Spain had entered the war with one…
December 1779 CE
Its garrison include troops from Britain and the Electorate of Hanover.
Spain had formally begun the siege in June 1779, the fourteenth and longest of Gibraltar, with the Spanish establishing a land blockade around the Rock of Gibraltar.
The Spanish strategy combines a steady bombardment of Gibraltar from the land with seaborne attacks and attempts to cut off the supply lines to Morocco, planning to retake Gibraltar by blockading and starving out its garrison.
The matching naval blockade is comparatively weak, and the British discover that small fast ships can evade the blockaders, while slower and larger supply ships generally cannot.
By late 1779, however, supplies in Gibraltar have become seriously depleted, and its commander, General George Eliott, appeals to London for relief.
A supply convoy is organized, and in late December 1779 a large fleet sails from Britain under the command of Admiral Sir George Brydges Rodney.
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