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| Possibly Lord Carmarthen running the Gullet |
When the Allied fleet arrived in Camaret Bay it immediately
came under fire from the forts around Camaret village and those at Bertheaume
Bay on the northern shore opposite. The plan was for men o’ war to run the
narrow channel called the ‘Gullet’ between the two headlands and sail into the
anchorage at Brest. This gap was exactly one mile wide meaning that any ship
attempting to force passage would be subject to a hail of fire from multiple
compass points. A private yacht captained by the thrill seeker Lord Carmarthen
ran the gauntlet to prove the point and came out to report the defences were
far more formidable than expected. This daredevil failed to spot all of Vauban’s
numerous positions and the thousands of troops massed behind both Brest and
Camaret Bay awaiting any landing should the batteries fail to halt the fleet.
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| Bombardment by at least eight large ships of the line from the English and Dutch fleets made little impression. |
It was agreed that Tollemache himself would lead the assault
at Camaret and first capture the small fort there before the rest of the
invasion force landed behind him and pushed inland to reach Brest on the north
shore. It all went badly wrong from the beginning. Eight ships of the line
trying to provide cover fire for Tollemache’s vanguard came under sustained and
heavy cannon and mortar fire as they sailed inshore. Casualties on the battleships
were enormous with over 400 men killed or injured during the action and some
vessels described as being surrounded by mortar shells which’ lashed the waves
to foam’. The bay took on the aspect of an intensive naval battle.
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| 17th century landing craft. Tollemache led the way and hit the beach under heavy fire. |
Tollemache rowed boldly on with about two battalions worth
of grenadiers and infantry whose boats were under fire continuously on the run
up to the beach. French accounts describe the English disembarkation as
confused. They counter charged with marines under de Langeron and Horse under
du Plessis whilst the English vanguard fused and threw grenades in a desperate
effort to stay alive. Boats were sunk by direct hits, some infantry forged on
whilst others retreated to the transports. Fresh waves in transit turned back
towards the fleet whilst thousands of reinforcements sat tight in their craft
waiting for the order to hit the beach.
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| French defensive forces were not restricted to local militia. Vauban had what he needed to be successful. |
Tollemache was struck by a cannonball in the thigh or groin
whilst leading the attack. Attempts to get off the beach disintegrated into a
shambolic rout with over 700 men lost. An eye witness stated that less than 100
of the landing party made it back to the boats and got out. At least one Dutch
man o’ war was sunk at anchor and several English ships had their rigging and
masts shot to pieces.
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| The French were well dug in. |
The raid ended in complete failure. Tollemache died of
his wounds about a week later after they turned gangrenous. He and his fellow
officers knew for sure that they had been betrayed and the recriminations
began. Putting to one side the moral issues associated with the affair the
personal experience of the ordinary soldiers caught up in the inferno must have
been beyond belief. Although artillery was becoming more common on the
battlefield the intensity of the defensive fire offered by the French must have
exceeded the wildest nightmares of any 17
th century soldier.
