Napoleon’s Stunning Victory at the Siege of Toulon | 3D

Most people are familiar with Napoleon’s final showdown at Waterloo, but how many know about his thrilling debut? The Siege of Toulon unveils the electrifying tale of Napoleon’s first monumental victory! Amidst the chaos of the French Revolution, a young 24-year-old Napoleon Bonaparte bursts onto the European scene, seizing the chance of a lifetime. With unyielding determination, brilliance, and audacity, he crafts a bold strategy to save France in one of its darkest hours. In just three months, he’ll alter the course of history forever. Join us as the legend of Napoleon Bonaparte begins!

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Source material and recommended reading:
https://amzn.to/3MtnDyN Napoleon: A Life by Andrew Roberts
https://amzn.to/47kreZC Toulon 1773

#epic #history #napoleon #frenchrevolution

your epic history presents the siege of tul long summer 1793 the French Revolution is Raging as it enters is its fourth year across France chaos [Applause] Reigns the new government headed by Infamous members such as maximilan Robespierre had Unleashed a blood soaked reign of terror King Louie V 16th and his wife Marie and twanette were guillotin but the fury of the Revolution was not confined to the Royal household anyone suspected of being disloyal to the new Republic was swiftly executed in Paris and in cities across France but out of this chaos would emerge one of the most charismatic and influential figures the world has ever seen hoping to inspire nationalistic fervor the French government had declared war on the hapsburg Empire but the strategy soon backfired while it may have United the French people it also unified their enemies almost all of Europe marshaled their armies in hopes of crushing what they saw as a moral threat to their monarchies forming what would be known as the first Coalition it is almost impossible to overstate just how dangerous the situation is for France right now no Monarch in Europe want want to see a republic succeed especially one that just guillotined their King and is right on their doorstep France stood alone to make matters worse French loyalists were now revolting on mass determined to topple the new government from within and restore the monarchy but for the young Republic the worst news was yet to come in August the critical Port City of T long joined the Revolt T long was home to the Mediterranean Fleet onethird of the entire french navy 26 ships of the line along with several frigs and sloops were now in the hands of the Rebels the Republican officials governing the city were arrested and hanged but fearing they could not hold T La alone the rebels made the situation even more precarious by striking a deal with France’s greatest rival the British royal Navy in return for protection and a guarantee the port would be returned at the conclusion of hostilities the rebels offered to turn over both the city and all French naval vessels to the British Admiral Lord Hood seized on the opportunity and immediately sailed his Fleet into the harbor a for the now famous Flagship HMS Victory the Spanish Navy quickly followed in the blink of an eye France’s Naval power and influence in the Mediterranean were gone recognizing the danger the French government ordered all forces in the area to converge and lay Siege to too long 177,000 troops raced towards the city but there was another problem while the French could quickly muster plenty of soldiers thanks to their Mass mobilization efforts there was a serious lack of trained officers many had been Aristocrats under the old monarchy and those who had not already fled the country had been arrested nowhere was this lack of experience more glaring than the local commander of French forces General Jean Francois Kato he was fiercely loyal but had no prior military training having spent most of his time as a court painter Colonel Dom Maran one of his only professional trained officers and head of the artillery had been badly wounded as they neared T La leaving the poorly LED French army in even worse shape but the situation was about to change traveling with the Army was antoan saletti a powerful Deputy to the ruling government in Paris he was deeply unimpressed by CAU and understood the need for talented officers and so he recommended as Dom maran’s replacement a young 24-year-old artillery officer who had fatefully stopped at tulon on route to the Italian front his name Napoleon bonapart a fellow corsac bonapart was a professionally trained officer having attended France’s Elite Military Academy but he had virtually no combat experience and was only a captain nevertheless saletti and other powerful figures in Paris had a favorable view of Napoleon and as a result he was given command of the artillery almost on the spot if you think Tom Brady coming off the bench to lead New England to a Super Bowl was the