"Blake in the Mediterranean, 1654-4" Topic

"While Lord-Protector Cromwell and the Council of State debated whether to form an alliance with France or with Spain, General-at-Sea Robert Blake was sent into the Mediterranean to bolster Cromwell's negotiating strength with a demonstration of English naval power.

Naples, 1654

Blake sailed from Plymouth on 8 October 1654 with a fleet of twenty-four ships. His flagship was the George (60 guns) with John Stoakes as his flag captain. Richard Badiley was vice-admiral in the Andrew (54) and Joseph Jordan was rear-admiral in the Unicorn (54). When Blake set sail in 1654, the English government was leaning towards an alliance with Spain against France. Blake's first objective was to thwart the plans of Cardinal Mazarin to invade the Spanish-held province of Naples, where Mazarin hoped to provoke an insurrection against Spanish rule. The Duke of Guise was preparing a naval and military force at Toulon where he was expecting to be joined by Admiral Nieuchèse with the French fleet from Brest. On 4 November, however, Blake stationed his ships in the Strait of Gibraltar, thus separating the Brest and Toulon divisions — the first use of a strategy that came to be used frequently during subsequent British naval operations against France. Nieuchèse was reluctant to risk a confrontation so sailed only as far as Lisbon and made no attempt to pass through the Strait to join forces with the Duke of Guise…."
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Amicalement
Armand

Interesting. Blake's a bit of a hero of mine.

Yes – and quite the capable commander but, like most in those days, he ran into the same old problem:

How (and often, who) do I engage?

Glad you enjoyed it my friends!. (smile)

Amicalement
Armand