Belle Isle 1761

A British Amphibious Expedition

The previous page was: "ANZAC"

The Southern Secretary of England, William Pitt, was the originator of the expedition against the French, island of Belle Îsle. He pushed ahead for an all-out assault despite widespread doubt, and opposition against his decision, while there was talk of peace.

In 1756, after initial clashes in North America, Britain and France had formally gone to war; which was to last for seven years. The French began the war successfully by capturing Minorca a British island in the Mediterranean.

After this Britain gained the initiative at sea and began a series of naval descents on the French coast such as the Raid on Rochefort in 1757, and the Raid on Cherbourg, all pioneered by the Southern Secretary William Pitt.

While the practical success of these raids was limited, they did cause serious alarm throughout all of France and forced the French government to move large numbers of troops from Germany, to guard against further British raids.

From 1757, the British had launched a series of attacks on French colonies all around the globe, leading to many of them being captured.

Pitt suspended the descents late in 1758, following an unsuccessful landing, but remained open to the idea of further operations against other vulnerable parts of the French coast.

ANZAC

A French Attack On Britain

In 1759, France attempted to launch a major invasion of Britain, but following the naval defeats at Lagos and Quiberon Bay, and a near continuous British blockade of the French ports, this idea had to be abandoned, because of British Naval supremacy. For much of the remainder of the war the French fleets had to remain in harbour at anchor.

The Conquest of Canada in 1759-60, left Britain in control of a large area of French territory. Pitt anticipated that this would lead to a peace agreement, as many in Paris sought to bring to an end the costly war.

Pitt had planned to send an expedition to capture Mauritius, a major French naval base in the Indian Ocean. However, with the likelihood of peace fast approaching he wanted something more immediate and tangible.

He wanted something which could be exchanged for captured British or German territory, rather than Mauritius, which would take a long time to capture and the news of its capture would take even longer; many months to reach Europe.

He was also aware of Spain's potential entry into the war, which would also make it prudent to keep ships closer to home to protect against a possible united invasion.

Pitt had decided to switch the focus of his expeditions to the French coast. The island of Belle Îsle was his first choice, located close to Lorient; it was the major naval centre of Brittany, and the main French staging post, of which offered command of the Bay of Biscay.

He now advocated that it should be seized and turned into a British military base which could then be used as a British staging point for further attacks on the French mainland.

Pitt had originally proposed an attack on Belle Îsle in October 1760, but it was strongly opposed by the Duke of Newcastle and vetoed by King George II, on the grounds that more focus should be given to the ongoing campaign in Germany.

Pitt Now Revived The Project

Helped by the fact that the old King had died and had now been succeeded by his grandson. Both Lord Anson and Sir Edward Hawke, were opposed to such an expedition, but Pitt was not put off by the opposition of two of Britain's most respected admirals.

On 25th March 1761, George III, signed secret orders allowing the capture of Belle Îsle, to be the target. The command of the army was to be given to General Studholme Hodgson while Admiral Augustus Keppel, already experienced in amphibious operations from his role in the Capture of Goree; he was to command the naval elements.

First Landing Of Belle Îsle

The area around the city Le Palais on Belle Îsle was expected to be well defended. The expedition was gathered quickly and was assembled at Plymouth and then sailed on 29th March 1761. It arrived off Belle Îsle, after being delayed by bad weather, on 6th April.

After an initial reconnaissance of the southern end of the island it was decided to try the area around Port Andro on the south of Belle Îsle.

A force was landed under General Studholme Hodgson which attempted to make a landing. A feint was made to the north with two battalions of infantry and a contingent of ship's Royal Marines, in the hope of diverting attention from Hodgson.

Hodgson's forces encountered much heavier opposition than had been expected. The French were well-entrenched and their fire took a heavy toll on the British attackers.

Realising that they had lost any chance of surprise, and faced with little prospect of success, Hodgson abandoned the attempt and withdrew his troops back to the ships.

A violent storm then blew up wrecking many of the craft for landing, which were vital for the operation's purpose. The other expedition's commanders believed a further attempt was not practicable, without further reconnaissance.

