Battles of Barfleur and La Hogue The related naval battles of Barfleur and La Hogue took place between 29 May and 4 June New Style ( NS ) , 1692 ( 19 – 24 May in the Old Style ( OS ) Julian calendar then in use in England ) . The first action took place near Barfleur ; later actions were at Cherbourg and Saint - Vaast - la - Hougue in the Cotentin peninsula , Normandy , France . It was the decisive naval battle of the Nine Years ' War , known to the British as the War of the English Succession . In May 1692 the French fleet of 44 ships of the line under the command of Admiral Anne Hilarion de Costentin , Comte de Tourville ( by virtue of his title , widely known in English sources as " Tourville " ) , was preparing to transport an invading army of Franco - Irish troops to restore James II to the English throne . Despite being in command of the fleet , strategic decisions were to be taken by James II , François d ' Usson de Bonrepaus and Bernardin Gigault de Bellefonds . The French victory at the Battle of Beachy Head two years earlier , in June 1690 , had opened up the possibility of destroying the allied fleet and landing an invading army . Tourville boldly engaged the 82 strong Anglo - Dutch fleet at Barfleur . After a fierce but indecisive clash , which left many ships on both sides damaged , Tourville was able to disengage . He slipped off into light fog and for several days tried to escape the superior forces . The French fleet was scattered , and 15 were lost , 3 at Cherbourg and a further 12 at La Hougue . The threat of invasion of England was lifted . Prelude . King Louis XIV and his naval minister , Count Pontchartrain , planned to land an army in England and restore James II to the throne . They first planned to launch the invasion in April 1692 before the English and Dutch fleets put to sea and joined up . Troops were collected at Saint - Vaast - la - Hougue , and the cavalry and guns were to be loaded into transports at Le Havre . Tourville was to bring the French fleet up from Brest and collect the transports and the troops , then fight off the English fleet and land the army in England . However , the French fleet was unable to concentrate in time ; D ’ Estrees and the Toulon fleet were beaten back at the Straits of Gibraltar , losing two ships in a storm , and Villette Mursay with the Rochefort squadron was delayed . Tourville ' s Brest fleet was undermanned , and when he sailed , on 29 April , he was forced to leave 20 ships under Chateau - Renault behind . His fleet was further delayed by adverse winds and did not clear Berteaume Roads until 2 May . Tourville entered the Channel with 37 ships of the line , accompanied by 7 fireships , plus frigates , scouts , and transports . He was joined on 15 May by Villette and the Rochefort squadron , 7 ships of the line and attendant vessels , giving Tourville a combined fleet of 44 ships , plus attendant vessels 70 or 80 sail altogether . Meanwhile the allied fleet was assembling at St Helens on the Isle of Wight ; Vice Admiral of the Red Sir Ralph Delaval arrived off St Helens on 8 May ; next day he was joined by Carter , who had been in the western channel guarding a convoy , and delivering troops to Guernsey . The Dutch had despatched a fleet , under Almonde , from Texel in April , which was making its way south . Admiral of the Blue Sir John Ashby sailed from the Nore on 27 April . Admiral of the Fleet Edward Russell was delayed until 29 April , but gained time by making a risky passage through the Gull channel . He met Almonde at the Downs and a further Dutch squadron at Dungeness , arriving at St Helens in the second week of May . More detachments joined over the next few days , until 14 May , when Russell had a force of over 80 ships of the line , plus auxiliaries . Thus by 14 May , when the allied fleet was fully assembled , the French strategic aim of acting with a concentrated force while the allies were scattered was already lost . However , Louis XIV had furnished Tourville with strict orders to seek battle , strong or weak ( " fort au faible " ) , and this he proceeded to do . Battle of Barfleur . The fleets sighted each other at first light on 29 May 1692 , off Cap Barfleur . On sighting the allied fleet Tourville held a conference with his officers . Their advice , and his own opinion , was against action ; however Tourville felt bound by strict orders from the king to engage . He may also have expected some defections by English captains with Jacobite sympathies , though in this he was to be disappointed . In the light southwesterly breeze the fleets slowly closed , Russell from the northeast , and Tourville , who had the weathergage , from the south , on a starboard tack to bring his line of