As the two battle lines approached one another, the French looked to have an advantage with larger ships and the wind at their backs. Suddenly though, the wind made an unpredictable shift and the British found themselves with the wind gauge. Now the size and slower speed of the French ships became a distinct disadvantage.
It became clear that the British intended to cut around behind the French line of battle so all that was left for the French was to determine when they would make their turn into the wind.
The Captain of the French frigate, La Madelaine, had the notion to attempt to sail to the rear of the line to give some cover to the last ship in the line, le Terrible.
At extreme range, the French enjoy mild successes. Their strategy throughout the fight would be to aim for the British masts and endeavour to remain at range, never getting so close that the British could grapple.
The British make their turn and the French make theirs but it is clear that Le Terrible cannot long endure the attention of the British guns. She sacrifices herself to allow the rest of the squadron to get better positioning and indeed, they start to gain the wind advantage and maintain their range. La Madelaine suffers fire from Warspite and , losing a mast to the single cannonball that hit her, she is obliged to withdraw from the combat.
La Terrible is lost but she was a mighty ship and tied up the British long enough to now put the French in the ideal position. The British fleet grinds to a halt, unable to advance against the wind and the French 74 gun ships are set up to concentrate fire soon upon the near demasted British flagship.
Moments later, the Formidable and Glorieux would both catch fire. The 120 cannon Formidable would explode brilliantly and the Glorieux would, raked by the York, lose all of her guns. It is a certain British victory.
