Active 1669 – 1792 Branch Royal French Navy | Country Kingdom of France Type Fleet | |
 | ||
Role Naval operations in Manche, the Atlantic and American Oceanic Waters Garrison/HQ Arsenal of Brest, Le Havre, Rochefort, Lorient, Cherbourg and Brouage | ||
The term Flotte du Ponant designated under the Ancien Regime the ensemble of naval vessels of the Royal French Navy (French: Marine royale française) destined for naval operations ( naval supremacy, protection of convoys) in the Manche (French: La Manche), the Atlantic and Americas ( principally in the French West Indies and New France). The fleet is the alter ego of the Levant Fleet, based in the Mediterranean.
Contents
Arsenals
The Flotte du Ponant was created by Cardinal Richelieu. The fleet consisted of three principal bases: Le Havre, Arsenal of Brest and Hiers-Brouage.
Under Louis XIV, the arsenal of Brest was the principal confirmed arsenal, supported by the arsenals of Rochefort and Lorient.
Under Louis XVI, the military port of Cherbourg is added, which structures were recently being commissioned when the French Revolution debuted.
Admirals Vessels
The admiral vessel (French: navire amiral) was always the most powerful unit present at Brest, being:
Vice-admirals
The commandment of the two fleets ( Ponant and Levant) was entrusted on November 12, 1669 to two Vice-admirals. The vice-admirals of the Ponant were :
In case d'Estrées commanded the fleet during the battles of the reign of Louis XIV, his successors would have hardly served at sea with such a senior age. The squadrons were confined during the 18th century to the Lieutenant Generals of the Naval Armies (French: lieutenants généraux des armées navales).
The rank lieutenant-general of the armies (French: Lieutenant-général des armées) or Lieutenant-general of the naval armies (French: lieutenant-général des armées navales) for la Marine, was the highest rank in the military hierarchy of the Ancien Regime, only accessible to nobility. He was only surpassed by the Marshals of France, the colonel generals (French: Colonel general), for the Army, the Admirals of France and vice-admirals of France, for la Marine, titled not of a military rank but of a grand office of the French crown (French: grand office de la couronne de France), a dignity both honorific and lucrative. The rank of lieutenant general was the equivalent of the actual rank of division general and that of lieutenant-general of naval armies of the Vice-admiral of France.
The ranks of lieutenant-general of the armies were renamed as division general and vice-admiral in 1791. In 1814, the rank of division general was designated again as lieutenant general of the armies, before definitely being attributed the rank of general in 1848.
Administration of La Marine (the Navy)
The navy (La Marine) (French: Administration de la Marine royale française) appeared in the attributions of the Secretary of the State in 1626, the same year where Cardinal Richelieu was designated as grand master of navigation. The two fleets were united in 1642, then dissociated in 1661. The two naval fleets were attributed to Colbert since 1662, while the intendant of finance and state minister, then secretary of State in 1669. There was then a secretary of state in charge of the navy until the French Revolution.
The state secretary of the navy (French: secrétaire d'État à la Marine) was the administrative responsible for the French naval military ( the French royal naval fleet ) and the civilian naval component ( commercial trade fleet ). Accordingly, the secretary housed in his department, both naval war fleets and commercial fleets, the arsenals (French: arsenaux), the consulats (French: consulats), the colonies (French: colonies) and the French East India Company (French: compagnies de commerce).
At the base origin of the two bureaux, bureau of Ponant and bureau of Levant, other services were also progressively added:
These different bureaux and depots were regrouped in four grand directorates by marshal Charles Eugène Gabriel de La Croix (French: de Castries) in 1786.
During the French Revolution, the flotte du Ponant was re-baptized « escadre de l'Atlantique » ( Atlantic Squadron ) then « flotte de l'Océan » (Ocean Fleet).