battle into contact with Russell ' s . Both fleets were in three squadrons , each split into three divisions and commanded by a flag officer . Because of the calm conditions it was not until after 11 am , five hours after first sighting each other , that the two fleets engaged . Tourville had reinforced his centre , the White squadron under his own command , in order to engage Russell ' s Red squadron with close to equal numbers . Elsewhere , he sought to minimize damage by extending and refusing the van , to avoid them being turned and overwhelmed , while the rear was held back to keep the weathergage . Russell countered by holding fire as long as possible , to allow the French to come closer ; Almonde , in the van extended to try to overlap the French line , while Admiral Ashby , with the rear and some way off , sought to close and bring his Blue squadron into action . From around 11 am , and for the next few hours , both fleets bombarded each other , causing considerable damage . The battle continued for the rest of the day and into the night and was full of incident . At 1 pm a change in the wind allowed Rear Admiral of the Red Sir Cloudesley Shovell to break the French line and the Dutch to start enveloping the French van . At 4 pm a flat calm descended , leaving both fleets in a fog . A 6 pm Tourville was able to use the tide to gain a respite , and at 8 pm Shovell used the same tide for a fireship attack . By 10 pm the battle was almost over . Surprisingly , though most ships on both sides were damaged , and some severely , no ships from either battle line were lost . At the turn of the tide , Tourville again took advantage of this to cut cables and be carried down channel on the ebb , away from the scene of battle . Russell also cut when he realized what had happened , to give chase into the night . Aftermath . On the 30 May the French withdrawal was hampered by wind and tide and by the fact that , due to cost concerns by the French Naval Ministry , many of the ships had anchors inadequate to withstand the strong tidal races in the region . There was also the lack of a fortified haven at Cherbourg . Tourville probably tried for too long to save his magnificent flagship , the " Soleil Royal " , but eventually he realised it was hopeless and switched his command to the " Ambitieux " , the flagship of Villette Mursay . Pursuit . First light on the 30 May saw the French fleet scattered into groups across a wide area . To the north of the battle scene , and heading northward , were Gabaret and Langeron , with four ships between them . Later that day they skirted the English coast and headed out into the Atlantic . Eventually , they would arrive safely at Brest . To the South , Nesmond , with six ships , was heading south - east towards the Normandy coast . Two of these would be beached at St Vaast la Hougue , while another two would later put into Le Havre , where " L ’ Entendu " was wrecked at the harbour entrance . Nesmond , with the remaining two ships " Monarque " and " Aimable " , passed through the Straits of Dover , went north around Britain and finally arrived safely at Brest . Heading West was the main body in three groups : Villette leading with 15 , followed by d ’ Amfreville with 12 , and Tourville bringing up the rear with seven . During the day the French were able to close up , but Tourville was hampered by his efforts to save his flagship , " Soleil Royal " , which was in a pitiable condition . Later that day Tourville recognized this and transferred his flag to " L ’ Ambiteux " . In pursuit was Philips van Almonde and the Dutch fleet , with the various English divisions scattered behind . Many of these , particularly those of the English Red , were hampered by damage and lagged behind , leaving Almonde and Ashby closed up to the French by the end of the day . Russell was forced to detach three ships to return to port for repairs . Later these sighted Gabaret ' s group , but neither engaged . Shovell had to move his flag to " Kent " due to the damage to his flagship " Royal William " , while the damage to " Britannia " , Russell ' s flagship , caused his division serious delay . On 31 May the French fleet was anchored against the tide off Cap de la Hague . The leading contingent , 21 ships under Pannetier , had rounded the cape and was in the Alderney Race , while the remainder , 13 with Tourville and the other flag officers , were to the east . As the weather deteriorated , these ships began to drag their anchors and were forced to cut and run before the wind and tide . Three of the most badly damaged were forced to beach at Cherbourg ; the rest , 10 ships , reached St Vaast la Hougue where they too were beached , joining the two of Nesmond ’ s