137-587: The Algeciras campaign (sometimes known as the Battle or Battles of Algeciras ) was an attempt by a French naval squadron from Toulon under Contre-Admiral Charles Linois to join a French and Spanish fleet at Cadiz during June and July 1801 during the French Revolutionary Wars prior to a planned operation against either Egypt or Portugal . To reach Cadiz, the French squadron had to pass
274-474: A close action soon followed, Hood ordering Hollis to bring his ship close to Troude's stern and open up a raking fire. Formidable had the better of the action however and at 06:45, with casualties mounting, Hood's mainmast collapsed over the side. Note B Taking advantage of the disability to the British ship, Troude pulled Formidable ahead in light winds, slowly rejoining the main squadron under Moreno, which
411-747: A few select monuments such as the castle and the Tanguy tower. This is due to heavy bombing by the Allies during World War II, in an attempt to destroy the submarine base the Germans had built in the harbour. In the 1950s, the town was hastily rebuilt using a large amount of concrete. In Recouvrance , the west bank of the town, there remains an authentic street of the 17th century, Saint-Malo Street. A few kilometres out of town, there are landscapes, from sandy beaches to grottos to tall granite cliffs. Sunbathing , windsurfing , yachting and fishing are enjoyed in
548-550: A fleet of five Spanish and one French ship of the line and several frigates arrived from Cadiz to safely escort Linois's squadron to Cadiz, and the British at Gibraltar redoubled their efforts to restore their squadron to fighting service. In the evening of 12 July the French and Spanish fleet sailed from Algeciras, and the British force followed them, catching the trailing ships in the Second Battle of Algeciras and opening fire at 11:20. A confused night action followed in which
685-460: A full broadside at close range. This was fired as the French ship was on the uproll and therefore missed the deck entirely and failed to cause a single casualty. It did however tear away the remaining rigging and sails, leaving Speedy unmanageable. Rather than suffer another broadside, Cochrane surrendered his ship and was taken aboard Desaix , where Christy-Pallière acknowledged his brave defence by refusing to accept Cochrane's surrendered sword with
822-463: A good international connectivity to the city. Brest, France Brest ( French pronunciation: [bʁɛst] ; Breton pronunciation: [bʀest] ) is a port city in the Finistère department, Brittany . Located in a sheltered bay not far from the western tip of a peninsula and the western extremity of metropolitan France , Brest is an important harbour and
959-569: A hard-fought campaign against British and Ottoman forces. It also emphasised British dominance at sea by this stage of the war, reiterating that no force could sail from a French or allied port without detection and interception by the Royal Navy, but still not dominant enough to conquer the bulk of Spanish America . The campaign later played a prominent part in the novels Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian and Touch and Go by C. Northcote Parkinson . Note B Keats's detailed account
1096-503: A linguistic plan to revive Breton as a language through Ya d'ar brezhoneg on 16 June 2006. In 2008, 1.94% of primary-school children attended French-Breton bilingual Diwan schools. Besides bilingual schools, the Breton language is also taught in some schools and universities. The association Sked federates all Breton cultural activities. The city is host to several events to celebrate its long maritime history. The largest of these
1233-527: A number of merchant vessels during their voyage but this was their first warship, and although it was no match for size, Speedy was an infamous vessel under the command of Captain Lord Cochrane . Cochrane had spent the last year raiding the Spanish coast with great success, taking or destroying more than 50 ships including the celebrated Action of 6 May 1801 in which Cochrane had attacked and captured
1370-473: A program of refitting and repairing their damaged squadrons in preparation for a resumption of the action. At Gibraltar, the wounded were transferred to the naval hospital and the dead buried in the gravesite later to be known as Trafalgar Cemetery . Saumarez ordered that the most damaged of the surviving ships, Pompée and Caesar , be laid up in dock and their crews distributed among the remaining ships to ensure that they could be repaired as rapidly as possible,
1507-466: A significant success against a more numerous British force. Troude had shown skill and bravery in the engagement, but his subsequent reputation was largely built on the strength of a report sent to Paris by Dumanoir le Pelley, which was based on a letter written by Captain Troude. In the letter, he claimed that he had fought not only Venerable and Thames but also Caesar and Spencer (misidentified in
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#17327647916451644-671: A situation made necessary in part because of the seizure of many of Gibraltar's shipwrights in the Bay of Gibraltar when they were sent to aid Hannibal in the last stages of the battle. The entire squadron needed extensive repairs, their requirements met by Captain Alexander Ball , naval commissioner at Gibraltar. Captain Jahleel Brenton of Caesar protested this order and Saumarez permitted him to continue with repairs: Caesar 's crew worked all day and in regular shifts throughout
1781-510: A veteran of the Battle of the Nile and one of Lord Nelson 's famous " Band of Brothers ": Le Pelley's ships were chased by HMS Superb and HMS Venerable , but the French admiral managed to evade his pursuers and reach Cadiz safely. Saumarez had been ordered to Cadiz in May 1801 with orders to blockade the Spanish fleet but also specifically to watch for an attempt by a French squadron to link with
1918-738: Is a city on the French Riviera , famous for its 1793 siege , and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is the prefecture of the Var department. The Commune of Toulon has a population of 176,198 people (2018), making it France's 13th-largest city. It is the centre of an urban unit with 580,281 inhabitants (2018),
2055-484: Is also connecting the city to Nice, Marseille and Paris. The port of Toulon is the main port of departures for ferries to Corsica . The nearest airport is the regional Toulon-Hyères Airport . The proximity of Marseille-Provence Airport located at 80 kms of the city, serving international destinations in Europe, Africa, Middle East, North America and Asia and linked to the city-center by direct trains daily offers
2192-569: Is also home to a number of institutes of the University of Toulon , known until 2013 as University of the South, Toulon-Var. Toulon has a campus of KEDGE Business School . Toulon figures prominently in Victor Hugo 's Les Misérables . It is the location of the infamous prison, the bagne of Toulon , in which the protagonist Jean Valjean spends nineteen years in hard labour. Toulon is also
2329-513: Is due to the wall of mountains that largely protects Toulon from the weather coming from the north. With a yearly average temperature of 16.7 °C (62 °F), it is also one of the warmest cities in metropolitan France. One distinctive feature of the Toulon climate is the wind, with 115 days a year of strong winds; usually either the cold and dry Mistral or the Tramontane from the north,
