Lévis rested his hopes on the prospect of reinforcements arriving from France, boosting his strength and allowing him to take the city. In France a strategic debate had been underway about the allocation of French reinforcements. The French first minister, the Duc de Choiseul, believed that French prospects were better in Europe and planned another major attack in Germany. The French hoped that if they were able to win a major victory in Germany and occupy the Electorate of Hanover they would be able to negotiate the return of Canada in exchange for it when peace was agreed. An added consideration was the heavy naval defeats the British had inflicted on the French at the battles of Lagos and Quiberon Bay the previous year and a near constant blockade of the French ports meant that their navy effectively ceased to function. In an effort to show the Canadians they had not been completely abandoned, a small group of supply ships were sent carrying 400 troops - well short of the sort of reinforcement that Lévis required and only one frigate could be spared as an escort. Even this limited relief was weakened when blockading British forces captured three of the transports shortly after they had sailed from Bordeaux in early April.