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L'Orient: The L'Orient is most famous for being the flagship of Napoleon's fleet at the Battle of the Nile at Abukir (Abu Quir) Bay on 1 and 2 August 1798 (Also known as the Battle of Abukir).
The L'Orient was originally built as the Le Dauphin Royal by Arsenal de Toulon for the French Navy in 1790. The ship was a first-rate ship of the Ocean class (designed by Jacques-Noel Sane') with 118-guns. Launched 17 July 1791 and commissioned in August 1793 after being renamed the Le Sans-Culotte in 1792, and then renamed again in 1795 as the L'Orient. About the ship: Displacement: 5 095 tonnes Length: 65,18 metres (196,6 French feet) Beam: 16,24 metres (50 French feet) Draught: 8,12 metres (25 French feet) Propulsion: sail, 3 265 mē Complement: 1 079 men Armament: Upper deck: 34 x 12-pounder guns Middle deck: 34 x 24-pounder guns Lower deck: 32 x 36-pounder guns Quarterdeck and Forecastle: 18 x 8-pounder guns, 6 x 36-pounder carronades Armour: Wood The Battle of the Nile:
Prelude: On the 12th of April, the French Directory, in secret, created the Army of the Orient, naming Bonaparte as Commander in Chief, with the aim of invading Egypt, defeating the English in the Eastern Mediterranean, and as an incidental adjunct, investigating the possibility of cutting a canal through the isthmus of Suez. At that specific moment, Egypt played a major part in the political ambitions of the European powers. Due to its geographical position, it formed a vital connection between England and its Indian colonies. Whoever could wrench this country from the Turkish Empire, would be master of the sea routes to the Indian Peninsula and the Far East. On 19 Mar 1798, Napoleon Bonaparte set out from France for a major expedition to Egypt with the majority of the expeditionary force being assembled and embarked at Toulon. When joined by other forces from Genoa and Civitta Vecchia this would number almost 400 vessels, 55,000 men, over a thousand pieces of artillery, 567 vehicles and 700 horses. After being made aware that the French had gathered such a large land force and seagoing fleet in Toulon, it was apparent to the British government of William Pitt that General Napoleon Buonaparte intended to invade some part of the Mediterranean, but it was not exactly clear where. Admiral Lord St. Vincent commanded the British Fleet at Gibraltar from where he directed the blockade of the Spanish Fleet in Cadiz and the deployment of British naval units in the Mediterranean.
In February 1798, Rear Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson arrived at Gibraltar to act as St. Vincent's deputy and to command operations against Napoleon's expeditionary force in the Mediterranean. The appointment of such a junior Rear Admiral caused outrage among more senior naval officers of the same rank.
On 9 May 1798 Nelson sailed from Gibraltar in his flagship HMS Vanguard with a small squadron of His Majesty's Ships, Alexander and Orion, four frigates and a sloop, under orders to discover where Napoleon's fleet and army were bound. On 20 May 1798 a powerful storm struck Nelson's squadron, completely dismasting Vanguard, the flagship only being saved by the resource and courage of Captain Bell's HMS Alexander in taking Vanguard in tow. The squadron was dispersed, the frigates returning to Gibraltar, Vanguard refitting in a Sicilian port in an astonishingly short period of 4 days. While Nelson was storm bound, the French expedition unexpectedly sailed from Toulon heading south east, provoking a frenzied search by the British. By Nelson's assessment, which proved correct, Napoleon intended to take Malta and then invade the Turkish Khediveate of Egypt, providing support to Tipoo Sultan in his fight with the British in India and restoring French influence in that sub-continent. The government in London and the East India Company panicked at the prospect. Refitting in the Sicilian port of St Pietro, Nelson received substantial reinforcements from Lord St. Vincent; dispatched from Gibraltar immediately on his receipt of a powerful squadron from England (the one squadron sailing as the other was signaled, neither seeing the other), bringing his fleet to thirteen 74-gun ships of the line. Nelson's main deficiency was in frigates; the small fast ships of his squadron failing to track him down in time to sail for Egypt. Many ships plied the Mediterranean and Nelson had to make do with the information he could glean at random from these passing vessels. He learned that Napoleon had taken Malta, but had immediately sailed on 16 June 1798 for the East. Nelson's fleet set sail for Egypt where the British searched in vain for signs of the French ships. Nelson returned to Sicily, increasingly concerned at his inability to find Napoleon and the effect on his reputation in England. On 28 July 1798 Captain Troubridge obtained further confirmation that the French Fleet had gone east. Nelson again sailed for the Egyptian coast, reaching Alexandria on 1st August 1798, to find, whereas on his earlier visit the port had been empty, Alexandria was now filled with French transport vessels. The British Fleet continued along the coast until dusk, when at around 6pm, the signal was flown "Enemy in sight." The search for the French Fleet was over; Nelson's ships immediately cleared for action. The Fleets:
