French fleet at the siege of Toulon facts for kids

The Siege of Toulon was one of the first big operations for the British Royal Navy during the French Revolutionary Wars. In August 1793, the city of Toulon in France rebelled against the new French government. They supported the Royalists, who wanted the king back. Toulon was a very important naval port in the Mediterranean Sea. Most of the French Mediterranean Fleet was anchored there.

After some talks, the British commander, Admiral Lord Hood, and his allies from Spain, Naples, and Sardinia entered the city. They took control of the French fleet. They also started building defenses against the French Republican army that was sure to attack.

Toulon was strong against attacks from the sea. But its land defenses needed many soldiers to hold them, and the allies didn't have enough. This weakness was used by a young French artillery captain named Napoleon Bonaparte. He led a very effective cannon campaign. Problems with the Italian allies stopped more soldiers from arriving. Also, Royalist forces lost battles elsewhere in France, which made the attacking Republican army stronger.

On December 17, the Republican forces captured hills overlooking the harbor. This made it impossible for the defenders to stay. Lord Hood ordered everyone to leave. As the Allied forces fought their way out, British Captain Sir Sidney Smith and Spanish Don Pedro Cotiella volunteered for a dangerous mission. They would lead boats into the harbor to destroy the French fleet, which was still anchored there.

The boat teams came under heavy fire from the shore. They used fireships to burn the anchored warships. Smith focused on ships in the New Arsenal. The Spanish were supposed to burn warehouses and ships in the Old Arsenal. It's not clear why, but the Spanish didn't destroy the ships they were meant to. As the forces pulled back, they blew up two powder hulks (ships filled with gunpowder) dangerously close to Smith's men, killing some.

By the morning of December 19, eight French ships of the line and three frigates were destroyed. Lord Hood also managed to take three ships of the line and six frigates with him. These ships were given to the Allied navies. While Smith burned the fleet, British ships successfully evacuated the Allied soldiers and more than 14,000 Royalist refugees. The rest of the French Mediterranean Fleet survived. It was repaired in 1794 and fought in many battles later on.

The Siege of Toulon: A Big Naval Battle

The War of the First Coalition was the first of the French Revolutionary Wars. It started on April 20, 1792, when the French government declared war on the Austrian Empire. Most of the fighting was in the Austrian Netherlands and Northern Italy. But then, King Louis XVI of France was executed on January 21, 1793.

Within days, France also declared war on Great Britain, the Netherlands, and Spain. By the summer of 1793, the French government became very extreme. This made many people in Southern France unhappy. Several Royalist uprisings, supporting the king, broke out in August.

Why Toulon Was Important

One of the most serious rebellions was in Toulon. This was a large port city on the Mediterranean Sea. It was the main naval base for the powerful French Mediterranean Fleet. This fleet had 31 large warships called ships of the line. It was commanded by the Royalist Admiral Comte de Trogoff.

A Royal Navy fleet of 21 ships of the line, led by Admiral Lord Hood, was blocking the port. On August 23, two Royalist representatives from Southern France met with Lord Hood. They wanted to make an alliance. But no one from Toulon itself was there, even though controlling Toulon was key to the region.

How the City Was Taken

It wasn't certain that Royalists fully controlled Toulon. There were many Republicans in the French fleet. Their leader was Contre-amiral Saint-Julien [fr]. To find out who was in charge, Lord Hood sent Lieutenant Edward Cooke into the harbor on August 24.

Cooke had to sneak in at night to avoid Republican patrols. He managed to send a message to the Royalist leaders. Saint-Julien found out Cooke was there and said he would hang him if caught. But Cooke hid overnight and met the Royalist delegates the next day. He negotiated a deal: the British would take and disarm the French fleet. In return, they would protect Toulon. The ships would be returned when the French monarchy was restored.

On his way back to the British fleet, Cooke's boat was stopped by a French frigate. He barely escaped by sailing in shallow water under fire. On August 26, Cooke returned to Toulon. He found that Saint-Julien had taken control of the fleet. Saint-Julien promised to fight the British if they entered the port. Republican sailors took over Fort Lamalgue and other defenses. But on August 27, Lord Hood landed a small force. They drove off the Republicans, and Saint-Julien and over 5,000 French sailors retreated.

With British forces controlling the harbor defenses, the remaining Republicans gave up. On August 28, the French ships were moved into the arsenals. Lord Hood brought the British fleet, joined by 17 Spanish ships, into the port. Rear-Admiral Samuel Goodall took command of the city. Spanish Admiral Don Federico Gravina took charge of the defenses.

In early September, French Republican armies slowly moved towards Toulon. General Jean François Carteaux attacked from the west, and General Jean François La Poype from the east. Lord Hood was worried about the remaining Republicans in Toulon, especially 5,000 sailors who had been let go. He ordered four ships and a corvette from the seized French fleet to be used as cartels. These ships would take the sailors to Republican ports on the Atlantic coast. These ships sailed on September 14.

