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The Great Siege of Gibraltar
The destruction of the Spanish floating batteries by the Royal Artillery on 13th September 1782.
The British garrison had already endured a siege of over three years, when the Spanish and French forces decided to make a huge all-out attack. The greatest weight of the attack was to be by sea in an attempt to breach the walls. Accompanied by a terrific bombardment from the enemy’s guns on the isthmus, a flotilla of ten specially designed ‘Battering ships’ dropped anchor opposite the King’s Bastion. Then commenced one of the biggest gun battles of all time, in which over 200 guns were to batter each other continuously for some 24 hours. The British lit forges for heating solid shot, and during the afternoon two of the Spanish ships at last caught fire. The battle continued throughout the night, until daylight disclosed the total destruction of each of the vaunted battering ships. The grand attack had failed, defeated by the skill and endurance of the Royal Artillery.
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Printed image size(s): B2 only (58 x 38 cm)
Owner: 19 (Gibraltar 1779–1783) Battery Royal Artillery
Price(s): £70
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