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Troude's expedition to the Caribbean was a naval operation by a French force under Commodore Amable-Gilles Troude during the Napoleonic Wars. The French squadron departed from Lorient in February 1809 in an attempt to reach and resupply the island colony of Martinique in the Caribbean Sea, then under invasion from a British expeditionary force. The force arrived much too late to affect the outcome of the successful invasion and took shelter from a British squadron in the Îles des Saintes, where they were blockaded by part of the British invasion fleet, led by Vice-Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane. Two weeks after the French ships arrived, British troops invaded and captured the Saintes, constructing mortar batteries to bombard the French squadron. With his position unsustainable, Commodore Troude decided to break out. Attempting to escape under cover of darkness on 14 April, the French squadron was spotted by a number of small British ships stationed close inshore. These ships raised the alarm and the main British squadron followed in pursuit. The rearmost French ship of the line, ''Hautpoult'', was closely followed by the small brig HMS ''Recruit'', which succeeded in delaying ''Hautpoult'' long enough that the main British squadron was able to attack and overwhelm her in a running battle that lasted three days and ended off the coast of Puerto Rico. The British suffered 45 casualties, the French nearly 100. The remainder of the French squadron escaped, with the two surviving ships of the line sailing directly for France, eventually reaching Cherbourg in May. The French expedition's two frigates, both only partially armed, were detached during the action and took shelter in harbour at Guadeloupe. In June, heavily laden with trade goods, they attempted to escape to Europe, but were pursued by elements of the British blockade force. ''Félicité'' was overrun after four days of manouvere, submitting to the more powerful British frigate HMS ''Latona'' without a fight. ''Furieuse'' was able to escape immediate pursuit, but was subsequently discovered on 3 July by the smaller British ship HMS ''Bonne Citoyenne''. In a fierce engagement two days later, the small British ship was able to defeat and capture the French vessel, which was later commissioned into the Royal Navy. ==Background== During the Napoleonic Wars, the French Navy suffered a series of defeats at the hands of the British Royal Navy, culminating in the destruction of much of their Mediterranean Fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Unable to compete at sea, the French were increasingly confined to their principal naval bases, especially Brest on the Biscay coast and Toulon in the Mediterranean. With British squadrons patrolling the entrances to these ports, the French found it difficult not only to conduct regular overseas trade, but also to supply and reinforce their overseas colonies.〔Gardiner, p. 17〕 As a result, the colonies faced financial collapse and the constant threat of attack by British forces, especially in the Caribbean, where by 1809 their island colonies of Martinique and Guadeloupe were surrounded by British held islands and blockaded by a strong British fleet under Vice-Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane.〔Clowes, p. 283〕 During the summer of 1808, messages arrived in France from Martinique, outlining the desperate situation of their supplies, morale and economy. It was determined that reinforcements and food supplies would be sent and the frigate ''Thétis'' was despatched in November 1808. Within days, ''Thétis'' had been captured at the Action of 10 November 1808, and subsequent operations had mixed success: the frigate ''Amphitrite'' reached Martinique, but a number of smaller ships were intercepted and defeated, both in Europe and the West Indies.〔Gardiner, p. 78〕 In desperation, a major operation was planned, intended to transport substantial supplies and sufficient troops to resist the inevitable British invasion on Martinique. To this end, Commodore Amable-Gilles Troude was provided with the ships of the line ''Courageux'', ''Polonais'' and ''Hautpoult'', with the frigates ''Félicité'' and ''Furieuse'' ''en flûte'' as armed storeships, carrying the bulk of the supplies.〔James, p. 161〕 On 21 February 1809, a large French fleet under Admiral Jean-Baptiste Willaumez attempted to escape Brest and was chased by the blockade squadron and driven to shelter under the Ile d'Aix. Shortly afterwards, three French frigates attempted to break out of Lorient, but were challenged and destroyed at the Action of 24 February 1809. These operations were the preliminaries to the Battle of Basque Roads in April, but also provided the cover required for Troude's force to escape Lorient while the British were engaged elsewhere.〔James, p. 96〕 Travelling rapidly across the Atlantic, the French encountered no British warships but were able to seize a number of lone British merchant ships, from whom Troude learned that the invasion of Martinique was already underway.〔Woodman, p. 242〕 While Troude's expedition had been preparing at Lorient, Cochrane had been preparing his own operation to Martinique, following the interception of the same despatches warning of the island's low morale and preparedness in the summer of 1808. Amassing an expeditionary force of 44 ships and 10,000 men at Carlisle Bay, Barbados, Cochrane began the invasion on 30 January 1809 and his troops rapidly overran the French defences, despite stiff resistance in the central highlands. By 10 February, the only remaining point in French hands was Fort Desaix, which held out until the magazine was breached on 24 February, at which point Governor Louis Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse surrendered unconditionally.〔James, p. 209〕 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「Troude's expedition to the Caribbean」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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