opportunity of a lifetime this is like that times a million this is the most important battle going on in all of France artillery just happens to be at the heart of it and here comes Napoleon bonapart at just the right place at just the right time you cannot draw this up any better for him and it’s probably where he gets his famous phrase that ability is nothing without opportunity recapturing tulon would be no easy task the port was well defended by high city walls on three sides and well-placed fors and routs throughout the countryside making the approaches perilous for any invading army they were Now garrisoned by a combined Coalition force of nearly 15,000 Soldiers and Sailors from Britain Spain Naples and Sardinia given the strength of the defenses artillery would be at the center of overcoming to lawn’s Perimeter but when Napoleon took command on September 16th he was stunned to find the artillery in disarray he had only four heavy cannon with a handful of mortars and field guns there was also a meager supply of powder and shot and not enough trained gun Crews but within just 6 days of taking command bonapart had constructed two new forward batteries L monan and S kulot which brought Ton’s outter Harbor within range of his heavy guns a feat he was eager to show off to his superiors [Music] the Allied ships tried to counterfire on the batteries but the shallow water and elevation of the French positions prevented the larger ships from sailing within range Admiral Hood was forced to move the British and Spanish fleets out of range to the safety of the inner Port it was a brilliant move by bonapart as it also severely robbed the Allies holding too long of critical Naval resupply Napoleon now fervorous went to work requisitioning unused Guns and Horses from the surrounding area training new gun Crews and even setting up an 80 man Forge to ensure a steady supply of cannonballs he lead he’ riched his political connections to convince retired artillery officers to reinlist and without asking permission from his superiors bonapart wrote directly to Paris for supplies even blackmailing the recently rebellious town of Marseilles for help his leadership and Relentless hard work paid off his Force eventually swell to 64 officers and 1,500 men commanding 100 Cannon howitzers and mortars seeing that artillery could still decide the final outcome Napoleon devised a plan that would quickly Checkmate the allies and return the port to French control Fort laguette was the most strategic Fort overlooking the harbor if it could be captured he could move in heavy guns and unleash a devastating barrage against the British and Spanish Fleet Admiral Hood would have no choice but to withdraw his ships and with them the Allied Garrison holding too long General CAU agreed to the plan but to Napoleon’s Fury only allocated 400 men for the assault not the 3,000 he’d requested CAU does this for one reason and one reason only he dislikes Napoleon bonapart so when this attack fails Napoleon goes berserk because he knows they just took a golden opportunity and lit it on fire on September 22nd French forces attacked the Allied position at [Music] monare despite the odds the French troops charged forward into a hail of Cannon and musket fire but to know aail not only was the assault easily repulsed with heavy casualties it completely exposed the French plan to the Allies in less than 48 hours they had heavily reinforced monair thousands of Allied troops were immediately diverted to strengthen the position while they hastily erected a new Force named fort mulgrave with improved Earthworks and a large battery of 20 heavy Cannon it was now a terrifying obstacle blocking Napoleon’s route to Fort laguette the French soldiers were so intimidated by it they nicknamed it little jalter Napoleon was Furious and worked behind the scenes with his political Ally saletti to see CAU removed from command their plan worked and on November 17th an experienced field commander was placed in charge of the French army General domeier upon arriving with thousands of reinforcements and surveying the situation he immediately saw Napoleon’s plan as the best course of action and committed all available resources to it now promoted to Major bonapart began furiously overseeing the construction of 11 new batteries with eight of them positioned opposite fort [Music] mulgrave one forward battery was under such heavy enemy fire that virtually every man working on it had been killed or wounded when additional soldiers refused to be sent there Napoleon renamed it La the battery of men without fear and immediately men began volunteering when a gunner was killed next to him Napoleon picked up the now blood soaked ramrod and finished loading the cannon himself s it was a foretelling display of Courage energy and a willingness to get his hands dirty that endeared Napoleon to his men on November 30th the Allied Army