64 Sentences With "raking fire" | Random Sentence Generator

Poursuivante firing raking fire on the British ship of the line HMS Hercule in the action of 28 June 1803. Robert Dodd. British frigate HMS Penelope raking the French ship of the line Guillaume Tell in the action of 30 March 1800. In sailing naval warfare, raking fire is fire directed parallel to the long axis of an enemy ship from ahead or astern.

It was six inches thick amidships, but reduced to at the ship's ends. It extended above the waterline and below.Wright, p. 124 Transverse bulkheads thick protected the guns in the battery from raking fire.

"Ranger casualties on the beach totalled about 15, most of them from the raking fire to their left".US Army Small Unit After Action Report for Pointe du Hoc 1944. The force also found that their radios were ineffective.Beevor, p.

It was six inches thick amidships, but reduced to at the ship's ends. It extended above the waterline and below. Transverse bulkheads thick protected the guns in the battery from raking fire. The sponsons of the 8-inch guns were equally thick.

Gardiner, p. 190 Gromobois casemates were thick, with two-inch backs and roofs. The two-inch thick transverse bulkhead fore and aft protected them from raking fire. The armour deck was 1.5 inches thick on the flat and thick where it sloped down to meet the belt.

A shot from Glasgow early in the action broke the lines to Alfred tiller, causing her to lose steering and exposing her to raking fire. Her drift also made it difficult for Biddle's Andrew Doria to join the action, because the ship also had to maneuver to avoid the drifting Cabot.

At 10:30 the chase was abandoned and Middleton returned to the isolated and battered Minerve.Clowes, p.493 Although he was now alone with no hope of escape, Perrée had not struck his colours. Middleton was however able to bring Lowestoffe close to Perrée's stern and resume his raking fire.

Enfilade fire—gunfire directed against an enfiladed formation or position—is also commonly known as "flanking fire". Raking fire is the equivalent term in naval warfare. Strafing, firing on targets from a flying platform, is often done with enfilade fire. It is a very advantageous, and much sought for, position for the attacking force.

The Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805: beginning of the action by Thomas Buttersworth (oil on canvas). The ship in the right foreground is the Bucentaure in starboard-bow view, with her mizzen mast and main topgallant mast shot away. In port-bow view and passing astern of her is Neptune, delivering raking fire.

Both Captain Semmes and Captain Winslow attempted to cross each other's bow, hoping to inflict heavy raking fire. The battle continued in this manner for several minutes; in the meantime, on the French coast, hundreds watched the battle. Kearsarges armor cladding sustained two hits during the engagement. The first shell, a 32-pounder, struck within the starboard gangway.

Lyell > assumed command and led his unit in an assault on strongly fortified enemy > positions located on commanding terrain. When his platoon came under > vicious, raking fire which halted the forward movement, Cpl. Lyell seized a > 57mm. recoilless rifle and unhesitatingly moved ahead to a suitable firing > position from which he delivered deadly accurate fire completely destroying > an enemy bunker, killing its occupants.

Gravely injured, he was carried below and command of the frigate passed to Lieutenant George Wickens Willes. A light breeze subsequently enabled Spartan to get under way and pour fire into Cerere's starboard quarter and launch a devastating raking fire into Fama's stern.Woodman p. 166. Spartan then fired a broadside into Sparviero which compelled her to haul down her colours and surrender.

James, p. 169 To support the centre, Captain Thompson of Leander abandoned the futile efforts to drag the stranded Culloden off the shoal and sailed down the embattled French line, entering the gap created by the drifting Peuple Souverain and opening a fierce raking fire on Franklin and Orient.Clowes, p. 364 A 1799 depiction of the Battle of the Nile by Thomas Whitcombe.

The armour covered the middle of the ship and extended above the waterline and below it. The guns on the main deck were protected from raking fire by 4.5-inch transverse bulkheads. The ends of the ship were unprotected, but were subdivided into watertight compartments to minimise flooding. The lack of armour at the stern meant that the steering gear and rudder were vulnerable.

