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The Action of 24 June 1795 was a minor naval engagement fought in the Western Basin of the Mediterranean Sea on 24 June 1795 during the French Revolutionary Wars. During 1795 the Royal Navy and French Navy Mediterranean Fleets were vying for supremacy in the region, the French operating from the fortified port of Toulon and the British from the allied Spanish base of Port Mahon on Minorca. A minor British victory at the Battle of Genoa in March had not resolved the conflict, both sides suffering damage. The British, under Admiral William Hotham, subsequently withdrew to Minorca to meet a squadron of reinforcements while the French, under Contre-amiral Pierre Martin at Toulon, suffering from ill-discipline, had also been reinforced. By June, both fleets were ready to return to the Ligurian Sea. To scout their opponents, Hotham at Minorca and Martin at Toulon both sent out small frigate squadrons to determine whether the enemy fleets were at sea. Hotham sent the small frigates HMS ''Dido'' and HMS ''Lowestoffe'' and Martin the larger ''Minerve'' and ''Artémise''. On 24 June, at almost the midpoint between the two naval bases, these scouting squadrons encountered one another. Although the French initially retreated, once it became clear that their opponents were noticeably smaller they wore round and attacked. Under fire, ''Minerve'' attempted to ram ''Dido''. Manoeuvering to avoid destruction, Captain George Henry Towry turned aside and instead found his rigging impaled on the French ship's bowsprit. After 15 minutes of hand-to-hand combat, the French bowsprit shattered under the strain. ''Dido'' too was left badly damaged, but the delay allowed ''Lowestoffe'' to come up and rake ''Minerve'', causing such severe damage that the French ship was rendered unmanageable. On seeing his companion in this situation, Captain Charbonnier of ''Artémise'', which had played an ineffectual part in the combat, withdrew, briefly and distantly pursued by ''Lowestoffe''. Isolated and immobile, ''Minerve'' was then battered into surrender by ''Lowestoffe''. The captured frigate was commissioned into the Royal Navy under the same name, and served until she was recaptured by the French at the Action of 2 July 1803. ==Background== In the summer of 1795 the Mediterranean theatre of the French Revolutionary Wars was contested by significant fleets from the Royal Navy and French Navy. The French Mediterranean Fleet, based in the fortified port of Toulon had been badly damaged during the chaotic final days of the Siege of Toulon in the autumn of 1793, and had required almost a year to repair and refit.〔Gardiner, p.105〕 The British Mediterranean Fleet, commanded from mid-1794 by Admiral William Hotham, had maintained a blockade on the port, operating from the allied Spanish base at Port Mahon on Minorca and, more distantly, from Gibraltar. British efforts in 1794 were focused on capturing the island of Corsica, prosecuting sieges at Bastia, Calvi and San Fiorenzo. After a determined resistance the last French stronghold on the island fell on 10 August.〔Gardiner, p.110〕 In February 1795 the French Mediterranean Fleet was again in suitable condition for offensive operations, 15 ships of the line sailing for an attack on Corsica. Under Contre-amiral Pierre Martin, this fleet successfully captured the British 74-gun ship of the line HMS ''Berwick'' at the Action of 8 March 1795, but was defeated by Hotham's fleet at the Battle of Genoa on 14 March, losing two ships and retreating to the French coast.〔Gardiner, p.116〕 In the aftermath of the battle the British fleet was hit by a storm off La Spezzia and HMS ''Illustrious'' was wrecked, Hotham gathering his surviving ships first at San Fiorenzo and then Leghorn, before sailing to Minorca in early June to meet with a large squadron of reinforcements from the Channel Fleet under Rear-Admiral Robert Mann.〔 Meanwhile, Martin reconstituted his scattered force in the shelter of the Hyères Islands. In April he was joined by a large squadron of reinforcements from the French Atlantic Fleet, but any immediate operations were postponed by a strike action by the sailors of his fleet in May. Once this had been resolved, Martin put to sea once more on 7 June.〔James, Vol.1, p.266〕 The location of the enemy was an urgent priority for both admirals, and each dispatched a small squadron of two frigates in search of the rival fleet. Hotham sent the small 28-gun 12-pounder HMS ''Dido'' under Captain George Henry Towry and the 32-gun HMS ''Lowestoffe'' under Captain Robert Gambier Middleton with instructions to scout Toulon and the Hyères Islands and determine whether Martin was still at anchor. Martin sent the larger 40-gun frigate ''Minerve'' under Captain Jean-Baptiste Perrée and the 36-gun ''Artémise'' under Captain Charbonnier with orders to search the seas around Minorca for Hotham's fleet.〔James, Vol.1, p.289〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Action of 24 June 1795」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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