Battle of Cape Finisterre (1805)

{{For|other battles of a similar name|Battle of Cape Finisterre (disambiguation)}} {{Campaignbox Trafalgar Campaign}} {{Campaignbox Trafalgar}} In the '''Battle of Cape Finisterre''' (22 July 1805) off [[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]], Spain, the [[United Kingdom|British]] fleet under Admiral [[Robert Calder]] fought an indecisive naval battle against the Combined Franco-Spanish fleet which was returning from the [[West Indies]]. Calder failed to prevent the joining of Villeneuve's fleet to the squadron of Ferrol and to strike the shattering blow that would have freed Great Britain from the danger of an invasion, Calder was later court-martialled and severely reprimanded for his failure and for avoiding the renewal of the engagement on 23 and 24 July. {{cquote|"If Admiral Villeneuve, instead of entering Ferrol, had contented himself with rallying at the Spanish squadron, and had sailed for Brest to join Admiral [[Honoré Joseph Antoine Ganteaume|Gantheaume]], my army would have landed; it would have been all over with England."|20|20|General [[Napoleon I of France|Napoleon Bonaparte]], 8th Sept, 1815.}} == Strategic background == {{main|Trafalgar Campaign}} The fragile [[Peace of Amiens]] of 1802 had come to an end when Napoleon formally annexed the Italian state of [[Piedmont]] and on 18 May 1803 Britain was once again at war with France. Napoleon planned to end the British blockade by invading and conquering Britain. By 1805 his ''[[Armée d'Angleterre]]'' was 150,000 strong and encamped at [[Boulogne-sur-Mer|Boulogne]]. If this army could cross the English Channel, victory over the poorly trained and equipped militias was very likely. The plan was that the French navy would escape from the British blockades of [[Toulon]] and [[Brest, France|Brest]] and threaten to attack the [[West Indies]], thus drawing off the British defence of the [[Western Approaches]]. The combined fleets would rendezvous at [[Martinique]] and then double back to Europe, land troops in [[Ireland]] to raise a rebellion, defeat the weakened British patrols in the Channel, and help transport the Armée d'Angleterre across the [[Straits of Dover]]. Villeneuve sailed from Toulon on 29 March 1805 with eleven [[ships of the line]], six [[frigate]]s and two [[brig]]s. He evaded Admiral [[Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson|Nelson]]'s blockading fleet and passed the [[Strait of Gibraltar]] on 8 April. At [[Cádiz]] he drove off the British blockading squadron and was joined by six Spanish ships of the line. The combined fleet sailed for the West Indies, reaching Martinique on 12 May. Nelson was kept in the [[Mediterranean]] by westerly winds and did not pass the Strait until 7 May 1805. The British fleet of ten ships reached [[Antigua]] on 4 June. Villeneuve waited at [[Martinique]] for Admiral [[Honoré Joseph Antoine Ganteaume|Ganteaume]]'s Brest fleet to join him, but it remained blockaded in port and did not appear. Pleas from French army officers for Villeneuve to attack British colonies went unheeded — except for the recapture of the island fort of [[Diamond Rock]] — until 4 June when he set out from Martinique. On 7 June he learned from a captured British merchantman that Nelson had arrived at Antigua, and on 11 June Villeneuve left for Europe, having failed to achieve any of his objectives in the Caribbean. While in the Antilles, the Franco-Spanish fleet ran into a British convoy worth 5 million Francs escorted by the frigate ''Barbadoes'', 28 guns and sloop ''Netley''. Villeneuve hoisted general chase and two French frigates with the Spanish ship ''Argonauta'', 80 guns captured all the ships but one escort. On 30 June the combined squadron captured and burned an English 14 gun [[privateer]]. On 3 July the fleet recaptured Spanish galleon ''Matilda'', which carried an estimated 15 million Franc treasure, from English privateer ''Mars'', from Liverpool, which was towing ''Matilda'' to an English harbour. The privateer was burned and the merchant