Right elevation of HMS Defence from Brassey's Naval Annual 1888; the shaded area shows the ship's armour The Defence-class ships had a wrought iron armour belt, thick, that covered amidships. The armour extended from upper deck level to below the waterline. Transverse bulkheads 4.5 inches thick protected the guns on the main deck from raking fire. The armour was backed by of teak.

Bellerophon was hit several times, a shot smashing her wheel, and another setting her on fire. Paulet continued to stand in to the attack, until his ship was hit by raking fire. Her launch was hit and sunk, and she again caught fire. After signalling for assistance came to her aid, and Bellerophon was towed out of the line, on fire and with four of her crew dead and 15 wounded.

In the action Milbrook had ten of her carronades dismounted, and had 12 men (out of a crew of 47) wounded. At one point Milbrook had only three carronades firing as she used her sweeps to change her position and had to endure the raking fire from her opponent for 15 minutes. Milbrook was so damaged that she had to be towed into the Tagus.Naval Chronicle, Vol. 4, pp. 523–4.

The battery was present but not engaged in the Battle of Resaca on 13 May. During the Battle of Adairsville the unit shelled the enemy at 5:00 pm on 17 May. At 6:00 pm on 18 May its raking fire helped disperse Confederate formations. On 22 May, General Howard appointed Captain Bridges the acting chief-of-artillery for IV Corps and Lieutenant Temple assumed command of Bridges' Battery.

The Hector-class ships had a wrought iron waterline armour belt, thick, that covered amidships and left the bow and stern unprotected. To protect against raking fire the belt was closed off by 4.5-inch transverse bulkheads at each end at lower deck level. The armour extended to below the waterline. The main deck was protected by a strake of armour that ran the full length of the ship.

From the bottom of this bulkhead, a 3 in thick armoured deck extended to the bow, at a level 10 ft below the waterline. The space above this forward armoured deck was filled with coal bunkers and stores to limit any flooding.Parkes, p.236–7 The 9-inch guns were unarmoured (though the armoured bulkhead did protect them against raking fire from ahead) and would have been very exposed in combat.

The Warrior-class ships had a waterline armour belt of Krupp cemented armour that covered of the hull amidships. It covered the side of the ship up to the upper deck, a height of above the waterline and reached below it. Between the central citadel and the bow, the belt armour was thick and it extended to the stern with a thickness of . Transverse bulkheads six inches thick protected the citadel from raking fire.

The rest of the British gunboats apparently held back from action, and their commander later deserted. After about an hour, Eagle had the springs to one of her anchor cables shot away, and was unable to bear to reply to Linnets raking fire. Eagles commander cut the remaining anchor cable and allowed the brig to drift down towards the tail of the line, before anchoring again astern of Saratoga and engaging Confiance, but allowing Linnet to rake Saratoga.Roosevelt, pp.

Citation: :Served on board the U.S.S. Fort Hindman during the engagement near Harrisonburg, La., 2 March 1864. Following a shellburst which mortally wounded the first sponger, who dropped the sponge out of the forecastle port, Molloy jumped out of the port to the forecastle, recovered the sponge and sponged and loaded the gun for the remainder of the action from his exposed position, despite the extreme danger to his person from the raking fire of enemy musketry.

Selma is captured by Metacomet At the crucial Battle of Mobile Bay, the largest naval engagement of the Civil War on August 5, 1864, Selma, captained by Lt. Peter Umstead "Capt. Pat" Murphey, was one of three small Confederate gunboats present. She particularly annoyed Rear Admiral David Farragut, USN by a steady, raking fire as she stood off 's bow. After passing the forts, Farragut ordered gunboat , captained by James Jouett, cast loose from Hartford to pursue Selma.

The Duke of Edinburgh-class ships had a waterline armour belt of Krupp cemented armour that covered of the hull amidships. It covered the side of the ship up to the upper deck, a height of above the waterline and reached below it. Between the central citadel and the bow, the belt armour was thick and it extended to the stern with a thickness of . Transverse bulkheads six inches thick protected the citadel from raking fire.

