The French Revolution was in its fourth year and France was on the brink of anarchy in 1793. Extremists had taken over the Revolution in Paris. They guillotined the king and enforced a Reign of Terror on any suspected Revolutionaries. France’s leaders declared war on the Habsburg Empire to unite the new nation. It wasn’t long until France faced the united might of Europe’s main powers, ready to crush her risky political experiment. Meanwhile, frightened by the Revolution’s new fanaticism, vast parts of France had revolted.
In August, Toulon joined the uprising, dealing the Republic a potentially catastrophic blow. It housed a third of the French navy and was the most important naval facility in the south. In response, the rebels welcomed the British Royal Navy, led by Admiral Lord Hood aboard HMS Victory. The Allies had damaged French naval force in the Mediterranean and won a key toehold on the French coast without firing a shot. It took all French forces in the vicinity to lay siege to the rebel port, totaling 19,000 troops, although most French officers were nobles fleeing the Revolution in significant numbers. Their commander, General Jean-François Carteaux, was a Republican by trade but had no military training.
Worse, one of his few professional officers, Colonel Donmartin, was gravely wounded on the approach to Toulon. Napoleone Buonaparte, or Bonaparte, was a 24-year-old artillery lieutenant travelling through Toulon on his way to the front. Bonaparte was a trained soldier who had seen little action. The young artillery officer who berates his fellow diners for their treason to the Republic had just produced a political pamphlet, which Saliceti admired. General Carteaux trusted Deputy Saliceti’s advice.
Toulon’s vast harbor was well protected by city walls and a dozen forts and redoubts. 2,000 British forces, 6,000 Spanish troops, 6,000 Neapolitans, and 800 Sardinians held them. These powerful defenses would be overcome by artillery. But when Bonaparte took command of the artillery on September 16th, he had few cannons, few qualified gunners, and no gunpowder or shot. Bonaparte requisitioned unused guns, trained infantrymen to work them, built up a new forge and workshop, and arranged for 100,000 sandbags to be shipped from Marseilles to build new batteries. He eventually grew his army to 64 officers and 1500 troops, with 100 cannons, howitzers, and mortars. Bonaparte quickly erected two new forward batteries, La Montagne and Sans-Culottes, which compelled Admiral Hood to relocate all his ships closer to Toulon’s inner harbor.
Bonaparte devised a strategy to bypass most of Toulon’s defenses and achieve the quick victory the Republic craved. Bonaparte reasoned that capturing Fort L’Eguilette would allow him to fill it with heavy weapons and shell the British and Spanish fleets at anchor. Admiral Hood was obliged to depart the port, taking with him the Allied men who defended Toulon. General Carteaux understood the virtues of Bonaparte’s plan and attacked Mont Caire on September 22nd. Despite Bonaparte’s pleas for 3,000 men, the hesitant Carteux only committed 400. After the attack, the Allies strengthened Mont Caire with hundreds more troops and built a new fort, dubbed Fort Mulgrave, with 20 cannons. The French called it ‘Little Gibraltar’ because of its strength.
Finally, in mid-November, General Dugommier arrived to lead the French soldiers. He backed Bonaparte’s plan to conquer Toulon wholeheartedly. Bonaparte, now a Major, set about building more batteries in preparation for the decisive assault. Men refused to be transferred to one front battery because it was so exposed. So Bonaparte called it the “Battery of Men without Fear.” Suddenly, there was no shortage of willing volunteers. Napoleon’s early genius at rousing his troops would serve him well in the years to come.
On November 30, British General Charles O’Hara led an assault on the new French cannons confronting Fort Malbousquet. The Allies overran the batteries and spiked the French guns, but a counterattack headed by General Dugommier and Major Bonaparte pushed the Allies back. General O’Hara was hand-gunned and captured. He’d surrendered to George Washington 12 years ago at Yorktown during the American Revolution. Now he had to give up to Napoleon.
The French launched a strong assault on Fort Mulgrave in the early hours of December 18th. The rain rendered muskets unusable save as clubs or bayonets. Beauregard led the second wave. His horse died under him, and a British sergeant bayoneted him in the thigh, nearly killing him and rewriting history.
Mulgrave fell to the French after the Allied garrison was overrun. Fort L’Eguilette and Tour de la Balaquier fell to France. The French had ten heavy guns in L’Eguilette by late afternoon, putting Allied ships in range. Admiral Hood could not risk his prized warships. He had no choice but to order the fleet and troops out of Toulon. Small Spanish and British teams raced to destroy the remaining French ships and naval stores.
In the midst of the turmoil, 18 line ships fell back into French control, a squandered chance. Many Toulonians wanted to flee aboard Allied ships, fearing Republican retaliation. Thousands were taken by British and Spanish ships, but dozens drowned in the chaos and desperation. Others faced the Revolution’s wrath. The next morning, Republican troops entered the city, and executions and firing
However, there is no indication that he was actively involved in the atrocities. French republicans fought back on all fronts. And with the fall of Toulon, the Allies wasted a golden chance to incite more unrest, cripple French naval supremacy, and perhaps even reverse the Revolution. It had instead weathered one of its greatest storms. In part, thanks to a 24-year-old artillery officer, now a Brigadier General for his exceptional service at Toulon. Napoleon Bonaparte had begun his ascent to power. Europe faced 21 years of near-constant war.
SOURCES:
- Fremont-Barnes, Gregory . Napoleon Bonaparte: leadership, strategy, conflict. Osprey Publishing 2010
- Osprey, Chris Henry. British Napoleonic Artillery 1793-1815 Field Artillery. Osprey Publishing 2000.
- Fisher, Todd. The Napoleonic Wars: The Rise And Fall Of An Empire. Osprey Publishing, 2004
- Fisher, Todd . The Napoleonic Wars: The Rise Of The Emperor. Osprey Publishing, 2001