Taylor Penny's Marlborough opened fire at 8 a.m. on Formidable's order, beginning what initially looked like a conventional exchange between lines of battle. Rodney then spotted a gap and directed Sir Charles Douglas to take Formidable through it. The wind helped the British break the French line. The French van could not turn back in time to help, while ships behind the break lost formation as they entered the fight. A nominal advantage of thirty-six British ships against thirty French became a local concentration of roughly thirty against twenty, with French ships arriving almost one at a time and unable to support each other. Four French ships of the line were captured, one destroyed, and Admiral de Grasse taken prisoner. Roughly 8,000 French personnel were killed, wounded, or captured, against a little over 1,000 British killed or wounded.
Chapter · 1:45:40-1:49:27
Rodney breaks the French line at the Saintes
Formidable's breakthrough, aided by the wind, prevented mutual support within the French line and let British ships concentrate against opponents arriving piecemeal.