Читать книгу Champions of the Fleet. Captains and men-of-war and days that helped to make the empire онлайн

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Within three-quarters of an hour they were in action, the Dreadnought leading in and attacking the French headmost ship as the squadrons closed. Captain Suckling opened the fight by throwing the Dreadnought right across the bows of the Intrépide, a 74, and much the bigger ship, forcing her to sheer off to port to avoid being raked.

Backed up by the Augusta and the Edinburgh, the Dreadnought was able to overwhelm the French commodore with her fire, and force the crippled Intrépide back on the next ship, the Opiniâtre. That vessel in turn backed into the fourth French ship, and she into another, the Sceptre. The four big ships of the enemy were accounted for. Our three ships seized the opportunity. Well in hand themselves, they pounded away, broadside after broadside, into the hapless Frenchmen, who were too much occupied in trying to disentangle themselves to do more than make a feeble and ineffective reply. By the time that they got clear the British squadron had so far got the upper hand that the French drew off, leaving the British squadron masters of the field. All of our three ships suffered severely, the Dreadnought most of all.