Battle of Havana (1870)

rdf:langString Battle of Havana (1870)

rdf:langString Battle of Havana (1870)

rdf:langString The Battle of Havana, Christopher Rave

rdf:langString France

rdf:langString Alexandre Franquet

rdf:langString Eduard von Knorr

rdf:langString Battle of Havana

rdf:langString the Franco-Prussian War

rdf:langString Off Havana, Caribbean Sea

rdf:langString Indecisive

rdf:langString The Battle of Havana on 9 November 1870 was an indecisive single ship action between the German gunboat Meteor and the French aviso Bouvet off the coast of Havana, Cuba during the Franco-Prussian War. The battle was the only naval engagement of the war, and showed the inability of either navy to gain a decisive advantage over the other. During the war, most of the French fleet blockaded the German fleet in their harbours, although a few German ships managed to slip out and evade the French, proceeding to engage in commerce raiding against the French merchant marine or harass the French in other ways. The Meteor was one such ship who managed to elude the French blockade, sailing from Nassau to Havana. A French aviso, the Bouvet, noticed her and sailed outside the harbour of Havana. Havana was at the time ruled by Spain, a neutral country in the conflict, and the captain of the Bouvet issued a challenge, which the German captain accepted. The Meteor sailed out of the harbour on the ninth of November, and proceeded to engage the Bouvet. Despite both sides pouring fierce fire, neither side could inflict significant damage on the other ship, and after a German cannon shot temporarily disabled the engine of the Bouvet, the French were compelled to retire, safely withdrawing to neutral waters. Both captains were subsequently promoted for their bravery in the battle.