What do you think?
Rate this book
Osprey Campaign #153
Toulon 1793: Napoleon’s first great victory
In August 1793 of the French Revolutionary Wars (1792-1802), Republican France teetered on the brink of collapse. On every front her enemies' armies swept forward across her borders – the very survival of the Revolution itself was at stake. In Toulon, the strategically vital home port of France's Mediterranean fleet, a coup had overthrown the Republican government and handed over the city to the blockading British navy. In this, perhaps her darkest hour, France's saviour was at hand in the shape of a Captain of Artillery whose name all Europe would soon know - Napoleon Bonaparte. This title describes the Republican victory at Toulon that not only saved the Revolution but also saw the young Napoleon Bonaparte begin his meteoric rise to power.
96 pages, Paperback
First published July 13, 2005
About the author
Robert Forczyk
65 books75 followersRobert Forczyk has a PhD in International Relations and National Security from the University of Maryland and a strong background in European and Asian military history.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 2, 2013
The subtitle: "Napoleon's first great victory." A bit of hyperbole? Maybe not. He was only an artillery commander, a Lieutenant Colonel. But he did play a key role in the siege of Toulon. The book is well written by Robert Forczyk. In a number of the Osprey books on Napoleon's battles, one gets lost in a welter of detail--whose brigade is where, over and over, until one loses sight of what was going o9n during the battle.
French forces had not been very successful in combat after the overthrow of the king. Toulon was an early and rare success, and young Napoleon Bonaparte was a part of this success. One of the points made in this book is that a number of relatively low ranking officers--such as Massena and Victor and Marmot--later became senior officers under Napoleon.
The siege of Toulon was a muddle for the Allied forces. There were three commanders of ground forces, two of whom were undistinguished at Toulon--Mulgrave, O'Hara (who surrendered for the British forces at Yorktown), and Dundas. Admiral Graves, who had performed badly in the sea battle that doomed Yorktown, was the chief naval officer. It is worth noting that one of the junior naval officers, Horatio Nelson, did quite well for the British forces later. In addition, there were Spanish, Neapolitan, Sardinian, and French rebel forces defending Toulon. A mixed lot with varying degrees of combat competence. French forces? An unstable command structure, with revolving commanders. Reinforcements arrives for both aides, but the French heavily outnumber the Allied forces as the battle become most intense.
The book does a nice job of laying out the tactics and maneuvers of each side. At the outset, there was a "back and forth" element to the combat. Later, with General Dugommier taking command, the French forces did much better. In November and December of 1793, the French became more aggressive. Ultimately, they attacked the Allies in a complex but pretty successful movement. Napoleon took an important role in leading an attack (although he was scarcely the only one who performed well). Thus began Napoleon's career as a leader of French forces.
This is a fine entry in the Osprey Campaign series.
French forces had not been very successful in combat after the overthrow of the king. Toulon was an early and rare success, and young Napoleon Bonaparte was a part of this success. One of the points made in this book is that a number of relatively low ranking officers--such as Massena and Victor and Marmot--later became senior officers under Napoleon.
The siege of Toulon was a muddle for the Allied forces. There were three commanders of ground forces, two of whom were undistinguished at Toulon--Mulgrave, O'Hara (who surrendered for the British forces at Yorktown), and Dundas. Admiral Graves, who had performed badly in the sea battle that doomed Yorktown, was the chief naval officer. It is worth noting that one of the junior naval officers, Horatio Nelson, did quite well for the British forces later. In addition, there were Spanish, Neapolitan, Sardinian, and French rebel forces defending Toulon. A mixed lot with varying degrees of combat competence. French forces? An unstable command structure, with revolving commanders. Reinforcements arrives for both aides, but the French heavily outnumber the Allied forces as the battle become most intense.
The book does a nice job of laying out the tactics and maneuvers of each side. At the outset, there was a "back and forth" element to the combat. Later, with General Dugommier taking command, the French forces did much better. In November and December of 1793, the French became more aggressive. Ultimately, they attacked the Allies in a complex but pretty successful movement. Napoleon took an important role in leading an attack (although he was scarcely the only one who performed well). Thus began Napoleon's career as a leader of French forces.
This is a fine entry in the Osprey Campaign series.
May 3, 2023
The subtitle seems to have been added by the publisher to sell books by having the name Napoleon on the cover, and although the book is framed around the artillery adventures of the future emperor, this book is thankfully much more balanced. I had to give this a try given that I really enjoyed Robert Forczyk's other books. I was curious how he would handle something other than WWII eastern front armoured warfare and I was not disappointed. The book is detailed without ever being dry or pedantic, and the narrative moves along swimmingly.
April 29, 2011
Decent detailed account of the Toulon siege of 1793.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews