 The battle was a disaster for the French . According to unofficial accounts , they lost approximately 900 men killed or drowned and at least 300 wounded , in addition to the loss of a number of the newly constructed landing craft . In France the newly appointed Minister of Marine Étienne Eustache Bruix ordered a second attempt on the islands soon afterwards but the orders were immediately countermanded by the French Directory , which did not want the embarrassment of a second disastrous attack . Instead , Lacrosse gave orders for most of the surviving ships to be sent to Cherbourg , detachments later reaching Saint Malo and Granville . Muskein was ordered to return to Le Havre with the remainder . 