They wrote home to Pitt suggesting that no assault was now possible, because of the damaged craft for landing the troops. Raising in their opinion the likelihood that the force should sail for home.

Dismay And Alarm

The immediate results of the attack resulted in dismay in both Paris and London. The French court were infuriated by the fact that Pitt had pressed ahead with the operation in spite of the ongoing peace talks, which they regarded as an act of bad faith.

In Britain the failure of the assault was met with much alarm by opponents of the expedition, but Pitt stressed it had not been approached in the correct manner and pushed ahead with a second attempt.

Troop transports carrying forces to take part in the attack on Martinique were diverted to join Keppel along with significant reinforcements. Pitt was determined to secure the island as a principal objective in the global war.

Second Landing

Augustus Keppel, the British naval commander, who was now reinforced, set about a second landing; which was planned by Keppel and Hodgson. After a lengthy examination of the island's defences it was decided that the best chance of success was another attack at Port Andro.

This time there would be two diversionary attacks first; they were planned to draw most of the attention away from the main effort. One would be in the west against Sauzon, and the other in the north in the region of St Foy.

Early On 22nd April, the attack against Sauzon, failed to make any impression against the well-entrenched French garrison. But the fighting continued with heavy casualties inflicted on the attackers.

Presuming all was going well, at mid-day General Studholme Hodgson, led the attack at Port Andro, this was met with equally heavy opposition as it had the last time and the assault was soon stalling.

Meanwhile the diversionary attack to the north led by Brigadier Hamilton Lambart was gaining a foothold, His troops had discovered that a stretch of coast close to St. Foy, was undefended by enemy troops.

The French had believed that the high cliffs were a strong enough defence against an enemy attack. Lambart had decided that they might be scaled, and deployed a detachment of Royal Marines who successfully gained a position on top of the ridge.

There they beat off a counter-attack from approaching French troops, arriving from St. Hoy. Receiving support with more detachments and fire from Royal Navy ships close to the shore they were able to hold on.

Attack On Port Andro Abandoned

Realising his assault was failing, Hodgson, abandoned his attack and took his troops via boat around to assist Lambart. On arrival sensing success the British commanders poured in their reinforcements to secure the vital beachhead.

By nightfall the whole British force was ashore. According to a pre-arranged signal the French forces and inhabitants withdrew into the main fortification at Le Palais leaving the rest of the island to the invaders.

The British gained access to the island's defenceless ports allowing them to ship in fresh supplies; then began the besiege of Le Palais, which was to last six weeks.

The French commander on the island, the Chevalier Sainte Croix, hoped that he would be able to resist the British at Le Palais long enough for some relief to reach him from mainland Brittany.

The French Governor of Brittany, the Duc d'Aiguillon had gathered a force at Vannes with the intention of coming to the aid of Belle Îsle, but British frigates kept a vigilant watch of the coast, and the British dominance of the surrounding seas made any chance of a crossing unlikely.

The French government moved fresh reinforcements to mainland Brittany, fearing that this would be the next target of the British.

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Trapped Unable To Move

A French attempt to ready a small fleet by activating seven ships -of-the-line at Rochefort and eight at Brest was encountered by an even more vigorous blockade mounted by Keppel.

Then on 8th June, after more than a month's siege of Le Palais, Sainte Croix acknowledged he was unlikely to receive any rescue and he agreed to capitulate.

Sainte Croix was allowed, through convention, to march his men out through the breach with the honours of war and his force was then repatriated to nearby Lorient.

The initial French reaction to the island's fall was to tell the British they could keep it if they wanted, but could expect no compensation if they handed it back.

It was soon realised that this was not a plausible stance, because the island could be used as a staging post for privateers and the Royal Navy.

Ultimately after two years of occupation the island was handed back to France in the wake of the Treaty of Paris 1763, and the ending of the seven years of war. Belle Isle was exchanged directly for the return of Minorca to Britain.

The Laurel Wreath on the Badge of the Royal Marines is believed to have been granted for gallantry at the Capture of Belle Isle. It is still worn today by every serving Royal Marine.

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