The British Fleet: His Majesty's Ships Vanguard (Nelson's Flagship: Captain Berry, 74 guns), Majestic (Captain Westcott: 74 guns), Bellerophon (Captain Darby: 74 guns), Defence (Captain Peyton: 74 guns), Orion (Captain Saumarez: 74 guns), Minotaur (Captain Louis: 74 guns), Theseus (Captain Miller: 74 guns), Goliath (Captain Foley: 74 guns), Audacious (Captain Gould: 74 guns), Zealous (Captain Hood: 74 guns), Leander (Captain Thompson: 50 guns), Swiftsure (Captain Hallowell: 74 guns), Alexander (Captain Ball: 74 guns), Culloden (Captain Troubridge: 74 guns) and Mutine (Captain Hardy: 74 guns). The French Fleet: L'Orient (Flagship: Commodore Casabianca: 120 guns), Guerrier (Captain Trullet: 74 guns), Conquerant (Captain D'Albarde: 74 guns), Spartiate (Captain Eimeriau: 74 guns), Aquilon (Captain Thevenard: 74 guns), Peuple Souverain (Captain Raccord: 74 guns), Franklin (Flagship of Admiral Hayla; Captain Gillet: 80 guns), Tonnant (Captain Thouars: 80 guns), Heureux (Captain Etienne: 74 guns), Mercure (Captain Cambon: 74 guns), Guillaume Tell (Admiral Villeneuve's Flagship 80 guns), Genereux (Captain Lenoille: 74 guns), Timoleon (Captain Trullet [jeune]: 74 guns): Frigates: Serieuse (Captain Martin: 36 guns), L'Artemise (Captain Estandlet: 36 guns), Diane (Admiral de Crepe: Captain Soleil: 36 guns) and Justice (Captain Villeneuve: 40 guns). The Battle:
The French Fleet of Admiral Brueys was unprepared for battle. The journey from France carrying Napoleon's army had left the French ships short of water and supplies. The 200 transport vessels had crowded into the port of Alexandria leaving no room for the ships of war (Note: Multiple sources also indicate that the ships of war were unable to enter the port safely due to ship draft limits), forcing Brueys to take his fleet to the East of Alexandria into the Bay of Aboukir, a long crescent stretching from North to South, shoaling gently from the shore. The French ships had anchored in a line as near to the shoal edge as possible to prevent the British, if they should appear, from attacking on the landward station. Brueys had arrayed his fleet with the 120 gun L'Orient in the centre and the other more powerful ships at the southern end of the line. A careful disposition would have placed the ships close together, but this was not done and the attacking British were enabled to penetrate the French line, firing into the vulnerable bows and sterns of the French ships. The French army occupied nearby Aboukir Island, building batteries to provide their navy with additional protection. Additionally, substantial part of the crews were ashore digging wells to provide water for the fleet.
The French ships saw the British Fleet as it sailed around the point into Aboukir Bay. One senior French officer urged that the fleet should sail immediately and attempt to meet the attack in the open sea, but Brueys declined to move, his immediate expectation being that Nelson would not attack so late in the day; a vain hope.
It had been Nelson's practice during the months spent searching the Mediterranean for Napoleon's Fleet to assemble his captains and discuss with them plans for any eventuality that might arise, the emphasis being on aggression and immediate attack. As such, there was consequently no need for instructions to his captains; all knew what they should do.
Under a heavy but ineffectual barrage from the French batteries on Aboukir Island (aka Gezerit Desuqui) and more effective broadsides from the French ships, the British line, with the wind behind it, rushed down on the French Fleet. The French brig, Alerte, attempted to lure the British men of war into the shoals, but was ignored by the leading British ships, Goliath and Zealous, racing each other to be the first ship into battle. The action began at about 6.30pm, just as the sun set. Brueys' dispositions were immediately set at naught, the two British ships heading straight for the landward side of the French line. Foley's Goliath anchoring alongside the second French ship, Conquerant and opening fire, Zealous attacking the lead French ship, Guerrier. A devastating feature of the French lack of preparation immediately became apparent. The French ships, taking the opportunity of being at anchor to conduct a refit, took considerable time to bring the landward batteries into action, the guns being without tackle and piled with stores and equipment from elsewhere in the ships. Within 12 minutes of the start of the battle Guerrier was totally disabled.
The next British ship into action, Orion, again on the landward side, fired into Guerrier, and continued down the French line, sinking the frigate Serieuse, before attacking the Franklin and Peuple Souverain simultaneously.