2466-472: Is held every four years, when the town organises a tall ship meeting. The last such tall ship event was "Les Tonnerres de Brest 2016". Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the next event is planned for 2022. Brest also hosts an annual short film festival called " Brest European Short Film Festival ". The city was the setting for the 1982 art film Querelle , directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder , itself based on
2603-529: Is ideal to receive any type of ship, from the smallest dinghy to the biggest aircraft carrier ( USS Nimitz has visited a few times). Naval construction is also an important activity: for example, the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle was built by Direction des Constructions Navales (DCN) in Brest. Despite its image of an industrialised city whose activity depends mainly on military order,
2740-405: Is in a house on the waterfront near Fort St. Louis. Mount Faron (584 metres (1,916 feet)) dominates the city of Toulon. The top can be reached by cable car from Toulon or by a narrow road that ascends from the west side and descends on the east side. The road is one of the stages of the annual Paris–Nice and Tour Méditerranéen bicycle races. At the top of Mount Faron is a memorial dedicated to
2877-529: Is often on a level with the ground storey of the next. Brest experiences an oceanic climate ( Köppen : Cfb ). As a result of maritime moderation, Brest has cool summers by French standards, July afternoons are cooler than the norm in Western Europe. Rainfall is common year-round, but snowfall is a rarer occurrence since temperatures usually remain several degrees above freezing during winter nights. An extreme temperature of 39.3 °C (102.7 °F)
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#17327647916453014-562: Is rare but sometimes torrential; and by hot summers and mild winters. Because of its proximity to the sea, the temperature is relatively moderate. The average temperature in January, the coldest month, is 9.9 °C (50 °F), the warmest of any city in metropolitan France. In January, the maximum average temperature is 13.2 °C (56 °F). and the average minimum temperature is 6.6 °C (44 °F). The average temperature in July,
3151-889: Is recorded in; 'Narrative of the Services of His Majesty's Ship Superb, 74, on the night of 12 July 1801 and the two following days, by her then Captain, Sir Richard Goodwin Keats G.C.B &' -Longmans, London, 1838. Somerset Records Office, DD/CPL/30; reproduced in Hannah, P., ' A Treasure to the Service' , Green Hill, Adelaide, 2021, ISBN 978-1-922629-73-9, appendix III Toulon Toulon ( UK : / ˈ t uː l ɒ̃ / , US : / t uː ˈ l oʊ n , - ˈ l ɔː n , - ˈ l ɒ n / , French: [tulɔ̃] ; Provençal : Tolon (classical norm) , Touloun (Mistralian norm) , pronounced [tuˈlun] )
3288-566: Is the Porte d'Italie, one of the old city gates. Napoleon Bonaparte departed on his triumphant Italian campaign from this gate in 1796. Toulon has a number of museums. The Museum of the French Navy (Musée national de la marine) is located on Place Monsenergue, next on the west side of the old port, a short distance from the Hôtel de Ville. The museum was founded in 1814, during the reign of
3425-411: Is the main airport of the region of Brittany in terms passager traffic with 45% of this traffic of the region, representing 919,404 passengers in 2010. A new terminal has been in service since 12 December 2007 and can accommodate up to 1.8 million passengers annually. The harbour of Brest is mainly dedicated to bulk , hydrocarbon and freight containers . The harbour's facilities can accommodate
3562-517: Is there. The area is also home of the celebrated Provençal market , which takes place every morning on the Cours Lafayette and features local products. The old town decayed in the 1980s and 1990s, but recently many of the fountains and squares have been restored and many new shops have opened. The Old Town of Toulon is known for its fountains, found in many of the small squares, each with a different character. The original system of fountains
3699-538: Is usually considered a single linked battle, with the overall outcome favourable to the British force, despite the failure to prevent Linois from linking with Cadiz and the loss of Hannibal . The severe losses inflicted on the Spanish fleet at Cadiz and the reinstatement of the blockade meant that the French plan to reinforce the army trapped in Egypt was a total failure, the garrison there surrendering in September after
3836-695: The Allied landings in North Africa ( Operation Torch ) the German Army occupied southern France ( Case Anton ), leading French naval officers to scuttle the French Fleet based at Toulon on 27 November 1942. The city was bombed by the Allies in November of the following year, with much of the port destroyed and five hundred residents killed. The Hôtel de Ville , centre of the administration of
3973-614: The Bay of Gibraltar on 4 July. Off Cadiz, the squadron under Saumarez was notified of Linois's arrival by Lieutenant Janvarin at 02:00 on 5 July and immediately turned back towards Gibraltar, tacking against the wind. The frigate HMS Thames was detached and sent 18 nautical miles (33 km) westwards to the mouth of the Guadalquivir River to collect HMS Superb under Captain Richard Goodwin Keats , which
4110-598: The Brest Naval Training Centre . During the postwar Nuremberg Trials , a memorandum of German admiral and Seekriegsleitung chief of staff Kurt Fricke from 1940 was given in evidence which suggested that the town should perhaps serve as a German enclave after the war. In 1972, the French Navy opened its nuclear weapon -submarine (deterrence) base at Île Longue in the Rade de Brest (Brest roadstead ). This continues to be an important base for
4247-465: The French football league system . Brest is also home to Brest Albatros Hockey , an ice hockey team in Ligue Magnus , and won the league title in the 1996 and 1997 . In 2002 the Brest throwball team Brest LC reached the 1st division of French throwball but were subsequently relegated due to financial difficulty. The club has recently adopted an Irish influenced infrastructure. Primarily
Algeciras campaign - Misplaced Pages Continue
4384-535: The Siege of Toulon from Lewrie's perspective, as he commands a commandeered French barge carrying sea mortars against Lieutenant-Colonel Bonaparte's forces. Toulon is served by the Gare de Toulon railway station, offering suburban services to Marseille (1 train every 15 minutes during peak hours), regional services to Nice, and high speed connections to Paris, Strasburg, Luxemburg and Brussels. A daily night intercity train
4521-505: The Tour de France on three occasions, in 1952 , 1974 and 2008 . The 2021 Tour de France started from Brest on 26 June 2021. Stage 6 of the 2018 Tour de France departed from Brest. Since 1901 Brest has served as the midpoint for the 1,200 km (750 mi) bicycle endurance event, Paris–Brest–Paris . Brest is home to Stade Brestois 29 , a football team in Ligue 1 . the top tier of
4658-603: The University of Western Brittany , Brest and its surrounding area possess several prestigious French elite schools such as École Navale (the French Naval Academy), Télécom Bretagne and the Superior National School of Advanced Techniques of Brittany (ENSTA Bretagne, formerly ENSIETA). Brest is also an important research centre, mainly focused on the sea, with among others the largest Ifremer (French Research Institute for Exploitation of
