HMS Caesar, failing to follow orders. Howe, in HMS Queen Charlotte, along with Bellerophon and Leviathon, did manage to break through and succeeded in cutting off three French ships. Villaret bore down and rescued the isolated ships, but they were in no position to fight anymore that day. Having lost the weather-gage, and suffering from badly damaged ships, Villaret had again lost the day. Three more French ships had to return to port. Howe’s ships also received heavy damage.
May 30th
Heavy fog prevented any action, but allowed Villaret to make distance between himself and Howe, and for Nielly and his ships from Rochefort to reinforce the French fleet.
May 31st
The fog lifted at noon but Howe decided to wait before his next attack until the following day so that he would have the maximum amount of daylight for pressing home a decisive defeat. He also wanted time to familiarise his captains with his plans.
June 1st
As dawn broke the two fleets found themselves just in sight of each other. Howe decided to let his men have breakfast before he took advantage of the weather-gage and started closing in on Villaret. By 08.12 they were just four miles apart and Howe had manouvered the fleet into line ahead formation, parallel to the line of French ships. At 09.24, both sides began exchanging long range gunfire, whereupon Howe unleashed his innovative battle plans. He ordered signal 34 to be hoisted – “having the wind of the enemy, the Admiral means to pass between the ships in the line engaging them to leeward”.
What Howe intended, was that each of his ships in the line were to turn individually towards the French line and break it at every point, at the same time raking the bows and sterns of the French ships. Once through the line, they were to pull up on the leeward side of the enemy, cutting off their retreat downwind, and then engaing their opposite numbers directly.
Howe, in HMS Queen Charlotte turned immediately and headed towards the French line. Unfortunately, the rest of the fleet did not clearly understand his signal 34, or some of them chose to ignore it, with the result that the turn was uneven. The French opened fire upon seeing what was happening, but the ships that did turn with Howe managed to get into action without much damage due to to lack of training and cordination of the french gunners.
The effect of the delay in many of the British ships executing Howe’s order was chaos. Only seven of the British ships actually broke the French line. Within an hour, three separate battles were effectively being fought as the centre, and then the van of the British line engaged in close battle.
Despite not all going to Howe’s plan, six French ships were captured and one sunk, against no British ships lost. Eleven British and twelve French ships were dismasted. There was a savage duel between HMS Brunswick and the French Venger, which lasted four hours, during which Captain Harvey Brunswick, commanding Brunswick was wounded three times with 44 of his crew killed and 14 wounded; he did not survive the battle.
Villaret in Montagne, managed to break away to the north, and gathered eleven surviving ships of the line together and formed them up in a reconstituted battle squadron. At 11:30, with the main action drawing to a close, he began a recovery manoeuvre intended to lessen the tactical defeat his fleet had suffered.
However, Howe recognised Villaret's intention, and he also pulled his ships together to create a new force. His reformed squadron consisted of Queen Charlotte, Royal Sovereign, Valiant, Leviathan, Barfleur and Thunderer. Howe deployed this and the two short lines engaged one another at a distance before Villaret abandoned his manoeuvre and hauled off to collect several of his own dismasted ships before turning eastwards towards France.
The British fleet was unable to pursue Villaret, having only eleven ships still capable of battle to the French twelve, and having numerous dismasted ships and prizes to protect. Retiring and regrouping, the British crews set about making hasty repairs and securing their prizes; seven in total.
June 2nd
At 5.00 am the fleet set out to return to Britain, reapirs having taken all night.
Aftermath
Both sides claimed victory, although technically it was a British victory. The French however succeeded in drawing the British into battle long enough for the convoy to get through.
Overall casualties (accounts vary) were 1500 French killed, 2000 wounded and 3000 captured; 287 English killed and 811 wounded.
GloriuosFirst_1: Painting "The Glorious First" by Phillipe-Jacques Loutherbourg 1795
GloriousFirst_2: Painting "Howe on the Deck of Queen Charlotte" by Mather Brown (1761-1831)
Both pictures in the public domain
On the 1st June 1794 the British Fleet, under Admiral Lord Howe, engaged the French at the third Battle of Ushant after a month long campaign in the Bay of Biscay.
The Revolutionary War in France had plunged the country into social upheaval with its ports blockaded, and, coupled with failed harvests due to a very harsh winter, the population was starving through a shortage of food. Because France was at war with its neighbours, overland imports of fresh food were also severely restricted, and the only solution to the crisis was to ship in food from the French Colonies in America. Convoys were set up to bring grain supplies across the Atlantic to Brest, escorted by the French fleet. As repayment for French support during the American Revolution, America also provided addition grain supplies, and assistance with the convoys.
April 2nd 1794
The French Convoy left Virginia, and was met by it’s escort of two French ships of the line, plus three other ships, all under the command of Rear-Admiral Pierre Vanstabel. Another five ships of the line and an assortment of warships under the command of Rear-Admiral Joseph-Marie Nielly, sailed from Rochefort to rendezvous with the convoy and Vastabel, in mid-Atlantic. In the port of Brest, a further twenty five ships of the line, under the Command of Admiral of the Fleet Louis Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse, lay in wait to counter any British opposition.
