Martinique orders and a missed Caribbean opportunity

Villeneuve reached Fort-de-France expecting Ganteaume from Brest, but the Brest squadron remained blockaded. He initially lacked specific orders to attack British possessions and had to be persuaded to move against Diamond Rock. Delayed instructions called for Magon's two additional ships, a month of attacks on British colonies, and then a return to Europe for the invasion project. Those orders placed Nelson on a search for Egypt, although he actually reached Barbados on 4 June. Captured merchants then reported Nelson nearby with a greatly exaggerated force, as many as 30 ships of the line in some accounts, prompting Villeneuve to abandon the operation and sail northeast on 11 June. Army officers protested that nearly 8,000 troops had spent weeks under supposed command of the sea without attacking a substantial island. Diamond Rock was the small exception to that complaint, leaving little amphibious success to show for the Caribbean detour.