4795-558: The War of the Oranges and Lisbon was a major British trading port: the French admiral Kerguelen had estimated some years earlier that an attack there could seize as much as "2 millions" of British goods and shipping. The other planned operation, adopted following the end of the War of the Oranges on 2 June, was for the force to resupply Egypt using soldiers stationed at Italian ports. To facilitate
4932-472: The War of the Second Coalition naval dominance in the region. Over the next three years, British and allied squadrons enforced blockades against all significant French and Spanish naval bases in the region, including Alexandria , Corfu and Malta but particularly the significant harbours at Toulon and Cadiz . This drastically limited the movement of French troops and military materials across
5069-535: The black plague , coming from Marseille. Thirteen thousand people, or half the population, died. In 1790, following the French Revolution , Toulon became the administrative centre of the département of the Var . However, in 1793, the Jacobin administration of the city was swept from power, allowing Girondins and royalists to take their place; the city then rose up against the central administration of
5206-445: The service sector represents 75% of the economic activity. The importance of the service sector is still increasing while industrialised activity is decaying, explaining the unchanged rate of working-class in Brest. Brest also hosts headquarters for many subsidiaries like the banking group Arkéa. Research and conception is taking an increasing importance. Brest claims to be the largest European centre for sciences and techniques linked to
5343-588: The 14-gun HMS Calpe under Captain George Dundas , which was unable to influence their advance. Instead, Captain Dundas ordered Lieutenant Richard Janvarin to take a boat and communicate with the Cadiz blockade force of seven ships of the line, under Saumarez. Linois passed Gibraltar on 3 July and during the night discovered the 14-gun brig HMS Speedy a short distance ahead. Linois's squadron had captured
5480-835: The 17th century to the beginning of the 20th century. It owns works by landscape artists of Provence from the late 19th century ( Paul Guigou , Auguste Aiguier , Vincent Courdouan , Félix Ziem ), and the Fauves of Provence ( Charles Camoin , Auguste Chabaud , Louis Mathieu Verdilhan ). The contemporary collections contain works from 1960 to today representing the New Realism Movement (Arman, César, Christo , Klein, Raysse); Minimalist Art ( Sol LeWitt , Donald Judd ); Support Surface (Cane, Viallat côtoient Arnal, Buren, Chacallis) and an important collection of photographs by Henri Cartier-Bresson , Dieuzaide , Edouard Boubat , Willy Ronis and André Kertész ). The Memorial Museum to
5617-458: The 1944 Allied landings in Provence ( Operation Dragoon ), and to the liberation of Toulon. Beginning in 1678, Vauban constructed an elaborate system of fortifications around Toulon. Some parts, such as the section that once ran along the present-day Boulevard de Strasbourg, were removed in the mid-19th century so the city could be enlarged, but other parts remain. One part that can be visited
Algeciras campaign - Misplaced Pages Continue
5754-529: The 1947 novel Querelle de Brest by Jean Genet . Brittany's most famous local delicacy, the Breton crêpe , is the main culinary feature apart from seafood. There are many crêpe restaurants (called crêperies ). Breton apple cider is often featured. Traditional biscuits include Traou Mad , which is a full-fat butter biscuit similar to Scottish shortbread . Brest has held the Grands Départs of
5891-414: The 20th century. Heavily damaged by the Allies' bombing raids during World War II, the city centre was completely rebuilt after the war. At the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century, the deindustrialization of the city was followed by the development of the service sector . Nowadays, Brest is an important university town with 23,000 students. Besides a multidisciplinary university,
6028-420: The British naval base at Gibraltar , which housed the squadron tasked with blockading Cadiz. The British squadron was commanded by Rear-Admiral Sir James Saumarez . After a successful voyage between Toulon and Gibraltar in which a number of British vessels were captured, the squadron anchored at Algeciras , a fortified port city within sight of Gibraltar across Gibraltar Bay . On 6 July 1801, Saumarez attacked
6165-479: The British ship HMS Superb cut through the disorganised Franco-Spanish rearguard, followed by the rest of Saumarez's force. In the confusion one French ship was captured, a Spanish frigate sank and two huge 112-gun Spanish first rates collided and exploded, killing as many as 1,700 men. The following morning the French ship Formidable came under attack at the rear of the combined squadron, but successfully drove off pursuit and reached Cadiz safely. Ultimately
6302-649: The Emperor Napoleon. It is located today behind what was formerly the monumental gate to the Arsenal of Toulon, built in 1738. The museum building, along with the clock tower next to it, is one of the few buildings of the port and arsenal which survived Allied bombardments during World War II. It contains displays tracing the history of Toulon as a port of the French Navy . Highlights include large 18th-century ship models used to teach seamanship and models of
6439-570: The English, in whose possession it was to remain until 1397. This was strategically important to the English as it helped protect their communication with Gascony . The importance of Brest in medieval times was great enough to give rise to the saying, "He is not the Duke of Brittany who is not the Lord of Brest." With the marriage of Francis I of France to Claude , the daughter of Anne of Brittany ,
6576-532: The First Republic and joined the Federalist revolts . The new Federalist administration surrendered the city and its fleet to the British. French Republican forces then undertook the siege of Toulon , forcing the British to withdraw, taking a number of ships with them and destroying the rest of them. Napoleon Bonaparte served as an artillery captain during the event. To punish Toulon for its rebellion,
6713-416: The French broadsides . He then attempted to cut directly between the approaching Formidable and Desaix , the small target avoiding the concentrated fire of the French ships and pulling into open water. At this, Commodore Jean-Anne Christy-Pallière on Desaix swung his ship about and pursued, several shots damaging Speedy 's sails and rigging. As Speedy slowed, Desaix overtook the small brig and fired
6850-658: The French Ambassador to Turkey to buy it, and brought it to Toulon on his ship, the Estafette . From Toulon it was taken to the Louvre . In August 1935, a year before the reign of the Popular Front , violent uprisings of the workers of the Toulon shipyards opposed the policy of austerity . This resulted in a large number of deaths and injuries; a state of emergency was imposed. During World War II, after
6987-557: The French Navy. On 1 August 1798, a British fleet surprised and almost completely destroyed the French Mediterranean Fleet at the Battle of the Nile in the aftermath of the successful French invasion of Egypt . This immediately reversed the strategic situation in the Mediterranean Sea , eliminating the French fleet based at Toulon as a significant threat and granting the British and their allies in
