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Order of Battle previously included in main article on Battle of Toulon 1744
The Battle of Toulon, also known as the Battle of Cape Sicié, took place between 21 and 22 February 1744 NS[a] near the French Mediterranean port of Toulon. Although France was not yet at war with Great Britain, ships from their Levant Fleet combined with a Spanish force, which had been trapped in Toulon for two years, to break the blockade imposed by the British Mediterranean Fleet.
The initial engagement on 21 February was largely indecisive and the British continued their pursuit until midday on 22nd before their commander, Admiral Thomas Mathews, called off the chase. With several of his ships in need of repair, he withdrew to Menorca, which meant the Royal Navy temporarily lost control of the waters around Italy and allowed the Spanish to take the offensive against Savoy.
In his report, Mathews blamed his subordinate Richard Lestock for the failure and the issue was hotly debated in Parliament. At the subsequent court-martial, Mathews was held responsible and dismissed from the navy in June 1747, while Lestock's political connections meant he was cleared of all charges. Another seven captains were removed from command for failing to engage the enemy and the investigation led to changes that required individual captains to be far more aggressive.
Franco-Spanish fleet
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4 frigates, 4 fire ships
- ^ Ships of the Royal Navy:The Complete Record of All Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy J. Colledge, Ben Warlow p.17
- Allen, Joseph (1842). "Admirals Mathews and Lestock". United Service Magazine.
- Baugh, Daniel (2004). "Mathews, Thomas (1676–1751)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/18332. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- Dull, Jonathan R (2009). The Age of the Ship of the Line: The British and French Navies, 1650–1815 (Studies in War, Society, and the Military). University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0803219304.
- Schomberg, Isaac (1802). Naval Chronology; or, an Historical Summary of Naval and Maritime Events from the Time of the Romans, to the Treaty of Peace 1802 (2015 ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1139878494.