Siege of Toulon (1793): Difference between revisions

| combatant2 = {{flagicon image|Flag of Royalist France.svg}} [[ArméeHouse desof ÉmigrésBourbon|French Royalists]]<br>{{flagicon|France|1790}} [[Federalist revolts#Marseille and Toulon|French Federalists]]<hrbr>{{flagcountryflag|Kingdom of Great Britain|name=Great Britain}}<br> {{flagicon|Spain|1785}} [[History of Spain (1700–1808)|Kingdom of Spain]]<br>{{flag|Kingdom of Naples|1738|name=Naples}}<br />{{flag|Kingdom of Sicily|name=Sicily}}<br>{{flag|Kingdom of Sardinia|1785|name=Sardinia}}

| casualties2 = {{flagicon|Spain|1785}} 1,200 killed or wounded<br>{{flagicon|Kingdom of Great Britain}} 700 killed or wounded<br>{{flagicon|Kingdom of Naples|1738}}{{flagicon|Kingdom of Sicily}}{{flagicon|Kingdom of Sardinia|1785}} 200 killed or wounded<br>{{flagicon|Kingdom of Naples|1738}}{{flagicon|Kingdom of Sardinia|1785}} 1,000 captured<br>{{flagicon image|Flag of Royalist France.svg}} 1,500 captured <ref name="auto"/><br>'''Total:''' 4,600<br>{{flagicon|Kingdom of Great Britain}} 1 Shipship captured<ref name="auto"/><br>{{flagicon image|Flag of Royalist France.svg}} 14 Shipsships of the Lineline, 1 Frigatefrigate and 2 Corvettescorvettes abandoned and seized by the Republicans<ref name="auto"/>

9 Shipsships of the Lineline scuttled in harbour, 4 ships of the line, 7 Frigatesfrigates and 5 Corvettescorvettes captured<ref name="auto"/>

| strength2 = {{flagicon image|Flag of Royalist France.svg}} 1,500 <br>{{flagicon|Kingdom of Great Britain}} 8,000 & 37 Shipsships<br>{{flagicon|Spain|1785}} 7,000 & 32 Shipsships<br>{{flagicon|Kingdom of Naples|1738}}{{flagicon|Kingdom of Sicily}}{{flagicon|Kingdom of Sardinia|1785}} 6,500 & 5 Shipsships<br>'''Total:'''<br>23,000 men<br>74 ships

| strength1 = {{flagicon|French First Republic|1790}} 32,000<ref>See Castex, Théories Stratégiques</ref>

| commander2 = {{flagicon image|Flag of Royalist France.svg}} Baron d'Imbert<br>{{flagicon|Kingdom of Great Britain}} [[Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood|Samuel Hood]]<br> {{flagicon|Kingdom of Great Britain}} [[Charles O'Hara]]{{POW}}<br>{{flagicon|Kingdom of Great Britain}} [[William Sidney Smith|Sidney Smith]]<br> {{flagicon|Kingdom of Great Britain}} [[LordHenry Phipps, 1st Earl of Mulgrave|Henry Phipps]]<br>{{flagicon|Spain|1785}} [[Juan de Lángara]] <br>{{flagicon|Spain|1785}} [[Federico Carlos Gravina y Nápoli|Federico Gravina]]<br>{{flagicon|Kingdom of Great Britain}} [[Henry Phipps, 1st Earl of Mulgrave|Henry Phipps]]

| commander1 = {{flagicon|French First Republic|1790}} [[Jean François Carteaux]]<br>{{flagicon|French First Republic|1790}} [[Jacques François Dugommier]]<br>{{flagicon|French First Republic|1790}} [[Napoleon|Napoleon Bonaparte]]{{WIA}}<br>{{flagicon|French First Republic|1790}} [[Jean François Cornu de La Poype]]<br>{{flagicon|French First Republic|1790}} Hughes Charlot

| partof = the [[Federalist revolts]] and [[Naval campaigns, operations and battles of the French Revolutionary Wars|other naval operations]] during the [[War of the First Coalition]]

| place = [[Toulon]], [[First French Republic|France]]

