Year 1759 became known in Britain as “annus mirabilis”, the year of miracle. The miracle itself was man made, achieved by the British navy on this date!
Britannia Rule the Waves!
Fighting between the British and the French had been ongoing since 1754, and war was officially declared in 1756 when French went to war against their old ally, Prussia, now allied with Great Britain and Hanover. For the British, the Seven Years War main effort was in the colonies, but the French focus was continental.
As the war went on, the British used their naval superiority, capturing Louisbourg and raiding the French coast in 1758. This was a disgrace to the French, and to turn the tide, French foreign minister Duc de Choiseul created a grand plan to knock the British out of the war by invading the British Isles themselves, with a force of no less than 100.000 soldiers! The French navy was to overcome or at least outmaneuver their British counterpart, after which the amphibious force would be landed. It was believed, that the small British army in their homelands would be easily defeated.
Duc de Choiseul, french minister, and Sir Edward Hawke, commander of the British fleet in battle of Quiberon Bay.
Invading Britain was no new concept in itself. The previous French attempt in 1744, during the War of Austrian Succession, had to be abandoned when a violent storm hit the invasion fleet that sailed out of Dunkirk. And the Spanish attempt in 1588 with the ill-fated Spanish Armada was also still in fresh memory.
Thanks to effective network of spies, the British were aware of these French plans, countering them with a militia act among other things, bolstering the small army in Britain with large numbers of militia. But the decisive action would take place in the high sea, between the fleets of the two superpowers. Here the British so far had the upper hand, blockading French fleets in harbors and watching their every move.
The first major encounter was in the Battle of Lagos in August 1759, when French Toulon fleet in the Mediterranean slipped through British blockade and sailed out through the Straits of Gibraltar. But the fleet was engaged and defeated by British fleet under Sir Edward Boscawen. The French lost 5 out of 12 ships-of-the-line in the fleet, the rest escaped. This setback prevented the original invasion plans, but still Choiseul was determined to invade at least Scotland.
Battle of Lagos was a French defeat, but Choiseul still would not give up the invasion plans.
The main blow came November 20th 1759, in the Battle of Quiberon Bay. The French fleet blockaded in Brest was ordered to move out and collect transports assembled in Gulf of Morbihan. The British blockading fleet under Sir Edward Hawke spotted the French slipping away exploiting favorable weather conditions. Hawke ordered pursuit.
Hawke had part of his fleet watching the transports at Quiberon Bay, under Robert Duff. The arriving French fleet under Comte de Conflans spotted them and gave pursuit. Duff managed to evade. The French fleet lost cohesion during the pursuit, and as they turned back, they were engaged by Hawke and the main body of the fleet. In the battle that followed the French fleet lost 7 out of 21 ships-of-the-line, a third of the fleet.
After the battle, French naval power was broken and the planned invasion had to be abandoned for good. The battle of Quiberon Bay also meant the French navy was unable to support the fighting in New France, and the victory in battle of Sainte-Foy in April 1760 could not be followed through. Quebec, lost to British in the battle of Plains of Abraham in 1759, remained in enemy hands.
Battle of Quiberon Bay was later called “the Trafalgar of its day”. After the battle all French hopes to invade Britain were lost… but only for the time being.
The French Revanche
But let’s go back to March 1757; The war is still young. Financed by France, Sweden has just joined the anti-Prussian alliance, and the defeat of Frederick II seems to be just a matter of time.
Pomeranian War DLC includes this bonus scenario for the French, including the historic grand strategic objectives of the nation.
In command of the French war effort, you have a glorious but very difficult, yet not entirely impossible task at hand: The original French ambitions to seize the currently Austrian held Spanish Netherlands is still the main strategic goal in Europe, but to gain a complete victory, the French must crush the British puppet of Hanover, and knock Britain itself out of the war. For this you need to hold the territories in the colonies, while strengthening your navy to outmatch the British. The plan of invasion must be carried through, and the first 50.000 French troops must be landed on British soil before 1760!
This requires good planning, research of new naval technologies and building of new ships. And maybe some luck? To defeat the British navy, you must choose the battles carefully, not to suffer a Quiberon Bay of your own. The British fleets guarding their homelands are stronger than yours. To bolster the navy, your industry must be reformed to produce the huge amounts of timber, iron, cannon and sailcloth needed in the ships. This will require a working transport network and open trade lines to New France where cotton for the sailcloth can be acquired. At the same time harbors must be upgraded and increasing number of sailors pressed to duty.
The trade statistics show the sheer amount of materiel moving to French harbors to be transformed into ships-of-the-line and supplies for the fleets. But will it be enough?
And after finally engaging the British navy, there must still be enough materiel to refit the damaged fleets and resupply them with ammunition. All this will require more timber, sailors, and above all black powder and ammunition. Otherwise the battered fleets will sit in the docks crippled, unable to carry on the bitter fighting. So skills in battle need to be supported by a strong economy and industry. Only this way can the French establish naval superiority, and rule the seas!
When the time of invasion comes, you have a new national policy to take advantage of: Ordering naval invasion preparations in your country, the fleets will be augmented with troop transports, purpose built or confiscated from the trading fleets. This will effectively increase the transport capacity, but will also increase the cost to operate these strengthened fleets, so use the policy wisely, at the critical moment.
Naval invasion preparations -policy comes in handy, whether invading Britain, ferrying Swedish army units to Pomerania, or moving in troops to the colonies as Great Britain. This is the other one of the 2 new policies in Pomeranian War DLC.
And once ashore, expect the British to throw their army at you, bolstered by their militia. Any captured ground will remain hostile and supplying the occupying army will be difficult, especially as most of your spending and production will be eaten up by the navy. The stubborn and proud Britons will not simply accept a French rule…
In The Seven Years War (1756-1763), the deep campaign mechanics in economy, industry, combat and supply modelling make sure you will have the necessary means available to complete your goals, but it will not be easy by any means. Great skill will be required. Are you up the task?
The invasion force has landed and Southampton is under siege! British homeland army is moving in from two sides and the French move in to intercept. Without a supply base the invasion will be short lived, so the redcoats must be held at bay until Southampton falls!
A battle erupts in the wooded countryside of Surrey, with the British determined to drive the French, moving towards London, back to the channel.
The bonus campaign scenario “French Revanche” will ship with Pomeranian War DLC, released in just 5 days! And like before, if you like the game, why not support the project by writing up a review in Steam?
Ilja Varha
Designer of Pomeranian War DLC
PS. Oh, and notice anything different in the options menu? Player requests are being heard! =)
