History of the French navy

The French Navy , as of its origins at the 13th century, was always confronted with three major difficulties:

the existence of two maritime frontages, and thus need for maintaining two fleets and for sharing the means between the the Mediterranean and the Atlantic ;
the political feeling that the fate of France was played on its borders of the east and the continent of Europe, and thus a priority given to the terrestrial forces;
a certain deficiency of the French administration which did not always see the importance of the maritime Puissance, nor understood that a navy required a long-term effort, from where a succession of brilliant times, disasters and starts.

One can distinguish, indeed, in the history of the French navy , four great periods:

the constitution of a first navy of State, under the reign of Louis XIII, thanks to the effective administration of Richelieu , followed ruin of this one because of the disorders of the Sling;
one particularly brilliant period under the reign of Louis XIV, grace in particular to the efforts of Colbert . This policy is not continued during the Régence and the first part of the reign of Louis XV. This defect of continuity leads to the disasters of the Guerre Seven Year old and to the loss of the first French colonial empire;
a rebirth, carried out by Choiseul, whose effort leads under Louis XVI to the triumph of the French navy on the British navy, during the war of Independence of the United States. This start is of short duration and the navy is ruined during the Révolution and the Empire. Great Britain acquires naval supremacy for more than one century;
then, it is only, under Napoleon III and during the period 1925-1939, that the French governments worry to develop a powerful fleet. This one, following the defeat of 1940, is forced with the Sabordage, in 1942, in Toulon, without same to have fought.

France did not have many reasons to be ashamed of its navy of war. The French navy, rightly, can have some reason to be ashamed of France. (H.E. Jenkins)

Origins

It is only into 1203 that the royal field reaches a maritime shore, with the confiscation of Normandy by Philippe-Auguste, then shortly after with acquisitions of Poitou, Aunis and Saintonge, as well as duchy of Narbonne. The navy of war is not then permanent and the kings of France use armed trading vessels and also often call upon the vessels of the republics of Embarrassment and Venice, like holy Louis for his departure in crusade. On this occasion, holy Louis names the first Admiral de France, Florent of Varennes.

During the War One hundred Year old, an important heteroclite fleet, gathered on the coast of Zealand is beaten by the English with the Bataille of the Lock (1340). Charles V reinforces his naval means, which makes it possible Jean of Vienna to take again Cherbourg with the English. The general weakening caused by war the One hundred Year old does not make it possible to continue this effort.

The loss of the political independence of Brittany (1491) makes it possible the French fleet to have the powerful Breton fleet like allied. The arsenal of Brest, bases Breton fleet, from now on is controlled by the French navy. The episode of Cordelière is the principal feat of arms of the Breton fleet at the beginning of the 15th century within the framework of a Franco-Anglaise war.

To resist Charles Quint, François I {{er}} calls upon the corsair gênois Andrea Doria and with Turkish Barberousse.

Marine of Richelieu

The activities of the Huguenot S of La Rochelle convince Richelieu to equip France with a naval true policy. It creates the royal Navy in 1624 .jhp

Marine of Colbert

See this study

Marine of Louis XVI

The king equips the army with a navy which competes for the first time of the History with that of England, in particular at the time of the Guerre of independence of the United States where it helps the insurrectionists militarily.

Marine of the Revolution and the Empire

Marine of the Second Empire and IIIe Republic

The plan 1905 of the National marine envisaged an ambitious program which would have possibly produced, in the 1920,38 battleships, 20 cruiser-battleships, 279 escort ships and destroyers and 131 submarines but the First World War stopped that Ci.

The second world war

The National marine at July 1st 1939 had one of the most beautiful fleets of its history.

It was then composed of 176 warships of a total tonnage of 554 422 tons. The majority of its ships were modern but it had only of one aircraft carrier and a transport of seaplanes and had lacks as regards anti-aircraft Lutte.

Quasi intact exit of the defeat of 1940, it undergoes serious losses at the time of the Opération Catapult, attacks of the British navy against the French fleet, in particular at the time of the Bataille of Seas el Kébir.

Other losses were undergone in November 1942 at the time of the attempt by Vichyist France to stop the Opération Torch.

With Toulon, the November 27th 1942, the French Navy orders the Sabordage of 90 war buildings so that they do not fall to the hands from the occupant Nazi.

On the whole, 98 ships (of which 5 of the free French Naval forces) were lost during this conflict.

In 1945, its manpower is of 4 200 officers, 74 000 officers marines and sailors and it has a hundred French units and 140 light buildings yielded by the Allies, is a tonnage of 350 000 tons, half only its power of 1939 with the majority of the linerships out of combat.

Wars of decolonization

Navy in Indo-China

Navy in Algeria

The cold war

XXIe Century

The navy launches out in a vast program of renewal of its fleet, opposed by the difficultées budgetary ones. One of its waitings is the startup of a second Porte-avions to supplement the Charles-of-Gaulle, the program with for provisional name Pa 2.

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