Quiberon Bay (, ; ) is an area of sheltered water on the south coast of

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

. The bay is in the

Morbihan The Morbihan ( , ; ) is a departments of France, department in the administrative region of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany, situated in the northwest of France. It is named after the Gulf of Morbihan, Morbihan (''small sea'' in Breton ...

département.

Geography

The bay is roughly triangular in shape, open to the south with the

Gulf of Morbihan The Gulf of Morbihan (, ; ) is a natural harbour on the coast of the departments of France, department of Morbihan in southern Brittany, France. Its English name is taken from the French language, French version, ''le golfe du Morbihan'', t ...

to the north-east and the narrow peninsula of Presqu'île de Quiberon providing protection from the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The islands of Belle-Île, Houat and Hœdic add to the bay's protection. There are many dangerous shoals at the entrance to the bay. File:QuiberonBay2.jpg, Aerial view of the bay File:Baie de Quiberon.png, Satellite image of the bay

History

Quiberon Bay has been the location of several important naval battles.

Battle of Morbihan

The first recorded battle in Quiberon Bay's history was the Battle of Morbihan in 56 BCE, between the Romans, led by

Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus (27 April 81 BC – September 43 BC) was a Ancient Rome, Roman general and politician of the crisis of the Roman Republic, late republican period and one of the leading instigators of Julius Caesar's Assassination ...

, and the local Veneti tribe during the

Gallic Wars The Gallic Wars were waged between 58 and 50 BC by the Roman general Julius Caesar against the peoples of Gaul (present-day France, Belgium, and Switzerland). Gauls, Gallic, Germanic peoples, Germanic, and Celtic Britons, Brittonic trib ...

. The Romans had struggled to overcome the Veneti, who had coastal fortresses that could easily be evacuated by their powerful navy. Eventually, the Romans built galleys and met the Veneti sailing fleet in Quiberon Bay. Despite being outnumbered 220 to 100 by a fleet of heavier ships, the Romans used hooks on long poles to shred the halyards holding up the leather sails of the Veneti, leaving the Veneti fleet dead in the water and easily overcome.

Battle of Quiberon Bay

The Battle of Quiberon Bay, on 20 November 1759, was one of Britain's greatest naval victories over the French. The

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Admiral Sir Edward Hawke with twenty-three

ships of the line A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed during the Age of Sail from the 17th century to the mid-19th century. The ship of the line was designed for the naval tactic known as the line of battle, which involved the two column ...

caught up with a French fleet with twenty-one ships of the line under Marshal de Conflans seeking to embark an army at Quiberon for landings in Scotland. After hard fighting, most of the French fleet were sunk, captured or forced aground. The battle was a turning point in the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

which foiled a planned invasion of Britain and broke the power of the French Navy for a generation.

Vendée Revolt

On 23 June 1795, the bay was the scene of an invasion by

émigré An ''émigré'' () is a person who has emigrated, often with a connotation of political or social exile or self-exile. The word is the past participle of the French verb ''émigrer'' meaning "to emigrate". French Huguenots Many French Hugueno ...

, counter-revolutionary troops in support of the

Chouannerie The Chouannerie (; from the Chouan brothers, two of its leaders) was a House of Bourbon, royalist uprising or counter-revolutionary, counter-revolution in twelve of the western departments of France, ''départements'' of France, particularly in ...

and

Vendée Revolt Vendée () is a department in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France, on the Atlantic coast. In 2019, it had a population of 685,442.French Revolution and restore the

French monarchy France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions. Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I, king of the Fra ...

. The landing was finally repulsed on 21 July, dealing a disastrous blow to the royalist cause.

Operation Chastity

Operation Chastity was a

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

plan by the Allies to seize Quiberon Bay, enabling the construction of an artificial harbor to support

Operation Overlord Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allies of World War II, Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Front (World War II), Western Europe during World War II. The ope ...

and the Liberation of France. The artificial harbor was not developed, as the capture of German-held areas that could threaten the port was not completed. By the end of August 1944, US forces had captured all of Brittany except for the critical areas, preventing the further development of the operation. Following the capture of Antwerp and its port facilities in early September 1944, Operation Chastity was officially cancelled on 7 September 1944.

1998 air crash

On 30 July 1998, Proteus Airlines Flight 706, a

Beechcraft 1900 The Beechcraft 1900 is a U.S made twin-engine turboprop regional airliner manufactured by Beechcraft. It is also used as a freight aircraft and corporate transport, and by several governmental and military organizations. With customers favoring ...

bound for

Lorient Lorient (; ) is a town (''Communes of France, commune'') and Port, seaport in the Morbihan Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in western France. History Prehistory and classical antiquity Beginn ...

, France, collided with a Cessna 177 while making a detour to overfly the SS ''Norway'' as it was sailing in the bay. Both aircraft fell into the bay after the collision, and the fifteen people on board the aircraft were killed.

Economy

In the 19th century,

Nicolas Appert Nicolas Appert (17 November 1749 – 1 June 1841) was a French confectioner and inventor who, in the early 19th century, invented airtight food preservation. Appert, known as the " father of food science", described his invention as a way "of c ...

, a chemist, developed a technique that permitted the sterilization of food. Thanks to this process, Quiberon became the leading harbour for

sardine Sardine and pilchard are common names for various species of small, oily forage fish in the herring suborder Clupeoidei. The term "sardine" was first used in English during the early 15th century; a somewhat dubious etymology says it com ...

fishing and the production of canned sardines in France. The area has since become a tourist destination popular for

yachting Yachting is recreational boating activities using medium/large-sized boats or small ships collectively called yachts. Yachting is distinguished from other forms of boating mainly by the priority focus on comfort and luxury, the dependence on ma ...

, with marinas at Port Haliguen, Le Crouesty and La Trinité-sur-Mer.

References

{{Authority control Bays of Metropolitan France Landforms of Brittany Landforms of Morbihan