Toulon, this port town in Marseille, France, would not have been valued by the vast history. However, in 1794, it took the "sailboat" of the French Revolution and stood at a historical node, connected with historical figures who changed the fate of France.
In 1793, the first anti-French coalition forces assembled in Toulon, which literally shocked France, which was suffering from internal and external troubles; but the historical turning point was exactly this interesting: the generation of hero Napoleon was just in the unknown. By chance, passing by the battlefield of Toulon, he took the first step to change his life.
1. The anti-French alliance struck
The great revolution that broke out in France in 1789, the flames of war ignited almost spread across Europe, the Bourbon dynasty If you say it, it's down. However, in the three years before the Revolution, the European powers still had nothing to do with France. In 1788, Russia dragged Austria to participate in the Russian-Turkish War. Prussia also fished in troubled waters. Britain could not tolerate the destruction of the balance of power on the continent and was fighting with everyone in the Black Sea. see. Regarding the civil strife in France, the powers also ignored it in their dizziness.
However, When the decree of the Constituent Assembly harmed the interests of the German state in the French enclave, the nobles directly reported this case to the imperial parliament; at the same time, the new government took the pope’s territory Avignon Under the command of income, this provokes the authority of the Pope and is directly seen as opposing the entire Catholic world; while Britain, which fought from the Thirty Years War to the Seven Years War, always stared at looking for opportunities to attack France, and finally found it in 1792. Reasons for sending troops.
In 1792, the Belgian revolution inspired by the French Revolution was overwhelming and scared the UK and the Netherlands. I hurriedly persuaded the beating Pau to conduct internal mediation and resolve it first. The urgent need on the French side. The following year, the first anti-French alliance was formally formed. Britain, together with the Holy Roman Empire, Prussia, Spain, the Netherlands, and the Kingdom of Sardinia, reached a consensus, sharpening their swords and preparing to kill France. At this time, the Girondists in power in France expanded very aggressively, pulling the fleet to Antwerp, directly threatening the interests of Britain and the Netherlands. In the end, with the assistance of the French Royalists, the coalition forces marched into France in such mighty force.
Second, France is in danger
In 1793, the royalists eager to restore the Bourbon invited the coalition forces to their doorsteps. Under the joint promotion of domestic and foreign forces, Dunkirk in northern France was lost first, and then Mainz and Corrence were trapped. The Kingdom of Sardinia approached Grenoble, and Spain crossed the Pyrenees. Not long after, the European hegemony of France was in a precarious situation.
was even more broken. In order to seek the support of the coalition forces, the royal party handily sent Toulon to Britain, and the French Mediterranean fleet was also sent out. In less than a month, more than 10,000 coalition forces were packed in this small city.
Although Toulon is small, nearly one-third of the French navy is here. At this time, the French Atlantic and Mediterranean routes were originally blocked, and foreign rice could not be shipped into France. France's internal inflation was severe and the economy was about to collapse. Losing another Toulon, the coalition forces can drive straight into the south of France on the map, and the entire Provence region of France will not be protected. In this way, Toulon became the forward position of the Anti-French Alliance to attack the Republic, and the coalition forces continued to increase their troops here.
3. Passing by Napoleon
Although the National Assembly wanted to retake Toulon, it was wrong to send painters and doctors to command the French army. Calto and Dopp were such French commanders. This made the French frontline suffer heavy casualties and could not take down Toulon, which was tightly encircled. This also shows that the new regime lacks talents.
However, history happened to turn a corner at this node. The French army unfortunately sacrificed an artillery commander in the outpost, and Lieutenant Napoleon, who was ordered to adjust the defense, just passed the Toulon front line:
Napoleon’s early years in his hometown of CorsicaI have been independent for a long time, but the effect is not very good. I was forced to move to Provence. Toulon happened to be on the route of this business trip. Napoleon’s good friend Salishidi knew that this matter was so excited, he was a commissioner of the parliament at the time, and Xiao Sa immediately recommended Napoleon to the parliament for a replacement. In the end, Napoleon benefited from his one-year graduation from Saint Cyr and his deeds in serving in the Rafel Corps, so he appeared on the battlefield of the Republic for the first time as an artillery commander.
The artillery unit Napoleon took over is in vain. Soldiers can neither use artillery nor repair them. The officer does not know the range of the artillery, which is also embarrassing for Napoleon. But the doer was very reliable. Napoleon set out to collect artillery and ammunition and built a simple arsenal in Olliur. In order to ensure the mobility of the army and the construction of fortifications, Napoleon also requisitioned nearby horses and repaired two artillery fortifications by the way to prepare well.
During this process, Napoleon set a good example and reorganized the lazy soldiers into real soldiers, and his reputation began to spread in the French army. . Before long, an entire sloppy artillery force was integrated by Napoleon into a very powerful artillery regiment. After that, Napoleon led this artillery force that he had rebuilt on his own to create the real "first step" in his life.
Fourth, the collapse of the anti-French coalition
Although Napoleon fought very fiercely in the early days, due to the awkward force comparison between the coalition and the French, the front battlefield of Toulon is still in a stalemate. At this stalemate, Napoleon suddenly discovered a loophole in the battle plan to attack Toulon, thinking that he would not know when Toulon could be recovered according to the previous play. In this regard, Napoleon suggested: First take down Fort Mulgrave and Cape Kerr, so that the coalition forces will inevitably suffer from the enemy.
Never thought that the National Convention actually agreed to the rookie’s bold plan and let Napoleon serve as the deputy commander of the artillery.
However, after replacing General Calto on the current line, an equally unreliable politician, General Dopp, came to the rear. As a result, seeing that the army was about to take the Cape Kerr, General Dopp asked to retreat because one of his adjutants was killed by a stray bullet. So the front-line officer asked to replace the newcomer, and the last one was General Dugome, who had been in the army for more than 40 years. After this oolong, Napoleon finally settled down and thought: Finally, there is a general who can fight to command.
Finally, on December 14, 1794, the time had come to recover Toulon. The French army assembled twice the strength of the coalition forces and launched a total offensive against Toulon in an instant. Cape Kerr became a sea of flames, the coalition fortifications were broken, and the French rushed towards the cape from both wings. Napoleon personally led the reserve team to charge, and in the early hours of the morning the enemy was finally hit with a gap. Although the Allied forces tried to counterattack many times at dawn, they were all repelled by the French. Until the 17th, the French army completely occupied the territory, and the British fleet had to pick up anchor and leave the port that night.
The loss of Toulon dealt a heavy blow to the anti-French alliance. Austria said it would send 5000 troops to support it and turned back. Then the French army continued to gain profits on many fronts, and Prussia was forced to sign the following year. The Basel Treaty cut the Rhine to France. After the Battle of Montenegro, Spain had to seek peace with France. Both Holland and Belgium were occupied by France. To 1795, the first anti-French alliance almost disbanded, Napoleon was exceptionally promoted to brigadier general after the Battle of Toulon, Napoleon has since completed the first step of his life turning point.
Toulon was the first important battle that Napoleon took part in and commanded. Although it is far inferior to the subsequent Battle of the Three Emperors, it was this battle that made Napoleon It was seen by the Paris Congress and was more popular among French soldiers, and was reused again in the subsequent campaign to suppress the royalists. Since then, this "wilder lion" has truly connected with the fate of France, and the Battle of Toulon has also been regarded by many as the starting point of the Napoleonic Wars. Soon after, a war between Napoleon and the anti-French alliance completely swept the European continent.
参Test materials:
"From Toulon to Waterloo"
"Napoleon Biography"
"Napoleon Times"
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