was taken in tow by the French frigate ''Siréne''. The fleet sailed back to Europe, and on 9 July the French ship ''Indomptable'' lost its main spar in a gale that damaged some other vessels slightly. The Atlantic crossings had been very difficult according to Spanish Admiral Gravina who had crossed the Atlantic eleven times. So with some ships in bad condition, tired crews and scarce victuals, the combined fleet sighted land near Cape Finisterre on 22 July. == Battle == News of the returning French fleet reached Vice Admiral [[Robert Calder]] on 19 July. He was ordered to lift his blockade of the ports of [[Rochefort, Charente-Maritime|Rochefort]] and [[Ferrol, Spain|Ferrol]] and sail for Cape Finisterre to intercept Villeneuve. The fleets sighted each other at about 11:00 on 22 July. After several hours of manoeuvering to the south-west, the action began at about 17:15 as the British fleet, with ''Hero'' (Captain Alan Hyde Gardner) in the van, bore down on the Franco-Spanish line of battle. In poor visibility, the battle became a confused melee. ''Malta'' formed the rear-most ship in the British line in the approach to the battle, but as the fleets became confused in the failing light and thick patchy fog, the commander of ''Malta'' [[Sir Edward Buller, 1st Baronet|Sir Edward Buller]] found that he was surrounded by five Spanish ships. After a fierce engagement in which ''Malta'' suffered five killed and forty wounded the British ship battled it out sending out devastating broadsides from both port and starboard. At about 20:00 Buller forced the Spanish 80-gun ''San Rafael'' to strike, and afterwards sent the ''Malta''{{'}}s boats to take possession of the Spanish 74-gun ''Firme''. Calder signalled to break-off the action at 20:25, aiming to continue the battle the next day. In the failing light and general confusion some ships continued to fire for another hour. Daybreak on 23 July found the fleets 27 km apart. Calder was unwilling to attack a second time against superior odds, he had to protect the damaged ''Windsor Castle'' and ''Malta'' with her large captured Spanish prizes and he had to consider the possibility that the previously blockaded fleets at Rochefort and Ferrol might put to sea and effect a junction with Villeneuve's combined fleet. Accordingly he declined to attack and headed northeast with his prizes. Villeneuve's report claims that at first he intended to attack, but in the very light breezes it took all day to come up to the British and he decided not to risk combat late in the day. On 24 July a change in the wind put the Franco-Spanish fleet to the windward of the British — the ideal position for an attack — but instead of attacking, Villeneuve turned away to the south. When he arrived at [[A Coruña]] on 1 August he received orders from Napoleon to proceed immediately to Brest and Boulogne, but perhaps believing a false report of a superior British fleet in the Bay of Biscay, he returned to [[Cádiz]], reaching that port on 21 August. == Aftermath == The battle was inconlusive and both admirals, Villeneuve and Calder, claimed victory. The British human losses were 39 officers and men killed and 159 wounded; the allied losses 476 officers and men killed and wounded, with a further 800 ill. Calder was relieved of his command, court-martialled, and sentenced to be severely reprimanded for his failure to renew the battle on 23 and 24 July. He never served at sea again. Villeneuve failed to push on Brest, retired to refit at Vigo, then slipped into Coruña, and on 15 August decided to make for Cadiz. The direction of Villeneuve on Cadiz ruined all hopes of Napoleon to make an invasion and landing on England, thus Napoleon, frustrated by Villeneuve's commandement, was forced to abandon his plan of invading Britain. Instead, the ''Armée d'Angleterre'', renamed the ''Grande Armée'', left Boulogne on 27 August to counter the threat from [[Austria]] and [[Russia]]. A few weeks after the battle he wrote: "''[[Federico Carlos Gravina y Nápoli|Gravina]] is all genius and decision