FAR DISTANT SHIPS: The Blockade of Brest, 1793-1815

1-229770

Throughout the long drawn-out war at sea during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, it was a cardinal principle of British naval strategy to blockade the port of Brest, the largest and most important of the French naval bases that threatened the security of the British Isles.

Traces the development of British naval strategy, as well as describing the crucial encounters between the rival fleets and the single ship actions. Includes 21 black and white illustrations and seven maps.

There were many aspects to the blockade of Brest, but always at its centre was the need to frustrate French attempts at the invasion of Britain or Ireland. Most famous of these, of course, was Napoleon's intricate combination that led to the campaign of Trafalgar, in the course of which his invasion plans disintegrated. But there were many other offensive moves which it was the blockading fleet's duty to prevent. Inevitably, there were great sea battles when the French ventured out, though fewer than might have been expected.