In ancient times, and right up to the birth of France , there used to be some maritime trade activity going on around the Gaul coast, and some warfare as well. In those days, the major naval powers were the Greek navy, which had hundreds of warships, notably triremes, followed by the Roman navy, with its galleys, grouped into several squadrons, one of which was based at Frejus and another at Armorica . The inhabitants of Veneti – now Vannetais – who used to dwell on this land used to be bold sailors and proud warriors who on several occasions held the Roman army in check, thanks to their big solid sailboats in which they escaped through the sea whenever they realized that they were being overpowered. They were conquered by the Roman army in 56 B.C. and Caesar unleashed his wrath on those of them who survived.

From Vikings’ Drakkars to William the Conqueror’s Ships

A few centuries later, Normandy was repeatedly invaded by Vikings in drakkars from Norway . They used to sail through the Seine up to Paris , carrying out several acts of looting and ransacking. This barbaric state of affairs lasted until 911 when the Treaty of Saint-Clair sur Epte was signed between the Viking leader, Rollon, and King Charles the Simple. It was only then that Normandy , which had become a Viking sanctuary, regained peace and became very prosperous; the drakkars’ attacks shifted further south...

In 1066, William the Conqueror landed in Sussex within the framework of an operation that saw the participation of 1400 ships, which transported over 6000 soldiers and horses. However, it was only in the XIII century that the kingdom of France , which hitherto had no access to the sea, succeeded to expand its territory to the Norman and Atlantic coasts, and later on to Narbonne , along the Mediterranean shores, in the XIV century.

French Navy Became World’s No 1 Naval Power

At that time, France had no war fleet and during the 100 Years War, the few ships the king of France had were defeated in 1340 in the Ecluse battle. It wasn’t until the beginning of the XVII that France could boast of naval might capable of measuring up against the English, Spanish and Dutch fleets, thanks to Richelieu, who created and developed several ports, like Brest , Toulon and Le Havre , and also to the foresight of Colbert, a minister under Louis XIV. From then on, several major naval battles took place, notably at Bévéziers, Barfleur, Cherbourg , and Lagos . Between 1675 and 1690, the French navy was considered as the most powerful in the world. At the end of the XVII century came the war of privateers, led by renowned privateers like Jean-Bart and Duguay-Trouin.

Détroit des Dardanelles - Attaque du 4 juin 1915
Section de mitrailleuses à bord d'un dragueur de mines
Musée de l'Armée - Paris

At the beginning of the XVIII century, after the death of Louis XIV, the navy became so debilitated due to financial and political considerations primacy. In addition, people were reluctant to serve as volunteers and the recruitment of sailors, topmen, onboard soldiers and gunners became difficult. It was only after several decades, during the reigns of Louis XV and Louis XVI, that, thanks to the action of great ministers like Choiseul Castries and Sartine, the French navy regained its strength and was able to score major victories, with admirals like d'Orvilliers, d'Estaing, Lamotte-Piquet, Suffren and De Grasse, against the British navy during the American War of Independence, 1778 - 1783, and also in the Indian Ocean, with Duperré, Ganteaume and Willaumez.

The Aboukir Defeat, the Trafalgar Disaster

A few years later, the 1789 French Revolution triggered off a huge wave of emigration amongst noble officers, and also brought about the creation of an excessively liberal discipline code. This significantly undermined the strength of the war navy such that in 1798 the French fleet suffered a defeat at Aboukir, and later on, in 1805, was humiliated at Trafalgar by brilliant Admiral Nelson. This gloomy period experienced by the first Empire rather encouraged privateers, like the famous Robert Surcouf, to resurface. As from 1808, Guard and Navy artillery sailors were sent by Emperor Napoleon to serve in all land companies, and their brilliant performances at battlefronts distinguished them.

During the XIX century, the French Navy was engaged in several campaigns where it took part in fighting:  Spain (1823), Greece (1827) with the brilliant victory of Admiral de Rigny at Navarin , Algeria (1830) with the landing led by Admiral Duperré, Portugal (1831), and Mexico (1838). The reign of Emperor Napoleon III heralded in the era of metal vessels, notably battleships, which were used during the Crimean, Chinese, and Mexican wars. The 1870-1871 War did not warrant the use of naval forces. Nevertheless, during colonial campaigns in the Far East, Africa and the Indian Ocean , these forces justified their raison d’être.

The World Wars

During the First World War, the French war navy was called upon to serve with the 2 nd light squadron of Admiral Rouyer in the Channel, the naval army of Admiral Boué de Lapeyrère in the Mediterranean and that of Admiral Guépratte in the Dardanelles, as well as in the Suez Canal .
At the beginning of the Second World War, the French war navy was at its best, warranting its participation in the Norway and Dunkirk operations, and in the execution of blockade and escort missions, notably in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean . But in July 1940, tragedy struck at the port of Mers el Kébir when several French war vessels, battleships, torpedo boats, anti-torpedo boats and submarines were caught in a trap and some 1300 French sailors perished under British shells and bombs.

The Richelieu Battleship

Despite the losses, the Free French naval forces continued to fight alongside the Allies and, in November 1942, when the Germans invaded the free zone, the Toulon squadron scuttled its own ships. The Free French Fleet only returned to the area in September 1944, after having taken part in a good number of battles against enemy forces, in all the oceans.

As from 1946, the French war fleet does no longer participate in major naval battles as used to be the case before. Combined military operations now mobilize land, air and naval resources with new objectives. With the advent of nuclear weapons and missiles, and the changing nature and dimension of warfare, the mission of surface battleships is now different. They are used in the sea and other waters to backup air and land actions. That is the role they played during the Korean, Indochina , and Algerian wars.

Given that they can be brought as close as possible to fighting grounds, surface ships also serve as proximity command and logistic bases. This was the case during the War in Iraq and Afghanistan , and continues to be the case in conflict-prone regions of the world where several other Overseas Operations (OPEX) are ongoing.

LHG