Tide of Empires: Decisive Naval Campaigns in the Rise of the West 1654-1763: Volume II by Padfield Peter

Author:Padfield, Peter [Padfield, Peter]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lume Books
Published: 2021-02-16T21:00:00+00:00

Her Majesty … thinks the consequences of his [Torrington’s] withdrawing to the Gunfleet would be so fatal that she rather chooses he should, upon any advantage of the wind, give battle to the enemy.… He is by no means to lose sight of the French fleet whereby they may have opportunities of making attempts upon the shore or in the rivers Medway and Thames, or get away without fighting.[34]

Responsibility for misjudging the appreciation of the commander-in-chief on the spot, and taking the initiative from him with such muddled orders, lies chiefly with the Earl of Nottingham, who had become William’s confidant and executive in naval affairs, and Edward Russell, former admiral of the Blue and outspoken rival of Torrington’s. Both these men, who had been urging forward all available ships from the Thames, Downs, Portsmouth and Ireland to join the fleet, were over-optimistic about the strength of the allied force, and believed from prior reports that Tourville actually had no more than sixty ships of the line. However, other hot-headed members of the council contributed to the general feeling of dissatisfaction with Torrington’s apparently negative and irresolute frame of mind, and the council seems to have been unanimous in its desire for action against the French fleet.

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