Battle of Havana (1762)

Siege of Havana
Part of the Anglo-Spanish War (1761–1763)
The British fleet closing in on Havana in 1762. Painting by Dominic Serres
Date 6 June – 13 August 1762 Location Havana, Captaincy General of Cuba Result Decisive British victory Havana occupied until the Treaty of Paris
Belligerents
Great Britain British America	Spain
Commanders and leaders
Earl of Albemarle George Pocock George Augustus Eliott	Admiral Gutierre de Hevia Luis Vicente de Velasco e Isla † Count of Superunda
Strength
12,826 soldiers, 17,000 sailors and marines, 23 ships of the line, 11 frigates, 4 sloops, 3 bomb vessels, 1 cutter, 160 transports	3,870 infantry & cavalry 5,000 sailors & marines 2,800 militia 9 ships of the line
Casualties and losses
2,764 killed, wounded, captured or dead from sickness 3 ships of line lost	3,800 killed or dead from sickness, 2,000 wounded or sick, 5,000 captured 13 ships of the line captured, 3 ships scuttled

Decisive British victory

 Great Britain

The Battle of Havana (1762) was a military action from March to August 1762, as part of the Seven Years' War. British forces besieged and captured the city of Havana, which at the time was an important Spanish naval base in the Caribbean, and dealt a serious blow to the Spanish navy. Havana was subsequently returned to Spain under the 1763 Treaty of Paris that formally ended the war.

Before involving his country in the conflict raging in Europe and across the world, Charles III of Spain made provisions to defend the Spanish colonies against the British navy. For the defence of Cuba, he appointed as commander-in-chief. De Prado arrived at Havana in February 1761 and began work to improve the fortifications of the city.

In June 1761, a flotilla of seven ships of the line under the command of Admiral Gutierre de Hevia arrived at Havana, transporting two regular infantry regiments (España and Aragón) totalling some 1,000 men. However, yellow fever quickly reduced the defending forces, and by the time of the siege, they had been reduced to 3,850 soldiers, 5,000 sailors and marines and 2,800 militia. The main garrison consisted of:

Havana had one of the finest harbours in the West Indies. It could easily accommodate up to 100 ships of the line. A 180 m wide and 800 m long entrance channel gave access to the harbour, and Havana housed important shipyards capable of building first-rate Man-of-war ships.

Two strong fortresses defended the entrance channel; on the north side of the channel stood the very strong Castillo de los Tres Reyes del Morro (known in English as Morro Castle) on the rocky Cavannos Ridge. It had 64 heavy guns and was garrisoned by 700 men. The south side was defended by the Castillo de San Salvador de la Punta. The channel could also be blocked by a boom chain extending from El Morro to La Punta. Havana itself lay on the south side along the channel and was surrounded by a wall 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) long. Havana was considered impregnable, and hadn't been taken since the French pirates in the 16th century.

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Wikipedia