Royal Navy encounters (1793-1805) Flashcards
who seized Toulon in 1793?
Admiral Hood
who was the head of the RN Med fleet in 1793?
Samuel Hood
what was the Siege of Toulon?
Anglo-Spanish hold of the French town Toulon
what was the outcome of the Seize of Toulon?
Napoleon kicked the allied forces out of Toulon and frees the city at the expense of his French fleet
when was the Glorious First of June?
1st June 1794
what did the French convoy carry on the Glorious First of June?
grain from America
why were French vessels carrying grain?
there was a famine happening in mainland France
who was the British commander of the fleet which was used on the Glorious First of June?
Richard Howe
what unconventional tactic did Howe use to destroy the French escort on the Glorious First of June?
he ordered ships to attack close to the French vessels to inflict major damage to the French fleet
why was the Glorious First of June a strategic victory for the French?
the French managed to get most of their grain convoy to France
why was the Glorious First of June a victory for the British?
the British removed French naval control over the Atlantic allowing the British to maintain a blockade for the rest of the war
how many French grain ships were sunk?
7
how many French captured on the Glorious First of June?
7,000
who took command of the Med fleet in 1795?
Sir John Jervis
what did Jervis change in the Navy?
enforced discipline and order in the RN
introduced standing orders to prevent mutinies
when did Holland and Spain join the French?
1796
what war did the British participate in in 1796?
Anglo-Spanish war
why did the Spanish join the French in 1796?
they were invaded by French forces
how many ships of the line were used by the British in the Anglo-Spanish war?
15 ships of the line
how many ships of the line were used by the Spanish in the Anglo-Spanish war?
27
why were the British forced to retreat in 1797?
they were heavily outnumbered
when was the Battle of Cape St Vincent?
February 1797
who was in charge of the British fleet in the Battle of Cape St Vincent?
Sir Jervis
how large was the Spanish-French navy in the Battle of Cape St Vincent?
38
what was the outcome of the Battle of Cape St Vincent?
British victory despite being outnumbered
what was Nelson’s ship name in the Battle of Cape St Vincent?
HMS Captain
what were Nelson’s contribution to British victory in the Battle of Cape St Vincent?
he broke from Jervis’s formation and attacked the Spanish fleet thus going against Jervis’ orders
which Spanish ships did Nelson take in the Battle of Cape St Vincent?
San Nicolas
San Josef
what did Nelson shout when taking the Spanish ships in the Battle of Cape St Vincent?
Westminster Abbey or glorious victory!
how did Jervis deal with Nelson after the Battle of Cape St Vincent?
he did not reprimand him for breaking his orders
he liked Nelson as a commander
when was the Battle of Camperdown?
October 1797
who did the British fight in the Battle of Camperdown?
the Dutch
how many ships of the line did the British have in the Battle of Camperdown?
16
how many ships of the line did the British have in the Battle of Camperdown?
15
why did the Dutch join the French Republic?
the Dutch Republic was taken over by the French and became the Batavian Republic
why was the British Channel fleet paralysed?
the Spithead and Nore mutinies in 1797?
what was the Spithead mutiny?
16 ships in Portsmouth protested against the working conditions aboard RN vessels
what did the ships in Portsmouth demand?
a pay rise
sickness compensation
more land leave
what was the result of the Spithead mutiny?
nothing came of it
minor arguments broke out
all mutineers were given a royal pardon
what was the Nore mutiny?
20 ships of in Thames were taken over by their sailors
they blockaded London by preventing merchant ships from leaving
what did the ships in Nore demand?
pardons
increased pay
peace with France
parliament to dissolve
what was the result of the Nore mutiny?
captains of the ships managed to convince their crew to return control of their ship and managed to escape thus ending the mutiny
29 mutineers were hung and 29 imprisoned
why did the French push the Dutch to attack the British fleet?
they saw the mutinies as the British fleet weakening and saw it as an opportunity to damage them
when was the Battle of the Nile?
