The French van and the casualty imbalance

Gunnery doctrine alone does not explain the casualty imbalance. The Spanish ships generally engaged hard, while four French ships in Dumanoir's van played a much smaller part before leaving the action. As Victory and Royal Sovereign entered the line, allied fire initially concentrated on the two leaders, but successive British ships then created immediate threats at close range. The resulting confusion over which target to engage cost time and magnified the British concentration against isolated opponents.