AHC: France becomes the dominant naval power

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_at_Barfleur

This one has the French slipping away after indecisive conflict - hardly the mark of a French indecisive victory. Which is not to say it's not a good result to escape with a draw from facing a combined Anglo-Dutch fleet, but it's also not what you said.
A French fleet which was significantly outnumbered met an Anglo-Dutch fleet and fought and inflicted significantly superior casualties upon it, by most standards that's a tactical victory.
 
A French fleet which was significantly outnumbered met an Anglo-Dutch fleet and fought and inflicted significantly superior casualties upon it, by most standards that's a tactical victory.
Eh, an alternative description is that a French fleet (which was indeed significantly outnumbered) met an Anglo-Dutch fleet and was forced to retreat which scattered it to the four winds and caused it to be defeated piecemeal in follow-up actions. That's a tactical draw but operational defeat, unless you have some other cause instead of the battle to explain the French getting scattered leading to the beaching (and subsequent burning) of about a quarter of their numbers.
 
Eh, an alternative description is that a French fleet (which was indeed significantly outnumbered) met an Anglo-Dutch fleet and was forced to retreat which scattered it to the four winds and caused it to be defeated piecemeal in follow-up actions. That's a tactical draw but operational defeat, unless you have some other cause instead of the battle to explain the French getting scattered leading to the beaching (and subsequent burning) of about a quarter of their numbers.
Sure. Those are actions afterwards, which the French lost. The won the initial engagement, indecisively.
 
Sure. Those are actions afterwards, which the French lost. The won the initial engagement, indecisively.
Yeah, and I am saying that if engagement B which the French lost (somewhat badly) follows directly from engagement A and cannot (readily) be avoided after engagement A, it is part of the outcome of the engagement, and thus, the outcome of engagement A is modified by B.
 
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