Audacious fired into Guerrier and Conquerant and then engaged Peuple Souverain. Theseus also fired into the wretched Guerrier, before anchoring by Spartiate to exchange broadside after broadside. Nelson's Flagship Vanguard was the first British ship to take the seaward of the French line, attacking Spartiate from that side, taking heavy fire from Spartiate and the fourth French ship, Aquilon. Within minutes all the gun crews in the forward batteries on Vanguard were dead or wounded. Louis' Minotaur anchored ahead of Aquilon and diverted her fire from Vanguard, giving the flagship the respite she urgently needed. The relentless aggression of the British captains was vividly illustrated by the conduct of HMS Bellerophon. Captain Darby took his ship past Vanguard and Minotaur to attack the French Flagship, L'Orient, the largest ship in the battle. Within the hour Bellerophon had taken substantial casualties and drifted away, dismasted and helpless, all its officers dead or wounded. HMS Defence and Majestic entered the line on the seaward side, Defence attacking the Franklin, sixth in the French line, and Majestic receiving a heavy fire from L'Orient before attacking Heureux and Tonnant.
Four British ships, Culloden, Alexander, Swiftsure and Leander, lying to the rear of the main fleet, raced to join the battle. Culloden leading, grounded in the shoals (Note: The reef on which the Culloden ran aground is named "Culloden Reef" to this day). Alexander and Swiftsure left Leander and the brig Mutine to assist Culloden. When it was determined that the Culloden could not be ungrounded, both ships returned to battle, attacking L'Orient; Swiftsure firing into her bow quarter, Alexander raking her stern quarter. Leander, finally leaving the immovable Culloden, took position between Franklin and L'Orient, firing into both.
On Vanguard, Nelson was struck on the head by a piece of langridge shot and was said to have thought it a mortal wound, He was taken below where he insisted that others in line ahead of him be treated first. When finally seen by the surgeon the wound was pronounced superficial.
At around 9pm L'Orient caught fire. Brueys had been wounded three times, the final injury proving fatal. Anchored and with little capacity to move, the French Flagship, already heavily damaged by the intrepid Bellerophon, was under fire from Alexander, Swiftsure and Leander, all firing from quarters that made reply difficult. The final devastating aspect of the French lack of foresight was about to play its part. The crew of L'Orient had been repainting their ship, with fresh paint covering the hull. Tubs of unused paint and highly flammable turpentine were stored on the deck and caught fire in the battle. Once the fire started, the British ships concentrated their firing on the burning area, preventing effective fire fighting. Quickly the prodigious conflagration on L'Orient lit up the whole bay. It became clear that the French Flagship was doomed, its crew leaping into the sea, the British ships pulling away and dousing their woodwork and rigging with seawater. Nelson, recovering from his wound below, was called onto Vanguard's deck. At 2200 L'Orient exploded. The sound was heard by French troops miles inland and crews of other men of war thought their own ships had blown up.
Firing ceased, the deathly pause in the battle plunging the bay into darkness. After a period of stunned silence said to be about 10 minutes, the sea and surrounding ships were pelted by falling body parts, timber and debris from the destroyed French Flagship. It was some minutes before the gun crews recovered from the shock of the explosion and the battle resumed. Desperate efforts were made by the French and British ships to recover the survivors, Lieutenant Galway taking off Vanguard's long boat. But only 70 or so of L'Orient's crew survived the explosion, many killed in the sea by the blast. French resistance continued through the night. At dawn Guillaume Tell and Genereux cut their cables and headed for the open sea under Admiral Villeneuve, accompanied by the frigates Diane and Justice. HMS Zealous attempted a pursuit but was soon recalled. The firing in the bay finally ended at 3pm on 2nd August 1798. The French Fleet had been completely overwhelmed. Of its 13 ships of the line and 4 frigates 1 ship had sunk, 2 ships were burnt and 9 ships captured. Casualties:
British casualties were 895 including the death of Captain Westcott and Nelson wounded (although he refused to include himself in the official return of wounded). French casualties were 5,225 dead and 3,105 captured, including wounded. The French admiral, Brueys, died on the quarterdeck of Orient before it exploded. Commodore Casabianca, the captain of the Orient, died in the explosion with his 10 year old son. Aftermath: The immediate result of the battle was the collapse of Napoleon's invasion of Egypt and the lifting of any threat to Britain's hold on India. Napoleon abandoned his army to its fate and returned to France, although it would take him nearly 3 years to do so. The Ship Today:
The wreck of L'Orient lies in 9-12 meters of water at approximately 30.09.10N/31.20.08E in Abukir Bay. The wrecksite has been excavated by the team of Frank Goddio and the HILTI foundation, along with the Egypitan Supreme Council of Antiquities Department of Underwater Archaeology. Wrecksite formation is the central section of the ship, with the fore and aft ends having been blown off during the sinking of the ship. The Main Deck is open to the second deck fore-to-aft, revealing the main and athwartship passageways. Numerous ship construction elements are present and easily identifiable. One iron cannon still lies on top of the wreck, with bags of shrapnel in the after section, along with hull sheathing, hardware, and parts of the carronades. References:
http://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?13728 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ship_Orient_(1791) "Life of Nelson" (by Robert Southey) "Nelson" (by Carola Oman) |
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