Fighting for the High Ground

In late September, heavy fighting began for the high ground overlooking the harbor. Republican shore batteries fired at Royal Navy ships. One British ship, HMS Princess Royal, had many casualties when ammunition exploded. On September 30, Republican troops led by Captain Napoleon Bonaparte captured the hill of Pharon. But a day later, British, Spanish, Neapolitan, and Sardinian soldiers drove them off.

In early October, more Neapolitan soldiers arrived. This helped the Allies launch successful attacks on Republican-held hills. But later that month, Lord Hood and the Spanish Admiral Lángara had a big disagreement about who was in charge. Lángara even threatened Lord Hood's flagship, Victory, but eventually backed down.

By the end of October, the Allies had over 16,000 men. This included 6,000 Spanish troops. The British only had a little over 2,000 men. Many British sailors were needed elsewhere. Austrian reinforcements were expected, but they didn't arrive. The Allies were so short of troops that Lord Hood hired 1,500 mercenaries from the Knights of Malta. However, they didn't arrive before the siege ended.

Meanwhile, Republican forces grew quickly. Soldiers from the Siege of Lyon joined the army at Toulon. The Republican army now had about 33,000 soldiers under General Jacques François Dugommier.

The Fall of Toulon

A major Republican attack on November 15 was stopped. But an Allied counterattack on November 30 also failed. After getting even more soldiers, General Dugommier ordered a three-part attack on Toulon's defenses on December 14. On December 17, the Spanish-held Fort Mulgrave and the Pharon heights were captured. Republican cannons were then set up.

The French cannons could now fire on the harbor and city. This forced the Allied fleets to move away to avoid being hit. The British and Spanish fleets took with them the French ships that were still in the harbor. These included three ships of the line and six frigates, crewed by French Royalist volunteers.

With the defenses broken, the senior Allied officers decided that leaving was the only choice. The defenders would fight their way back to the docks. Lángara promised to destroy the seized French fleet. But the plan quickly ran into trouble. The Neapolitan soldiers panicked and fled into the city. By the evening of December 18, all Allied troops had retreated to the waterfront to get on ships.

Destroying the French Ships

Lángara ordered Don Pedro Cotiella to take three boats into the arsenal to destroy the French fleet. Sir Sidney Smith, who had just arrived, volunteered to join him with his ship Swallow and three British boats. Two fireships, HMS Vulcan and San Luis Gonzago, also joined them.

Cotiella was tasked with sinking Toulon's powder hulks. These were ships filled with gunpowder for the entire fleet. They were anchored far from the city because they were so dangerous. He was then told to enter the Old Arsenal and destroy the ships there. Smith's boats went to the dock gates. These gates were blocked and guarded by 800 former galley slaves who supported the Republicans. Smith kept his boat's guns pointed at them to make sure they didn't interfere.

Dockyard workers also tried to stop Smith, but they were locked out of the Arsenal. Republican cannons on the heights spotted Smith's boats and fired at them. But none of Smith's men were hit. As night fell, Republican troops reached the shore and started firing muskets. Smith fired back with grape shot from his boat's guns.

At 8:00 PM, Captain Charles Hare brought Vulcan into the New Arsenal. Smith stopped the ship across a line of anchored French ships of the line. The fuses were lit at 10:00 PM. Hare was badly hurt by an early explosion as he tried to leave the ship. At the same time, fire teams set fire to warehouses and stores on shore. This created a huge blaze across the harbor. Vulcan's cannons fired a last volley at the French positions.

As the fires spread through the dockyards and New Arsenal, Smith began to pull back. His force was lit up by the flames, making them an easy target for the Republican cannons. As his boats passed the Iris, the powder ship suddenly exploded. Debris flew everywhere, sinking two British boats. On Britannia, everyone survived. But on Union, the master and three men were killed.

With the New Arsenal burning, Smith saw that the Old Arsenal was mostly untouched. Only a few small fires showed the Spanish efforts to destroy the ships there. He immediately led Swallow back towards the arsenal. But he found that Republican soldiers had captured it. Their heavy musket fire forced him back. The gun batteries defending the Arsenal, which Royalist troops were supposed to have damaged, were now firing heavily on the boats.

Instead, Smith turned to two disarmed ships of the line, Héros and Thémistocle. These were in the inner harbor and used as prison hulks. The French Republican prisoners on board first resisted British efforts to burn the ships. But when they saw the destruction in the arsenal, they agreed to be taken safely to shore. Smith's men then set the empty ships on fire. The nearby frigate Courageuse was also set on fire, but the fire didn't spread, and the ship survived.

After the British and Spanish boat parties left, the galley slaves opened the dockyard gates. This allowed dock workers and Republican troops to enter the Arsenal. They formed fire-fighting teams. They managed to put out fires on some burning ships and move unburnt ships away from the blaze. They also put out fires in the grain store, rope house, and gun store.

