Battle of the Basque Roads

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The Battle of the Basque Roads was a major 1809 naval engagement during the Napoleonic Wars in which the British fleet attacked and severely damaged a French squadron anchored off the west coast of France.

All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
Battle of the Basque Roads canonical 3

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf event in the Napoleonic Wars
military engagement
naval battle
alsoKnownAs Battle of Aix Roads
belligerent French Navy
Royal Navy
campaign Royal Navy operations against French Atlantic ports
casualties relatively light British casualties
significant French losses in ships
commander Admiral James Gambier
surface form: Admiral Lord Gambier

Admiral Zacharie Allemand
Captain Lord Cochrane
conflict Napoleonic Wars
countryInvolved France
United Kingdom
date April 1809
endDate 1809-04-12
fireshipForceCommander Captain Lord Cochrane
surface form: Lord Cochrane
fleetCommander Admiral James Gambier
surface form: Admiral Lord Gambier
followedBy court-martial of Admiral Lord Gambier
FrenchShipsLostOrGrounded several ships of the line
hasParticipant 1st Baron Gambier
surface form: James Gambier, 1st Baron Gambier

Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald
Zacharie Jacques Théodore Allemand
historicalPeriod early 19th century
location Basque Roads
Bay of Biscay
off the west coast of France
notableConsequence controversy over Gambier’s conduct
enhanced reputation of Lord Cochrane as a daring naval officer
notableShip Aquilon
HMS Imperieuse
Indienne
Océan
Tonnerre
Ville de Varsovie
outcome French Atlantic fleet severely damaged
partOf War of the Fifth Coalition
precededBy British blockade operations off the French Atlantic coast
primaryTactic bomb vessels and explosion ships
fireship attack
result British victory
significance weakened French ability to challenge British control of the seas
startDate 1809-04-11
strategicContext to enforce British naval blockade of France
strategicObjective to neutralize French Atlantic fleet
theatre Atlantic Ocean
year 1809

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Océan participatedIn Battle of the Basque Roads
Admiral Sir Charles Napier notableBattle Battle of the Basque Roads
subject surface form: Charles Napier