Commander British General Charles oara under mounting pressure attempted a surprise attack leading an assault on Napoleon’s new batteries facing fort malus G Allied Forces stormed forward pouring fire into the French positions before charging with fixed [Applause] bayonets caught off guard the French fell back in disarray with several batteries overrun and their guns spiked but as word re General domeier he along with Napoleon LED an overwhelming Counterattack the drove the Allied Forces back to their lines during the retreat General oara was shot in the arm and captured 12 years before he had been the British representative that surrendered to George Washington at Yorktown now he was surrendering to Napoleon bonapart the only officer in history with that distinction sensing the decisive moment had come General domeier ordered final preparations for Napoleon’s [Music] plan the night of December 16th was bitterly cold with a violent storm unleashing a torrent of icy Wind and Rain just after midnight the French launched their final assault on fort mulgrave with a massive bombardment signaling the start of the [Music] attack soldiers on both sides had trouble loading their muskets in The Heavy Rain leading to vicious Close Quarter fighting with bayonets and rifle butts at 3:15 a.m. bonapart led the final wave in person directly into ferocious hand-to-hand fighting it was so intense that his horse was killed under him and he received a near fatal wound in the thigh courtesy of a British Sergeant’s bayonet as the attack in Gulf the Allied Garrison mulgrave finally fell to the French they quickly pushed forward and took Forts laguette and lab balaka which had been hurridly evacuated despite his nasty wound Napoleon refused to leave the field personally overseeing the construction of the new batteries at luu yet by the following afternoon he had 10 heavy guns in place to Shell the Allied ships Admiral Hood was out of options with his entire fleet at risk he immediately ordered a full evacuation of all Allied Soldiers and Sailors from tulon and a general Retreat began that night as Allied Forces withdrew towards the harbor small teams of British and Spanish Sailors rushed to destroy the French ships and Naval supplies they were able to set fire to several buildings and ships including floating hulks carrying huge powder stores resulting in massive explosions that lit up the harbor the French frigate Isis loaded with over 200 tons of gunpowder erupted in a huge Fireball and sck but with the main focus on the chaotic evacuation 18 ships of the line were left undamaged and were soon back in French hands a huge strategic blunder by the allies by the morning of December 19th all Allied troops had been evacuated with the British also announcing they would take as many French royalists with them as possible the nearly 15,000 remaining citizens of tulong terrified of the Republic’s Roth frantically clamored to board the Allied ships at 9:00 a.m. as they were still being loaded Republican soldiers entered the city Panic swept through the crowds as they rushed toward the shore some were killed by French cannon balls crashing around them while many others drowned amidst the chaos in the harbor almost 14,000 were able to escape aboard the British and Spanish ships but the rest were left to their fate over the next 2 weeks nearly 800 royalist prisoners were either shot or bayonetted without trial the Allies tried to blame Napoleon for the massacre but he was still in hospital recovering from his wound the young French Republic had endured a near fatal blow its borders finally secure and rebellious regions subdued with the return of too long to French control the Allies had lost their best opportunity to Fan the Flames of further revolt and destroy the revolution in its infancy instead against overwhelming odds the Republic had held the line ton was a stunning achievement for Napoleon now promoted to Brigadier General Bomier and assigned to the army of Italy he had also developed a loyal following of officers many of whom would become his closest friends and some even his most trusted Marshals Napoleon goes from Captain to Brigadier General in just 3 months at tulon but within just 6 years of that moment he’ll rise to the very very top of power in all of France it was was only his first step but the legend of Napoleon bonapart was born it was the beginning of an era and while the French people rejoiced they could not foresee what lay ahead France and all Europe would face 21 years of some of the bloodiest conflicts in history [Music] thanks for watching if you enjoyed this video we encourage you to channel your inner Napoleon and bombard the like button and if you would like to support the Channel please check out our patreon for exclusive perks you’ll find the link in the description below and of course please do let us know in the comments what topics you’d like to see next