Conflans rejects dividing an inadequate invasion fleet

French orders allowed the invasion force to land in Scotland or, if that proved impossible, in Ireland. One proposal assigned six ships to the close escort while Conflans's reduced force, supplemented with merchantmen and frigates, demonstrated off Brittany to draw away the British Channel Fleet. Louis XV's sailing orders adopted the division, but Conflans persuaded the naval ministry that his already inadequate fleet could not afford it. The final order required him to fight his way out of Brest, collect the transports at Quiberon Bay, and protect their passage. Before sailing, Conflans stated that he intended to avoid Hawke and concentrate on Duff's cruisers at Quiberon Bay, since protecting the invasion force was his first duty. The dispute captures a recurring amphibious problem: whether to concentrate a weak fleet or divide it between escort and diversion.