First Battle of Algeciras

First Battle of Algeciras
Part of the French Revolutionary Wars
Algéciras, 6 Juillet 1801 by Alfred Morel-Fatio
Date 6 July 1801 Location Bay of Algeciras Result Franco-Spanish victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom	France Spain
Commanders and leaders
Rear-Admiral Sir James Saumarez	Contre-Admiral Charles Linois
Strength
6 ships of the line	3 French ships of the line and 1 frigate. 14 Spanish gunboats and extensive shore defences
Casualties and losses
121 killed, 240 wounded, 14 missing. HMS Hannibal captured.	161 killed, 324 wounded 11 killed. 5 gunboats sunk.

Coordinates: 36°08′00″N 05°25′45″W / 36.13333°N 5.42917°W / 36.13333; -5.42917

The First Battle of Algeciras was a naval battle fought on 6 July 1801 (17 messidor an IX of the French Republican Calendar) between a squadron of British Royal Navy ships of the line and a smaller French Navy squadron at anchor in the fortified Spanish port of Algeciras in the Strait of Gibraltar. The British outnumbered their opponents, but the French position was protected by Spanish gun batteries and the complicated shoals that obscured the entrance to Algeciras Bay. The French squadron, under Contre-Admiral Charles Linois, had stopped at Algeciras en route to the major Spanish naval base at Cadiz, where they were to form a combined French and Spanish fleet for operations against Britain and its allies in the French Revolutionary Wars. The British, under Rear-Admiral Sir James Saumarez, sought to eliminate the French squadron before it could reach Cadiz and form a force powerful enough to overwhelm Saumarez and launch attacks against British forces in the Mediterranean Sea.

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