Battle of Groix

View of the Close of the Action Between the British and French Fleets, off Port L'Orient on 23 June 1795; aquatint by Robert Dodd, from the original by Captain Alexander Becher, RN; published by the engraver 12 June 1812

Date	23 June 1795 (5 messidor an III)
Location	Atlantic Ocean, off the island of Groix, Brittany
Result	British victory

Belligerents

Great Britain

France

Commanders and leaders

Admiral Lord Bridport

Vice-Admiral Villaret de Joyeuse

Strength

14 ships of the line

12 ships of the line

Casualties and losses

31 killed, 113 wounded

3 ships captured
at least 670 casualties

Coordinates: 47°38′21″N 03°35′12″W / 47.63917°N 3.58667°W / 47.63917; -3.58667

The Battle of Groix was a large naval engagement which took place off the island of Groix on the Biscay coast of Brittany on 23 June 1795 (5 messidor an III) during the French Revolutionary Wars. The battle was fought between elements of the British Channel Fleet and the French Atlantic Fleet, which were both cruising in the region on separate missions. The British fleet, commanded by Admiral Lord Bridport was covering an invasion convoy carrying a French Royalist army to invade Quiberon, while the French under Vice-Admiral Villaret de Joyeuse had sailed a week earlier to rescue a French convoy from attack by a British squadron. The French fleet had driven off the British squadron in a battle on 17 June known as Cornwallis's Retreat, and were attempting to return to their base at Brest when Bridport's force of 14 ships of the line appeared on 22 June.

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