Raid on Boulogne

Raid on Boulogne
Part of the Napoleonic Wars
Plan and key. The Attack on Boulogne Oct 1804, watercolour by E. D. Lewis (HMS Tartarus))
Date 2–3 October 1804 Location Boulogne-sur-Mer, France 50°43′31″N 1°36′48″E / 50.72528°N 1.61333°E / 50.72528; 1.61333 Result See Aftermath
Belligerents
United Kingdom	France
Commanders and leaders
Lord Keith Sidney Smith
Casualties and losses
Unknown	1 ship lost

The Raid on Boulogne in 1804 was a naval assault by elements of the Royal Navy on the fortified French port of Boulogne-sur-Mer, during the Napoleonic Wars. It differed from the conventional tactics of naval assaults of the period by utilizing a wide range of new equipment produced by the American inventor Robert Fulton, with the backing of the Admiralty. Despite its ambitious aims the assault produced little material damage to the French fleet anchored in the harbour, but did perhaps contribute to a growing sense of defeatism amongst the French as to their chances of crossing the English Channel in the face of the Royal Navy and launching a successful invasion of the United Kingdom.