Battle of Camaret

Attack on Brest
Part of the Nine Years' War
English plan of the battle of Camaret
Date 18 June 1694 Location Brest, France Result French victory
Belligerents
England  Dutch Republic	France[1]
Commanders and leaders
Thomas Tollemache (DOW) Marquess of Carmarthen	Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban
Strength
10,000–12,000 men 36 ships of the line 12 bomb ships 40 or 80 troop transports	1,300 men 265 guns 17 mortars
Casualties and losses
1,100 killed[2] or 1,200 killed or wounded[3] 466 captured (including 16 officers) 2,000 killed or wounded and 1,000 captured[4] 1 ship of the line sunk and another captured[5][3] 5 ships of the line badly damaged Many longboats lost, including 48 captured	45 wounded (including 3 officers)[3]

The Battle of Camaret, also referred to as the Brest expedition, was a notable engagement of the Nine Years' War. Expecting Brest to be unguarded as the French fleet stationed there sailed south to face the Spanish, an amphibious operation at Camaret Bay was launched on 18 June 1694 by a 10,000 to 12,000-strong Anglo-Dutch force in an attempt to take and occupy the city, which represented one of the most important French naval bases. The French, however, were well aware of their plan.

The expedition was opposed by only a bit over thousand French troops led by Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, in his only ever field command. Consisting of fierce exchanges of fire involving Anglo-Dutch ships and French cannons as well as a ground engagement which saw an allied landing party be repulsed back to the sea after a French counter-attack, the battle resulted in a prompt defeat for the Allies and their retreat.