in combat. If Villeneuve had had those qualities, the battle of Finisterre would have been a complete victory."'' Villeneuve and the combined fleets remained at Cádiz until they came out to their destruction at the [[battle of Trafalgar]] on 21 October. ==British Fleet== *Calder had fifteen ships of the line ([[HMS Prince of Wales (1794)|''Prince of Wales'']], [[HMS Glory (1788)|''Glory'']], [[HMS Barfleur (1768)|''Barfleur'']], [[HMS Windsor Castle (1790)|''Windsor Castle'']], [[HMS Malta (1800)|''Malta'']], [[HMS Thunderer (1783)|''Thunderer'']], [[HMS Hero (1803)|''Hero'']], [[HMS Repulse (1803)|''Repulse'']], [[HMS Defiance (1783)|''Defiance'']], [[HMS Ajax (1798)|''Ajax'']], [[HMS Warrior (1781)|''Warrior'']], [[HMS Dragon (1798)|''Dragon'']], [[HMS Triumph (1764)|''Triumph'']], [[HMS Agamemnon (1781)|''Agamemnon'']], and [[HMS Raisonnable (1768)|''Raisonnable'']]), two frigates ([[French frigate Egyptienne (1799)|''Egyptienne'']] and [[HMS Sirius (1797)|''Sirius'']]), and two smaller vessels. {| class="wikitable" ! rowspan=2 |Ship ! colspan=2 |Casualties ! colspan=3 |Damage |- !Dead !Wounded !Rigging !Masts and spars !Hull and others |- |{{HMS|Hero|1803|2}} (74), Capt. [[Alan Hyde Gardner, 2nd Baron Gardner|Alan Hyde Gardner]] |1 |4 |Much torn |Foremast and fore spars seriously damaged |Several shots in flotation line |- |{{HMS|Ajax|1798|2}} (74), Capt. [[William Brown (Royal Navy officer)|William Brown]] |2 |16 |Much torn |Topsail spar |A cannon blasted causing battery damages |- |{{HMS|Triumph|1764|2}} (74), Capt. [[Henry Inman (Royal Navy officer)|Henry Inman]] |5 |6 |Much torn |Topsail spar |Two dismounted cannons |- |{{HMS|Barfleur|1768|2}} (98), Capt. [[George Martin (Royal Navy officer)|George Martin]] |3 |7 |Foremast and fore spar | | |- |{{HMS|Agamemnon|1781|2}} (64), Capt. [[John Harvey (Royal Navy admiral)|John Harvey]] |0 |3 |Fore spar, mizzen mast and main spar | | |- |{{HMS|Windsor Castle|1790|2}} (98), Capt. C. Boyles |10 |35 |Much torn |Fore spar and most of foremast, main mast, main spar, foremast and bowsprit | |- |{{HMS|Defiance|1783|2}} (74), Capt. [[Philip Charles Durham|Philip Durham]] |1 |7 |Much torn |Spar of top mizzen sail, main mast, spar of foremast | |- |{{HMS|Prince of Wales|1794|2}} (98), Flagship of Adm. Calder, Capt. W. Cumming |3 |20 |Much torn |Spar of foremast, spar of top mizzen mast and spar of main mast |Rudder completely ripped off |- |{{HMS|Repulse|1803|2}} (64), Capt. the Honourable [[Arthur Kaye Legge]] |0 |4 |Much torn |Bowsprit | |- |{{HMS|Raisonnable|1768|2}} (64), Capt. [[Josias Rowley]] |1 |1 |Several spars |Some encrusted bullets | |- |{{HMS|Dragon|1798|2}} (74), Capt. [[Edward Griffith Colpoys|Edward Griffith]] |0 |4 | | | |- |{{HMS|Glory|1788|2}} (98), Flagship of Rear-Adm. Sir [[Charles Stirling]], Capt. Samuel Warren |1 |1 |Much torn |Spar of foremast | |- |{{HMS|Warrior|1781|2}} (74), Capt. [[Samuel Hood Linzee]] |0 |0 |Much torn |Some spars |Shored starboard |- |{{HMS|Thunderer|1783|2}} (74), Capt. [[William Lechmere]] |7 |11 |Much torn |Mizzen mast, and spars of fore and main masts |Several encrusted shots |- |{{HMS|Malta|1800|2}} (80), Capt. [[Sir Edward Buller, 1st Baronet|Edward Buller]] |5 |40 |Much torn |Larger spars, and all masts |- |[[French frigate Egyptienne (1799)|''Egyptienne'']] (40), Capt. Hon. [[Charles Elphinstone Fleeming|Charles Fleeming]] | | | | | |- |{{HMS|Sirius|1797|2}} (36), Capt. [[William Prowse]] | | | | | |- |''Nile'' (lugger), Lieut. John Fennell | | | | | |- |''Frisk'' (cutter), Lieut. James Nicholson | | | | | |- |} ==Franco-Spanish Fleet== *Villeneuve had twenty ships of the line (six Spanish: [[Spanish ship Argonauta|''Argonauta'']], [[Spanish ship Terrible|''Terrible'']], [[Spanish ship America|''America'']], [[Spanish ship España|''España'']], [[Spanish ship San Rafael|''San Rafael'']], [[Spanish ship Firme|''Firme'']]; fourteen French: [[French ship Pluton (1804)|''Pluton'']], [[French ship Mont-Blanc (1791)|''Mont Blanc'']], [[French ship Atlas|''Atlas'']], {{HMS|Berwick|1775|2}}, [[French ship Neptune|''Neptune'']], [[French ship Bucentaure (1804)|''Bucentaure'']], [[French ship Formidable (1795)|''Formidable'']], [[French ship Intrépide|''Intrépide'']], [[French ship Scipion|''Scipion'']], [[French ship Swiftsure|''Swiftsure'']], [[French ship Indomptable (1789)|''Indomptable'']], [[French ship Aigle|''Aigle'']], [[French ship Achille (1803)|''Achille'']], and [[French ship Algésiras|''Algésiras'']]) with seven frigates, and two brigs. (according to Juan Ramón Viana Villavicencio) {| class="wikitable" ! rowspan=2 |Ship
