Battle of Cape Ortegal

Overview

The Battle of Cape Ortegal was the final action of the Trafalgar campaign, and was fought between a squadron of the Royal Navy and a remnant of the fleet that had been defeated earlier at the Battle of Trafalgar. It took place on 4 November 1805 off Cape Ortegal, in north-west Spain and saw Captain Sir Richard Strachan defeat and capture a French squadron under Counter-admiral Pierre Dumanoir le Pelley. It is sometimes referred to as Strachan's Action.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Battle of Cape Ortegal closed the Trafalgar campaign by eliminating the last organized French naval force that had escaped the earlier engagement. A Royal Navy squadron under Richard Strachan intercepted and captured the French squadron commanded by Pierre le Pelley off the northwest coast of Spain, completing the destruction of the combined fleet. French casualties of 730 against British losses of 111 indicate the scale of the defeat. With this action, no significant remnant of the force defeated at Trafalgar remained at large, consolidating British naval dominance in the Atlantic and removing any prospect of a renewed French challenge at sea in the near term.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (2)