Battle of Havana (1870)

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Battle of Havana (1870)
Part of the Franco-Prussian War
The Battle of Havana by Christopher Rave
Date 9 November 1870 Location Off Havana, Caribbean Sea Result Indecisive
Belligerents
Germany	France
Commanders and leaders
Eduard von Knorr	Alexandre Franquet
Strength
1 gunboat	1 aviso
Casualties and losses
2 killed 1 wounded 1 gunboat damaged	3 wounded 1 aviso damaged

The Battle of Havana on 9 November 1870 was an indecisive single ship action between the German gunboat Meteor and the French aviso Bouvet off the coast of Havana, Cuba during the Franco-Prussian War. The battle was the only naval engagement of the war, and showed the inability of either navy to gain a decisive advantage over the other.

During the war, most of the French fleet blockaded the German fleet in their harbours, although a few German ships managed to slip out and evade the French, proceeding to engage in commerce raiding against the French merchant marine or harass the French in other ways. The Meteor was one such ship who managed to elude the French blockade, sailing from Nassau to Havana. A French aviso, the Bouvet, noticed her and sailed outside the harbour of Havana. Havana was at the time ruled by Spain, a neutral country in the conflict, and the captain of the Bouvet issued a challenge, which the German captain accepted. The Meteor sailed out of the harbour on the ninth of November, and proceeded to engage the Bouvet. Despite both sides pouring fierce fire, neither side could inflict significant damage on the other ship, and after a German cannon shot temporarily disabled the engine of the Bouvet, the French were compelled to retire, safely withdrawing to neutral waters. Both captains were subsequently promoted for their bravery in the battle.