| date = 29 August – 19 December 1793<br/>({{age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=08|day1=29|year1=1793|month2=12|day2=19|year2=1793}})

| image = File:Les coalises evacuent Toulon en decembre 1793.jpg

| caption = The BritishAllied evacuation of Toulon in December 1793

| map_type = Europe

| map_relief = 1

| map_size = 300

The '''siege of Toulon''' (29 August – 19 December 1793) was a military engagement that took place during the [[Federalist revolts]] and the [[War of the First Coalition]], part of the [[Campaigns of 1793 in the French Revolutionary Wars|French Revolutionary Wars]]. It was undertaken by forces of the [[First French Republic|RepublicanFrench Republic]] forces against [[House of Bourbon|Royalist]] rebels supported by Anglo-Spanish forces in the southern French city of [[Toulon]]. It was during this siege that young [[Napoleon Bonaparte]] first won fame and promotion when his plan, involving the capture of fortifications above the harbour, was credited with forcing the city to capitulate and the Anglo-Spanish fleet to withdraw. The British siege of 1793 marked the first involvement of the British [[Royal Navy]] with the French Revolution.

After the [[Insurrection of 31 May – 2 June 1793|arrest of the Girondist deputies on the 2 June 1793]], there followed a series of insurrections within the French cities of [[Lyon]], [[Avignon]], [[Nîmes]], and [[Marseille]] known as [[Federalist revolts]]. In Toulon, the revolutionariesfederalists evicted the existinglocal chapter of the [[Jacobin Club|Jacobin]] faction, but were soon supplanted by the more numerous [[French emigration (1789–1815)|royalists]]. Upon the announcement of the recapture of Marseille and of the reprisals which had taken place there at the hands of the revolutionaries, the royalist forces, directed by the [[Baron Xavier Lebret d'Imbert|Baron d'Imbert]], requested support from the Anglo-Spanish fleet. On the 28th of 28 August, the British and Spanish commanders of the fleet, Admiral [[Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood|Sir Samuel Hood]] ([[Royal Navy]]) and Admiral [[Juan de Lángara]] ([[Spanish Navy]]), responded with 13,000 troops of [[British Army|British]], [[Spanish Army|Spanish]], [[Royal Neapolitan Army of Naples|Neapolitan]] and [[Royal Sardinian Army of Sardinia|PiedmonteseSardinian]] origin. Baron d'Imbert delivered the port of Toulon to the British navy.

Toulon hoisted the royal flag, the [[fleur de lys]], and d'Imbert declared the eight-year-old [[Louis XVII of France|Louis XVII]] kingKing of France on the first of October. This result produced a potentially mortal situation for the French republicRepublic, as the city had a key naval arsenal and was the base for 26 [[Ship of the line|ships of the line]]<ref name="troude">{{Cite web|last=Troude|first=O.|date=April 1, 1867|title=Batailles navales de la Francev|url=http://archive.org/details/bub_gb_TwZv6FX-RpsC|publisher=Challamel ainé|location=Paris|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> (about one-third of the total available to the French Navy). Without this port, the French could not hope to challenge the Allies, and specifically the British, for control of the seas. In addition, Toulon's loss would send a dangerous signal to others preparing to revolt against the republicRepublic.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=oOzcrC5e-LIC&q=The+Wars+of+the+French+Revolution+and+Napoleon Connolly, Owen. The Wars of the French Revolution and Napoleon, 1792-18151792–1815. London: Routledge, 2005].</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=09AVBAAAQBAJ&q=d%27Imbert&pg=PA3 Mace, Martin, and John Grehan. British Battles of the Napoleonic Wars 1793-18061793–1806: Despatched from the Front. Pen and Sword, 2013].</ref> Although France had a large army due to its ''[[levée en masse]]'', the Republic could not easily rebuild its navy, which had been the third largest in Europe,<ref>{{Cite web|title=French Revolutionary wars {{!}} Causes, Combatants, & Battles|url=https://www.britannica.com/event/French-revolutionary-wars|access-date=2020-08-03|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref> if the Allies and Royalists destroyed or captured much of it. Both the strategic importance of the naval base and the prestige of the Revolution demanded that the French recapture Toulon.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Siege-of-Toulon|title=Siege of Toulon &#124; Summary|date=14 May 2024 }}</ref>

