The white-and-blue squadron contained more than one officer whose rank could imply senior command. Different sources identify the third-in-command differently, while correspondence and division placement do not produce a clean hierarchy. The confusion reflected a French navy assembled from geographically separated dockyards and squadrons. Decentralized origins did not make the fleet incompetent, but they complicated rapid authoritative direction in battle. A clearly empowered commander had produced more coherent French performance in other actions.
Chapter · 49:50-53:09
French squadrons carried a blurred chain of command
Several officers of near-rear-admiral standing occupied overlapping fleet and squadron roles in a geographically decentralized navy.