In 1759 King Louis XV's ministers drew up plans to invade various parts of Great Britain. As a result an army of 17,000 French soldiers was being assembled at Vannes, France to prepare to land in Ireland. As this invasion force came together a variety of French squadrons sallied from there ports to coordinate with the invasion.
The French Navy Toulon Squadron under Admiral Jean-Francois de La Clue-Sabran sailed toward Vannes with the following ships.
Ocean (Flagship) 80 gun
Redoubtable 74 gun
Centaure 74 gun
Temeraire 74 gun
Modeste 64 gun
Souverain 74 gun
Guerrier 74 gun
As they passed Gibraltar they were immediately spotted and a British squadron put to sea to catch them. Part of the formation broke up leaving the following to close on the French.
Royal Navy Gibraltor Squadron under Admiral Sir Edward Boscawen
Namur (Flagship) 90 gun
Culloden 74 gun
Warspite 74 gun
Intrepid 64 gun
America 60 gun
Portland 50 gun
Guernsey 50 gun
Initial setup with the British coming in from the left and the French line running down the right side of the photo. The coast is just out of sight on the left. The French are positioning to fight or move around the coast as they can also win the scenario by evading the British Fleet and getting away.
Carronades commence in the center of the formation while half of the French make a dash for the coast. The result, the French Ocean, Redoubtable and Centaure being struck and taken under tow. The British Namur and Intrepid were dismasted and punished Hull. The remaining French were able to withdraw in good order and only lightly damaged if at all.
The air is filled with French iron.
Around turn five or six the wind made an unexpected 120 degree shift. This stopped the French dead in their tracts and allowed the British freedom to maneuver at will. The French ambitions were effectively stalled at this point. Merde!
This is awesome!
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