division that were already there . Russell ’ s and the ships with him , together with some of Ashby ’ s Blue squadron , also cut to pursue him , while Ashby and Almonde continued to shadow Pannetier ' s group . Pannetier , in order to escape the pursuing allied fleet , sought to make the hazardous passage through the Alderney Race ; in this he was helped by finding in his crew a local man , Hervé Riel , to act as pilot when his navigators demurred . Almonde and Ashby did not try to follow him and were criticized later by Russell for not doing so , although the only flag officer who knew the waters , Carter , had died of his wounds . Almonde attempted pursuit by taking his squadron west of Alderney , but the delay allowed Pannetier to pull too far ahead , and Almonde abandoned the chase . Pannetier later reached Saint - Malo in safety , while Almonde and Ashby turned east to rejoin Russell at la Hogue . While Almonde and Ashby pursued Pannetier , Russell was chasing Tourville eastward along the Cotentin coast . Without anchors Tourville was unable to do more than beach his ships , which he was able to do , leaving three at Cherbourg and taking the remaining twelve to St Vaast la Hougue . Actions at Cherbourg . The " Soleil Royal " , " Admirable " , and " Triomphant " were in such bad shape they had to be beached at Cherbourg . There they were destroyed on 3 June by Vice - Admiral Delaval , attacking from long boats and with fire ships . Actions at La Hogue . Meanwhile , Russell had turned on the remaining ships . These had sought refuge at La Hougue where they would be under the protection of the assembled land forces and a battery . On 3 June and 4 June , the Dutch and English attacked with long boats . By this time the French crews were exhausted and disheartened . The allies successfully deployed shore parties and fire ships which burnt all twelve French ships of the line which had sought shelter there . This last action became celebrated in England as the Battle of La Hogue . Conclusion . The dispersal of the French fleet put an end to the invasion plans , and the Allied victory was commemorated in England by a Fleet Review . Following the battle the French abandoned the idea of seeking naval superiority for its own sake , adopting instead a continental strategy on land and pursuing a war against trade ( " guerre de course " ) at sea . The battle is seen differently on either side of the Channel . The English have seen the action as a single action over six days ; it has often been referred to as the battle of La Hogue , or simply Hogue . The French on the other hand have seen the various actions as separate battles , of Barfleur , Cherbourg and La Hougue . However , more neutral observers , such as Mahan , have also seen the action as a whole , as does Pemsel , and naval actions over a period of days were not unusual for the time . The term " Battle of Barfleur and La Hogue " is a compromise description for the whole event . Both sides also regard the outcome differently . The English claim this as an outright victory . The French , while acknowledging La Hougue and Cherbourg as defeats , prefer to claim Barfleur as a victory . The English view of this as an out and out victory , while plausible , is flawed . In earlier times it was widely celebrated , though by Mahan ' s time it was seen as less important . The French invasion plan was foiled , but La Hogue was not the devastating blow to the French Navy it was once thought . French losses were quickly made good , and by the following year Tourville was able to inflict a defeat on the Allies at Lagos . Although the French dropped their invasion plans for the rest of the conflict and switched to a " guerre de course " , this was a matter of policy rather than necessity . However , the French view of the action at Barfleur as a victory is similarly flawed . The actions at Cherbourg and La Hogue can only be seen as defeats , but the view of the action at Barfleur as a victory is not tenable . The strategic aim , to concentrate the fleet and seize control of the channel before the Allied fleet had assembled , had already failed by 14 May ( OS ) , and the chance for invasion was lost even if the battle had never taken place . Tactically Tourville made the best he could of a difficult situation . He made skilled use of the tides , first to disengage his fleet and , later , to escape , but with no ships lost on either side and the action ending with Russell in hot pursuit it can be seen at best as inconclusive . Nevertheless , historians have generally acknowledged the skill , bravery , courage and ferocious fighting ability of the French in this action . Barfleur remains a battle of which the French are most proud .