The turret armour was 12 inches thick on the face, on the side and in the rear. The turret roofs were 3 inches thick at the front and 2 inches at the rear. The casemates for the secondary armament were protected by 6 inches of armour and were defended from raking fire by 6-inch-thick bulkheads. The main conning tower was protected by 12 inches of armour on its sides and it had a 4-inch roof.

From this position the French were able to unleash a destructive raking fire, Clorinde concentrating on Phoebe and Renommée on Galatea. The rearmost ship, Néréide, was unable to manoeuvre successfully in the light winds and remained beyond the effective range of Astraea and Racehorse, despite an ineffectual cannonade in her direction.James, p. 17 Over the next two hours, Néréide advanced on Phoebe, sandwiching the British frigate between two opponents and exposing her to a destructive fire.

Seymour followed his opponent and at 01:45 was again close enough to engage, the frigates firing upon one another from close range for over an hour.James, p. 158 At 02:45, Amethyst was able to pull across the bows of Niémen, inflicting a devastating raking fire on the French ship which caused terrible damage. Niémen surged forward into Amethyst, but the collision caused little damage and at 03:00 Amethyst again raked her opponent, this time from the east.

It was a costly mistake - "As we lowered our arms and were about to rally where the banner floated we were met by a terrible raking fire, against which we could only stagger". Retreating back down the hill they saw Colonel Cameron lying dead in the yard of the Henry House. He had been killed by the Confederates' second volley. The Highlanders eventually retreated from the plateau and sank sullenly behind the brow of the hill to nurse their wounds.

Gilliland, facing the full force of the > assault, poured a steady fire into the foe which stemmed the onslaught. When > 2 enemy soldiers escaped his raking fire and infiltrated the sector, he > leaped from his foxhole, overtook and killed them both with his pistol. > Sustaining a serious head wound in this daring exploit, he refused medical > attention and returned to his emplacement to continue his defense of the > vital defile. His unit was ordered back to new defensive positions but Cpl.

The entire side of Lord Clydes hull, except for the side of the upper deck, was protected by wrought-iron armour that tapered from at the ends to amidships. It extended below the waterline. The forward chase guns on the upper deck were protected by 4.5-inch armour plates on the sides of the hull and a 4.5-inch transverse bulkhead to their rear protected them from raking fire. The armour was backed by of oak and the iron skin of the ship.

The entire side of Lord Wardens hull, except for the side of the upper deck, was protected by wrought-iron armour that tapered from at the ends to amidships. It extended below the waterline. The forward chase guns on the upper deck were protected by 4.5-inch armour plates on the sides of the hull and a 4.5-inch transverse bulkhead to their rear protected them from raking fire. The armour was backed by of oak and the iron skin of the ship.

Closely following Victory as she passed through the Franco-Spanish line across the bows of the French flagship , Harvey was forced to sheer away quickly, just missing Victorys stern. Turning to starboard, Harvey made for the 140-gun Spanish ship Santísima Trinidad and engaged her for twenty minutes, taking raking fire from two French ships, the 80-gun and the 74-gun , as she did so. Redoutables broadside carried away Temeraires mizzen topmast. While avoiding a broadside from Neptune, Temeraire narrowly avoided a collision with Redoutable.

Clowes, p. 484. Within ten minutes the British ship had pulled closer to the former East Indiaman and although Duguay Trouin briefly returned fire, Orpheus was soon positioned across the starboard quarter of the French ship, allowing Newcome to pour raking fire into the Duguay Trouin without reply. By 13:15, Duguay Trouin was a battered wreck, with the hull significantly damaged, the bowsprit shot away and heavy casualties among the crew. With his ship unmanageable and Centurion and Resistance now away and approaching rapidly, the French captain struck his colours and surrendered.

Belliqueuse was designed as a small and cheap ironcladIronclad is the all-encompassing term for armored warships of this period. Armored corvettes were originally designed for the same role as traditional wooden corvettes, but this rapidly changed as the size and expense of these ships caused them to be used as second-class armored ships. suitable for foreign deployments. Her armament and armor was concentrated in the middle of the ship like a central battery ironclad, but unlike those ships she lacked armored transverse bulkheads and was very vulnerable to raking fire.

