Raids on Boulogne

Raid on Boulogne
Part of the naval operations during the War of the Second Coalition
Nelson fails against the flotilla near Boulogne - 15th of August 1801, by Louis-Philippe Crépin (1772 Paris – 1851)
Date 4 and 15–16 August 1801 Location Boulogne 50°43′35″N 1°36′53″E / 50.7264°N 1.6147°E / 50.7264; 1.6147 Result French victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom	France
Commanders and leaders
Horatio Nelson	Latouche Tréville
Strength
6 ships of the line 7 frigates 11 sloops-of-war 7 bomb vessels 32 brigs large number of gunboats[1]	24 brigs and lugger-rigged flats 1 schooner[2]
Casualties and losses
44 killed 126 wounded 6 gunboats sunk[3] 20 captured [4] 4 deserted[5]	10 killed 30 wounded 2–4 luggers sunk[3]

The raid on Boulogne in 1801 was a failed attempt by elements of the Royal Navy led by Vice Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson to destroy a flotilla of French vessels anchored in the port of Boulogne, a fleet which was thought to be used for the invasion of England, during the French Revolutionary Wars. At dawn on 4 August, Nelson ordered five bomb vessels to move forward and open fire against the French line. Despite the inferior gunpowder of French artillery and the high number of shots fired by the bomb vessels, the British sustained more casualties and withdrew. The night of 16 August Nelson returned and tried to bring off the flotilla, attacking with seventy boats and nearly two thousand men organized into four divisions, but the attack was successfully repelled by the defenders, led by Admiral Latouche Tréville.