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32-711: Cherbourg Harbour (French: rade de Cherbourg ; literally, the " roadstead of Cherbourg ") is a harbour situated at the northern end of the Cotentin Peninsula , on the English Channel coastline, in Normandy , northwestern France . With a surface area of 1,500 hectares, it is the second largest artificial harbour in the world, after the 4,500 hectare Ras Laffan Harbour in Qatar. As well as Cherbourg Naval Base , it has been used for mercantile shipping. It

64-514: A large-scale test of the invasion craft despite choppy weather and against the advice of his naval commanders such as Admiral Charles René Magon de Médine (commander of the flotilla's right wing), they were shown up as ill-designed for their task and, though Napoleon led rescue efforts in person, many men were lost. Napoleon also seriously considered using a fleet of troop-carrying balloons as part of his proposed invasion force, and appointed Sophie Blanchard as an air service chief, though she said

96-572: A major influence on British naval strategy and the fortification of the coast of South East England . In 1796 the French had already tried to invade Ireland in order to destabilise the United Kingdom or as a stepping-stone to Great Britain . The first French Army of England had gathered on the Channel coast in 1798, but an invasion of England was sidelined by Napoleon 's concentration on

128-461: A role) and forts built, whilst the discontent and boredom that often threatened to overflow among the waiting troops was allayed by constant training and frequent ceremonial visits by Napoleon himself (including the first ever awards of the Légion d'honneur ). A medal was struck and a triumphal column erected at Boulogne to celebrate the invasion's anticipated success. However, when Napoleon ordered

160-501: A secretly-dug channel tunnel, and an invasion fleet of balloons, spread via the print media, as did caricatures ridiculing the prospect of invasion. A naval raid on Boulogne was also carried out in October 1804, and British fleets continued to blockade the French and Spanish fleets that would be needed to maintain naval superiority long enough for a crossing. Before the flotilla could cross, however, Napoleon had to gain naval control of

192-467: Is 13 m at low tide. Cherbourg had been a strategic stronghold for several centuries - its castle was first built in the 5th century to protect the whole width of the Cotentin . In the 17th century Vauban , Marshal of France , launched a project to fortify the town, but they were finally razed shortly afterwards. In 1692 several naval ships under Amiral de Tourville put into the port at Cherbourg after

224-429: Is described as a "known general station for ships, notoriously used as such, and distinguished by the name". A roadstead can be an area of safe anchorage for ships waiting to enter a port, or to form a convoy. If sufficiently sheltered and convenient, it can be used for the transshipment of goods, stores, and troops, either separately or in combination. The same applies in transfers to and from shore by lighters . In

256-742: The Armée des côtes de l'Océan (Army of the Ocean Coasts) or the Armée d'Angleterre (Army of England), was gathered and trained at camps at Boulogne , Bruges , and Montreuil . A large " National Flotilla " of invasion barges was built in Channel ports along the coasts of France and the Netherlands (then under French domination as the Batavian Republic ), all the way from Étaples to Flushing , and gathered at Boulogne. This flotilla

288-543: The Channel Fleet had remained in the Channel, take control of the Channel, and defend and transport the invasion force, all before the pursuing fleets could return to stop them. This plan was typical of Napoleon in its dash and reliance on fast movement and surprise, but such a style was more suited to land than to sea warfare, with the vagaries of tide and wind and the effective British blockade making it ever more impractical and unlikely to succeed as time passed. Only

320-627: The English Channel – in his own words, "Let us be masters of the Channel for six hours and we are masters of the world." He envisaged doing this by having the Brest and Toulon Franco–Spanish fleets break out from the British blockade (led at Brest by Baron Collingwood and at Toulon by Lord Nelson ), and then sail across the Atlantic to threaten the West Indies . This, he hoped, would draw off

352-576: The French Revolution imminent. This marked a return to La Bretonnière's plan, but in the period between 1789 and 1790 Dumouriez and Cessart left Cherbourg. Subsidies for the project were cut in 1790 and La Bretonnière was forced to hand in his resignation in 1792. Despite a law passed on 1 August 1792 ordering the construction of the military outer port, all works were suspended from 1792 to 1802. In 1802, intending to make Cherbourg one of his main military ports in preparation for his invasion of