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#17327647916457124-531: The French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle and her battle group. The French Mediterranean Fleet is based in Toulon. Archaeological excavations, such as those at the Cosquer Cave near Marseille , show that the coast of Provence was inhabited since at least the Paleolithic era. Greek colonists came from Phocaea , Asia Minor , in about the 7th century BC and established trading depots along
7261-688: The French and Spanish fleets were successful in their aim of uniting at Cadiz, albeit after heavy losses, but they were still under blockade and in no position to realise either the Egyptian or the Portuguese plans. The two battles, "generally regarded as a single linked battle", proved decisive in cementing British control of the Mediterranean Sea and condemning the French Army in Egypt to defeat, totally unsupported by reinforcements from
7398-463: The French nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarines. The coat of arms of Brest is divided in two: to the left, there's the three fleurs-de-lis of the former kingdom of France , and to the right it has the ermines of the Duchy of Brittany . These arms were used for the first time in a register of deliberations of the city council dated the 15 July 1683 . Additionally, it looks visually identical to
7535-609: The Holy Roman Empire, and Toulon surrendered. In 1543, Francis I found a surprising new ally in his battle against the Holy Roman Empire. He invited the fleet of Ottoman Admiral Barbarossa to Toulon as part of the Franco-Ottoman alliance . The residents were forced to leave, and the Ottoman sailors occupied the town for the winter. See Ottoman occupation of Toulon . In 1646, a fleet was gathered in Toulon for
7672-485: The Landings in Provence (Mémorial du débarquement de Provence) is located on the summit of Mount Faron, this small museum, opened in 1964 by President Charles De Gaulle , commemorates the Allied landing in Provence in August 1944 with photos, weapons and models. The Museum of Natural History of Toulon and the Var (Musée d'histoire naturelle de Toulon et du Var) was founded in 1888, has a large collection of displays about dinosaurs, birds, mammals, and minerals, mostly from
7809-598: The Mediterranean under Rear-Admiral Honoré Ganteaume . The squadron made three unsuccessful attempts to reach Egypt, eventually retiring to Toulon in late July 1801. During the final effort, Ganteaume's squadron sailed from Toulon on 27 April 1801 with instructions to briefly secure local naval supremacy around Elba to allow a seabourne invasion to go ahead, before travelling on into the Eastern Mediterranean. During these operations, Ganteaume discovered that several ships in his force were dangerously undermanned, and therefore decided to consolidate his crews and send three ships of
7946-411: The Mediterranean, with the result that Malta and Corfu were captured and the army in Egypt was steadily reduced in size and effectiveness. In January 1801, in an attempt to increase the size of the French Mediterranean Fleet and to reinforce the beleaguered Egyptian garrison, First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte ordered a squadron of seven ships of the line to sail from Brest on the Atlantic coast to
8083-452: The Place de la Liberté, the Grand Hôtel, the Gardens of Alexander I, the Chalucet Hospital, the Palais de Justice, the train station, and the building now occupied by Galeries Lafayette , among others. Haussmann went on to use the same style on a much grander scale in the rebuilding of central Paris. Toulon harbour is one of the best natural anchorages on the Mediterranean and one of the largest harbours in Europe. A naval arsenal and shipyard
8220-411: The Sea) centre, le Cedre (Centre of Documentation, Research and Experimentation on Accidental Water Pollution) and the French Polar Institute. Brest's history has since the 17th century been linked to the sea: the Académie de Marine (Naval Academy) was founded in 1752 in this city. The aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle was built there. Every four years, Brest hosts the international festival of
8357-443: The Spanish fleet at Cadiz. Linois sailed from Toulon on 13 June 1801 with three ships of the line and one frigate carrying 1,560 soldiers under Brigadier-General Pierre Devaux [ fr ] . Ganteaume's earlier expedition was still in the Eastern Mediterranean, and so the British blockade force under Sir John Borlase Warren detailed to watch Toulon was instead off Malta hoping to intercept Ganteaume on his return. Therefore,
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#17327647916458494-408: The Spanish forces then stationed at Brest on the French Atlantic coast return to Spanish waters, and Spanish pressure on Portugal was relaxed. This weakening of the Franco-Spanish axis was a significant factor in the Treaty of Amiens in early 1802 that brought the French Revolutionary Wars to a close. Saumarez was lauded in Britain, the success of the second action mitigating the initial defeat. He
8631-410: The United States. Thousands of such men came through the port on their way to the front lines. The United States Navy established a naval air station on 13 February 1918 to operate seaplanes . The base closed shortly after the Armistice of 11 November 1918 . In the Second World War , the Germans maintained a large U-boat submarine base at Brest. Despite being within range of RAF bombers, it
8768-402: The aircraft carrier Charles De Gaulle . The Museum of Old Toulon and its Region (Musée du vieux Toulon et de sa région). The Museum was founded in 1912, and contains a collection of maps, paintings, drawings, models and other artifacts showing the history of the city. The Museum of Asian Arts (Musée des arts asiatiques), in Mourillon. Located in a house with garden which once belonged to
8905-424: The anchored squadron, in the First Battle of Algeciras . Although severe damage was inflicted on all three French ships of the line , none could be successfully captured and the British were forced to withdraw without HMS Hannibal , which had grounded and was subsequently seized by the French. In the aftermath of the first battle, both sides set about making urgent repairs and calling up reinforcements. On 9 July
9042-418: The area. Brest was an important warship-producing port during the Napoleonic wars . The naval port, which is in great part excavated in the rock, extends along both banks of the Penfeld river. Brest is located amidst a dramatic landscape near the entrance of the natural rade de Brest (Brest roadstead), at the west end of Brittany. It is situated to the north of a magnificent landlocked bay, and occupies
9179-487: The battered hulk, although such extensive repairs were required that when Linois sailed a week later the ship was still only just seaworthy, and was sent back to Algeciras. In Cadiz, despite Spanish hesitation, the messages from Linois coupled with strong representations from le Pelley prompted Mazzaredo to order a squadron to sea on the morning of 9 July, commanded by Vice-Admiral Don Juan Joaquin de Moreno [ es ] and including two very large first rate ships of
9316-465: The battle and was fatally damaged in the crossfire, sinking the next morning. Keats meanwhile had engaged and defeated Saint Antoine , forcing the wounded Commodore Julien le Ray to surrender following an action that had lasted just half an hour. Casualties on Saint Antoine were heavy, although Superb had just 15 men wounded. The rest of the British squadron, following up in the darkness, mistook Saint Antoine as being still active, and all fired on
