On June 24, 1779, the largest battle of the American Revolutionary War began at the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea at the British Fortress of Gibraltar. Spanish and French forces greatly outnumbered the British forces, in men, guns, and ships, and yet after almost 4 years of siege the British had held firm and Gibraltar is known as a metaphor for an impenetrable fortress. Spain and France had attempted to take advantage of British preoccupation with its war in America to gang up on their old foe, and had gone to war in a back handed support of the Americans.
Digging Deeper
The greatest resistance to siege in British history is also one of the great underdog victories in the annals of military actions. British forces numbered only 7500 men with 96 guns (cannon) and 12 gunboats. Spanish and French forces had the advantage of 33,000 land soldiers, 30,000 sailors and marines on ships, 47 major warships, several smaller boats and 10 floating batteries, and 86 land guns (mortars and cannon). It must have seemed hopeless for the besieged British, and provisions quickly became in short supply, resulting in hunger and scurvy.
