Raid on Cherbourg
Part ofSeven Years' War
Raid in Cherbourg 1758
Date 7–16 August 1758 Location Cherbourg,France 49°38′33″N1°37′31″W / 49.6425°N 1.6253°W /49.6425; -1.6253 Result British victory
Belligerents
Great Britain	France
Commanders and leaders
Thomas Bligh Richard Howe	Unknown
Strength
Unknown	3,000
Casualties and losses
Light casualties	Light casualties

TheRaid on Cherbourg took place in August 1758 during theSeven Years' War when aBritish force was landed on the coast ofFrance by theRoyal Navy with the intention of attacking the town ofCherbourg as part of the British government's policy of "descents" on the French coasts.

Since 1757, the policy of the British government to use their naval superiority to launch raids against the French coast, to act as a diversion - drawing French forces and resources away from Germany where Britain's alliesPrussia,Hanover andBrunswick were under severe pressure. In Autumn 1757, a Britishexpedition to Rochefort had captured an offshore island, but not made an effort to capture the town. In 1758, theDuke of Brunswick asked the British to put this policy into action as his Allied force was being pushed back. A large naval and military force was assembled in southern England under the direction ofGeorge Anson, theFirst Lord of the Admiralty. In June 1758, the British had launched aRaid on St Malo. Following the perceived success of this, a further raid was planned, and it was announced thatPrince Edward, the younger brother of thePrince of Wales would accompany the expedition.

The British forces were under the command of Lieutenant GeneralThomas Bligh with the offshore naval contingent commanded byRichard Howe.^[1] They cruised along the coast ofNormandy threatening a number of ports, before arriving outsideCherbourg on 7 August. The conditions were favourable and they were able to make a successful landing atUrville-Nacqueville beach. Once ashore they brushed aside the small French force defending Cherbourg, and stormed it, capturing the town. They set about destroying the fortifications and port. On 16 August, the British left Cherbourg and re-embarked having stayed exactly a week.^[2]

News of the expedition boosted morale in Britain. The newspapers observed that it was the first successful landing of any significant size since theHundred Years War.^[3] The scheme had been a favourite project ofWilliam Pitt and he was insistent that further raids be launched on the French coast. In September 1758, Bligh tried to captureSt Malo, but the weather allowed him to land only part of his force, who were quickly confronted by a superior French force. Bligh tried to withdraw to his ships, which he eventually did, after suffering heavy casualties at theBattle of Saint Cast. This brought an end to the policy of "descents", as the British committed more troops to fight in Germany rather than risk another failed raid.^[4]

Despite this, the raids had been a success as they had weakened French morale and convinced them that even parts ofMetropolitan France were vulnerable to British naval power. In response, Franceplanned a major invasion of Britain, designed to knock them out of the war, but it had to be abandoned owing to naval defeats.

• Naval Descents

• Anderson, Fred.Crucible of War: The Seven Years' War and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754-1766. Faber and Faber, 2001
• Middleton, Richard.The Bells of Victory: The Pitt-Newcastle Ministry and the Conduct of the Seven Years' War, 1757-1762. Cambridge University Press, 1985.
• Rodger, N. A. M.The Command of the Ocean: A Naval History of Britain, 1649-1815. Penguin Books, 2006.
• Simms, Brendan.Three Victories and a Defeat: The Rise and Fall of the First British Empire. Penguin Books (2008)

• Conflicts in 1758
• 1758 in France
• 1758 in Great Britain
• Military raids
• Landing operations
• Military history of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin
• Naval battles of the Seven Years' War involving Great Britain
• Naval battles of the Seven Years' War involving France
• Amphibious operations involving the Great Britain

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