Disposition d'appareillage de la flottille impériale

The Flottille de Boulogne was a large fleet of small gunboats, brigs and barges built in

Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the ...

on the orders of

First Consul The Consulate (french: Le Consulat) was the top-level Government of France from the fall of the Directory in the coup of 18 Brumaire on 10 November 1799 until the start of the Napoleonic Empire on 18 May 1804. By extension, the term ''The Con ...

Napoléon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

from 1801. It was a key component of

Napoleon's 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 a major influence on British naval strategy and the fortification of the coast of southeast England. French attempt ...

Prelude

At the

Battle of Svensksund The Second Battle of Svensksund (Finnish: ''Ruotsinsalmi'', Russian: ''Rochensalm'') was a naval battle fought in the Gulf of Finland outside the present day city of Kotka on 9 and 10 July 1790. The Swedish naval forces dealt the Russian fl ...

, the Swedes broke the naval stalemate with their Russian opponents and won a spectacular victory by engaging the

Archipelago fleet The archipelago fleet ( sv, skärgårdsflottan), officially the "fleet of the army" ( sv, arméns flotta), was a branch of the armed forces of Sweden which existed between 1756 and 1823. Its purpose was to protect the coasts of Sweden, which was su ...

, a flotilla of

galley A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be used ...

s, prams and

gunboat A gunboat is a naval watercraft designed for the express purpose of carrying one or more guns to bombard coastal targets, as opposed to those military craft designed for naval warfare, or for ferrying troops or supplies. History Pre-steam ...

s. With the French Navy weakened by the

Glorious First of June The Glorious First of June (1 June 1794), also known as the Fourth Battle of Ushant, (known in France as the or ) was the first and largest fleet action of the naval conflict between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the First French Republic ...

, a strategic victory with a crushing tactical cost, and incapable of challenging the Royal Navy head-on since the

Croisière du Grand Hiver The ''Croisière du Grand Hiver'' (French "Campaign of the Great Winter") was a French attempt to organise a winter naval campaign in the wake of the Glorious First of June. Context The Glorious First of June had ended on a strategic success f ...

, the concept of a rush across the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

to invade England gained traction. The plans of the ships designed by Chapman were transmitted to Forfait by JJ.Muskeyn in 1796. On 10 October 1794, the

Committee of Public Safety The Committee of Public Safety (french: link=no, Comité de salut public) was a committee of the National Convention which formed the provisional government and war cabinet during the Reign of Terror, a violent phase of the French Revolution. S ...

created a first draft of the flotilla. On 25 December 1797, the

French Directory The Directory (also called Directorate, ) was the governing five-member committee in the French First Republic from 2 November 1795 until 9 November 1799, when it was overthrown by Napoleon, Napoleon Bonaparte in the Coup of 18 Brumaire and r ...

appointed General

to the head of the

Armée d'Angleterre The Angleterre Hotel (russian: Англетер) is a modern, luxury business-class hotel on Voznesensky Prospekt at Saint Isaac's Square in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The hotel opened in 1991, replicating a historic hotel originally opened in 18 ...

The flotilla

John Bull viewing the preparations on the French coast! (1803) Bodleian Library

In a decree of 12 July 1801, the flotilla was organised into nine divisions. It comprised several types of ship: * ''Bateau canonnier'', a small two-masted

fore-and-aft rig A fore-and-aft rig is a sailing vessel rigged mainly with sails set along the line of the keel, rather than perpendicular to it as on a square rigged vessel. Description Fore-and-aft rigged sails include staysails, Bermuda rigged sails, gaff ...

ged gunboat carrying one large gun Projet de construction
Bateau Canonnier de la flottille de Boulogne 1803 * ''Chaloupe canonnière'' (or simply "''canonnière''"), a small

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...

* ''Balancelle'' * ''Prame'', a flat-hulled

barge Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels ...

In the summer, the British under

Horatio Nelson Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte (29 September 1758 – 21 October 1805) was a British flag officer in the Royal Navy. His inspirational leadership, grasp of strategy, and unconventional tactics brought abo ...

launched a series of

raids on Boulogne The raid on Boulogne in 1801 was a failed attempt by elements of the Royal Navy led by Vice Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson to destroy a flotilla of French vessels anchored in the port of Boulogne, a fleet which was thought to be used for the inv ...

, with a first attempt on 4 August, and another on 15–16. French admiral Latouche-Tréville organised a successful defence that derailed the attacks. The

Treaty of Amiens The Treaty of Amiens (french: la paix d'Amiens, ) temporarily ended hostilities between France and the United Kingdom at the end of the War of the Second Coalition The War of the Second Coalition (1798/9 – 1801/2, depending on perio ...

of 25 March 1802 suspended the activity of the flotilla, but it was reactivated at the outbreak of the

War of the Third Coalition The War of the Third Coalition) * In French historiography, it is known as the Austrian campaign of 1805 (french: Campagne d'Autriche de 1805) or the German campaign of 1805 (french: Campagne d'Allemagne de 1805) was a European conflict spanni ...

in May 1803. Bonaparte reorganised the flotilla, which was regularly attacked by British forces with little effect; against a background of constant harassing actions between small French and British ships, the flotilla achieved some limited victories against larger British units, such as the capture of HMS ''Minerve'' on 2 July 1803 off Cherbourg, or the

action of 15 July 1805 The action of 15 July 1805 was a small naval action that took place off Chausey, on the coast of Normandy, involving two British gun-brigs on one side, and vessels on the other. The becalmed gun-brigs became easy targets for the oar-powered gunb ...

On 3 October 1804, a British force under Lord Keith attempted to destroy the flotilla using 25

fireship A fire ship or fireship, used in the days of wooden rowed or sailing ships, was a ship filled with combustibles, or gunpowder deliberately set on fire and steered (or, when possible, allowed to drift) into an enemy fleet, in order to destroy sh ...

s, which were repelled. The attempt was renewed on 9 October 1806 using

Congreve rocket The Congreve rocket was a type of rocket artillery designed by British inventor Sir William Congreve in 1808. The design was based upon the rockets deployed by the Kingdom of Mysore against the East India Company during the Second, Third, an ...

s, and the next days by gunfire, with no effect.Gallois, p.461

Sources and references

Notes

References

Bibliography

* {{italicstitle French military units and formations of the Napoleonic Wars Napoleon's planned invasion of the United Kingdom Armies of Napoleonic Wars