9453-418: The birthplace of the novel's antagonist, Javert . One portion of the wall of the old bagne, or prison, where Jean Valjean was supposedly held still stands to the right of the entrance of the Old Harbour. In Anthony Powell 's novel What's Become of Waring the central characters spend a long summer holiday in Toulon's old town. Powell himself stayed at the Hotel du Port et des Negociants on two occasions in
9590-476: The blockade of Cadiz than attempting to join Saumarez's chase. The lugger HMS Plymouth was also detached to Lisbon with despatches for the Admiralty informing them of Saumarez's intentions. The British admiral, knowing that Linois was still anchored in the bay, intended to descend on Algeciras immediately but was beset by a series of calm spells that prevented his squadron from doing more than slowly drifting eastwards away from Superb and towards Algeciras. It
9727-413: The capital. A new 28-stop, 14.3 km (9 mi) tram line connecting Porte de Plouzané in the west with Porte de Gouesnou and Porte de Guipavas northeast of the city centre opened in June 2012. Brest international airport, Brest Bretagne Airport , is mainly linked to Paris, London, Nice , Lyon , Dublin. The primary operator is Air France (via its subsidiary HOP! ). Brest international airport
9864-509: The city, was completed in 1970. In 1979, the University of Toulon opened. Toulon was one of four French cities where the extreme-right Front National won the local elections in 1995. The Front National was voted out of power in 2001. The old town of Toulon, the historic centre between the port, the Boulevard de Strasbourg and the Cours Lafayette, is a pedestrian area with narrow streets, small squares and many fountains. Toulon Cathedral
10001-532: The coast, including one, called Olbia, at Saint-Pierre de l'Almanarre south of Hyères , to the east of Toulon. The Ligurians settled in the area beginning in the 4th century BC. In the 2nd century BC, the residents of Massalia (present-day Marseille) called upon the Romans to help them pacify the region. The Romans defeated the Ligurians and began to start their own colonies along the coast. A Roman settlement
10138-455: The coat of arms of Bourg-la-Reine . Pont de Recouvrance (Recouvrance Bridge, is a massive drawbridge 64 m/210 ft high), the military arsenal and the rue de Siam (Siam Street) are other sights. The castle and the Tanguy tower are the oldest monuments of Brest. The Musée de la Tour Tanguy , in the Tanguy tower, houses a collection of dioramas that depict the city of Brest on
10275-413: The combined French and Spanish squadron put to sea, followed closely by the British squadron. Both sides took most of the day to assemble, hampered by light winds and damaged warships, but at 19:00 Moreno gave orders for his squadron to make all sail westwards towards the open ocean and Cadiz. Saumarez followed, but at 20:40, with night drawing in and the wind picking up, he instructed Keats to take Superb ,
10412-437: The definitive overlordship of Brest – together with the rest of the duchy – passed to the French crown in 1491. The advantages of Brest's situation as a seaport town were first recognized by Cardinal Richelieu , who in 1631 constructed a harbour with wooden wharves . This soon became a base for the French Navy . Jean-Baptiste Colbert , finance minister under Louis XIV , rebuilt the wharves in masonry and otherwise improved
10549-547: The early 1930s and writes in the second volume of his memoirs The naval port, with its small inner harbour, row of cafés along the rade, was quite separate from the business quarter of the town. A paddle steamer plied several times a day between this roadstead and the agreeably unsophisticated plage of Les Sablettes . Joseph Conrad 's last novel, The Rover , is also set around Toulon. The last half of Dewey Lambdin 's historical fiction novel, H.M.S. Cockerel , (the sixth novel in his Alan Lewrie naval adventure series) details
10686-422: The enemy closed to send raking fire through her stern, but was caught in a violent gust that brought the two ships together so the fire spread to both ships, which subsequently blew up, the concussion being felt as far away as Cádiz, and were completely destroyed with horrendous loss of life. More than 1700 men perished. At some stage during the night, the independently sailing Spanish frigate Perla sailed through
10823-701: The eve of World War II. The Musée national de la Marine de Brest , housed in the ancient castle, contains exhibits which outline Brest's maritime tradition, as well as an aquarium, the Océanopolis marine centre. The city also has a notable botanical garden specializing in endangered species , the Conservatoire botanique national de Brest , as well as the Jardin botanique de l'Hôpital d'Instruction des Armées Clermont-Tonnerre . The city of Brest does not have much remaining historical architecture, apart from
10960-406: The far larger Spanish privateer frigate Gamo off Barcelona . Cochrane's initial belief that the strange ships were Spanish treasure vessels caused him to bring Speedy closer to the ships and by the time he realised his error escape was impossible. Rather than surrender however, Cochrane threw all of his guns and excessive weight overboard and manoeuvred his ship to avoid coming into range of
11097-576: The fastest ship in his squadron, ahead and engage the rearguard of Moreno's force. The wind soon freshened to a hard gale in the straits and the Superb went at 11.5 knots, leaving her compatriots some miles behind as she closed on the retreating enemy. At 23:20, with lights concealed and making no signals, she ranged up alongside a Spanish three- decker -the Real Carlos , and discharged three broadsides into her before being met by return of fire. Some of
11234-489: The fighting. British losses were also heavy, with more than 130 killed and more than 230 wounded, most of whom had been lost on Hannibal and Pompée . In addition to the loss of Hannibal , Pompée was severely damaged and the remainder of the British squadron all required urgent repairs. Immediately following the battle, Linois used overland messengers to request the assistance of the Spanish fleet at Cadiz under Admiral Jose de Mazzaredo . Linois and Saumarez also embarked on
11371-514: The first ship into action was HMS Pompée under Captain Charles Stirling , which attacked the anchored French ships in succession before anchoring close to Formidable . Pompée was followed by HMS Audacious , Saumarez's flagship HMS Caesar and HMS Hannibal , with Venerable and HMS Spencer participating at a greater distance because of the unreliable wind. By 10:00 both squadrons were fully engaged except for Pompée , at
11508-463: The following morning. As the fleet prepared to sail in the morning Keats immediately sent Pasley ahead to Gibraltar to warn Saumarez, the brig arriving at 15:00 closely followed by the British men of war sailing under a crowd of canvas and signalling the approach of the enemy as they arrived up. No sooner had they rounded Cabrita Point than the Spanish reinforcements were seen entering the bay (save for Saint Antoine , which had been unable to work out of
11645-463: The harbour and arrived the following day). Moreno's squadron anchored in the Bay of Gibraltar, out of reach of the British batteries on Gibraltar and waited there for Linois to complete his repairs, Saint Antoine joining the squadron on the morning of 10 July. Keats brought his ships into Gibraltar, where efforts to repair the squadron were increased, with the knowledge that Moreno would soon be sailing to Cadiz with Linois squadron. Saumarez, concerned by
