Bruix ' expedition of 1799 Bruix ' expedition of 1799 , often called Croisière de Bruix in French sources , was a French naval operation of the French Revolutionary Wars , carried out in May 1799 by Vice - admiral Bruix . It aimed at sending the naval squadron of Brest to the Mediterranean , gathering Spanish ships on the way , and rescuing Malta and Corfu , and supporting the French armies in Italy . The actual objectives of the expedition remain unclear . Background . After the crushing defeat of the Battle of the Nile in August 1798 , what remained of the French squadron of the Mediterranean , based in Toulon , was in disarray , and a French army was stranded in Egypt . The squadron of Brest was in a passable state , but is was realised that the lack of experience of the crews and the state of the ships would not allow a victory over the British without anything but overwhelming numerical superiority . With the British squadrons dispersed after the Battle of the Nile , it was decided the send the Brest squadron to the Mediterranean . In April 1799 , the cutter " Rebecca " was sent to Ireland with false letters and the mission of letting her intenetionally captured ; on 27 April , she gave herself up to the hired armed cutter " Black Joke " . This disinformation lured Admiral Bridport to Ireland . Expedition . Preparation of the expedition was shrouded in secrecy and deception . Rumours that a new expedition to Ireland was being planned were started , and a ship was sent to Ireland , carrying letters confirming these , with orders to let herself be captured . The country was still unsettled following the United Irishmen ' s Rebellion the previous year . Bruix slipped out Brest with 25 ships of the line under cover of fog and sailed south . Not knowing which way he had gone , the British blockading fleet , which had been ordered to prioritise the defence of Ireland against any French attempt to stoke renewed unrest there , headed north - westwards to oppose a move in that direction . As a result , Bruix gained a valuable headstart and got as far as Cadiz before meeting any British ships . There he found Lord Keith with 15 ships of the line , blockading a Spanish fleet of 28 ships of the line inside the port . Despite the opportunity to overwhelm Keith ' s heavily outnumbered fleet Bruix opted to avoid action and continue into the Mediterranean . He was reinforced by a Spanish squadron but the Spanish ships were in such a state of disrepair that soon after the combined fleet departed into the Mediterranean , they had to return to harbour . At the time of Bruix ' s arrival British and allied forces in the western Mediterranean were dispersed , with small British squadrons off Malta , Minorca and Naples , a Russian fleet at Corfu and small Portuguese and Sicilian squadrons also in the area . Again Bruix was in a position to inflict devastating damage by destroying these scattered groups piecemeal but again nothing came of this . Following damage caused by a collision he made a detour to Toulon for repairs . There he received new orders to escort supply shipments to the French army in Italy under Andre Massena , which had retreated to Genoa and was under siege . Bruix sailed into the Gulf of Genoa but was driven back by adverse winds . Meanwhile Keith had followed the French fleet into the Mediterranean and gathered the British squadrons together at Minorca in preparation for battle . Preferring once again to avoid a confrontation , Bruix decided to return to Brest . He eluded the British forces searching for him and returned to Cadiz , where Spanish ships were gathered and purchased , expanding the fleet to a total of 43 sail . From there , the fleet sailed to Brest . In its increased strength Bruix ' s force significantly outnumbered the British fleet in the Channel , but rather than take advantage of this he chose to put into Brest and remain there . A week later the arrival of Keith , who had pursued him back from the Mediterranean , negated this advantage of numbers . Aftermath . The objective of the sortie remain unclear to the day . There has been speculations about an attempt to support or evacuate the , but the fleet lacked the material for the former aim , and the coordination with Paris for the later . Mahan speaks of the operation in his book , " The Influence of Sea Power upon History " , as " affording interesting studies " . Order of battle . 27 ships of the line and several frigates . A number of Spanish ships were purchased and brought into French Navy service .