August 1798
how many battleships did Napolean head to Egypt with?
13
how many ships of the line did Nelson take to Egypt?
11
when did Nelson arrive in Alexandria?
29 June
when did Napolean arrive in Alexandria?
1 July
what was the largest French ship in the Battle of the Nile?
the Orient
how many guns did the Orient have?
120 guns
where did Nelson find the French fleet in Egypt?
Aboukir Bay
how did Nelson go against conventional naval tactics in the Battle of the Nile?
he ordered RN ships to go as close to the Orient as possible and attack from both sides of the ship
how many French ships escaped at the Battle of the Nile?
2
when did the RN take Malta?
1800
how many ships did the Baltic states have?
100 warships
why was the Baltic important to the British?
most of its naval stores came from there:
- timber
- pitch
- tar
- hemp
who was the Commander of the Baltic Fleet at the Battle of Copenhagen?
Sir Hyde Parker
who led the RN attack on Copenhagen?
Nelson
how many ships of the line did Nelson have for the Battle of Copenhagen?
11
what was a bomb vessel?
a ship that carried mortars which could fire heavy shells from sea
when was the Battle of Copenhagen?
April 1801
what was Nelsons’ role in the Battle of Copenhagen?
he ignored Parker’s order to stop the attack which dealt massive damage to the Danish navy and he was able to force a truce with the Danish king
what happened to Nelson after the Battle of Copenhagen?
he replaced Parker as Commander of the Baltic Fleet
how many Danish ships were sunk?
2
why did the RN not have to attack the Russian navy in the Baltic?
Alexander I became Tsar of Russia in 1802 and did nit want to fight a naval war with the British
what did St Vincent do to reform the Royal Dockyards?
he cancelled ship building contracts and dismissed hundreds of workers
what did St Vincent’s dockyard reforms lead to?
vital work in the dockyards stopped
the RN was short on men, ships and supplies
when was the Treaty of Amiens signed?
March 1802
when did the European war recommence?
May 1803
who took command of the Med Fleet in 1803?
Nelson
what was Nelson’s flagship?
HMS Victory
how many guns did HMS Victory have?
100 guns
what was Nelson’s task with the Med Fleet?
to keep a watch on the French fleet in Toulon and to try to entice them out into open warter
when did Spain ally with France?
1804
how many ships did the Spanish and French have together in 1804?
102 battleships
how many ships did the RN have in 1804?
83
who commanded the Toulon Fleet?
Villeneuve
what was Napoleans’s plan to deal with Nelson’s blockade of Toulon?
he ordered Villeneuve to leave port, evade Nelson, then lure him across the Atlantic to the Carribean, lose him and hed back to Spain and join the invasion of Britain
when did Villeneuve’s fleet leave Toulon?
April 1805
where was Villeneuve intercepted by the RN?
Cape Finisterre
who intercepted Villeneuve’s fleet?
Sir Robert Calder
why had Napoleon’s plan failed?
Villeneuve had managed to escape from Calder but instead of sailing North to rejoin the French fleet at Boulogne, he headed South to Cadiz
when did Nelson return to Britain?
August 1805
when did Villeneuve leave Cadiz?
19 October 1805
how large was Nelson’s fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar?
27 battleships
how large was Villeneuve’s fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar?
33 battleships
when was the Battle of Trafalgar?
21 October 1805
what formation did Nelson’s fleet take at Trafalgar?
2 columns
who led the second column at Trafalgar?
Collingwood w/ the Royal Sovereign
when did Nelson die?
16:30
how many French ships escaped?
11 with only 5 deemed seaworthy
how many British died at Trafalgar?
459
how many French died at Trafalgar?
2218
what was the result of the Battle of Trafalgar?
Britain took complete control of the waves
what manoeuvre did Nelson commit to during the Battle of Trafalgar?
he pushed the Redoutable aside to separate the French fleet to make it easier for the rest of the fleet to attack
CROSSING THE T