Astrea reached Etoile at 14:30, exchanging broadsides before raking the starboard bow of Philibert's ship. In the course of the manoeuvre, Astrea's helmsman lost control of the ship, and Philibert seized the opportunity to steer Etoile across the stern of Astrea. Pouring raking fire into the British ship from point blank range, Philibert inflicted severe damage to Astrea's quarterdeck, tearing away fittings and detonating a loaded carronade. Eveleigh desperately pulled his ship back alongside Etoile, but in doing so was struck in the chest and killed by pistol fire from the deck of Etoile.

The American frigate waited to return fire until she'd gained the weather gage. Now having the advantage of the wind, Truxton's opening double-shotted broadside slammed into the port side of La Vengeances hull. Sailing side by side, the two frigates continued to engage each other for two and a half hours while Truxton attempted unsuccessfully to move his ship into a raking fire position. As the French tended to aim for the rigging, at one point Constellations foresails were shot away and the frigate lost her maneuverability until they could be replaced.

After repairing the damage, Collier searched the surrounding area before coming across his opponent on 5 September, sheltering in Mahé Roads. The channel was very narrow, and the wind unfavourable, but Collier managed to warp the Victor into the harbour, and with the aid of her staysails, closed on the French ship. After enduring raking fire for sometime, he was finally able to haul his ship around and the two vessels exchanged broadsides for over two hours. By then the Flèche was observed to be in a sinking condition, and her captain ran her aground.

The British prepare to board ArgusFour minutes after the ships exchanged their first broadsides, Allen lost a leg. His first lieutenant was also badly wounded, and Arguss rigging was badly cut up. Pelican tried to cross Arguss stern to deliver raking fire but Arguss second lieutenant, William Howard Allen (not related to the commanding officer), threw his sails aback to slow the American brig and instead raked Pelican. This did not fatally cripple the British vessel, and the two brigs continued to exchange broadsides, with Pelican now to leeward.

Rank and organization: Sergeant First Class, U.S. Army, Company E, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division Place and date: Near Changbong- ni, Korea, January 2, 1951 Entered service at: Indianola, Iowa. Born: October 7, 1926, Indianola, Iowa G.O. No.: 13, February 1, 1952 Citation: > Sfc. Edwards, Company E, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and > intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action against the enemy. > When his platoon, while assisting in the defense of a strategic hill, was > forced out of its position and came under vicious raking fire from an enemy > machine gun set up on adjacent high ground, Sfc.

Although the boat came under fire, a course was successfully plotted. The next morning Flèche lay ready for action at the mouth of the channel, a revolutionary red flag flying at the mast head and volunteers from the escaped crew of Chiffone helping to man the guns. Collier took Victor across the reef in the face of the French brig, which maintained a constant raking fire into the British ship as it advanced. The process took all day, Victor not reaching the safer waters of the inner road until 21:00 and gradually warping within close range of Flèche during the evening.

By dawn, Penelope had again drawn within range of the larger French vessel, and Blackwood ordered a continued raking fire which brought down Guillaume Tells main and mizzen topmasts. Penelopes sister ships Lion and Foudroyant hove into view shortly afterward, and engaged Guillaume Tell at close range, disabling her rigging and causing damage to her hull. Both British ships were badly damaged by the time Guillaume Tell struck her colours, and it was Penelope that took the French ship in tow and led her as a prize to Syracuse. Penelope lost two killed and two wounded in the battle.

At 00:15 on the morning of 18 September, Vénus caught up with Ceylon, which began firing on the larger French frigate as she passed. Hamelin, recognising that his vessel had the advantage in size and weight of shot, did not wait for Victor but attacked immediately, passing Ceylon and tuning across her bows to open a raking fire. For an hour the frigates exchanged broadsides, until 01:15 when Hamelin, who had realised that he was fighting a warship not a troopship or East Indiaman, dropped back to effect repairs after suffering damage to his rigging.James, p.

