Revered naval theorist, Alfred Thayer Mahan, thought the Battle of
Quiberon Bay (20 Nov 1759) was as significant as Nelson's victory in
1805, calling it "the Trafalgar of this war [the Seven Years War]."
Arguably it was even more vital. Britain in 1759 was much less
well-defended, with virtually no regular troops at home, and the threat
of French invasion was both more realistic and more imminent. When the
British fleet under Admiral Hawke fell upon them, the French ships of
the line under Admiral Conflans were actually on their way to rendezvous
with the invasion troopships gathered at the mouth of the Loire. Yet the
battle and the admiral remain relatively obscure - there is no Quiberon
Square or Hawke's column.
The battle itself was fought in terrible weather, the French attempting
to exploit their local knowledge by heading for Quiberon Bay, assuming
the British would not follow them among its treacherous shoals in such
conditions. Hawke, however, pursued them under full sail and the French
ships were destroyed, captured, run aground, or scattered for the loss
of only two British ships which ran aground. The invasion was
thwarted.
Professor Nicholas Tracy studies the battle and its strategic
consequences, particularly upon the war for North America.