[[File:Siège de Toulon.PNG|thumb|300pxupright=1.36|The siege of Toulon by [[Jean-Antoine-Siméon Fort]]]]

{{cquote|I have no words to describe Bonaparte's merit: much technical skill, an equal degree of intelligence, and too much gallantry ...|20|20|General [[Jacques François Dugommier]], at the siege of Toulon, in a letter to Minister of War [[Jean Baptiste Noël Bouchotte|Jean Bouchotte]]<ref>{{cite book |last= Cronin|first=Vincent |date= 1972|title=Napoleon Bonaparte: an intimate biography |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g9FnAAAAMAAJ |publisher= Morrow|page=77}}</ref>

The troops of the army said to be of the "[[Carmagnole]]s", under the command of [[General]] [[Jean François Carteaux]], arrived at Toulon on 8 September, after those troops had recovered Avignon and Marseille, and then [[Ollioules]]. They joined up with the 6,000 men of the Alpine Maritime Army, commanded by General [[Jean François Cornu de La Poype]], who had just taken [[La Valette-du-Var]], and sought to take the forts of [[Mont Faron]], which dominated the city to the East. They were reinforced by 3,000 sailors under the orders of Admiral [[{{ill|Jean- René- César de Saint-Julien de ChambonChabon|fr|Jean René César de Saint -Julien]] de Chabon}}, who refused to serve the British with his chief, [[Jean-Honoré de Trogoff de Kerlessy]]. A further 5,000 soldiers under General La Poype were attached to the army to retake Toulon from the Army of Italy.<ref name="chandler20">Chandler 1966, p. 20</ref>

The Chief of Artillery, commander [[Elzéar Auguste Cousin de Dommartin]], having been wounded at Ollioules, had the young captain [[Napoleon|Napoleon Bonaparte]] imposed upon him by the special representatives of the [[National Convention]] and NapoleonBonaparte's friends —friends—[[Augustin Robespierre]] and [[Antoine Christophe Saliceti]]. Bonaparte had been in the area escorting a convoy of powder wagons en route to [[Nice]] and had stopped in to pay his respects to his fellow Corsican, Saliceti.<ref name="chandler20" /> Bonaparte had been present in the army since the Avignon insurrection (July, 1793), and was imposed on Dommartin in this way despite the mutual antipathy between the two men.

[[File:Napoleon à Toulon par Edouard Detaille.jpg|thumb|Bonaparte at the siege of Toulon, by [[Édouard Detaille]]]]

Despite the mutual dislike between, Bonaparte and the chief of artillery, the young artillery officer was able to muster an artillery force that was worthysufficient offor a siege of Toulon and the fortresses that were quickly built by the British in its immediate environs. He was able to requisition equipment and cannon from the surrounding area. Guns were taken from Marseille, Avignon and the [[Army of Italy (France)|Army of Italy]]. The local populace, which was eager to prove its loyalty to the republic which it had recently rebelled against, was blackmailed into supplying the besieging force with animals and supplies. His activity resulted in the acquisition of 100 guns for the force. With the help of his friends, the deputies Saliceti and Augustin Robespierre, who held power of life and death, he was able to compel retired artillery officers from the area to re-enlist. The problem of manning the guns was not remedied by this solution alone, and under Bonaparte's intensive training he instructed much of the infantry in the practice of employing, deploying and firing the artillery that his efforts had recently acquired.<ref>Chandler 1966, p. 24</ref> However, in spite of this effort, Bonaparte was not as confident about this operation as was later his custom. The officers serving with him in the siege were incompetent, and he was becoming concerned about the needless delays due to these officers' mistakes. He was so concerned that he wrote a letter of appeal to the Committee of Public Safety requesting assistance. To deal with his superiors who were wanting in skill, he proposed the appointment of a general for command of the artillery, succeeding himself, so that "... ([they could)] command respect and deal with a crowd of fools on the staff with whom one has constantly to argue and lay down the law in order to overcome their prejudices and make them take steps which theory and practice alike have shown to be axiomatic to any trained officer of this corps".<ref>''Correspondence of Napoleon I'', Vol. I, No. 2, p. 12</ref>

