The Battle of the Basque Roads, also Battle of Aix Roads (French: Bataille de l'île d'Aix, also Affaire des brûlots, rarely Bataille de la rade des Basques) was a naval battle during the Napoleonic Wars off the Island of Aix. On the night of 11 April 1809 Captain Lord Cochrane led a British fireship attack against a powerful squadron of French ships anchored in the Basque Roads. In the attack all but two of the French ships were driven ashore. The subsequent engagement lasted three days but failed to destroy the entire French fleet.
Cochrane accused the British commanding officer, Admiral James Gambier, of being reluctant to press the attack. Gambier demanded a court-martial, and was duly exonerated; Cochrane's career in the Royal Navy ended. The French Navy continued to operate against the British from the Basque Roads until the end of the Napoleonic Wars.
Read more about Battle Of The Basque Roads: Background, The Attack, The Follow-up, Battle Continues, Fallout, Legacy
Famous quotes containing the words battle of, battle and/or roads:
“Probably the battle of Waterloo was won on the playing-fields of Eton, but the opening battles of all subsequent wars have been lost there.”
—George Orwell (1903–1950)
“I remember the scenes of battle in which we stood together. I remember especially that broad and deep grave at the foot of the Resaca hill where we left those gallant comrades who fell in that desperate charge. I remember, through it all, the gallantry, devotion and steadfastness, the high-set patriotism you always exhibited.”
—Benjamin Harrison (1833–1901)
“... deeper
and deeper into Imagination’s
holy forest, as travelers
followed the Zohar’s dusty
shimmering roads ...”
—Denise Levertov (b. 1923)