Raid on Rochefort

Raid on Rochefort
Part of Seven Years' War

British chart of the Basque Roads, 1757.
DateSeptember 1757
Location45°56′32″N 0°57′32″W / 45.9421°N 0.9588°W / 45.9421; -0.9588
Result French victory
Belligerents
 Great Britain  France
Commanders and leaders
John Mordaunt
Edward Hawke
James Wolfe
Joseph-Marie Budes de Guébriant
Du Pin de Belugard
Comte de Langeron
Strength
10,000 Troops
Seventeen Ships of the Line
Dozens of Auxiliary Ships
3,000
Two Gunboats

The Raid on Rochefort (or Descent on Rochefort) was a British amphibious attempt to capture the French Atlantic port of Rochefort in September 1757 during the Seven Years' War. The raid pioneered a new tactic of "descents" on the French coast, championed by William Pitt who had taken office a few months earlier.

After a number of delays the expedition reached the French coast, capturing the offshore island of Île d'Aix. With the army commander Sir John Mordaunt refusing to attempt a landing, the force sailed for home. The raid ended in failure, but it was followed by several similar operations in the subsequent years.


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