The foremast in particular needed work, and it was consequently removed, Guiyesse carefully anchoring Chiffone at the centre of a complex series of coral reefs. The captured schooner and a small ketch were anchored alongside assisting with repairs and Guiyesse had ordered his men to establish a supporting gun battery on the shore, positioned to inflict raking fire on any ship attempting to engage the French frigate. This battery was composed of guns taken from the forecastle of Chiffone, stabilised on wooden planks and protected by fascines. Behind the battery a furnace had been constructed to allow the guns to fire specially heated shot, designed to set fire to attacking ships.

The Allies had a substantial superiority in front-line combat vessels: 10 ships of the line to the Ottomans' three. This advantage was only partially offset by the Ottomans' seven double-deck frigates against one Allied vessel of this kind. The great majority of the Ottoman–Egyptian fleet were smaller vessels – 58 corvettes and brigs – which were of little use against the Allied heavyweights: they had much smaller firepower, and, their decks being lower, could easily be dismasted by raking fire. In addition, the Ottoman–Egyptians mainly deployed smaller-calibre guns than the Allies (often the guns discarded by the Allies when they upgraded their own calibres).

Armour in the Minotaur class was reduced compared to the earlier ships. The upper belt, considered superfluous after the elimination of the main deck casemates, was eliminated as were the transverse bulkheads that connected the waterline belt to the barbettes that protected the ships from raking fire. The waterline armour belt of Krupp cemented armour extended past the fore and aft 7.5-inch gun turrets; its lower edge was about below the waterline at normal load. Forward the armour was up to about from the bow when it was reduced to three inches; aft the belt armour was three inches thick all the way to the stern.

To the surprise of Lacrosse and his officers, Indefatigable did not retreat from the ship of the line, nor did she pass the ship of the line at long-range to leeward as expected. Instead, at 17:30, Pellew closed with the stern of Droits de l'Homme and opened a raking fire. Lacrosse turned to meet the threat and opened fire with the guns on the upper deck accompanied by a heavy volley of musket fire from the soldiers on board. Pellew then attempted to pull ahead of Droits de l'Homme and rake her bow, to which Lacrosse responded by attempting to ram Indefatigable.

As the only ships between the French fleet and the open sea, and being out of contact with the rest of the allied fleet, they decided to use the last of the flood tide to sail through the French fleet and re-join the English line. French contemporary accounts present this as a mistake, as their position placed Tourville in some difficulty, but it is conceivable that if the whole French fleet swept down on them on the ebb, they would be overwhelmed. As it was, the manoeuvre was fraught with difficulty; all their ships were exposed to close raking fire, and were cut up severely.

As Tigrone turned away from the raking fire of the lugger, heavy seas washed over her main deck, knocking three of the submarine's crewmen against the gun and injuring them. Despite intermittent heavy rain, Tigrone finished off the lugger with five- inch (127 mm) fire. The final and telling round caught the lugger dead center, set it afire, and stopped it dead in the water. High seas made boarding a hazardous proposition, so the battered enemy vessel was left to burn, and Tigrone returned to her lifeguard station. Early on the afternoon of 28 May, the submarine rendezvoused with a Navy bomber which had signaled its distress.

Prospetto principale di Palazzo di Caprarola by Giuseppe Vasi, c. 1746–1748 In 1504, Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, the future Pope Paul III, acquired the estate at Caprarola. He had designs made for a fortified castle or rocca by the architects Antonio da Sangallo the Younger and Baldassare Peruzzi.Coffin David, The Villa in the Life of Renaissance Rome, Princeton University Press, 1979: 281-5 Surviving plan drawings by Peruzzi show a pentagonal arrangement with each face of the pentagon canted inwards towards its center, to permit raking fire upon a would-be scaling force, both from the center and from the projecting bastions that advance from each corner angle of the fortress.

The Action of 21 April 1806 was a minor engagement between a French frigate and British forces off South Africa during the Napoleonic Wars. The Île Bonaparte and Île de France constituted French outposts in the Indian Ocean, from which privateers and frigate squadrons could engage in commerce raiding and disrupt British shipping. After encountering a strongly escorted British convoy, the 40-gun Cannonière attempted to flee, but was rejoined by the 74-gun . In the ensuing battle, Captain Bourayne displayed superior sailmanship and managed to fend off his much stronger opponent by a combination of manoeuvers that rendered the batteries of Tremendous ineffective, and threatened her with sustaining raking fire.

