French capture of two British blockading ships at Syracuse allowed a trapped French merchant fleet to escape to Marseille during the War of the Spanish Succession.
Key Facts
- Date
- 9 November 1710
- French fleet size
- 4 ships
- British ships captured
- 2 (Falcon and Pembroke)
- French commander
- Jacques Cassard
- British base for resupply
- Port Mahon
- Destination of merchant fleet
- Marseille
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
During the War of the Spanish Succession, a heavily laden French merchant fleet became blockaded in the harbour of Syracuse by a British naval force. France dispatched a relief squadron of four ships under Jacques Cassard to break the blockade and free the stranded merchantmen.
Cassard arrived off Syracuse to find that most of the British blockading fleet had departed to resupply at Port Mahon, leaving only two vessels, Falcon and Pembroke, on station. His four-ship squadron engaged and captured both ships, neutralising the remaining blockade.
With the British blockade broken, Cassard successfully escorted the French merchant fleet out of Syracuse harbour and safely to Marseille, preserving the cargo and the merchant vessels that had been trapped there.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Jacques Cassard.
Side B
1 belligerent