After some reconnaissance, Bonaparte conceived a plan which envisaged the capture of the forts of {{ill|Fort de l'EguilletteÉguillette|fr|Fort de l'Éguillette|lt=l'Éguillette}} and {{ill|Fort de Balaguier,|fr|Fort de Balaguier|lt=Balaguier}} on the hill of Cairo ({{lang-fr|colline du Caire}}), which would then prevent passage between the small and large harbours of the port, so cutting maritime resupply, necessary for those under siege. Carteaux, reluctant, sent only a weak detachment under Major General [[Henri François Delaborde]], which failed in its attempted conquest on 22 September. The allies, now alerted, built "Fort Mulgrave", so christenednamed in honour of the British commander, [[Henry Phipps, 1st Earl of Mulgrave]], on the summit of the hill. It was supported by three smaller ones, called Saint-Phillipe, Saint-Côme, and Saint-Charles. The apparently impregnable collectionassemblage was nicknamed, by the French, "Little Gibraltar".

Bonaparte was dissatisfied by the sole battery—called the "Mountain", positioned on the height of Saint-Laurent since 19 September. He established another, on the shore of Brégallion, called the "''[[sans-culottes]]''". Hood attempted to silence it, without success, but the British fleet was obliged to harden its resolve along the coast anew, because of the high seabed of [[Le Mourillon|Mourillon]] and la {{ill|Tour Royale|fr|Tour royale}}. On the first of October, after the failure of General La Poype against the "Eastern Fort" of Faron, Bonaparte was asked to bombard the large fort of Malbousquet, whose fall would be required to enable the capture of the city. He therefore requisitioned artillery from all of the surrounding countryside, holding the power of fifty batteries of six cannon apiece. Promoted to Chief of Battalion on 19 October, he organised a grand battery, said to be "of the Convention", on the hill of Arènes and facing the fort, supported by those of the "Camp of the Republicans" on the hill of Dumonceau, by those of the "Farinière" on the hill of Gaux, and those of the "Poudrière" at Lagoubran.

On 11 November, Carteaux was dismissed and replaced by [[François Amédée Doppet]], formerly a doctor, whose indecisionpanic upon witnessing the death of his [[aide-de-camp]] beside him would cause an attempted surpriseattack against Fort Mulgrave on the 15th to fail.<ref>{{Cite onbook the|last=Fox 16th.|first=Charles Aware|title=Napoleon ofBonaparte hisand ownthe incompetence,siege heof resigned.Toulon |year=1902 |pages=35–36}}</ref> He was succeeded by a career soldier, [[Jacques François Dugommier|Dugommier]], who immediately recognizedrecognised the virtue of Bonaparte's plan, and prepared for the capture of Little Gibraltar. On the 20th, as soon as he arrived, the battery "[[Jacobin]]" was established, on the ridge of l'Evescat. Then, on the left, on 28 November, the battery of the "Men Without Fear", and then on 14 December, the "Chasse Coquins" were constructed between the two. Two other batteries were organizedorganised to repel the eventual intervention of the allied ships, they were called "The Great Harbour" and the "Four Windmills".

Pressured by the bombardment, the Anglo-Neapolitans executed a sortie, and took hold of the battery of the "Convention". A counter-attack, headed by Dugommier and Bonaparte, pushed them back and the British general, [[Charles O'Hara]], was captured. He initiated surrender negotiations with Robespierre the Younger and [[Antoine Louis Albitte]] and the Federalist and Royalist battalions were disarmed.

Following O'Hara's capture, Dugommier, La Poype, and Bonaparte (now a colonel) launched a general assault during the night of 16 December. Around midnight, the assault began on Little Gibraltar and the fighting continued all night. Bonaparte was injured in the thigh by a British sergeant with a bayonet. However, in the morning, the position having been taken, Marmont was able to place artillery there, against l'Eguillette and Balaguier, which the British had evacuated without confrontation on the same day. During this time, La Poype finally was able to take the forts of Faron and Malbousquet. The allies then decided to evacuate by their maritime route. Commodore [[Sidney Smith (Royal Navy officer)|Sydney Smith]] was instructed by Hood to have the delivery fleet and the arsenal burnt.

