Within ten minutes, the combined fleet raised anchors and eased away to St Pierre’s Bay in the north of the island, a vast convoy that must have raised apprehensions for the islanders. Douglas’s squadron took the van and fired the first shots of the campaign.
Oxford and Danskin had never been in action and started when Douglas’s ships fired their full broadsides. The sound was like a roll of thunder, louder than the recruits had ever heard, accompanied by clouds of grey-white powder smoke and the orange muzzle flare of the cannon.
The other Rangers watched with professional interest as the warships pounded the island.
“What are they firing at, sergeant?” Danskin asked.
“The French have built fortifications to defend every possible landing place,” MacKim explained. “If we come ashore cl
