Queen Charlotte, Montagne, and command in the smoke

Invincible's close fire drove Juste toward Queen Charlotte, where the French ship surrendered to a boat from Pakenham's command. Howe's flagship then battered Montagne, whose lower-deck guns remained closed, possibly because the heavily laden French ship sat dangerously low in the water. Queen Charlotte was too damaged to follow when Montagne escaped north to rally French survivors. Smoke made control still harder because Gibraltar fired blindly and struck the British flagship. The sequence shows support ships feeding opportunities to the commander-in-chief while damage and visibility limited what he could exploit.