Siege of Toulon (1707)

Siege of Toulon

Part of: War of the Spanish Succession

Siege map

date	July 14, 1707 to August 22, 1707
place	Toulon
output	Abandonment of the siege

Parties to the conflict
Great Britain Netherlands Austria Savoy	France Spain
Commander
Army: Viktor Amadeus II of Savoy Eugene of Savoy Fleet: Cloudesley Shovell	René de Froulay de Tessé Marquis de Saint-Pater
Troop strength
38,000 men (including 30,000 infantry, 8,000 cavalry, 120 heavy artillery), plus 48 ships of the line	15,000 men (at the beginning) reinforced in the further course
losses
10,000	15 ships of the line

The information on troop strength and losses can vary in the literature.

The siege of Toulon in 1707 took place during the War of the Spanish Succession . Under the leadership of Eugene of Savoy , an Allied army marched into France and, supported by an Anglo-Dutch fleet, besieged the city and the naval port of Toulon in vain .

prehistory

After the Allied victory at Turin and the retreat of the French and Spanish from Italy, England and the Dutch pushed for an attack on Toulon. The main goal was to destroy the French Mediterranean fleet by taking the war port and to massively weaken trade. Also Victor Amadeus II. Savoy endorsed this plan. Eugene of Savoy was more skeptical about the prospects of success. This was also due to the fact that he had made considerable resources available to Wirich Philipp von und zu Daun . His army was greatly weakened.

This consisted mainly of contingents of German territories such as Prussia (under Leopold von Anhalt-Dessau ). Eugen's authority over the commanders of these contingents was naturally weaker than that of the Habsburg troops. The commanders were often at odds with one another. The problems meant that the army did not rally until early June 1707. In order to deceive the opponents about the aims of the troops, the army marched separately in three corps. The strongly weakened Palatinate initially stayed behind. An envoy from the English Admiral Cloudesley Shovell was also present at a council of war in Turin on June 13th . This commanded the fleet of the allies who supported the company at sea.

On the French side, Marshal René de Froulay de Tessé commanded the troops in the border area with Italy. This was instructed to behave defensively. At first it was believed on the French side that Eugene wanted to recapture Savoy. But Tesse also calculated an advance into Provence . Troops were withdrawn from Flanders and Spain to reinforce the French army in the south of France.

March on Toulon

In fact, it turned out to be correct. The Allies advanced towards Nice . On July 11th, the army arrived at the French entrenchments on the Var River . With the help of landing troops from the English fleet and the ship's guns, the crew was driven out.

Despite further concerns on the part of Eugene of Savoy, the army marched on via Cannes and Fréjus towards Toulon. Fortified Antibes was bypassed and neither besieged nor blocked. This later turned out to be a mistake as the crew effectively disrupted the Allied supplies. The soldiers suffered from heat and food and water shortages during the march. The hope for support from the population was not fulfilled.

Self-sinking of the French fleet

The main objective of the entire combined land and sea operation against Toulon was not to take possession of the city or the fortress, but to eliminate the French fleet lying in the port by taking possession or destruction of the French warships and arsenals. In addition to the French Mediterranean fleet , the ships of the French Atlantic fleet transferred from Brest were anchored in Toulon since 1704 . With the appearance of the Anglo-Dutch fleet in front of the port, the French fleet was included since the end of June 1707. Without sufficient confidence in the fortifications of Toulon and without having attempted an escape, the French high seas sank itself on royal orders so as not to fall into Allied hands - a "suicidal act of headless confusion and combat aversion" in the opinion of naval historian Alexander Meurer was a "low point in the French Navy". At least 20 ships of the line are said to have been sunk, but five of them could be lifted and repaired after the siege was over.

siege

Prince Eugene of Savoy

René de Froulay de Tessé

On July 26th, the allied army arrived exhausted near Toulon. The city was protected by eight bastions and other fortifications , among other things . These surrounded the city in a semicircle. The small and large roads were also secured by fortifications and gun batteries. The conquest of the roadstead would have been a prerequisite for the ships of the allies to penetrate the two ports of the city. Tesse had built three fortified camps around the city of Toulon. Tesse himself considered the defense on the sea side to be quite strong, but on the land side he saw considerable weaknesses.

Eugene of Savoy warned against rapid offensive action in view of the weakness of his army. He saw little chance of success against an equally strong, well-supplied opposing army. Admiral Shovel insisted on an attack on behalf of the naval powers. Eugene of Savoy submitted and prepared the siege. However, there were always differences of opinion with the commanders of the fleet, who refused to attack the sea fortifications. On July 30, Eugen attacked and captured one of the opposing entrenchments. Guns were positioned there to bombard the city and other fortifications. Further heights were taken and guns raised to bombard the city's fortifications. The French soon succeeded in driving the allies out of these positions, at least temporarily. Johann Wilhelm von Sachsen-Gotha-Altenburg was killed in the process. The main battery remained in the hands of the Allies.

Eugene of Savoy had the fight against the sea fortifications intensified with success. Two forts were taken or destroyed. This allowed the fleet to come and bombard the city. The city was bombed and set on fire. About 150 houses were destroyed.

retreat

The situation became more and more threatening for the Allies, however, because not only were the French troops constantly being strengthened and ultimately taking up non-vulnerable positions, but also news of the gathering of a large relief army. The supply on land was completely interrupted by the enemy, so that supplies could only be made by sea. Ultimately, Eugene of Savoy won through to break off the siege in view of the untenable situation. The fleet picked up the wounded and some of the heavy artillery. The army began to march back in five columns on August 12th. It was Susa taken. The army arrived on September 16 at the camp at Scalenghe chosen by Eugen . The advance to Toulon was completely unsuccessful. He had only indirectly contributed to making things easier for the Allies on other fronts, for example in Germany or Spain.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Gaston Bodart: Military-historical War Lexicon, (1618-1905). Vienna, 1908 p. 143
2. ↑ Erich Zöllner: History of Austria. Göttingen, 1990 p. 261
3. ↑ Alexander Meurer : History of naval warfare in outline - naval power and naval wars, mainly from the 16th century , page 246. Hase & Koehler, Leipzig 1925
4. ↑ Cathal J.Nolan. War of the Age of Louis XIV Wetport, 2008 p 526

literature

• Alfred von Arneth : Prince Eugene of Savoy. Vol. 1 1663–1707 Vienna, 1858 pp.420-435
• Wilhelm Rustow : Military concise dictionary. Vol. 2 Zurich, 1859 p.323
• Tony Jaques: Dictionary of battles and sieges. Vol.3. Westport, 2006 pp. 1028f.