The French force consisted of one ship of the line and one frigate, all that remained of Contre-Admiral Charles-Alexandre Durand Linois' squadron that had sailed for the Indian Ocean in March 1803 during the Peace of Amiens.

With his stores almost exhausted and the French ports east of the Cape of Good Hope that could have offered him replenishment eliminated, Linois decided to return to France in January 1806, and by March was inadvertently sailing across the cruising ground of Warren's squadron.

By March 1806, the French squadron under Contre-Admiral Charles-Alexandre Durand Linois had been operating against British trade in the Indian Ocean and elsewhere since the start of the Napoleonic Wars in 1803.

[3] This affair, known as the Battle of Pulo Aura, was a humiliation for Linois and provoked Napoleon's fury when the Emperor was informed of it by the governor of Île de France, Charles Decaen.

[5] Rather than ensure the capture or destruction of Centurion, Linois refused further combat for fear of damaging his ships in shallow coastal waters and withdrew, again provoking censure from Napoleon.

[6] In August 1805, Linois was engaged with another convoy of East Indiamen in the central Indian Ocean, but on this occasion was confronted by the ship of the line HMS Blenheim under Rear-Admiral Sir Thomas Troubridge.

Although he had seized five Indiamen and a number of small ships that had been sailing individually during his three-year cruise, he failed to make a significant impact on British trade in the region and ruined his reputation as a successful naval commander.

[8] Deciding to switch his operations to the Atlantic after discovering that a squadron under Rear-Admiral Sir Edward Pellew was searching for him, Linois visited the Cape of Good Hope, where one of his frigates was wrecked.

[11] These squadrons were able to escape due to the reduction in the size and diligence of the British continental blockade that had been relaxed in the aftermath of the Trafalgar campaign of 1805, in which 13 French and 12 Spanish ships of the line had been captured or destroyed.

Duckworth pursued Lessigues to the Caribbean and on 6 February annihilated his force at the Battle of San Domingo, but Willaumez avoided encountering any of the squadrons sent to intercept him.

Hastening in pursuit with the wind from the south-west, Captain Neale signalled the location of the strange ships to Warren with blue lights, the admiral following with Amazon and the rest of the squadron trailing behind.

[18] Both Marengo and London had suffered severe damage to their rigging, and neither were able to effectively manoeuvre: as a result, Linois was unable to avoid either Neale's continued fire or shots from Amazon as Parker swept past in pursuit of Belle Poule.

[18] By 08:30, Parker's frigate was alongside Bruilhac's and the ships exchanged fire over the next two hours, Amazon succeeding in damaging Belle Poule's rigging to prevent her escape.

[19] In the face of this overwhelming force, the French ship of the line had no option but to surrender, although by the time the tricolour was lowered at nearly 11:00, both Linois and Captain Joseph-Marie Vrignaud had been taken below with serious wounds.

The loss of Marengo and Belle Poule formed a footnote to the campaign, but the defeat of Linois was widely celebrated in Britain, where both ships were commissioned into the Royal Navy under their French names.

[22] Four decades later the battle was among the actions recognised by a clasp attached to the Naval General Service Medal, awarded upon application to all British participants from London and Amazon still living in 1847.