Battle of Minorca (1756) 1756
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 20 May 1756 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1756 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | Early modern (1500–1799) | derived from year |
| Location | Spain | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Seven Years' War | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Kingdom of France, Kingdom of Great Britain | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 39.8900, 4.3500 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Minorca was a fleet action fought on 20 May 1756 between the French and British navies during the Seven Years' War. Fought off Minorca shortly after the war began, it was the opening naval battle of the war's European theatre and resulted in a French strategic victory. The decision by the British fleet's commander, Admiral of the Blue John Byng, to withdraw to Gibraltar led directly to the fall of Minorca. Byng's failure to save Minorca led to a controversial court-martial which resulted in his execution for "failure to do his utmost" to relieve the siege of the British garrison on Minorca.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Minorca (1756) (revision 1374742291), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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Other battles of the Seven Years' War
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All 102 battles of the Seven Years' War →
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