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384-678: The Royal Navy force under William Cornwallis defending the Western Approaches . The Toulon and Brest fleets (under Admirals Pierre-Charles Villeneuve and Honoré Joseph Antoine Ganteaume respectively) could then rendezvous at Martinique , quickly sail back across the Atlantic to Europe (losing both these pursuing British fleets en route), land a force in Ireland (as in the two French Revolutionary invasions of Ireland in 1796 and 1798 ) and, more importantly, defeat what parts of

416-581: The United States in return for a payment of 50 million French francs ($ 11,250,000). The entire amount was spent on the projected invasion. The United States had partly funded the purchase by means of a loan from Baring Brothers of London , which essentially meant that a British bank was indirectly funding an invasion of the country. For his planned subsidiary invasion of Ireland , Napoleon had formed an Irish Legion in 1803, to create an indigenous part of his 20,000-man Corps d'Irelande . Though

448-617: The 1779 invasion were completed or improved. Dover Castle had tunnels added to garrison more troops; the Dover Western Heights were constructed (with a Grand Shaft to deploy its troops from its hilltop site to sea level rapidly should there be a landing), and the Royal Military Canal was cut to impede Napoleon's progress into England should he land on Romney Marsh . Unfounded rumours of a massive flat French invasion raft powered by windmills and paddle-wheels,

480-634: The Dauphin's presence, and the Napoléon III basin (begun in 1836; 420×200×18 metres) on 7 August 1858 by Napoleon III and his wife. Work on the harbour was fully completed under the French Third Republic , with the addition of the eastern (1890–1894) and western (1889–1896) walls and the construction of a 'Petite rade' (digue du Hommet, 1899–1914, and digue des Flamands, 1921–1922). Charles Maurice Cabart Danneville made an entry point in

512-575: The Toulon force eventually broke out (on 29 March 1805) and, though it managed to cross the Atlantic, it did not find the Brest fleet at the rendezvous and so sailed back to Europe alone, where it was met by the force blockading Rochefort and Ferrol (where invasion vessels had been prepared), was defeated at the Battle of Cape Finisterre , and forced back into port. Therefore, on 27 August 1805, Napoleon used

544-465: The United Kingdom , Napoleon I ordered that work on the harbour wall be resumed to La Bretonnière's plans, by building up the central section to mount cannon. A decree of 25 germinal year XI (1803) ordered the engineer Cachin to excavate the military outer harbour at lac de Moeris - this was opened on 27 August 1813 in the presence of empress Marie-Louise of Austria . That decree also ordered

576-504: The campaigns in Egypt and against Austria , and shelved in 1802 by the Peace of Amiens . Building on planning for mooted invasions under France's ancien régime in 1744 , 1759 , and 1779 , preparations began again in earnest soon after the outbreak of war in 1803, and were finally called off in 1805, before the Battle of Trafalgar . From 1803 to 1805 a new army of 200,000 men, known as

608-432: The construction of a 4 km long harbour wall between île Pelée and pointe de Querqueville . Dumouriez and Decaux, head of the engineers, advised that Louis build a shorter harbour in a straight line between île Pelée and pointe du Hommet, as foreseen by Vauban, with a single central entry point, with the emphasis on military defences. In the end La Bretonnière's plan won, but during the construction phase Decaux argued for

640-537: The construction of a new arsenal at the port. 1803 also saw Cherbourg's harbour fend off British attacks and become a base for privateers. Works on the central wall were again interrupted between 1813 and 1832 and were only finally completed in 1853 under Napoleon III , with the western and eastern harbour walls only completed in 1895. The period also saw the opening of two basins in the naval base—the Charles X basin (begun in 1814; 290×220×18 metres) on 25 August 1829 in

672-642: The days of sailing ships, some voyages could only easily be made with a change in wind direction, and ships would wait for a change of wind in a safe anchorage , such as the Downs or Yarmouth Roads . Napoleon%27s planned invasion of the United Kingdom Napoleon's planned invasion of the United Kingdom at the start of the War of the Third Coalition , although never carried out, was

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704-466: The fleet-test was unsuccessful, Britain continued to be on high alert with defences from invasion. With the flotilla and encampment at Boulogne visible from the south coast of England, Martello towers were built along the English coast to counter the invasion threat, and militias were raised. In the areas closest to France, new fortifications were built, and existing ones previously built to guard against

