NAPOLEON AT LITTLE GIBRALTAR

By the end of November 1793, the siege of Toulon by Revolutionary French forces had been underway for three months without success. The French Royalists holding the city had been reinforced by Great Britain and her allies Sardinia, the Kingdom of Naples, and Spain. While the city itself was well defended, the entrance to the port was vulnerable at the colline du Caire peninsula, southwest of the city.

Garry Wills

Recognising the importance of the colline du Caire heights, the Allies built a series of fortifications: Fort Mulgrave (also known as the Redoute Anglaise or Little Gibraltar), Redoute Saint Charles, Redoute Saint Louis, Fort de Balaguier, and Fort de l'Éguillette. The Redoute Saint Phillipe, which was designed to hold five guns, was unfinished at the time of the action and remained ungarrisoned. At best, Fort Mulgrave was a temporary position that could not sustain lasting resistance to determined men. Its profile was weak, and its layout defective. At 150 metres across, it had parapets clad inside and out with pine trunks placed horizontally, and embrasures with openings lined with boards. The arsenal consisted of 20 cannon and four mortars of large calibre, in several batteries, and surrounding it was a…

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Wargames, Soldiers & Strategy (Digital) - 1 Issue, WSS 134

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