French Wars 1793-1815 Flashcards
What was the Royal Navy like in 1790 for officers
. Learned the ropes as lowly shipmen
. Come from professional middle classes
.Family influence could ensure that some officers were fast-tracked
What was the Royal Navy like in 1790 for recruitment
. Did not impose conscription
. Press gangs rounded up men
. A quota system was used where each country was required to supply a certain number of volunteers
. Many sailors were not British
What were conditions like in the Royal Navy in 1790
. Payed a low wage of 22 shillings
. Sailors slept on hammocks
. At sea for years at a time
. Fresh food and veg was served to prevent scurvy
What was discipline like in the Royal Navy in 1790
. Officers respected sailors to make them work better
. Continuous threat of punishment
. Used cat’o’nine tail whip
What were tactics like in the Royal Navy in 1790
. Daily gun practice
. Guns manned by 7 men
. Used a closed blockade to surround enemy ports
. Could unleash a broad side every 1min 30 seconds and were quicker than enemies
What occurred at the start of the Peninsular wars
. Napoleon enforced the continental system on Great Britain
. Portugal however was still trading with Britain
. In 1807, the french army under Junot marched through Spain and took control of Portugal
. Joseph Bonaparte become the king of Spain
. In June 1808 Spain was unhappy with french occupation and local assemblies emerged and began to use guerrilla warfare
. Junot was now cut off in Portugal and the French only maintained control of Lisbon
. The British government realised that now was the time for invasion and they began to plan an attack
What occurred at the battle of Trafalgar
. Lord Admiral Nelson chased the french fleet across the Atlantic and to the Caribbean and back
. The 2 fleets met on 21st October 1805 off the coast of cape Trafalgar
. Nelson divided his fleet into 2
. Vice admiral coming-wood attacked with the south fleet, Nelson attacked with the north fleet
. Positioning of the french navy meant their second line couldn’t be used effectively
. Nelson ordered a false manoeuvre that meant he was positioned in between the French flagship and the smaller ships
. HMS victory sustained lots of damaged but managed to repel french troops from boarding
. Nelson was fatally wounded from a french sharpshooter and died at the battle
. The combined french + Spanish fleet lost 17 ships
What occurred at the battle of the Nile 1798
. Nelson attacked at Night and caught the french off guard
. Nelson led the attack and even after he was blinded continued to lead his ships
. He used the nigh time to his advantage
. Left napoleons army cut off from France and stranded
. French plans for India were threatened
What occurred at the battle of Copenhagen 1801
. Nelson ignored Admiral Parkers signal to discontinue the attack and carried on fighting and held up signals to get closer
. The navy was successful as they anchored at close range and opened fire, three British ships ran abroad on shoals, which weakened the defence
. The impact was that Britain and Denmark achieved an indefinite armistice, a final peace agreement was later signed in October
What occurred at the battle of Camperdown
. Major Victory for the British, restored National morale and Navy’s reputation
. Admiral Lord Duncans north fleet of 16 ships of the line encountered a similar size Dutch fleet of the Dutch coast
. They smashed the enemy line and captured 14 ships
What occurred at the battle of Cape St Vincent
. Sir john jervis navy commander of the Mediterranean, stationed a bulk of his force of Càdiz, facing the main Spanish fleet
. On 14th February 1797, jervis fleet encountered a Spanish force almost double the size of his own at the battle of cape st Vincent
. Jervis was confident of his men’s skills and thus cut through the enemy lines
. Nelson courageously boarded and captured ‘ San Josef ‘ a large Spanish Ship
. Jervis who had captured four ships and driven the enemies back into càdiz was nobles as the earl of Saint Vincent
What developments occurred in the Royal Navy between 1795-96
. In 1795 Sir john jervis took over command in the Mediterranean
. Jervis set about whipping the fleet into shape and forged excellent relationships with officers he respected and trusted
What occurred at Toulon and the battle of the glorious first of June
. Admiral Hood seized Toulon
. Arrived of the french navy forced him to abandon the part in December but before he left he captured and destroyed a large number of french ships
. The Royal Navy blockaded french ports of the Atlantic coast
. 400 miles out in the Atlantic on the 1st June 1794 the 2 fleets met, the french had 26 ships of the line, the British 25
. Howes fleet captured or sank 7 ships resulting in 7000 french sailors being killed or captured, the British had 1200 casualties
What reforms were put into place 1783-93
. Dockyards were more closely monitored to eliminate waste and corruption
. Introduced coppering to the fleet, meaning ships needed less repairs
. Massive stocks of timber and rope were built up
. New docks were built at Plymouth and Portsmouth
. New cannon introduced, light and able to swivel and had a short fat muzzle
. Became known as the smasher
. Could be loaded with grapeshot
. Ordinance board sinister that every gun had to be fired 30 times before it was accepted
. Gunlocks replaced slow matches, became more efficient and accurate
What occurred at the retreat of Corunna at 1809
. Napoleon headed for John Moores army, Moore was outnumbered 2:1 so he attempted to retreat 250 miles to Corunna and get evacuated by the Royal Navy
. Discipline collapsed on the way and led to looting and drunkenness
. Moores army arrived on January 11th
. Naval transport arrived on he 14th
. John Moore was fatally wounded and later died
. The British army silently retreated at night and the french were slow to react
. British losses were light and it was a successor retreat