Getting Everyone Out Safely

With all targets either burning or in French hands, Smith pulled back again. He was joined by many small boats filled with refugees from Toulon and Neapolitan soldiers. As he passed the second powder hulk, Montréal, it also exploded unexpectedly. Smith's force was close to the blast, but luckily, none of his men were hit by falling debris. His boats were able to return to the waiting British fleet safely.

While Smith's boats were working, Lord Hood ordered HMS Robust and HMS Leviathan to evacuate the Allied troops from the waterfront. The Allied soldiers got on board in an orderly way. Sardinian soldiers protected their rear, and the frigate HMS Romulus provided covering fire.

They were joined by HMS Courageux. This ship was being repaired in the Arsenal because its rudder was damaged. Even with this problem, Courageux helped with the evacuation. It was pulled out of the harbor with its replacement rudder trailing behind. The fireship HMS Conflagration was also being repaired and couldn't sail. It was destroyed during the evacuation. By the morning of December 19, all Allied soldiers were safely off the city. Not a single man was lost.

Besides the soldiers, the British ships took on board thousands of French Royalist refugees. They had rushed to the waterfront when it became clear the city would fall. As many as 20,000 people crowded the waterfront looking for a ship. Among those evacuated were Trogoff and other senior French leaders. Robust, the last ship to leave, carried over 3,000 civilians. Another 4,000 were on Princess Royal. In total, the British fleet reported rescuing 14,877 people from Toulon. Witnesses saw panic on the waterfront. Civilians were crushed or drowned trying to escape the advancing Republican soldiers, who fired into the fleeing crowd. Many small boats carried refugees to British ships or safe harbors in Italy or Spain. Hundreds drowned. One historian estimates about 7,000 civilians were evacuated.

What Happened After

After Toulon fell, French leaders Moyse Bayle and Louis-Marie Stanislas Fréron started a period of harsh punishment against the people. They executed an estimated 6,000 civilians. They also brought in 12,000 masons to destroy much of the city as punishment for the rebellion.

The damage to the French fleet was extensive. However, it wasn't as complete as it could have been. The Spanish boat parties didn't fully follow their orders. None of the eight ships of the line in the Old Arsenal were badly damaged by the fires. On shore, many small warehouses were burned, but the main gunpowder storage (the grand magazine) was not destroyed. It was captured by the Republicans.

The only targets the Spanish successfully destroyed were the powder hulks Iris and Montréal. Both exploded unexpectedly, instead of being sunk as instructed. Also, both explosions happened just as Sir Sidney Smith's British boats were passing by. The first blast sank two boats and killed three men. Some British historians later suggested the Spanish acted out of "jealousy and treachery." Smith himself was less critical. He praised Cotiella and his men for their "zeal and activity." Some historians believe the main reason for the incomplete destruction was the lack of a clear plan from the Allies.

Smith's teams were much more successful than the Spanish. The burning Vulcan helped destroy six ships of the line in the New Arsenal and damaged five more. His boarding parties also seized and destroyed the prison ships Héros and Thémistocle without losing lives. They also caused significant damage to shore buildings. Among the things destroyed was the fleet's timber storage. One historian called this "the single most crippling blow suffered by the French Navy" since a battle in 1759.

Smith was given command of his own frigate when he returned to Britain. But despite his actions, a chance to permanently weaken French naval power in the Mediterranean was missed. Some people at the time blamed Smith. However, others argue that more planning would have helped. Among the 15 French ships of the line that survived the siege, eight would later fight at the Battle of the Nile in 1798.

The Royalist ships that left Toulon were later taken by the Allies. One frigate, Alceste, was given to the Sardinian Navy. But the French recaptured it six months later. The Spanish Navy took the corvette Petite Aurore. The rest were taken into the Royal Navy. Of the large captured ships, only Pompée saw full service. It fought at the First Battle of Algeciras in 1801. Puissant spent the rest of the war on harbor duties. The huge Commerce de Marseille was described as "the most beautiful ship." But it was very unstable in the Atlantic and also spent its career in port. Of the captured frigates, only Aréthuse, Perle, and Topaze were considered valuable.

In 1794, while the French fleet was being repaired in Toulon, the British Mediterranean fleet focused on invading Corsica. This included the sieges of Bastia and Calvi. In March 1795, the French fleet sailed again. It suffered a small defeat at the Battle of Genoa and another in July at the Battle of Hyères Islands. These were the only times the British and French fleets met after Toulon. The Royal Navy later had to leave the Mediterranean in 1796. This happened because Spain changed sides and allied with France against Britain.

French Fleet

This table shows the French ships involved in the Siege of Toulon. Ships in light purple were taken by the Allies. Ships in light red were destroyed.

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Images for kids

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  The Siege of Toulon, by Jean-Antoine-Siméon Fort. This painting shows the battle.