 The manpower problem was compounded by the supply crisis which was affecting the entire nation , with the fleet going unpaid and largely unfed for months at times . In August 1793 , these problems came to a head in the fleet off Brest , when a lack of provisions resulted in a mutiny among the regular sailors . The crews overruled their officers and brought their ships into harbour in search of food , leaving the French coast undefended . The National Convention responded instantly by executing a swathe of senior officers and ship 's non @-@ commissioned officers . Hundreds more officers and sailors were imprisoned , banished or dismissed from naval service . The effect of this purge was devastating , seriously degrading the fighting ability of the fleet by removing at a stroke many of its most capable personnel . In their places were promoted junior officers , merchant captains and even civilians who expressed sufficient revolutionary zeal , although few of them knew how to fight or control a battle fleet at sea . 
