In 1793, the first coalition of the French Allied forces assembled in Toulon, which shocked France with internal and external troubles, but the turning point of history was precisely this interesting: Napoleon, a generation of heroes, coincidentally passed through the battlefield of Toulon when he was unknown, and since then he has taken the first life-changing step.
First, the anti-French alliance is coming
The Great Revolution that broke out in France in 1789 affected almost the whole of Europe, and the Bourbon dynasty fell down. However, three years before the Revolution, the European powers were still at peace with France, in 1788 Russia also dragged Austria into the Russo-Turkish War, Prussia also fished in the water, Britain could not tolerate the balance of power on the continent was messed up, and also met with everyone in the Black Sea. As for the civil strife in France, the great powers also ignored it in confusion.
However, when the decrees of the Constituent Assembly hurt the interests of the German states in the French enclave, this complaint was brought directly to the Imperial Diet by the nobles; at the same time, the new government brought the papal territory Avignon under his command, which provoked the authority of the pope and was directly regarded as opposing the entire Catholic world; and England, which fought from the Thirty Years' War to the Seven Years' War, was always staring at the opportunity to strike France, and finally found a reason to send troops in 1792.
In 1792, the Belgian Revolution, inspired by the French Revolution, was so strong that it frightened the British and Dutch, and hurriedly persuaded the beating Puo-Austria to mediate internally to solve the urgent needs of the French side first. The following year, the First Coalition was formally formed, and the British, together with the Holy Roman Empire, Prussia, Spain, the Netherlands, and the Kingdom of Sardinia, reached a consensus and sharpened their swords and prepared to kill France. At this time, the Girondists, who were in power in France, were very aggressive in expansion, pulling the fleet to Antwerp, directly threatening the interests of Britain and the Netherlands. Eventually, with the help of the French royalists, the Allied forces marched into France in such a mighty way.
Second, France is in danger
In 1793, royalists in a hurry to restore Bourbon brought the allied forces to their doorstep. Under the joint impetus of domestic and foreign powers, first Dunkirk in northern France was lost, then Mainz and Corusion were trapped, the Kingdom of Sardinia approached Grenoble, and Spain crossed the Pyrenees. Before long, France, the hegemon of Europe, was in a precarious position.
Even more devastating, the Royals, seeking the support of the Allied Forces, sent Toulon to England, and the French Mediterranean Fleet was sent out. In less than a month, the small city was crowded with more than 10,000 allied troops.
Toulon is small, but nearly a third of the French naval power is here. At this time, France's Atlantic and Mediterranean routes were blocked, foreign rice could not be transported into France, France's internal inflation was severe, and the economy was close to collapse. If you lose another Toulon, the coalition forces can drive straight into the south of France on the map, and the entire Provence region of France is not guaranteed. In this way, Toulon became the forward position of the anti-French alliance against the Republic, and the Allied forces continued to increase their troops here.
Third, Napoleon passing by
Although the National Assembly was anxious to retake Toulon, it was wrong to send painters and doctors to command the French army, and Karto and Dopp were such French commanders. This caused heavy casualties on the French front, and it was unable to take down the tightly encircled Toulon, which also showed the lack of talent in the new regime.
However, history happened to take a turn at this juncture, and the French army unfortunately lost an artillery commander in the battle of the outpost, and Lieutenant Napoleon, who was ordered to deploy the defense, just happened to pass by the Toulon front:
Napoleon spent his early years tossing and turning about independence in his hometown of Corsica, but it didn't work so well that he was forced to move to Provence, where toulon happened to be on the route of this business trip. Napoleon's good friend Sallichtti was so excited to know this that he was a commissioner of parliament at the time, and Sam immediately proposed Napoleon to the parliament for a replacement. Eventually, thanks to his one-year graduation from Saint-Cyr and his service in the Army of Rafael, Napoleon made his first appearance on the battlefields of the Republic as an artillery commander.
The artillery unit that Napoleon took over was useless, the soldiers could neither use artillery nor repair, and the commander did not know the range of the cannon, which was also difficult for Napoleon. However, the doers were very reliable, and Napoleon began to collect artillery ammunition and build a simple arsenal in Oliu. In order to ensure the mobility and fortification of the army, Napoleon also requisitioned nearby horses, and built two artillery forts by the way, making preparations for the work.
In the process, Napoleon was reserved and led by example, reorganizing lazy soldiers into real soldiers, and his reputation began to spread among the French army. It wasn't long before an entire scruffy artillery unit was integrated by Napoleon into a very powerful artillery regiment. After that, Napoleon led this artillery unit that he had rebuilt with his own hands, creating a real "first step" in his life.
Fourth, the collapse of the anti-French coalition
Although Napoleon fought very fiercely in the early stages, due to the awkward balance of forces between the Allied forces and the French army, the frontal battlefield of Toulon was still in a stalemate. At the moment of this stalemate, Napoleon suddenly discovered the loopholes in the battle plan to attack Toulon, thinking that according to the previous way of playing, he was afraid that he would not know when to retake Toulon. In this regard, Napoleon suggested: First take Fort Margrave and Cape Kerr, so that the Allied forces will inevitably be attacked.
Unexpectedly, the National Convention actually agreed to the rookie's bold plan and made Napoleon the deputy commander-in-chief of the artillery.
However, after the current line replaced General Carto, there was an equally unreliable politician in the rear, General Dopp. As a result, seeing that the French were about to take Cape Kerr, General Dopp actually demanded a retreat, only because one of his lieutenants was shot and killed. So the officers on the front line asked for the replacement of this new arrival, and finally came General Dugome, who had been in the army for more than forty years. After this oolong, Napoleon finally settled down and thought: There is finally a general who can fight to command.
Finally, on December 14, 1794, the time came to retake Toulon, the French army gathered twice the strength of the Allied forces, launched a general attack on Toulon, and in an instant Cape Kerr became a sea of fire, the Allied fortifications were broken, and the French army pounced on the cape from both flanks. Napoleon personally led the reserve charge, and in the early hours of the morning the enemy was finally punched out of a gap, although the Allied forces tried to counterattack several times at dawn, but they were repulsed by the French. By the seventeenth day, the French army had completely occupied the territory, and that night the British fleet had to leave the harbor with a gray anchor.
The loss of Toulon dealt a heavy blow to the French Alliance, Austria said that it would send 5,000 troops to support it, and then the French army won on multiple fronts, and the following year Prussia was forced to sign the Treaty of Basel, cutting the Rhine to France, Spain had to make peace with France after the Battle of Montenegro, and the Netherlands and Belgium were occupied by France. By 1795, the first coalition had almost broken up, napoleon had been promoted to brigadier general after the Battle of Toulon, and Napoleon had since completed the first step in the turning point of his life.
Toulon was the first major battle napoleon commanded, although it was far less than the later Battle of the Three Emperors, but it was this battle that made Napoleon seen by the State of Paris, more favored by the French generals, and reused again in the subsequent campaign to suppress the royalists. Since then, the "lion of the wilderness" has truly connected with the fate of France, and the Battle of Toulon is also seen by many as the starting point of the Napoleonic Wars. Soon after, a war between Napoleon and the Anti-French League swept across the continent.
Reference materials:
From Toulon to Waterloo
The Biography of Napoleon
The Napoleonic Era