11782-481: The harbour. Fortifications by Vauban (1633–1707) followed in 1680–1688. These fortifications, and with them the naval importance of the town, were to continue to develop throughout the 18th century. In 1694, an English squadron under Lord Berkeley was soundly defeated in its attack on Brest . In 1917, during the First World War , Brest was used as the disembarking port for many of the troops coming from
11919-527: The harbour. It was once a fishing village, and then became the home of many of the officers of the French fleet. Mourillon has a small fishing port, next to a 16th-century fort, Fort Saint Louis, which was reconstructed by Vauban. In the 1970s, the city of Toulon built a series of sheltered sandy beaches in Mourillon, which today are very popular with the Toulonais and naval families. The Museum of Asian Art
12056-464: The head of the British line, which had been caught by a current and swung so that the ship's bow was facing Formidable 's broadside , allowing Linois to rake the British ship. Seeing the danger Stirling was in, Saumarez ordered Captain Solomon Ferris to take Hannibal around the head of the French line and rake Formidable . In the light wind, Ferris took almost an hour to reach the head of
12193-524: The largest modern ships. A cruise ship port is also located in Brest, near the city centre. Due to its location, Brest is regarded as the first French port that can be accessed from the Americas. Shipping is big business, although Nantes and Saint-Nazaire offer much larger docks and attract more of the larger vessels. Brest has the ninth French commercial harbour including ship repairs and maintenance. The protected location of Brest means that its harbour
12330-407: The letters addressed to Pope Leo I from the province of Arles . A Saint Cyprian , disciple and biographer of St. Cæsarius of Arles , is also mentioned as a Bishop of Toulon. His episcopate, begun in 524, had not come to an end in 541; he converted to Catholicism two Visigothic chiefs, Mandrier and Flavian, who became anchorites and martyrs on the peninsula of Mandrier. As barbarians invaded
12467-437: The line, Formidable , Indomptable and Desaix , and the frigate Créole back to Toulon. The presence of this force at Toulon enabled the French to plan a secondary operation using Ganteaume's new arrivals. A deal had been brokered earlier in the year between Bonaparte and Charles IV of Spain for the Spanish government to provide six ships of the line from the Cadiz fleet to the French Navy . Orders were given that
12604-475: The line: Real Carlos and San Hermenegildo , each mustering 112 guns. The remainder of the squadron consisted of a 96-gun Spanish ship, an 80-gun Spanish ship, a 74-gun Spanish ship as well as the 74-gun ship Saint Antoine , which a few days earlier had been the Spanish San Antonio . The first of the purchased ships of the line to be commissioned into the French Navy, Saint Antoine 's crew
12741-462: The lines, but as he turned inshore, Hannibal grounded on a shoal directly under the guns of the Spanish fort at Torre de Almirante . Saumarez ordered his squadron's boats to assist Hannibal and Pompée , both of which were trapped under heavy fire and unable to effectively respond. As he did so, Linois ordered his ships to cut their anchor cables and drift into the shallows, away from the becalmed British squadron. Formidable successfully completed
12878-421: The lives of his crew, Ferris ordered his men to shelter below decks, but at 14:00 fires broke out on the ship and Ferris, isolated by Saumarez's withdrawal, surrendered his ship. French boarding parties extinguished the fires and rehung the struck ensign upside down to signify that Hannibal had surrendered. However, in the Royal Navy an inverted flag is a signal of distress , and at least one British ship's boat
13015-483: The major Battle of Orbetello , also known as the Battle of Isola del Giglio, commanded by France's first Grand Admiral, the young Grand Admiral Marquis of Brézé, Jean Armand de Maillé-Bréze of 36 galleons, 20 galleys, and a large complement of minor vessels. This fleet carried aboard an army of 8,000 infantry and 800 cavalry and its baggage under Thomas of Savoy, shortly before a general in Spanish service. King Louis XIV
13152-429: The manoeuvre, but both Desaix and Indomptable grounded inshore, where they were exposed to heavy fire from Saumarez's ships, which had also cut their cables in an effort to close with their opponents. At 13:35 however, Saumarez recognised that his squadron was in danger of grounding directly under the fire of the Spanish batteries. With the squadron's boats either sunk or employed towing Pompée back to Gibraltar, there
13289-424: The new squadron at Cadiz was to be joined by the three ships of the line detached from Ganteaume's squadron, as well as the frigate Muiron under the overall command of Rear-Admiral Charles Linois . This force of nine French ships, accompanied by six promised vessels from the Spanish fleet, was then to fulfill one of two mooted plans: the first was a large scale attack on Lisbon . Portugal and Spain were engaged in
13426-481: The night for the next week to ensure that when Saumarez sailed again, Caesar sailed with him, the crew having replaced the ship's damaged masts in just four days. Saumarez also sent a boat under a flag of truce in to Algeciras to arrange for the repatriation under parole of Ferris and his officers. Following a brief correspondence between Linois and the British admiral, the captured British officers, including Ferris and Cochrane, were sent to Gibraltar, later joined by
13563-563: The ninth largest in France by population. Toulon is the second-largest French city by urban area on the Mediterranean coast after Marseille . Toulon is an important centre for naval construction, fishing, wine making, and the manufacture of aeronautical equipment, armaments, maps, paper, tobacco, printing, shoes, and electronic equipment. The military port of Toulon is the major naval centre on France's Mediterranean coast, home of
13700-553: The oak trees. Toulon harbour became a shelter for trading ships, and the name of the town gradually changed from Telo to Tholon, Tolon, and Toulon. Toulon was Christianized in the 5th century, and the first cathedral built. Honoratus and Gratianus of Toulon (Gratien), according to the Gallia Christiana , were the first bishops of Toulon , but Louis Duchesne gives Augustalis as the first historical bishop. He assisted at councils in 441 and 442 and signed in 449 and 450
13837-517: The one million inhabitants of Western Brittany. Although Brest is by far the largest city in Finistère, the préfecture (administrative seat) of the department is in the much smaller town of Quimper . During the Middle Ages , the history of Brest was the history of its castle . Then Richelieu made it a military harbour in 1631. Brest grew around its arsenal until the second part of
13974-461: The only British ships on hand when Linois emerged from the port were a few frigates, which were easily chased away by the larger warships of the French squadron. Linois's passage was slow, facing winds from the southwest that delayed his squadron and so by 30 June, they were only off Cape de Gata in the Alboran Sea . On 1 July. they were spotted from Gibraltar although the only warship there was
