Planned French invasion of Britain (1744)

French invasion of Great Britain
Part of War of the Austrian Succession
Date 1744 Location Normandy, the Belgian coast, Southern England and the English Channel Result Cancelled in 1744 following severe gales which wrecked invasion force
Belligerents
Great Britain	France
Commanders and leaders
George Wade Sir John Norris	Maurice de Saxe Comte de Rocquefeuil

A planned invasion of Great Britain was to be undertaken by France in 1744 shortly after the declaration of war between them as part of the War of the Austrian Succession. A large invasion force was prepared and put to sea from Dunkirk in February 1744, only to be partly wrecked and driven back into harbour by violent storms. Deciding that circumstances were not favourable to an invasion, the French government suspended the attempt, and deployed their forces elsewhere.

The failure of the 1744 invasion attempt played a major role in the planning of the next French attempt to invade Britain, in 1759, which also proved unsuccessful.

Britain had been at war with France's ally Spain since 1739, but despite widespread expectations France had not entered the war on Spain's side. Sporadic fighting in the Americas had broken down into a stalemate. A separate war had broken out on continental Europe regarding the Austrian Succession in which Britain and Spain were also on opposite sides and in which France remained initially neutral. It was clear to many in both countries that war between them could not be far off, and the British had been particularly alarmed by extensive fortifications in the French port of Dunkirk.

British and French troops had already fought in Europe at battles such as Dettingen and the two countries were in a state of de facto war by late 1743. In January 1744 the French King Louis XV formally declared war on Britain. His Ministers were convinced that a strong, immediate strike was needed against Britain and began advocating an invasion of the British Isles. British financial subsidies were essential to keeping its continental allies Austria, Hanover and the Dutch Republic afloat. France believed that by invading Britain and knocking them out of the war, they could pave the way to an easy victory over their enemies to the east. Preparations for the invasion had been ongoing for some time before the declaration of war and Minister of the Marine Maurepas had detailed his trusted and highly competent First Commissioner Joseph Pellerin to prepare for it. Many flat-bottomed troop ships were built and provisioned in the northern ports under the Pellerin's direction. The King strongly approved this plan.

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