Raids on Boulogne
Raid on Boulogne | |
---|---|
Part of the Boulogne 50°43′35″N 1°36′53″E / 50.7264°N 1.6147°E | |
Result | French victory |
7 frigates
11 sloops-of-war
7 bomb vessels
32 brigs
large number of gunboats[1]
1 schooner[2]
126 wounded
6 gunboats sunk[3]
20 captured [4]
4 deserted[5]
30 wounded
2-4 luggers sunk[3]
The raid on Boulogne in 1801 was a failed attempt by elements of the
Background
In February 1801 the continental war against the French Republic ceased by a treaty of peace concluded at Lunéville on 9 February between that country and the
Because of this, the unemployed French armies gathered at the Channel ports, and the
Although the British intelligence doubted that the French invasion would take place, the counter-invasion orders of 1797 were reintroduced. The number of sloops and gun brigs in the
. He was also required to block up or destroy, if practicable, the French vessels and craft in the ports wherein they may be assembled. All the intelligence pointed to Boulogne as the main port in which the French invasion craft were gathering, so Lord Nelson set course to there.First attack
Nelson, with the 18-pounder 32-gun frigate HMS Medusa under Captain John Gore as flagship, arrived at the port of Boulogne the evening of 3 August. He placed his 28 gunboats and five bomb vessels at a distance of 3 km from the port, out of range of the French army land batteries above and beside Boulogne. At 5 am the next day the division of bomb vessels was placed ahead of the rest of the squadron and the attack began, although Nelson was aware that a long-distance naval bombardment was unlikely to be decisive.[7]
The five bomb vessels bombarded the French defensive line moored in front of Boulogne for 16 hours, firing between 750 and 848 shots.[7] The French forces were unable to respond to the British fire because of the poor state of their gunpowder. As a result of this, Latouche Tréville considered moving towards the British ships to board them, but finally refused this plan because of the poor construction of his gunboats.
Finally, Nelson, seeing that the bombardment caused only minor damage, returned to England. He reported three flats and a brig sunk and the driving of several others on shore;[3] however, Latouche Tréville only admitted two gunboats sunk, one of which was later recovered. The British lost 4 or 5 men and two gunboats, one of which exploded when its mortar burst.
After this first attack Nelson was conscious that the French flotilla did not pose any serious risk.
Second attack
For his second attack, Nelson was unable to do a bombardment because the first attack and the preparations for the second along the Kent coast had alerted the French.[8] Admiral Latouche-Tréville had reinforced his vessels with three battalions of soldiers from the brigades 47th, 56th and 108th,[9] as well as nets, to prevent boarding.[8] Nelson decided to launch a surprise night attack, as he had previously in the Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (1797). For this purpose he organized four divisions of boats under the respective commands of Captains Philip Somerville, Edward Thornborough Parker, Isaac Cotgrave, and Robert Jones, and a division of mortar-boats, under Captain John Conn, to attempt to bring off the French flotilla.
At about 11 h. 30 m. pm the four divisions, who had crossed the Channel tied together, put off from the Medusa in good order, but they lost touch with each other because of the darkness of the moonless night. The
The first division, under Captain Somerville, approaching the shore, was swept away by the current to the eastward of Boulogne bay. Somerville, finding impossible an attack on the French vessels in the order prescribed, ordered the boats to cast each other off to move more easily. Shortly before the dawn of the following day, some of his leading boats attacked a French brig near Boulogne pier and tried to carry it away, but she was moored with chains that could not be cut.
Notes
- ^ Knight, p. 405
- ^ a b Naval History of Great Britain, by William James
- ^ a b c Naval History of Great Britain, by William James
- ^ The naval history of Great Britain, by Edward Pelham Brenton
- ^ Knight, p.412
- ^ Knight, p. 403
- ^ a b Knight, p. 406
- ^ a b Knight, p. 411
- ^ Batailles navales de la France, Volumen 3, by O. Troude, p. 227
- ^ Naval History of Great Britain, by William James
References
- Knight, Roger, The Pursuit of Victory: The Life and Achievement of Horatio Nelson. Westview Press, 2007. ISBN 978-0-465-03765-0