736-468: The harbour's eastern breakwater, the digue Collignon, so that fishing boats could get out of the harbour rapidly, in case of emergency. That entry point later became the passe Cabart-Danneville. The breakwaters also resisted demolition by the Germans in 1944 during the Battle of Cherbourg . On April 10, 1912, the British ocean liner RMS Titanic stopped at Cherbourg Harbour on it's maiden voyage. The ship

768-752: The invasion army as the core of the new Grande Armée and had it break camp and march eastwards to begin the Ulm campaign . Thus, by the time of the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October, the invasion had already been called off, and so this battle further guaranteed British control of the Channel rather than preventing the invasion. The comment attributed to First Lord of the Admiralty Lord St. Vincent – "I do not say they [the French] cannot come – I only say they cannot come by sea" – had been proved right. Today,

800-483: The merits of concrete masonry caissons whereas La Bretonnière preferred sinking old warships and building up rock around them. However, the engineer Louis-Alexandre de Cessart 's plans were chosen, which involved constructing a mole from 90 tree trunks 20m by 20m, filled in with stones and linked by iron chains. Construction began in 1783 and was completed in 70 years, by three architects - Louis-Alexandre de Cessart , La Bretonnière and Joseph Cachin . The first trunk

832-682: The opening battle of the Battles of Barfleur and La Hougue —the port's lack of adequate defences were revealed when fire ships destroyed many of the French ships under repair, including the Triomphant at the entry point into the port, the Admirable on the Mielles, and the Soleil Royal , the admiral's flagship, on the pointe du Hommet. The long-planned fortification of the town

864-468: The proposed aerial invasion would fail because of the winds. (France's first military balloon had been used in 1794 by Jean-Marie Coutelle .) Though an aerial invasion proved a dead-end, the prospect of one captured the minds of the British print media and public. These preparations were financed by the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, whereby France ceded her huge North American territories to

896-454: Was begun in 1783, with its central harbour breakwater completed in 1853 – this was 3.64 km long, an average of 100 m wide at its base and an average of 12 m wide at its top, and sited 4 km from the coast. Three forts were added to its central wall in 1860. This and the two other breakwaters stretch for more than 6 km. The eastern opening into the harbour is 950 m wide and the western one 2.3 km wide. The harbour's maximum depth

928-468: Was finally set in motion by Louis XVI of France . In 1776, he set up a commission to choose between Cherbourg, Ambleteuse or Boulogne as France's main strategic port for defence of the English Channel - this was headed by Suffren and also including Dumouriez (later governor of Cherbourg) and La Bretonnière . La Bretonnière's report considered that only Cherbourg had a harbour large enough for 80 warships at once. Exceeding Vauban's designs, he planned

960-653: Was initially under the energetic command of Admiral Étienne Eustache Bruix , but he soon had to return to Paris , where he died of tuberculosis in March 1805. The part of the flotilla built by the Batavian Navy was under the command of Vice-Admiral Carel Hendrik Ver Huell . He moved the Batavian flotilla from Vlissingen to Boulogne, despite British attempts to prevent this . Port facilities at Boulogne were improved (even though its tides made it unsuitable for such

992-497: Was laid on 6 June 1784, one kilometre from Île Pelée, and the harbour was filled with 300 to 400 boats ferrying stone from the port at Becquet to the mole to build against the trunks. However, the first trunks were severely damaged by storms. On 22 June 1786 Louis XVI made his only trip away from Paris and Versailles to see how far work on the harbour had progressed and assisted in sinking the ninth stone section. Cessart's plans were finally scotched in 1788, with funding having run out and

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1024-577: Was too large to be properly docked there, so passengers were transported to Titanic with the smaller vessels SS Traffic and SS Nomadic . Among these passengers were John Jacob Astor IV and his wife Madeline . The ship would later sink on it's voyage. Roadstead A roadstead or road is a body of water sheltered from rip currents , spring tides, or ocean swell where ships can lie reasonably safely at anchor without dragging or snatching. It can be open or natural, usually estuary -based, or may be created artificially. In maritime law, it

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