14111-404: The port with HMS Thames and HMS Pasley . Thames was inshore searching a seized American merchant ship, and witnessed the emergence of the squadron retreating before four ships of the line that approached the British frigate. Superb was sighted shortly afterwards and also retreated before a ship of the line and two frigates, as they repaired to the outer roads ready to sail with the land breeze
14248-523: The region and Roman power crumbled, the town was frequently attacked by pirates and the Saracens . In 1486, Provence became part of France. Soon afterwards, in 1494, Charles VIII of France , with the intention of making France a sea power on the Mediterranean, and to support his military campaign in Italy, began constructing a military port at the harbor of Toulon. His Italian campaign failed, and in 1497,
14385-422: The region. The Hôtel des arts was opened in 1998, presents five exhibits a year of works by well-known contemporary artists. Featured artists have included Sean Scully , Jannis Kounellis , Claude Viallat , Per Kirkeby , and Vik Muniz . Toulon is subtropical, featuring a Mediterranean climate ( Köppen climate classification : Csa), characterised by abundant and strong sunshine, dry summers, and rain which
14522-498: The report as Superb ). Troude stated that he had not driven all of those ships off and also completely destroyed Venerable by driving the ship ashore. Troude was subsequently promoted and highly praised, holding a number of important active commands in the French Navy. In Spain, the outcome of the campaign infuriated the Spanish government and contributed to the souring of the Franco-Spanish alliance. The Spanish demanded that
14659-547: The rulers of Genoa , who controlled commerce on that part of the Mediterranean, blockaded the new port. In 1524, as part of his longtime battle against Emperor Charles V and the Holy Roman Empire , King François I of France completed a powerful new fort, the Tour Royale, Toulon , at the entrance of the harbour. However, a few months later the commander of the new fort sold it to the commander of an Army of
14796-410: The sea, boats and sailors: it is a meeting of old riggings from around the world ( Les Tonnerres de Brest ). The name of the town is first recorded as Bresta ; it may derive from * brigs , a Celtic word for "hill". Nothing definite is known of Brest before about 1240, when Harvey V, Lord of Léon ceded it to John I, Duke of Brittany . In 1342 John IV, Duke of Brittany surrendered Brest to
14933-504: The sea: 60% of the French research in the maritime field is based in Brest. The Hôtel de Ville (City Hall) was officially opened in 1961. Breton is not commonly spoken in the city of Brest, which was the only French-speaking city in western Brittany before the 1789 French Revolution , despite the surrounding countryside being fully Breton-speaking at that time. Like other French minority languages , Breton does not have any official language status in France. The municipality launched
15070-426: The second largest French military port after Toulon . The city is located on the western edge of continental France. With 139,456 inhabitants (2020), Brest forms Western Brittany's largest metropolitan area (with a population of 370,000 in total), ranking third behind only Nantes and Rennes in the whole of historic Brittany, and the 25th most populous city in France (2019) ; moreover, Brest provides services to
15207-664: The ship as they passed, intending to catch the remainder of Moreno's squadron as it sailed northwest along the Spanish coastline. At 04:00 the Formidable , now under the command of Captain Amable Troude , was seen to the north in Conil Bay near Cape Trafalgar and Saumarez sent Venerable to chase the French ship, Hood accompanied by Thames under Captain Aiskew Hollis . At 05:15, Venerable came within range and
15344-466: The ship was towed back to Gibraltar with the prize Saint Antoine . Saumarez left three ships to maintain the blockade at Cadiz, returning the situation off the port to that before the battle. In France the campaign was represented as a victory, as Linois' genuine achievements at Algeciras were followed by exaggerated reports of Troude's defence in Conil Bay in which the second battle was represented as
15481-406: The shot was high and passed through the rigging of the Real Carlos to hit a ship to her larboard – the Spanish three-decker San Hermenegildo . In the confusion she mistook the Real Carlos as her enemy, which resulted in a general cannonade throughout the enemy squadron. In about ten minutes the Real Carlos was observed to be on fire. The San Hermenegildo still believing the Real Carlos to be
15618-554: The size of the combined squadron, sent urgent messages to the Mediterranean Fleet under Lord Keith in the Eastern Mediterranean requesting support in the belief that Moreno would be delayed at least two weeks because of the condition of Linois's ships. Saumarez was wrong: Moreno planned to convoy the battered squadron the short distance to Cadiz as soon as they were seaworthy. On the morning of 12 July
15755-407: The slopes of two hills divided by the river Penfeld. The part of the town on the left bank is regarded as Brest proper, while the part on the right is known as Recouvrance . There are also extensive suburbs to the east of the town. The hillsides are in some places so steep that the ascent from the lower to the upper town has to be effected by flights of steps and the second or third storey of one house
15892-461: The son and later the grandson of author Jules Verne , the museum contains a small but interesting collection of art objects, many donated by naval officers from the time of the French colonization of Southeast Asia. It includes objects and paintings from India, China, Southeast Asia, China Tibet and Japan. The Museum of Art (Musée d'art) was created in 1888, and contains collections of modern and contemporary art, as well as paintings of Provence from
16029-550: The town itself, where Murion was anchored in shallower water. Linois led the line himself in Formidable , but despatched parties from the crews of the ships of the line to augment the Spanish defences. At 07:00, Saumarez ordered his squadron to advance into the bay without delay and engage the French directly, the attack to be led by Captain Samuel Hood in HMS Venerable . Hood was delayed by light winds however, and
16166-584: The town lost its status as department capital and was briefly renamed Port-la-Montagne , after The Mountain faction. During the Napoleonic Wars , from 1803 until 1805 a British fleet led by Admiral Horatio Nelson blockaded Toulon. In 1820, the statue which became known as the Venus de Milo was discovered on the Greek island of Milo and seen by a French naval officer, Emile Voutier. He persuaded
16303-431: The transfer of the Spanish ships to French control, Napoleon ordered Contre-Admiral Pierre Dumanoir le Pelley to sail to Cadiz. Le Pelley arrived at the Spanish port on 13 June in the frigates Libre and Indienne with sailors to begin manning the newly purchased ships and Commodore Julien le Ray to command them. His arrival was noted by the British blockade squadron off Cadiz under Rear-Admiral Sir James Saumarez ,
16440-451: The warmest month, is 24.7 °C (76 °F), with an average maximum of 29.5 °C (85 °F). and an average minimal temperature of 19.9 °C (68 °F). According to data collected by Météo-France , Toulon is the second city (after Marseille ) in metropolitan France with the most sunshine per year: an average of 2,854.1 hours a year from 1991 to 2020, compared with 2,695 hours a year for Nice and 2,472 hours for Perpignan. This
