Capture of Belle Île

Capture of Belle Île
Part of Seven Years' War
Attack and capture of Belle Isle in 1761 by British forces
Date 7 April – 8 June 1761 Location Belle Île, France Result British victory
Belligerents
Great Britain	France
Commanders and leaders
Studholme Hodgson Augustus Keppel	Gaetan Xavier Guilhem de Pascalis Sainte-Croix
Strength
9,000	3,000

The Capture of Belle Île was a British amphibious expedition to capture the French island of Belle Île off the Brittany coast in 1761, during the Seven Years' War. After an initial British attack was repulsed, a second attempt under General Studholme Hodgson forced a beachhead. A second landing was made, and after a six-week siege the island's main citadel at Le Palais was stormed, consolidating British control of the island. A French relief effort from the nearby mainland was unable to succeed because of British control of the sea. The British occupied the island for two years before returning it in 1763 following the Treaty of Paris.

In 1756 Britain and France had formally gone to war after initial clashes in North America. The French began the war successfully by capturing Minorca a British island in the Mediterranean. After this Britain had gained the initiative at sea and had begun a series of naval incursions on the French coast, such as the Raid on Rochefort (1757) and the Raid on Cherbourg (1758), pioneered by the Southern Secretary William Pitt. While the practical success of these was limited, they caused serious alarm throughout France and forced the French government to detach large numbers of troops to guard coastal areas against further British raids. Pitt suspended the campaign in late 1758 following an unsuccessful landing at Saint Cast, while remaining open to the idea of further operations against the vulnerable French coast.

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