| First Battle of Groix | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the French Revolutionary Wars | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| Great Britain | France | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| William Cornwallis | Louis Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 5 ships of the line and 2 frigates | 12 ships of the line, 18 frigates and corvettes | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 12 killed or wounded | 29 killed or wounded | ||||||
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The First Battle of Groix was a naval engagement that took place on 16 and 17 June 1795 during the French Revolutionary War off the west coast of France. It is sometimes known as Cornwallis's Retreat.
Admiral William Cornwallis was cruising near Brest with five ships of the line, the HMS Royal Sovereign, HMS Mars, HMS Triumph, HMS Brunswick, HMS Bellerophon, two frigates and one cutter, HMS Phaeton, HMS Pallas, HMS Kingfisher[1] when a French fleet of twelve sail of the line and fourteen large frigates appeared, commanded by Admiral Villaret Joyeuse. The odds being very greatly against him, Cornwallis was compelled to order a retreat. Unfortunately for the British, two of their ships were slow and unweatherly and fell behind the rest. The van of the French fleet began to catch the two slower British ships. The rearmost ship, the Mars, was caught and suffered severely in her rigging and was in danger of being surrounded by the French. Witnessing this, Cornwallis turned his squadron around to support her. The French admiral made the assumption that Cornwallis must have sighted a larger British force beyond his own field of vision and had turned to engage the enemy knowing that a superior force was nearby to come to their relief. The French admiral ordered his ships to disengage and Cornwallis and his small squadron retreated in order.[2] The action is evidence of the superiority which the victory of the Glorious First of June, and the known efficiency of the British crews, had given to the Royal Navy. The reputation of Cornwallis was amplified and the praise given him was no doubt the greater because he was personally very popular with officers and men.
The battle itself was not a victory for the British as such although it did improve morale amongst the British fleet and reduced morale amongst the French.