Battle of Quiberon Bay

20 November 1759, off southern Brittany

On 20 November 1759, Admiral Sir Edward Hawke caught Hubert de Brienne, comte de Conflans, off southern Brittany while the French fleet was pursuing Commodore Robert Duff's smaller squadron.

Conflans broke off the pursuit and led his ships into reef-filled Quiberon Bay, expecting the storm, the shoals and the approaching darkness to deter Hawke. Hawke followed.

General chase, from about two in the afternoon

Hawke signalled line abreast and then a general chase, letting his captains attack without maintaining a conventional line of battle. The fleets engaged at about 14:00 — 23 British ships of the line against 21 French.

Formidable, the 80-gun flagship of the French rear division, struck its colours at about 16:00. Thésée and Superbe sank as worsening weather and gunfire threw the fleets into a confused melee.

Thésée heeled until seawater poured through her open lower gunports. About 600 men died, and Torbay's boats rescued 22.

What daylight found on the 21st

With darkness falling, Hawke disengaged for the night. French and British ships remained scattered among shoals, anchorages and groundings inside and around the bay, with sailors clinging to spars and improvised rafts in the surf.

On 21 November, Soleil Royal and Héros were burned, the British Resolution and Essex were found wrecked on the Four reef, and several French ships were trapped in the Vilaine.

Contemporary reports claimed roughly 10,000 people watched the battle from the nearby coast. The invasion for which 20,000 men had been assembled was abandoned.