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L'Invasion de la Grande-Bretagne

This Timeline will explore a French Invasion of Britain and its aftermath.



July 3-5, 1759: A British Fleet commanded by George Rodney bombards Le Harvre, aiming to destroy most of the French Transports assembled for an invasion of Britain. The bombardment, while appearing a resounding success, failed to destroy all of the French Transports, and gave the British a false sense of Security.

Early July, 1759: British Admiral Boscawen, who had been tasked with blockading the French Toulon Fleet, retreats back to Gibraltar to refit his ships which had been damaged by French Batteries.

Late July, 1759: At a war council held in Paris, the French foreign minister Choiseul managed to convince the French Cabinet to proceed with the original plan[1]. The French would be able to capitalize on the false sense of security the British had, with the element of surprise.

August 4, 1759:Boscawen's Fleet arrives at Gibraltar, and begins refitting

August 5, 1759:French Admiral de la Clue, commander of the French Toulon Fleet, leaves Toulon for the West Indies. After arriving in the West Indies, de la Clue was to gather more ships to bolster his fleet, and assist in the Invasion of Britain

August 17, 1759:The French Toulon fleet passes through the Straight of Gibraltar, where they attract the attention of Boscawen's Fleet. Boscawen's Fleet left in haste, and as a result was spread out over several miles. As the British fleet got into formation, the French Fleet managed to gain distance from the British, and get into proper formation themselves.

August 18, 1759:Severe winds slowed down both fleet's, who struggled to stay in Battle formation. The winds were more severe on the French Toulon Fleet, allowing for the British Fleet under Boscawen to catch up

August 19, 1759:Early in the Morning, Admiral's de la Clue and Boscawen both order their ships into battle formation. The Battle of Lagos began around noon, when the approaching British fleet was bombarded by a massive French broadside. The French managed to cause severe communication problems among the British, when they damaged the HMS Namur, Boscawen's flagship. These communication problems allowed the French to gain the upper-hand in the battle, sinking 3 British Ships-of-the-Line, and critically damaging 4 more. The British still fought valiantly, and sunk 2 French Ships-of-the-line, and critically damaging another 2. As night fell, both fleets withdrew from combat and reformed.

August 19, 1759:Early in the Morning, Admiral's de la Clue and Boscawen both order their ships into battle formation. The Battle of Lagos began around noon, when the approaching British fleet was bombarded by a massive French broadside. The French managed to cause severe communication problems among the British, when they damaged the HMS Namur, Boscawen's flagship. These communication problems allowed the French to gain the upper-hand in the battle, sinking 3 British Ships-of-the-Line, and critically damaging 4 more. The British still fought valiantly, and sunk 2 French Ships-of-the-line, and critically damaging another 2 as the day wore one. As night fell, both fleets withdrew from combat and got back into formation.

August 20, 1759: British Admiral Boscawen, decided to cut his losses and retreat back to Gibraltar, where his damaged ships could be refitted, and French trade could continued to be harassed. De la Clue continued to the West Indies, and left the British to escape unmolested.

Late August, 1759: When news of de la Clue's victory[2] reached France, Choiseul began making the final preparations needed for the Invasion to occur. Workers at Le Havre, Brest, St Malo, Nantes, Morlaix and Lorient, worked to finish the Transports needed to transport the nearly 100,000 French Soldiers to the island of Great Britain. Duc d'Aiguillon, was sent to Loire, where he and 20,000 soldiers, would embark for Scotland when the invasion was launched. Charles de Soubise was sent to Le Harve, where he and nearly 50,000 soldiers would embark for Portsmoth when the invasion was launched. The remaining soldiers would be sent as reinforcements if the initial landings were a success. The Privateer Francois Thurot, was to launch a diversion from Dunkirk to assist the invasion as well.

October, 15 1759:A Massive storm forced the British Fleet commanded by Edward Hawke to stop blockading the French Coast, but the commander of the French Brest Fleet, Comte de Conflans, decided against a break out, waiting for de la Clue's fleet to return from the West Indies, and assist him against the Hawke's British fleet and for the final Transports to be finished.

October, 20 1759: Hawke's British fleet resumes blockading the French Coastline. De la Clue's fleet arrives in the West Indies, and soon departs after gathering 6 Frigates to join them, and leaving the 2 damaged Ships-of-the-Line behind for repairs.

Late October, 1759: The French invasion force is "Invasion ready", and awaits for the right moment to strike.

November 11, 1759: A strong Westerly gale forced Hawke's British Fleet to make port at Torbay, England.

November 15, 1759: De la Clue, and the remnants of the French Toulon Fleet, arrive at Brest, then join up with Conflans' Fleet. The combined French Fleet commanded by Conflans set sail to Loire, where they are to defeat Robert Duff's British Fleet (which was currently stationed in Quiberon Bay), then escort Duc d'Aiguillon and his men to the Firth of Clyde, where they were to begin the Invasion of Scotland with Jacobite support.

November 16, 1759: Hawke's British fleet leaves Torbay to give chase to Conflan's French fleet.

November 19, 1759: Conflan's intentionally slows down his fleet, so he can attack Robert Duff's fleet in a surprise attack next dawn. While the French fleet managed to ward off 3 British ships who tried to warn Duff of their presence, Hawke's fleet was closing fast on the French.

November 20, 1759: Conflan's Fleet early in the morning managed to inflict a incredible amount of damage on Duff's fleet in a surprise attack, sinking or damaging 4 of his 5 Ship-of-the-Lines, and 6 of his 9 Frigates. However, Duff managed to sink or damage 5 French Ships of the Line, 1 of the French Frigates. When Hawke's Fleet arrived, he found a strong French Fleet opposing him, with little support available from Duff. Hawke still managed to cause significant damage to the French Fleet, due to the better quality of his ships and sailors. However, the British initial successes would be short lived, as Hawke's flagship, the HMS Royal George was sunk by not long into the battle by French cannons, taking Hawke and many officers with it. With the British command structure in disarray, the French managed to scatter, sink, or destroy the rest of the British fleet, for some moderate losses. While the French Fleet had 12 Ships-of-the-Line sunk or severely damaged, British losses were far heavier, with 19 Ships-of-the-Line captured, sunk, or damaged beyond repair. After this devastating British defeat, the French were now in a position to launch their Invasion of Britain.

November 21, 1759: After their decisive Victory[3], the French Fleet, which left behind the damaged Ships-of-the-Line for repair starts to escort Duc d'Aiguillon and his men to the Firth of Clyde. The other elements of the French Invasion ready themselves to launch early next morning.

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[1]-This is the POD, IOTL the French scaled back the Invasion Plans
[2]-ITTL, the French Win/Stalemate because the British display more caution when going after the French, allowing the French more time to stay in formation, and not be spread apart and picked off one by one like IOTL
[3]-ITTL, the French win because they have more ships (they didn't lose as many at Lagos), and because they intercepted all the ships that went to warn Duff at Quiberon Bay, allowing them to launch a surprise attack and hurt the British badly before dealing with Hawke's fleet.
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