16577-606: The wet Marin ; or the Sirocco sometimes bearing reddish sand from Africa; or the wet and stormy Levant from the east. (See Winds of Provence .) The windiest month is January, with an average of 12.5 days of strong winds. The least windy month is September, with 7 days of strong winds. Toulon has a conservatory ( Conservatoire TPM , part of Conservatoire à rayonnement régional de Toulon ) which taught music, theater, dance and circus and an art academy called École supérieure d'art et de design Toulon Provence Méditerranée . Toulon
16714-441: The words "I will not accept the sword of an officer who has for so many hours struggled against impossibility". From Cochrane, Linois learned of Saumarez's presence ahead of him and, knowing that his presence would have been reported by the garrison at Gibraltar, his squadron returned eastwards around Cabrita Point and came to anchor at Algeciras , a fortified Spanish port that lay directly opposite and within sight of Gibraltar across
16851-410: The wounded British sailors captured on Hannibal . Ferris was immediately sent to Britain on HMS Plymouth with despatches, to await the court-martial for the loss of his ship. He and his officers were completely exonerated. Linois also began a programme of refloating and making extensive repairs to his ships, including the captured Hannibal , which he renamed Annibal . Jury masts were set up on
16988-527: Was also a base for some of the German surface fleet, giving repair facilities and direct access to the Atlantic Ocean. For much of 1941, Scharnhorst , Gneisenau and Prinz Eugen were under repair in the dockyards. The repair yard facilities for both submarines and surface vessels were staffed by both German and French workers, with the latter forming the major part of the workforce; huge reliance
17125-542: Was awarded the thanks of both Houses of Parliament and made a Knight of the Bath with a pension of £1,200 annually (the equivalent of £115,000 as of 2024).. Nearly five decades later, the second battle (although not the first) was among the actions recognised by the Naval General Service Medal , awarded upon application to all British participants still living in 1847. In British histories the campaign
17262-401: Was blockading the river with the small brig HMS Pasley . Keats did follow Saumarez back to Algeciras, and was in distantly in sight when the battle commenced, but on hearing an inaccurate report from an American merchant ship that Linois had escaped the bay and was at sea once more, Keats reasoned that the French must be returning to Toulon and that he would be in a better position returning to
17399-466: Was built in 1599, and a small sheltered harbour, the Veille Darse, was built in 1604–1610 to protect ships from the wind and sea. The shipyard was greatly enlarged by Cardinal Richelieu , who wished to make France a Mediterranean naval power. Further additions were made by Jean-Baptiste Colbert and Vauban . Le Mourillon is a small seaside neighbourhood to the east of Toulon, near the entrance of
17536-519: Was built in the late 17th century; most were rebuilt in the 18th or early 19th century and have recently been restored. The upper town, between the Boulevard de Strasbourg and the railway station, was built in the mid-19th century under Louis Napoleon . The project was begun by Georges-Eugène Haussmann , who was prefect of the Var in 1849. Improvements to the neighbourhood included the Toulon Opera ,
17673-486: Was captured while attempting to bring assistance to Ferris before the misunderstanding was realised. The French victory had come at a heavy cost: more than 160 men were killed and 300 wounded and all three French ships had been severely damaged. Among the dead were the captains of both Formidable and Indomptable , although Linois was unhurt. The Spanish had suffered eleven men killed and five gunboats had been destroyed. The batteries and town had also been badly damaged in
17810-544: Was determined to make France a major sea power. In 1660, his Minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert ordered Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban to build a new arsenal and to fortify the town. In 1707, during the War of the Spanish Succession , Toulon successfully resisted a siege by the Imperial Army led by Duke Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia of Savoy and Prince Eugene . However, in 1720, the city was ravaged by
17947-498: Was drawn from the men brought to Cadiz on the frigates Libre and Indienne , supplemented by a number of Spanish sailors and commanded by Commodore Le Ray. Accompanying the squadron were the frigates Libre , the Spanish Sabina and the French lugger Vautour . The departure of this combined squadron was observed by Captain Richard Goodwin Keats on HMS Superb , which after returning to Cadiz had retained station off
18084-460: Was founded at the present location of Toulon, with the name Telo Martius – Telo, either for the local god of springs Telo or from the Latin tol , the base of the hill – and Martius , for the god of war. Telo Martius became one of the two principal Roman dye manufacturing centres, producing the purple colour used in imperial robes, made from the local sea snail called murex , and from the acorns of
18221-411: Was holding station off Cadiz harbour. As Formidable moved away, the remaining masts on Venerable collapsed and the ship grounded off Sancti Petri . There was concern in the British squadron that Moreno might counterattack the disabled ship, but the arrival on the horizon of Audacious and Superb persuaded the Spanish admiral to withdraw into Cadiz. Hood was able to refloat Venerable on 13 July and
18358-644: Was made on this French component. In 1944, after the Allied invasion of Normandy , the city was almost totally destroyed during the Battle for Brest , with only a tiny number of buildings left standing. After the war, the West German government paid several billion Deutschmarks in reparations to the homeless and destitute civilians of Brest in compensation for the destruction of their city. Large parts of today's rebuilt city consist of utilitarian granite and concrete buildings. The French naval base now houses
18495-420: Was no possibility of launching an amphibious operation against the Spanish forts and Saumarez reluctantly called the attack off, the remainder of the squadron retiring to Gibraltar but leaving the stranded Hannibal in the Bay of Gibraltar. Hannibal had been exposed to the combined French and Spanish fire for four hours, and had lost two masts and more than 140 men killed and wounded. In an effort to preserve
18632-402: Was not until the morning of 6 July therefore that Saumarez was in a position to attack the anchored French squadron. In anticipation of Saumarez's arrival, Linois had formed his squadron into a strong defensive position, the three ships of the line anchored in a line north to south across in shallow waters off the mouth of Algeciras harbour, protected by Spanish forts at either extremity and around
18769-467: Was recorded on 18 July 2022 . In 1945 Brest absorbed three neighbouring communes. The population data for 1936 and earlier in the table and graph below refer to the pre-1945 borders. The railway station of Brest, Gare de Brest , is linked to Rennes and Paris and provides services to other stations in Brittany as well. TGV trains to Paris take approximately three hours and forty minutes to reach
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