audiobook Toulon 1793: Napoleon’s first great victory (Campaign) by Robert Forczyk in History

Review

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Nice work showing Napoleon's skills in his first major battleBy Steven PetersonThe 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 on 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.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Napoleon at his first sucessBy Phil HistorianFrance had overthrown and killed their king in 1789 and in 1792 were fighting other countries and in 1793 they were at war with Britain; Spain; Holland;Austria;and Prussia. this was one reason the US stayed out of the war. the British and Spanish were besieging the city of Toulon which royalists had handed over; double crossers! the Revolutionaries were in big trouble during the whole affair. a young captain of artillery named Napoleon Bonaparte who led the soldiers and France won the battle when they might have fallen and the history of Europe changed! the French creamed the allies and killed around 4;000. Napoleon suffered a major wound and nearly died here. while the book said it was his first victory and he was he was only a mere captain of artillery and the main generals were the ones he answered too. so began the career that would result in over 20 years of war and 7 million dead all because of one short Frenchie.and it began here.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. An Excellent View 'From the Other Side"...By Lee Selkirkthis is the first complete account of the taking and subsequent siege of toulon that i have encountered; and it was an entertaining and informative rendezvous. this siege; which set the stage for napoleon's career; has been described innumerable times from the french side. this tidy little book; quite interestingly; details the battle from the allied side and does so with admirable clarity and rather nicely puts to rest much of the mythology surrounding this contest. by presenting the french actions as seen from the opposing side; the author; perhaps inadvertently; clearly shows in napoleon's decision-making that even at this early stage of his career he understood that display; showmanship; and inspiring gestures - even if militarily ineffective - provide morale results that are as important to victory as cannons and skilled tactics.the aspect of the story i found most interesting was the rather daunting problems besetting the british in their effort to hold on to this vital port. the lack of 'vision' and resolution on the part of all of the defending national interests precluded anything but inevitable defeat; even putting aside the ever-increasing military resources the french government was pouring into the battle once they recognized the importance of the situation.many of the maps are lively and informative but some appear to be more for effect and show rather than to increase one's understanding of critical events. all in all; however; this osprey effort is an excellent work and provides a refreshingly new viewpoint of a much-studied battle.buy; read; learn; and enjoy!