May 2nd
Howe, and the entire British fleet, including twenty six ships of the line (accounts vary), left Portsmouth to escort British convoys to the Western Approaches, and to try and intercept the French Convoy. In the knowledge that Villaret was still in Brest, Howe searched the Bay of Biscay for the convoy and thus began a game of cat and mouse.
May 19th
Howe went to Brest and on discovering Villaret had left three days previously, set off in pursuit into the Atlantic.
Also at sea at this time was a British Squadron of six ships of the line and two frigates, under the command of Admiral George Montagu in HMS Hector, and, another six ships, accompanied by four or five frigates, commanded by Captain Peter Ranier in HMS Suffolk. Both squadrons had been earlier deployed by Howe to provide escort to British convoys to and from the East Indies, East Indies and Newfoundland.
May 28th
British frigates spotted Villaret on the horizon and ordered Admiral Pasley in HMS Bellerophon to take his flying squadron to investigate. After several hours Pasley caught up with the rear of the enemy and the French ship Revolutionaire was engaged by HMS Russell, Bellerophon, Leviathon, Thunderer and Audacious. In a bitter fight, the French ship was severely damaged but managed to limp back to port. HMS Audacious was also badly damaged and also returned to port. Failing light prevented clear signals between the British ships, and this initial advantage was not pushed home.
May 29th
Howe was still to leeward of the enemy and he wanted to gain the weather-gage and break through the French line and split the fleet in half. This failed, mainly due to the lead ship, HMS Caesar, failing to follow orders. Howe, in HMS Queen Charlotte, along with Bellerophon and Leviathon, did manage to break through and succeeded in cutting off three French ships. Villaret bore down and rescued the isolated ships, but they were in no position to fight anymore that day. Having lost the weather-gage, and suffering from badly damaged ships, Villaret had again lost the day. Three more French ships had to return to port. Howe’s ships also received heavy damage.
May 30th
Heavy fog prevented any action, but allowed Villaret to make distance between himself and Howe, and for Nielly and his ships from Rochefort to reinforce the French fleet.
May 31st
The fog lifted at noon but Howe decided to wait before his next attack until the following day so that he would have the maximum amount of daylight for pressing home a decisive defeat. He also wanted time to familiarise his captains with his plans.
June 1st
As dawn broke the two fleets found themselves just in sight of each other. Howe decided to let his men have breakfast before he took advantage of the weather-gage and started closing in on Villaret. By 08.12 they were just four miles apart and Howe had manouvered the fleet into line ahead formation, parallel to the line of French ships. At 09.24, both sides began exchanging long range gunfire, whereupon Howe unleashed his innovative battle plans. He ordered signal 34 to be hoisted – “having the wind of the enemy, the Admiral means to pass between the ships in the line engaging them to leeward”.
What Howe intended, was that each of his ships in the line were to turn individually towards the French line and break it at every point, at the same time raking the bows and sterns of the French ships. Once through the line, they were to pull up on the leeward side of the enemy, cutting off their retreat downwind, and then engaing their opposite numbers directly.
Howe, in HMS Queen Charlotte turned immediately and headed towards the French line. Unfortunately, the rest of the fleet did not clearly understand his signal 34, or some of them chose to ignore it, with the result that the turn was uneven. The French opened fire upon seeing what was happening, but the ships that did turn with Howe managed to get into action without much damage due to to lack of training and cordination of the french gunners.
The effect of the delay in many of the British ships executing Howe’s order was chaos. Only seven of the British ships actually broke the French line. Within an hour, three separate battles were effectively being fought as the centre, and then the van of the British line engaged in close battle.
Despite not all going to Howe’s plan, six French ships were captured and one sunk, against no British ships lost. Eleven British and twelve French ships were dismasted. There was a savage duel between HMS Brunswick and the French Venger, which lasted four hours, during which Captain Harvey Brunswick, commanding Brunswick was wounded three times with 44 of his crew killed and 14 wounded; he did not survive the battle.
Villaret in Montagne, managed to break away to the north, and gathered eleven surviving ships of the line together and formed them up in a reconstituted battle squadron. At 11:30, with the main action drawing to a close, he began a recovery manoeuvre intended to lessen the tactical defeat his fleet had suffered.
However, Howe recognised Villaret's intention, and he also pulled his ships together to create a new force. His reformed squadron consisted of Queen Charlotte, Royal Sovereign, Valiant, Leviathan, Barfleur and Thunderer. Howe deployed this and the two short lines engaged one another at a distance before Villaret abandoned his manoeuvre and hauled off to collect several of his own dismasted ships before turning eastwards towards France.
The British fleet was unable to pursue Villaret, having only eleven ships still capable of battle to the French twelve, and having numerous dismasted ships and prizes to protect. Retiring and regrouping, the British crews set about making hasty repairs and securing their prizes; seven in total.
June 2nd
At 5.00 am the fleet set out to return to Britain, reapirs having taken all night.
Aftermath
Both sides claimed victory, although technically it was a British victory. The French however succeeded in drawing the British into battle long enough for the convoy to get through.
Overall casualties (accounts vary) were 1500 French killed, 2000 wounded and 3000 captured; 287 English killed and 811 wounded.
GloriuosFirst_1: Painting "The Glorious First" by Phillipe-Jacques Loutherbourg 1795
GloriousFirst_2: Painting "Howe on the Deck of Queen Charlotte" by Mather Brown (1761-1831)
Both pictures in the public domain