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The Last Invasion of Mainland Britain
On the evening of the 22nd February 1797, 1400 French soldiers landed in a remote bay in Wales.
Commanded by an Irish American, they were make up of the dregs of the French army, including men released from prison.
But they hadn’t counted on finding a wrecked ship with a cargo of wine or the wife of the local cobbler armed with a pitch fork.
This is the chaotic, almost comic and little-remembered story of the last invasion of mainland Britain by a foreign army.
Chris Green is The History Chap; telling stories that brings the past to life.
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The last invasion of mainland Britain occurred during what are referred to as the French revolutionary wars or, more precisely, the Wars of the First Coalition. This war, starting in 1792, pitted France who wanted to spread their revolutionary message against a variety of European powers such as Austria, Prussia and Great Britain who certainly did not want that.
The invasion of Britain was the brainchild of General Louis Lazar Hoche, the 29-year old who had defeated the British-backed Royalist forces in northern France in 1796.
He saw Ireland as the soft underbelly of the British. If he could assist Irish Revolutionaries, the United Irishmen, to rise up and kick the British out, then Ireland could be used as a springboard to launch an invasion of Great Britain itself.
Hoche also planned two diversionary attacks on the British mainland itself, to prevent reinforcements being rushed to counter the Irish uprising.
The first of those diversionary attacks would be at Newcastle in the north-east of England.
The second, would be at Bristol.
The invasion of Ireland and the landing at Newcastle were both ruined by the weather.
The Bristol expedition went ahead but when the winds changed, Colonel William Tate (an irish American) decided to land his French army at Fishguard in Wales.
it was the last invasion of mainland Britian.
Lasting just 2 days, it ended in farce as the French soldiers got hopelessly drunk and were then taken on by Jemima Nicholas, armed with a pitch folk.
Then when an inferior British army arrived, the French mistook local Welsh women in their tall black hats and red shawls as British reinforcements and promptly surrendered.
Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
0:31 The French Plan
2:16 Irish Non-Event
3:17 Legion Noire
4:40 Col. William Tate
6:03 Carry On Regardless
7:34 Fishguard 1797
10:00 What Opposition?
11:35 Lord Cawdor
12:20 Knox in a Knot
13:07 Who Commands Here?
14:27 Jemima Tackles French
15:04 A Shipload of Wine
16:04 Cawdor's Bluff
17:32 The Battle That Never Was
18:29 The Last Invasion of Britain
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My name is Chris Green and I love to share stories from British history. Not just because they are interesting but because, good or bad, they have shaped the world we live in today.
History should not be stuffy or a long list of dates or kings & queens.
So rather than lectures or Youtube animations, I tell stories that bring the past to life.
My aim is to be chat as if I were having a coffee or meal with you. Jean in Maryland, USA recently wrote: "Chris, is the history teacher I wish I had at school!"
Just for the record, I do have a history degree in Medieval & Modern history from the University of Birmingham.
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