At the same time, the French commander originally planned to surrender, believing his enemy to have an overwhelming numerical superiority and knowing the weakness of his defences and the poor training and weaponry of his own troops.

The raid is notable for its military results, such as forcing the French to develop fortifications in southern Brittany, but also for its cultural consequences, such as starting a controversy between David Hume and Voltaire and giving rise to a cult of the Virgin Mary in the town along with several songs describing the siege.

However, it was decided that it was too late in the year for an Atlantic crossing and operations up the St Lawrence River and the British were alarmed by the sudden departure of a French fleet under d'Anville[2] (which met with its own failure in attempting the retaking of Louisbourg).

As it would be impossible to re-integrate the British force back into another one, Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle suggested to James St Clair that it be used for a landing in France.

[5] At Plymouth, St Clair received orders to sail for the French coast and attack Lorient, Rochefort, La Rochelle, Bordeaux or any other town as opportunity presented itself.

Lorient was also far enough to draw off French troops from Flanders, where they were proving very successful under the maréchal de Saxe, overrunning Austrian territory and winning several victories such as Fontenoy, Rocourt and the Brussels[6] Admiral Anson was also in Plymouth.

Instead of bombarding ports and raiding the coast of Brittany as it had done during that conflict, Britain shifted more and more to larger amphibious operations such as the 1694 Battle of Camaret.

[11] Vice admiral Richard Lestock was court-martialled due to his implication in the defeat at the Battle of Toulon and appointed to head the British fleet for the new operation in Brittany in February 1744.

[13] Shortly before the expedition's departure the historian and philosopher David Hume became secretary to James St Clair, in command of the land offensive.

[16] The French staff had been informed of the importance of the troops stationed at Plymouth by their intelligence services through interrogating British prisoners,[17] but this had not revealed the force's intended target.

[11] The citadelle de Port-Louis which closed off the Lorient roads had not been modernised[22] and only low ramparts protected the city's rear, whilst its coast had no other defences.

Arsenals were built to construct ships for the French navy and the East India Company - the latter had chosen to move its base from Nantes to Lorient in 1732.

The two commanders were distinctly uncomfortable with their orders, as they believed the equinoctial gales would make the operation extremely risky, and they lacked any firm intelligence about Lorient and its defences.

In fact the townspeople had been about to surrender, so lightly defended was Lorient, and the lack of sea defences meant that Lestock could have sailed his ships into the harbour and landed them on the quayside.

Despite favourable weather, a full moon and a good wind blowing inshore, Lestock postponed the landing until the following day,[33] leaving time for the French to prepare their defences.

The landing could not take place early in the morning due to unfavourable weather, allowing the Lorient coast-guards definitely to identify the fleet as British and not Mac Nemara's,[36] and time to organise their defences.

[43] News of a British landing in the area reached Lorient on 30 September at around 3pm and several middle-class inhabitants of the city evacuated their possessions towards Hennebont and Vannes.

[47] Peasants and around 2000 men of the coastguard militias managed to fight guerilla rearguard actions[32] in the countryside separating the British positions from the town.

[35] On Sunday 2 October most of the British force began marching towards Lorient, but St Clair did not have a detailed map[34] and even when he captured prisoners, they spoke Breton not French and were useless for intelligence purposes.

[56] These terms were contrary to St Clair's requirements and he refused them on 4 October[57] and send orders to bring his ships' guns to the town to besiege it.

The sight of a dozen Frenchmen struck terror into our lines - Bragg's and Frampton's troops even exchanged several bursts of fire with them.

[67] They gained information from deserters on 6 October, as well as from an enslaved African[68] and local prostitutes, which made the British believe that a force of nearly 20,000 men were waiting within the town and that a massive French counter-attack was imminent.

[78] On the following day (8 October) the French cannon and mortars were found in what was left of the besiegers' camp[83] and that evening the peasants of Plœmeur brought the town news of British retreat.

Omitting to mentions his mistakes, his account of the battle promoted his and De Volvire's role in it and thus gained him advancement and financial advantage.

[91] After receiving news of the allied defeat at the battle of Rocourt and of the probable arrival of French reinforcements in Brittany, the commanders decided to sail back to Britain.

The fleet was battered by strong winds and scattered, with some of them sailing for Spithead and the majority of the transports and other ships (still under Lestock's command) setting course for Cork, which they reached in early November.

[90] In December the same year The Gentleman's Magazine published a letter from someone presenting himself as well-informed about the expedition and accusing the admiral of being under the influence of a prostitute during the campaign and of letting her run councils of war on board.

It held St Clair responsible for the British defeat and used unflattering words to decry all his actions before concluding: All this grand force produced nothing but mistakes and ridicule, in a war in which everything else remained too serious and too terrible[97].

[98] A certain foreign writer, more anxious to tell his stories in an entertaining manner than to assure himself of their reality, has endeavoured to put this expedition in a ridiculous light; but as there is not one circum- stance of his narration, which has truth in it, or even the least appearance of truth, it would be needless to lose time in refuting it[98]Earlier, in April, an anonymous letter was published in the Monthly Review - this was later signed by Hume[98] and is attributed to him by several scholars.

Opposition between the Church and State found a particularly strong echo in the town when the mayor Adolphe L'Helgouarc'h discussed banning the procession.