Battle of Cabrita Point
Battle of Cabrita Point | |||||||
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Part of the War of the Spanish Succession | |||||||
A lithograph of the battle | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
England Portugal Dutch Republic |
Spain | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
John Leake | Bernard Desjean | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
35 ships of the line | 18 ships of the line | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Unknown killed and wounded |
Unknown killed and wounded 3 ships of the line captured 2 ships of the line destroyed |
The Battle of Cabrita Point, also known Battle of Marbella, was a naval battle that took place while a combined Spanish-French force
Prelude
The allies had
In January 1705,
The commander of Gibraltar,
The battle
Leake's fleet reached the Strait late on the 9th, and laid to during the night. The next morning at about 5.30 a.m., they were within two miles of Cabrita Point, when they saw five sail coming out of the Bay. These proved to be the French ships Magnanime (74), Lys (86), Ardent (66), Arrogant (60), and Marquis (66). They made at first towards the Barbary Coast, but, finding that they were being gained upon, stood for the Spanish coast.[1] At 9 a.m. Sir Thomas Dilkes in HMS Revenge, with the Newcastle, Antelope and a Dutch man-of-war, got within gunshot of Arrogant, which, after a slight resistance, struck. Before 1 p.m. two Dutch ships took Ardent and Marquis; Magnanime and Lys were driven ashore to the westward of Marbella. Magnanime, in which De Pointis had his flag, ran ashore with so much force that all her masts went by the board. The French subsequently burned Magnanime and Lys.[2]
The rest of the French squadron had been blown from their anchorage by a gale and had taken shelter in the bay of Málaga. They now slipped their cables and made their way to Toulon.[2]
Aftermath
The Marshal de Tessé, in consequence of this disaster, turned the siege of Gibraltar into a blockade, and withdrew the greater part of his forces on 31 March. Pointis retired from active service after this battle.
Leake had not only scored a remarkable victory, but had saved Gibraltar from attack and had enhanced his already high reputation.[citation needed]
References
- ISBN 978-0786457847.
- ^ a b Clowes, William Laird (1898). The Royal Navy: A History From the Earliest Times to the Present. Vol. II. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company. pp. 406-407. Retrieved 11 February 2013.