Lángara ordered Don [[Pedro Cotiella]] to take three boats into the arsenal to destroy the French fleet. [[William Sidney Smith|Sir Sidney Smith]], who had recently arrived, volunteered to accompany him with his ship ''Swallow'' and three British boats. Cotiella was tasked with sinking Toulon's [[Hulk (ship type)|hulks]]; one was a disarmed former British [[frigate]] captured during the [[American Revolutionary War]], ''[[HMS Montreal (1761)|Montréal]]'', and the other was the French frigate ''[[French frigate Iris (1781)|Iris]]''.<ref name="WLC209">Clowes, p. 209</ref> These ships contained the [[gunpowder]] stores for the entire fleet and due to the danger of explosion were anchored in the outer roads, some distance from the city. He was then instructed to enter the Old Arsenal and destroy the ships there. The dock gates, which had been barred against attack and manned by 800 former galley slaves freed during the retreat. Their sympathies were with the advancing Republicans so to ensure that they did not interfere, Smith kept his guns trained on them throughout the operation.<ref name="WJ80">James, p. 80</ref> His boats were spotted by the Republican batteries on the heights and cannonballs and shells landed in the arsenal, although none struck Smith's men. As darkness fell Republican troops reached the shoreline and contributed musketry to the fusillade; Smith replied with [[grapeshot]] from his boatboats's guns.<ref name="NT44">Tracy, p. 44</ref>

The troops of the Convention entered the city on the 19 December. The subsequent suppression of Royalists, directed by [[Paul Barras]] and [[Louis-Marie Stanislas Fréron|Stanislas Fréron]], was extremely bloody. It is estimated that between 700 and 800 prisoners were shot or slain by bayonet on Toulon's Champ de Mars. Bonaparte, treated for his injuries by [[Jean François Hernandez (physician)|Jean François Hernandez]], was not present at the massacre. Promoted to [[brigadierbrigade general]] on 22 December, he was already on his way to his new post in [[Nice]] as the artillery commander for the [[Army of Italy (France)|Army of Italy]]. A gate, which comprises part of the old walls of the city of Toulon, evokes his departure; a commemorative plaque has been affixed there. This gate is called the ''Porte d'Italie''.

By the end of the siege, Republican strength totalled from 8 x [[French Revolutionary Army|Regular Infantry Battalions]], 50 x [[French National Volunteers|Volunteer Infantry Battalions]], and 9 x [[National Guard (France)|National Guard Battalions]], plus about 30 x Company-sized detachments. The Republicans eventually amassed some 1,600 x artillerymen and well over 100 x artillery pieces. The gunners were mixed themselves, with 42% Volunteers, 33% Regulars, and 25% Naval Gunners. Note: the 'Divisions' located below were administrative formations, and by no means operational formations.'''<ref name=":0">Forczyk, pp. 23–25</ref>''' Each unit below has its English name following by its local-language name ''(in parenthesisparentheses)'', followed by [if available] the amount of troops.

**** 1 x Chasseur Company, [[Légion des Allobroges|Allobroges]] Legion]] ''(Légion de Allobroges)''<ref name=":0" group="Note" />'''<ref name=":0" />''' (69)

*** [[Légion des Allobroges|Allobroges]] Legion]] ''(Légion de Allobroges)'' (436)<ref name=":0" group="Note" />'''<ref name=":0" />'''

* {{cite book|last=Smith|first=Digby|title=The Greenhill Napoleonic wars data book|publisher=Greenhill Books Stackpole Books|year=1998|isbn=978-1-85367-276-7|publication-place=London; Mechanicsburg, PA|oclc=37616149}}

[[Category:Sieges of Toulon|Toulon 1793]]

[[Category:SiegesMassacres involvingcommitted Franceby the French First Republic]]