Why losing five frigates mattered

Frigates gathered information, carried messages, charted waters, and had a better chance of slipping through a blockade than larger ships. Their shortage compounded a deeper personnel crisis. Purges, defections, combat losses, and the movement of experienced petty officers into other careers made it progressively harder for the French Navy to train replacements while continuing operations. The loss of experienced Huguenot officers also benefited rival services in Britain, Prussia, Russia, and Sweden that were willing to employ them. France kept demanding operations from a fleet that had too little time and too few veteran instructors to recover.