General Chase is a signal in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

’s lexicon of fleet orders; releasing ships from a

line of battle The line of battle is a tactic in naval warfare in which a fleet of ships forms a line end to end. The first example of its use as a tactic is disputed—it has been variously claimed for dates ranging from 1502 to 1652. Line-of-battle tacti ...

, or other formation, in order to pursue a retreating or beaten foe. The signal is appropriate to the end of an action, when victory is certain; it allows all ships to break formation and act independently in order to capture or destroy enemy vessels. The signal is achieved by flying

signal flags International maritime signal flags are various flags used to communicate with ships. The principal system of flags and associated codes is the International Code of Signals. Various navies have flag systems with additional flags and codes, and ...

"2","W", and "N". On occasion the freedom of manoeuvre granted by a General Chase signal has been used to justify a hot chase, where enemy vessels are unlawfully pursued from international waters into the sovereign territory of neutral states.

Origins

The General Chase order was added to the Royal Navy's fighting instructions in the mid-eighteenth century, amending a previous rule requiring that battle could not be joined with any opponent unless a

was formed directly opposite an enemy fleet. The previous order had the advantage of ensuring rigid discipline in the positioning of Navy vessels but allowed an outgunned opponent to break formation and flee without being adequately pursued. The first instance of a General Chase was in the aftermath of the

First Battle of Cape Finisterre The First Battle of Cape Finisterre (14 May 1747in the Julian calendar then in use in Britain this was 3 May 1747) was waged during the War of the Austrian Succession. It refers to the attack by 14 British ships of the line under Admiral Georg ...

in 1747, when British ships broke their line of battle to engage and defeat twelve of the fourteen French vessels opposing them. Admiral

Edward Hawke Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke, KB, PC (21 February 1705 – 17 October 1781), of Scarthingwell Hall in the parish of Towton, near Tadcaster, Yorkshire, was a Royal Navy officer. As captain of the third-rate , he took part in the Battle of ...

also signalled a General Chase in order to overwhelm a French fleet at the

Battle of Quiberon Bay The Battle of Quiberon Bay (known as ''Bataille des Cardinaux'' in French) was a decisive naval engagement during the Seven Years' War. It was fought on 20 November 1759 between the Royal Navy and the French Navy in Quiberon Bay, off the coast ...

, thereby ending France's prospects of invading Britain during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (175 ...

.Kemp 1976, p.340 The order has also been issued ahead of battle to express confidence and intimidate an enemy. It was in this context that Admiral Horatio Nelson issued a General Chase order before engaging the French at the Battle of the Nile. In this, more iconic meaning, the General Chase was also signalled by the Royal Navy at the beginning of the

Battle of the Falkland Islands The Battle of the Falkland Islands was a First World War naval action between the British Royal Navy and Imperial German Navy on 8 December 1914 in the South Atlantic. The British, after their defeat at the Battle of Coronel on 1 November, s ...

on 8 December 1914, and on 30 July 1943 when Captain Fredric Walker signalled "General Chase" before engaging a group of three

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...

s in the Bay of Biscay. The flags used by Captain Walker at his action are preserved in the

Bootle Town Hall Bootle Town Hall is a municipal building in Oriel Road in Bootle, Merseyside, England. The building, which is the headquarters of Sefton Council, is a Grade II listed building. History After significant population growth in the later half of th ...

, accompanied by an exhibit of the same in the

Merseyside Maritime Museum The Merseyside Maritime Museum is a museum based in the city of Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It is part of National Museums Liverpool and an Anchor Point of ERIH, The European Route of Industrial Heritage. It opened for a trial season in 19 ...

Hot chase

The related term "hot chase" signifies a principle within a General Chase order, under which an enemy may be pursued from international waters into those of a neutral power. The "hot chase" has no legal status but is periodically put forward in defence of breaches of sovereignty, by referring to the wide latitude given to ship's captains in a General Chase.Kemp 1976, p.400 An example of a hot chase arose with the actions of Admiral

Edward Boscawen Admiral of the Blue Edward Boscawen, PC (19 August 171110 January 1761) was a British admiral in the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament for the borough of Truro, Cornwall, England. He is known principally for his various naval commands during ...

during the

Battle of Lagos The naval Battle of Lagos took place between a British fleet commanded by Sir Edward Boscawen and a French fleet under Jean-François de La Clue-Sabran over two days in 1759 during the Seven Years' War. They fought south west of the Gulf of C ...

between French and British fleets in 1759. Near the end of the battle, four French vessels turned to flee and were pursued by Boscawen's forces towards the coast of neutral Portugal. Three of the four were overhauled and captured in Portuguese waters; the fourth ran aground and was burned by her own crew. Portuguese authorities complained to

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

at this violation of their sovereignty and neutral status, but accepted Boscawen's defence that it was an unfortunate consequence of the General Chase order.

References

Bibliography

*{{cite book, editor-last=Kemp, editor-first=Peter, title=The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea, url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordcompaniont00kemp, url-access=registration, publisher=Oxford University Press, year=1976, isbn=0192820842

External links

HMS Kite flying "General Chase"
Royal Navy Naval flags Naval signals