The first commander of what became the Flotte du Ponant was Aymar de Clermont-Chaste-Gessans, who was appointed Vice-admiral of Les Mers du Ponant. The command of the Levant and du Ponant fleets were entrusted on 12 November 1669 to two vice-admirals. The vice-admirals of the du Ponant fleet were:
Although Jean II d'Estrées commanded the fleet during the battles of the reign of Louis XIV, his successors were too old to have likely served at sea. In practice, the squadrons at sea were under officers with the rank of Lieutenant général des Armées navales.
Naval administration
General view of Brest in 1793, during the French Revolution.
The state secretary of the navy was the administrator responsible for the French royal naval fleet and the civilian naval component, the commercial trade fleet. The secretary therefore administered both naval fleets and merchant fleets, the naval bases, the diplomatic consulates, the colonies and the French East India Company.
Other departments and bureaux were added to fleet administration over time.
archive department, 1669;
consulate bureau of Ponant, 1709;
colonies bureau, 1710;
class bureau, 1711;
department for maps and plans, 1720;
consulate bureau of the Levant, 1738, which merged in 1743 with the consulate bureau of Ponant under the designation of commerce and consulates bureau.
These different bureaux and departments were regrouped in four grand directorates by Marshal Charles Eugène Gabriel de La Croix in 1786.
During the French Revolution, the Flotte du Ponant was renamed the "Atlantic Squadron" (Escadre de l'Atlantique), and then the "Ocean Fleet" (Flotte de l'Océan).
The French Navy, informally La Royale, is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in the world recognised as being a blue-water navy. The French Navy is capable of operating globally and conducting expeditionary missions, maintaining a significant overseas presence. The French Navy is one of eight naval forces currently operating fixed-wing aircraft carriers, with its flagship Charles de Gaulle being the only nuclear-powered aircraft carrier outside the United States Navy, and one of two non-American vessels to use catapults to launch aircraft.
The Battle of Quiberon Bay was a decisive naval engagement during the Seven Years' War. It was fought on 20 November 1759 between the Royal Navy and the French Navy in Quiberon Bay, off the coast of France near Saint-Nazaire. The battle was the culmination of British efforts to eliminate French naval superiority, which could have given the French the ability to carry out their planned invasion of Great Britain. A British fleet of 24 ships of the line under Sir Edward Hawke tracked down and engaged a French fleet of 21 ships of the line under Marshal de Conflans. After hard fighting, the British fleet sank or ran aground six French ships, captured one and scattered the rest, giving the Royal Navy one of its greatest victories, and ending the threat of French invasion for good.
The Troupes de la Marine was a French military formation founded by Cardinal Richelieu in 1622. It was under the denomination of Compagnie ordinaire de la mer, originally intended to form the garrisons of the ships of the King. It was in 1674 that Jean-Baptiste Colbert decided to make permanent colonial troops and give them the name of Compagnies Franches de la Marine.
Soleil Royal was a French 104-gun ship of the line, flagship of Admiral Tourville.
The rank insignia of the French Navy are worn on shoulder straps of shirts and white jackets, and on sleeves for navy jackets and mantels. Until 2005, only commissioned officers had an anchor on their insignia, but enlisted personnel are now receiving them as well. Although the names of the ranks for superior officers contain the word "Capitaine", the appropriate style to address them is "Commandant", "Capitaine" referring to "lieutenant de vaisseau", which is translated as lieutenant. The two highest ranks, Vice-amiral d'escadre and Amiral (Admiral), are functions, rather than ranks. They are assumed by officers ranking Vice-amiral (Vice-Admiral).
Admiral of France is a French title of honour. It is the naval equivalent of Marshal of France and was one of the Great Officers of the Crown of France.
Bretagne was a large 110-gun three-decker French ship of the line, built at Brest, which became famous as the flagship of the Brest Fleet during the American War of Independence. She was funded by a don des vaisseaux grant by the Estates of Brittany. She was active in the European theatres of the Anglo-French War and of the French Revolutionary Wars, notably taking an important role in the Glorious First of June. Later, she took part in the Croisière du Grand Hiver and was broken up.
The Battle of Getaria was fought on 22 August 1638 during the Franco-Spanish War (1635–59), at Getaria, in northern Spain. A French naval force commanded by Henri de Sourdis attacked and destroyed a Spanish squadron under Lope de Hoces, who survived but was killed at the Battle of the Downs in 1639.
The Soleil Royal was a First Rank ship of the line of the French Royal Navy.
Hubert de Brienne, Comte de Conflans was a French naval commander.
The Ministry of the Navy was a section of the French government – apart from the Ministry of War – that was in charge of the French navy and colonies.
The Naval battle of Barcelona was a naval engagement of the Franco-Habsburg War fought off Barcelona from 29 June to 3 July 1642 between a Spanish fleet commanded by Juan Alonso Idiáquez, Duke of Ciudad Real, and a French fleet under Jean Armand de Maillé-Brézé, Duc de Fronsac. In a three-day battle, Brézé defeated the Spanish fleet, which was attempting to relieve some Spanish garrisons isolated along the Catalan coast, and forced the Duke of Ciudad Real to retreat to Majorca for repairs. As usual in most of the battles involving Maillé-Brézé, the French fleet made an extensive use of her fireships. This time, however, a large French vice-flagship, the Galion de Guise, fell victim to one of his own fireships and went down enveloped in flames. The victory, in any case, was for the French fleet, and its main long-term effect was the fall of Perpignan into the hands of the Franco-Catalan army.
The Levant Fleet was the designation under the Ancien Regime for the naval vessels of the Royal French Navy in the Mediterranean. The fleet carried out operations such as asserting naval supremacy and protecting convoys. Its counterpart was the Flotte du Ponant, which saw service in the English Channel and in the Atlantic Ocean.
The French ironclad Provence was the lead ship of her class of 10 armored frigates built for the French Navy during the 1860s. Commissioned in 1865, she spent the bulk of her career with the Mediterranean Squadron, often serving as a flagship. The ironclad played a minor role in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871, blockading the North Sea coast of Prussia. Provence was decommissioned after the war, but was reactivated in late 1875.
The Régiment de Royal Marine was an infantry regiment of the Kingdom of France, established in 1669. The regiment was directly involved in the Day of the Tiles, which took place in Grenoble on June 7, 1788. The last unit of the regiment was incorporated into the 23 demi-brigade on March 21, 1797 and the regiment ceased to exist.
Intrépide was a 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy. She was of three ships of the Monarque class, all launched in 1747, the others being Monarque and Sceptre.
Lieutenant général des armées navales was a naval rank in the French Navy during the ancien Régime and until the French Revolution.
The Council of the Navy was a special council within the polysynody, system of government established by Regent Philippe d'Orléans during the Regency from 1715 to 1718. The polysynody allowed the high nobility to participate in political decisions by serving on seven councils that assisted the Regency Council.
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