Battle of Les Saintes
The Battle of The Saintes April 12, 1782, by Thomas Whitcombe (1783). Depicted in the center is Hood's Barfleur during the attack on the Ville des Paris
| date | April 12, 1782 |
|---|---|
| place | between the islands of Basse-Terre and Dominica , West Indies |
| output | British victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| 36 ships of the line | 33 ships of the line |
| losses | |
|
243 dead |
approx. 2000 dead and wounded |
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The Battle of Les Saintes was a naval battle between British and French naval forces on April 12, 1782. Les Saintes are a small group of islands in the Caribbean , in the Lesser Antilles between Basse-Terre and Dominica .
background
France had entered the American War of Independence on the side of the colonies in 1778 . The operations of the French fleet under Admiral François Joseph Paul de Grasse had a decisive influence on the course of the war up to this point and contributed to the surrender of General Charles Cornwallis on October 19, 1781. After the colonies had successfully fought for their independence, the war between France - allied with Spain - and Great Britain continued.
prehistory
After conquering some of the smaller Antilles islands, the French prepared to invade the British colony of Jamaica . A fleet of 150 transport ships was provided and, accompanied by a good 30 warships de Grasses, set out from Martinique for Guadeloupe on April 8th .
The British fleet under Admirals George Rodney and Samuel Hood pursued the French and caught up with them that same evening. The British benefited from the copper planking of their ships, which prevented the loss of speed normally caused by the vegetation on the hull.
On April 9, de Grasse released the transports for Guadeloupe and prepared his ships to cover their retreat. The two fleets faced each other leeward of the island of Dominica. First, eight ships of the British vanguard came into action with 15 French ships. However, when the main British power approached the battle, the French broke off the action to cover the convoy. On the following two days, the two squadrons faced each other without a fight to repair the damage.
The battle
It was not until April 12 that Rodney attacked the 30 French with his 36 ships. When the wind was weak from the east-northeast, the fleets formed in the keel line fought a passing battle. The French could not take advantage of the windward position in this case, as they were wedged between the west coast of Dominica and the British fleet.
At around 9:20 am the wind suddenly turned to the southeast, which forced the French, who were heading south, to turn to starboard towards the British line. - Some French ships tried to turn instead , which messed up the French battle line. - The British, now with a more favorable clear wind , took advantage of this opportunity: Rodney pushed his flagship HMS Formidable and the five following ships through a gap in the French line. Behind him, Hood's ships did the same, breaking the French line right in front of de Grasse's flagship, the Ville de Paris .
In this situation, the British ships breaking through were able to fire on both sides, causing considerable damage to the French ships directly affected in a short time. At the short distance, the newly introduced carronades on the British side were particularly devastating. In addition to the double damage effect of the breaching ships - by targets in both directions - there is: A massive cannonball that crosses a ship in the longitudinal direction causes significantly higher crew losses and damage than a cannonball that pierces a ship across. An exchange of broadsides that was common at the time was terrible; Longitudinal bombardment in layers was slaughter.
After this maneuver, however, the wind subsided to a calm and left both fleets still. When a light easterly wind came up in the afternoon, the French order of battle was completely dissolved. De Grasse ordered the retreat, which, however, was not particularly orderly. The British captured four French ships and attacked the isolated Ville de Paris . De Grasse dismissed the rest of his fleet and surrendered with his already badly battered flagship. César , captured by the British, exploded.
aftermath
This was the last naval battle fought in American waters of that war before Britain, France and Spain signed a peace treaty in January 1783 . The French threat to the British colonies in the West Indies had ended.
De Grasse later blames his captains Vaudreuil and Bougainville for the defeat .
The remaining French ships met at Cape Français with the invasion fleet, which also included Spanish ships. Although one had a combined force of 40 ships of the line, the invasion of Jamaica never took place: the loss of the commander in chief and illnesses among the crews led to the abandonment of the company.
After this battle, which was victorious for the British navy, the British questioned why the victory was not better exploited and the fleeing French ships were not pursued more consistently. Rodney was therefore later repeatedly criticized.
In September 1782 a British convoy set out for home, which also included two captured French ships of the line - the Ville de Paris and the Glorieux . In a storm these two disappeared without a trace. The British liners HMS Ramillies and HMS Centaur also sank.
This battle is also significant for the development of naval warfare tactics - even if it is still unclear whether Rodney broke through the French lines for tactical reasons; or whether it wasn't the wind that made the decision. As the Royal Navy's first breakthrough battle , the Battle of the Saints ushered in a new phase of naval warfare tactics. Nelson took up this tactic at Trafalgar , cementing the supremacy of the Royal Navy for a century. However, the Dutch admiral De Ruyter had already used this tactic in 1666 in the four-day battle and in 1673 in the sea battle off Texel and can therefore be regarded as the actual inventor.
Trivia
The British metal band Alestorm dedicated the song "No Grave But The Sea" to the Battle of Les Saintes.
literature
- Potter, Elmar B. / Nimitz, Chester W. / Rohwer, Jürgen: Seemacht. A history of naval warfare from antiquity to the present . Bernard & Graefe Verlag, Munich 1982, ISBN 3-88199-082-8 .
