Building Napoleon’s flotillas: an invasion project fraught with difficulties
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29
In 1803, having decided to invade England, First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte commissioned 400 gun brigs ( bateaux canonniers) and 190 gunboats ( chaloupes canonnières). But the French Channel ports were in no state to host so many vessels. How then, did this project take shape? What obstacles hindered construction of the two flotillas? This article analyses the design, development, and eventual failure of this grand construction project, shedding light on why the French plans to invade England were ultimately unsuccessful.
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