Siege of Toulon (1707)
Siege of Toulon | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of the War of the Spanish Succession | |||||||
Fort St Louis, Toulon | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
Habsburg monarchy Savoy Great Britain Dutch Republic | France | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Victor Amadeus Prince Eugene Cloudesley Shovell Cornelis Beeckman Johann Wilhelm of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg † |
Comte de Tessé Comte de Médavy | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
35,000 |
10,000 garrison 20,000 field force [1] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
13,000 dead, wounded, deserted or died of disease |
Unknown 46 ships of the line scuttled |
The siege of Toulon took place between 29 July to 21 August 1707 during the War of the Spanish Succession, when a combined Savoyard-Imperial army supported by a British naval force, attacked the French base at Toulon.
The Allies had insufficient men to institute a formal siege, while they were outnumbered by French land forces; after losing around 13,000 men, mostly from disease, they retreated to
However, the Allied defeat ended hopes of attacking France through its vulnerable southern border, forcing the Allies into a war of attrition on its much more strongly held northern frontier. The battle's outcome also effectively brought an end to major operations in Italy.
Background
The
The war in Northern Italy centred on the Spanish-held Duchies of
The situation changed in July 1706 when Vendôme and any available forces were sent to reinforce France's northern frontier after their defeat at Ramillies. Reinforced by German auxiliaries, Prince Eugene broke the Siege of Turin in September; despite a minor French victory at Castiglione, the war in Italy was over. To the fury of his allies, in the March 1707 Convention of Milan French troops in Lombardy were given free passage to Southern France by Emperor Joseph.[5]
However, it also released
Siege
By April 1707, the Allies had assembled an army of 35,000 but the campaign was delayed when Emperor Joseph detached 10,000 troops in June to capture Naples, allowing France to strengthen its defences around Toulon.[7] The consolidation of Habsburg power and continuing presence of French garrisons in north-west Piedmont made Victor Amadeus cautious about committing to operations outside Italy, especially since many of the commitments made by Austria in the 1703 Treaty of Turin remained unfulfilled.[8]
Supported by a Anglo-Dutch squadron under Admiral
Toulon harbour contained forty-six
The Camisard rising failed to take place, while many of the troops evacuated from Lombardy had been assembled at Riez under the Comte de Médavy, threatening the Allied rear. Although a naval attack captured Fort St Louis on 18 August, thousands of Allied troops were incapacitated by disease, and Prince Eugene and Victor Amadeus agreed to withdraw on 22nd. After loading the siege artillery and as many sick as possible on his ships, Shovell's squadron bombarded the harbour for eighteen hours. He sank two French warships, severely damaged many of those partly sunk, and destroyed the dockyards and naval stores essential for repairing them.[9]
Aftermath
None of the French ships would be available until after the war ended; Louis XIV decided to reallocate money spent on the fleet on strengthening his land forces in Spain. Despite the failed assault on Toulon, the action confirmed British naval control of the Western Mediterranean, while the diversion of resources prevented the Bourbons taking full advantage of their victory at Almansa.[10] However, it cost the Allies 13,000 casualties, mostly from disease, and Marlborough considered it a serious strategic defeat. It ended hopes of attacking France through its vulnerable southern border, and forced the Allies into a war of attrition on their strongly held northern frontier.[11]
Prince Eugene and Victor Amadeus recrossed the Alps in early September and expelled the remaining French garrisons in Northwest Piedmont, but Villefranche and the County of Savoy remained in French hands until 1714.[12] Immediately after the siege, the British squadron returned to England; on 22 October 1707, navigational errors caused the loss of four ships and 2,000 men, including Shovell. This led to the 1714 Longitude Act, which offered cash prizes for devising a method of accurately calculating longitude.[13]
References
- ^ a b c Holmes 2008, p. 359.
- ^ Somerset 2012, p. 168.
- ^ Dhondt 2015, pp. 16–17.
- ^ Symcox 1983, p. 149.
- ^ Sundstrom 1992, p. 196.
- ^ Blackley 1845, p. 707.
- ^ Symcox 1983, p. 154.
- ^ Frey & Frey 1995, p. 471.
- ^ Holmes 2008, p. 360.
- ^ Atkinson 1951, p. 65.
- ^ Holmes 2008, p. 361.
- ^ Bancks 1745, pp. 258–259.
- ^ Sobel 1998, pp. 11–16.
Sources
- Atkinson, CT (1951). "The Cathcart MSS; Marlborough's campaigns 1707-1708". Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research. 29 (118). JSTOR 44228612.
- Bancks, John (1745). The history of Francis-Eugene Prince of Savoy (2010 ed.). Gale ECCO. ISBN 1170621236.
- Blackley, William (1845). The Diplomatic Correspondence of the Right Hon. Richard Hill ...: Envoy Extraordinary from the Court of St. James to the Duke of Savoy ... from July 1703, to May 1706 (2010 ed.). Nabu Press. ISBN 1145943462.
- Dhondt, Frederik (2015). De Ruysscher, D; Capelle, K (eds.). History in Legal Doctrine; Vattel and Réal De Curban on the Spanish Succession; the War of the Spanish Succession in Legal history; moving in new directions. Maklu. ISBN 9789046607589.
- Frey, Linda; Frey, Marsha (1995). The Treaties of the War of the Spanish Succession: An Historical and Critical Dictionary. Greenwood. p. 471. ISBN 0313278849.
- Holmes, Richard (2008). Marlborough; England's Fragile Genius. Harper Press. ISBN 978-0007225729.
- Sobel, Dava (1998). Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time. Fourth Estate. ISBN 1-85702-571-7.
- Somerset, Anne (2012). Queen Anne; the Politics of Passion. Harper. ISBN 978-0007203765.
- Sundstrom, Roy A (1992). Sidney Godolphin: Servant of the State. EDS Publications Ltd. ISBN 978-0874134384.
- Symcox, Geoffrey (1983). Victor Amadeus II: Absolutism in the Savoyard State, 1675-1730. Thames and Hudson. ISBN 978-0500870105.