The French left anchorage in order of speed, which obscured the scale of their force. Byron believed he held the advantage and ordered general chase, then tried to reform once the French line was clear. The result was a divided British force: some ships formed line while others remained in pursuit, sacrificing the weather gauge. HMS Lion had to run downwind toward Jamaica to avoid capture as d'Estaing's formed line beat the attackers off. British losses were about 183 killed and 346 wounded, while the French suffered about 190 killed and 759 wounded. The higher French casualty total did not change the operational result because Byron's force had been broken and driven away.
Chapter · 1:18:40-1:23:40
General chase breaks the British formation
D'Estaing's fast-moving formation misled Byron into ordering a general chase rather than preserving a battle line.