page_title: Great Siege of Gibraltar
section_title: Siege
hierarchical_section_title: Great Siege of Gibraltar / Siege
caption_attribution_description: English: Siege of Gibraltar (1779-1782). Panoramic view of Gibraltar under siege from Spanish fleet and land positions in foreground. Français&#160;: Vue perspective du siège de Gibraltar, commencé par les Espagnols en Juillet 1779. Gravure française avec texte explicatif.
context_page_description: The Great Siege of Gibraltar was an unsuccessful attempt by Spain and France to capture Gibraltar from the British during the War of the American Revolution.
  On June 16 1779 Spain entered the war on the side of France and as co-belligerents of the rebellious American colonies - the British base at Gibraltar was Spain's primary war aim. The vulnerable Gibraltar garrison under George Augustus Eliott was blockaded from June 1779 to February 1783, initially by the Spanish alone, led by Martín Álvarez de Sotomayor. The blockade proved to be a failure because two relief convoys entered unmolested—the first under Admiral George Rodney in 1780 and the second under Admiral George Darby in 1781—despite the presence of the Spanish fleets. The same year, a major assault was planned by the Spanish, but the Gibraltar garrison sortied in November and destroyed much of the forward batteries. With the siege going nowhere and constant Spanish failures, the besiegers were reinforced by French forces under de Crillon, who took over command in early 1782.
context_section_description: On 16 June 1779, the Spanish issued what was in effect a declaration of war against Great Britain, and a blockade immediately commenced. On 6 July 1779, an engagement took place between the British ships and Spanish vessels bringing supplies to the Spanish troops on shore. Several Spanish vessels were taken and the hostilities began. The combined Spanish and French fleets blockaded Gibraltar from the sea, while on the land side an enormous army constructed forts, redoubts, entrenchments, and batteries from which to attack.
  As the winter of 1779 came, provisions for the garrison soon became scarce. Bread was almost impossible to obtain and was not permitted to be issued except to the sick and children. Salt meat and biscuits soon became a major part of the rations, with an occasional issue of four ounces of rice each day. Fuel was exhausted, and fires were made only with difficulty, using the salt-encrusted timbers of old ships broken up in the harbour for the purpose. As a result, a violent outbreak of scurvy occurred among the troops, owing to the lack of vegetables and medicines. Eliott appealed to London for relief, but as the winter wore on rations were reduced further. Despite this, the garrison's morale remained high, and the troops continued to take their turns at various posts of duty. They had also repulsed several small testing assaults made by the Spanish and had great faith that they would receive supplies by sea, and so they endured the cold and hunger.
  The Spanish were forced to commit a greater number of troops and ships to the siege, postponing the planned invasion of England, owing to this and the cancellation of the Armada of 1779.
caption: Panoramic view of Gibraltar under siege from Spanish fleet and land positions in foreground
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