(Spanish in bold type) ! colspan=2 |Casualties ! colspan=3 |Damage |- !Dead !Wounded !Rigging !Masts and spars !Hull and others |- |'''''Argonauta''''' (80), Flagship of Lieutenant-General [[Don Federico Carlos|Federico Gravina]], Flag-Captain Rafael de Hore |6 |5 |Mizzen and fore masts knocked down |Cutwater torn down | |- |'''''Terrible''''' (74), Commander Francisco Vázquez de Mondragón |1 |7 |Much torn |Two cannons dismounted, slide ripped off, one shot flotation high | |- |'''''América''''' (64), Comm. Juan Darrac |5 |13 |All masts bullet-riddled |60 shots | |- |'''''España''''' (64), Comm. Bernardo Muñoz |5 |23 |Much torn |Mizzen mast down, several spars |Rudder partly obliterated, some damage in hull |- |'''''San Rafael''''' (80), Comm. Francisco de Montes (captured) |41 |97 |All torn |Utterly dismantled |Bullet riddled |- |'''''Firme''''' (74), Comm. Rafael de Villavicencio (captured) |35 |60 |All torn |Fully dismantled |Shot riddled |- |''[[French ship Pluton (1804)|Pluton]]'' (74), Comm. [[Julien Cosmao|Cosmao-Kerjulien]] |14 |24 | | | |- |''[[French ship Mont-Blanc (1791)|Mont-Blanc]]'' (74), Comm. [[Guillaume-Jean-Noël de Lavillegris]] {{DOW}} |5 |16 | | | |- |''Atlas'' (74) |15 |52 |Commander killed | | |- |{{HMS|Berwick|1775|2}} (74), Comm. [[Jean-Gilles Filhol de Camas]] |3 |11 | | | |- |''[[French ship Neptune|Neptune]]'' (80), Comm. [[Esprit-Tranquille Maistral]] |3 |9 | | | |- |''[[French ship Bucentaure (1804)|Bucentaure]]'' (80), Flagship of Adm. Villeneuve
Comm. [[Jean-Jacques Magendie]] |5 |5 | | | |- |''[[French ship Formidable (1795)|Formidable]]'' (80), Flagship of [[Pierre Dumanoir le Pelley|Rear-Admiral Dumanoir]], Comm. [[Jean-Marie Letellier|Letellier]] |6 |8 | | | |- |''[[French ship Intrépide|Intrépide]]'' (74), Comm. [[Louis-Antoine-Cyprien Infernet]] |7 |9 | | | |- |''[[French ship Scipion|Scipion]]'' (74), Comm. [[Charles Berrenger]] |0 |0 | | | |- |''[[French ship Swiftsure|Swiftsure]]'' (74), Comm. [[Charles-Eusèbe Lhospitalier de la Villemadrin]] |0 |0 | | | |- |''[[French ship Indomptable (1789)|Indomptable]]'' (80), Comm. [[Jean Joseph Hubert]] |1 |1 | | | |- |''[[French ship Aigle|Aigle]]'' (74), Comm. [[Pierre-Paulin Gourrège]] |6 |0 | | | |- |''[[French ship Achille (1803)|Achille]]'' (74), Comm. [[Louis-Gabriel Deniéport]] |0 |0 | | | |- |''[[French ship Algésiras|Algésiras]]'' (74), Flagship of Rear-Admiral [[Charles René Magon de Médine]], Comm. [[Gabriel-Auguste Brouard]] |0 |0 | | | |} == See also == * [[Battle of Cape Finisterre]] for other battles of this name. * [[Ferrol, Spain|Ferrol]] Spanish '''Capital of the Maritime Department of the North''' (1788 AD). ==External links== * [http://ferrol.historia.tripod.com/ferrolnaval1788/ Spanish '''Capital of the Maritime Department of the North''' (1788 AD).] * [http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_finisterre_1805.html Battle of Cape Finisterre: 'Military History Encyclopedia on the Web.] * [http://www.pbenyon.plus.com/Navy_List_1805/Ship_Duties/Off_Port.html Vessels Blockading various '''French and Spanish ports''' - May 1805.] * [http://www.pbenyon.plus.com/Navy_List_1805/Index.html '''Index of British Vessels''' - May 1805.] * [http://www.pbase.com/photokhan/image/28940870 The Naval Station of '''Ferrol''' in pictures - 2004.] * [http://www.todoababor.es/articulos/finisterre.htm Todo a Babor. La Batalla de Finisterre] The battle of Finisterre. In Spanish. {{coord missing|Spain}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Cape Finisterre}}