Stryker's headstone Stryker's official Medal of Honor citation reads: > He was a platoon runner, when the unit assembled near Wesel, Germany after a > descent east of the Rhine. Attacking along a railroad, Company E reached a > point about 250 yards from a large building used as an enemy headquarters > and manned by a powerful force of Germans with rifles, machineguns, and 4 > field pieces. One platoon made a frontal assault but was pinned down by > intense fire from the house after advancing only 50 yards. So badly stricken > that it could not return the raking fire, the platoon was at the mercy of > German machine gunners when Pfc.

The flags were presented to Gen. Meade, who said: "In the name of the army and the country I thank you for the services you have rendered, particularly for the example you have set and which I doubt not on future occasions will be followed and emulated." In a gallant charge on the enemy's works at Spotsylvania Court House, more than half of the regiment was lost in crossing an open field subject to a raking fire of canister, but it captured the works, and took 2 flags and a large number of prisoners. In addition to the 6 captured flags, the 5th had the record of taking more men prisoners than it carried on its own rolls.

Note that this painting is horizontally reversed; as shown it would mean that the American land forces were on the north side of the Saranac River, but were in fact on the south. Elsewhere along the British line, the sloop Chubb was badly damaged and drifted into the American line, where her commander surrendered. The brig Linnet, commanded by Pring, reached the head of the American line and opened a raking fire against Eagle. At the tail of the line, the sloop Finch failed to reach station and anchor, and although hardly hit at all, Finch drifted aground on Crab Island, and surrendered under fire from the 6-pounder gun of the battery manned by the invalids from Macomb's hospital.

HMS 'Dido' and 'Lowestoft' in action with 'Minerve' and 'Artemise', 24 June 1795 As the crews cut their ships free of the wreckage Minerve and Dido scraped alongside one another, their cannon opening fire once more at point blank range. The greater height of the French ship conferred an unexpected advantage as its higher spars ripped Didos topsails off her masts, allowing Minerve to pull away from the British ship. At this stage Lowestoffe, which had been hitherto prevented from joining the combat by the position of Dido, now arrived off Minerves bow and opened fire from close range. In less than eight minutes this raking fire had brought the foremast and the main and mizen topmasts crashing to the deck, rendering Minerve unable to manoeuvre.

The Imperator Aleksandr II-class battleships were the first all-steel battleships to be built for the Baltic Fleet and were designed to allow Russia to dominate the Baltic Sea by defeating rival ships like the and the German s, both of which were built of wrought iron. They were designed according to the tactical theories of the day which emphasized ramming and incorporated a ram bow. In addition their forecastle deck sloped slightly downwards to allow the main guns to fire at the waterline of the enemy at short range as the ship closed to ram. A full transverse armored bulkhead protected the forward guns from raking fire and no armor was originally provided to protect them from the side.

First Lieutenant Lloyd's official Medal of Honor citation reads: > For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and > beyond the call of duty. On September 14, 1944, Company E, 319th Infantry, > with which 1st Lt. Lloyd was serving as a rifle platoon leader, was assigned > the mission of expelling an estimated enemy force of 200 men from a heavily > fortified position near Pompey, France. As the attack progressed, 1st Lt. > Lloyd's platoon advanced to within 50 yards of the enemy position where they > were caught in a withering machinegun and rifle crossfire which inflicted > heavy casualties and momentarily disorganized the platoon. With complete > disregard for his own safety, 1st Lt. Lloyd leaped to his feet and led his > men on a run into the raking fire, shouting encouragement to them.

On the 28th, the Pamunky River was crossed, a little in advance of the enemy, when works for the defense of the position were hastily thrown up, and on the 30th the command took position on the right of the Pennsylvania Reserves, which were hotly engaged. On June 1, the regiment advanced on the Mechanicsville Road, near Bethesda Church, under a raking fire of artillery, suffering considerable loss, but driving the rebel skirmishers, and throwing up breast-works in the edge of the woods from. which they retreated. After dark a further advance was made through the woods, and to within a stone's throw of the rebel pickets, where entrenching was quietly but diligently prosecuted, and the morning light disclosed to the astonished rebels a strong line of works under their very noses.

