French ship Orient (1791) the Armée d'Égypte, notably General Bonaparte. The fleet avoided the British blockade and captured Malta before landing troops in Egypt. Afterwards, the squadron anchored in a bay east of Alexandria, in a purportedly strong defensive position. The British 's squadron under the command of Nelson discovered the fleet on 1 August, and Nelson attacked the next day, starting the Battle of the Nile. Nelson had his units sail between the shore and the French ships at anchor, picking them one by one in a cross-fire. "Orient" eventually came under fire from five ships, caught fire and exploded spectacularly at 22:30.
Action of 13 August 1780 Action of 13 August 1780 The Action of 13 August 1780 was a minor naval battle fought off the Old Head of Kinsale (County Cork, Ireland) in which the 64-gun French "private man of war" (privateer) "Comte d'Artois" fought two British Royal Navy ships, "Bienfaisant" and "Charon", during the American Revolutionary War. After Royal Navy admiral George Rodney successfully brought relief to the defenders of Gibraltar, capturing a Spanish convoy off Cape Finisterre and eight days later winning the Battle of Cape St. Vincent, his fleet returned to Britain in March 1780. One of the ships of his fleet, HMS