Battle of Trafalgar at Toulon on the Mediterranean coast. Other ports on the French Atlantic coast harboured smaller squadrons. France and Spain were allied, so the Spanish fleet based in Cádiz and Ferrol was also available. The British possessed an experienced and well-trained corps of naval officers. By contrast, some of the best officers in the French navy had either been executed or had left the service during the early part of the French Revolution. Vice-Admiral Pierre-Charles Villeneuve had taken command of the French Mediterranean fleet following the death of Latouche Treville. There had been more competent officers, but they had either been
Free French Naval Forces Free French Naval Forces Les Forces Navales Françaises Libres ("Free French Naval Forces") were the naval arm of the Free French Forces during the Second World War. They were commanded by Admiral Émile Muselier. In the wake of the Armistice and the Appeal of 18 June, Charles de Gaulle founded the Free French Forces ("Forces Françaises Libres", or FFL), including a naval arm, the "Free French Naval Forces" ("Les Forces Navales Françaises Libres", or FNFL). On 24 June 1940, de Gaulle made a separate call specifically to servicemen overseas to join him, and two days later the submarine "Narval" entered