In the opening exchanges, both frigates suffered damage to their rigging and sails, Crescent losing the fore topmast and Réunion the fore yard and mizzen topmast. In an effort to break the deadlock, Saumarez suddenly swung his ship onto the opposite tack and, taking advantage of the damage to Dénian's vessel that left it unable to effectively manoeuvre, managed to fire several raking broadsides into Réunions stern. The raking fire inflicted massive damage and casualties on the French ship, and although Dénian continued to resist for some time, his ship was no longer effectively able to respond once Saumarez had crossed his bow. Eventually, with Circe now rapidly approaching with a strengthening of the wind, Dénian accepted that he had no choice but to surrender his vessel after an engagement lasting two hours and ten minutes.

Technological developments in artillery (particularly long-range rifled guns) had made the geography of the position unsuited for a lengthy defense. The line had too little depth, and across the waters of the southern inlet (forming the southern part of the peninsula) modern guns could subject the main defensive line to raking fire along its length. This meant that not only was the position effectively saturated during the approximately two months of bombardment, but also most of the defending crew had to be withdrawn far behind the line because of attrition by the bombardment and lack of effective shelters, and when the assault was finally initiated, the line was consequently undermanned by tired troops. However, the Danes did have one major advantage in that they had more or less unchallenged command of the sea and were able to deploy the modern ironclad Rolf Krake to the scene to support ground forces at Dybbøl with shore bombardments from its turret-mounted eight- inch guns.

Cotton's ship now seemed at serious risk of falling into the midst of the French fleet and being overwhelmed, while Captain Gower's Triumph was also badly damaged by French shot. Seeing the danger his rearguard was in, Cornwallis took decisive action, ordering Cotton to turn away from the French and swinging Royal Sovereign southwards, he led Triumph to Mars's rescue, drawing close alongside and engaging the leading French ships with a series of broadsides from his powerful first rate. The raking fire of Royal Sovereign caused the four French ships closing on Mars to retreat, and gradually the entire French fleet fell back, distant firing continuing until 18:10 when the French fell out of range, although they continued in pursuit of the battered and weakened British squadron. At 18:40, suddenly and for no immediately apparent reason, Villaret ordered his ships to haul their wind and turn back towards the east, breaking off contact.

Larrabee, p. 200 The rest of Admiral Drake's squadron also suffered heavy damage, but the casualties were not as severe as those taken on the first two ships. The angle of approach of the British line also played a role in the damage they sustained; ships in their van were exposed to raking fire when only their bow guns could be brought to bear on the French.Larrabee, p. 201 The French van also took a beating, although it was less severe. Captain de Boades of the Réfléchi was killed in the opening broadside of Admiral Drake's Princessa, and the four ships of the French van were, according to a French observer, "engaged with seven or eight vessels at close quarters." The Diadème, according to a French officer "was utterly unable to keep up the battle, having only four thirty-six-pounders and nine eighteen-pounders fit for use" and was badly shot up; she was rescued by the timely intervention of the Saint-Esprit.

James, p. 354 Keats meanwhile had engaged and defeated Saint Antoine, forcing the wounded Commodore Julien le Ray to surrender following an action that had lasted just half an hour. Casualties on Saint Antoine were heavy, although Superb had just 15 men wounded. The rest of the British squadron, following up in the darkness, mistook Saint Antoine as being still active, and all fired on the ship as they passed, intending to catch the remainder of Moreno's squadron as it sailed northwest along the Spanish coastline.James, p. 128 At 04:00 the Formidable, now under the command of Captain Amable Troude, was seen to the north in Conil Bay near Cape Trafalgar and Saumarez sent Venerable to chase the French ship, Hood accompanied by Thames under Captain Aiskew Hollis. At 05:15, Venerable came within range and a close action soon followed, Hood ordering Hollis to bring his ship close to Troude's stern and open up a raking fire. Formidable had the better of the action however and at 06:45, with casualties mounting, Hood's mainmast collapsed over the side.