The Siege of Gibraltar was an unsuccessful combined French and Spanish siege of the British-held fortress of Gibraltar from 1779 to 1783 during the American War of Independence. The French and Spanish fleets entered the Bay of Gibraltar in June 1779, while attacks were also made by the land approach with extensive siege works. Admiral Sir George Rodney managed to drive off the combined fleets long enough to permit supply ships to reach the harbour in January 1780, and another major re-supply took place in 1781; from time to time small ships managed to run the blockade, but starvation came very close at various times, although a British sortie in November 1781 partially destroyed the siege works threatening the north. Throughout the siege, there were regular artillery exchanges.
The final Spanish attack took place in September 1782 with an army of 40,000, aided by the combined French and Spanish fleets. The attack was accompanied by an intense artillerybombardment, to which the defenders replied with red-hot shot, damaging many of the warships and floating batteries. Great losses were inflicted on the attacking force and the siege was finally raised on the 6th of February 1783. Research Siege of Gibraltar
Abbreviations
Warfare
Research Siege of Gibraltar