at the moment you are an utter disgrace to the uniform that you wear. Unless things change, we will lose this fight, and it might well be the turning point of the revolution. All the years of suffering the people of France have endured to rid themselves of the oppression of the aristos will have been for nothing. In the age to come, when you are old men, people will point to you and whisper that you failed in your duty when all of France needed you most… They will say you failed,' he repeated with deliberate emphasis, and then turned his back on them and stared at the distant defences of Toulon for a while, as his men digested his accusation. Then Napoleon turned round and spoke again, in a gentler tone.
'That is one future. One that we must not allow to happen. Toulon can be taken. I've been here long enough to see that Toulon cannot be carried by a frontal assault. Our infantry would be cut to pieces before they managed to take any of those fortifications. Only one thing can bring Toulon to its knees.' He smiled. 'Artillery. That's us, gentlemen. Just us. We must bring every gun we can find to bear on Toulon. We must surround the enemy with a screen of batteries that will tear into his defences like teeth. We will build our batteries right under his nose and when they are complete we will blow the enemy into the sea. I don't have to tell you that it'll be a dangerous business, and we're going to need every shred of courage, strength and endurance that we can find within ourselves. That goes for the officers and sergeants as well as the men.There'll be no rest for any of us. From now on we'll live by the guns, and we'll not rest until that Bourbon standard flying over Toulon is torn down and replaced by the flag of France!'
Napoleon ripped off his hat and held it aloft, and for an instant there was no response from the men.Then Sergeant Junot stepped forward and raised his hat with a cheer, and suddenly the air was filled with the shouts of the men, and the cry of patriotic slogans. Napoleon joined them, cheering for all he was worth. Then he edged over to Junot and caught his eye.
'I want the officers and sergeants in my headquarters as soon as the parade is dismissed. Tell the rest of the NCOs to have the men take down their tents and put them up properly.Then they're to get the artillery park in order. No food, or breaks until it's done, and done properly. Understand?'
'Yes, sir.'
'Good.' Napoleon nodded. 'Carry on, Junot.'
He made his way past the men and headed over to the headquarters tent. Inside, a pair of campaign desks, piled high with paperwork, stood at the back. A large flask of red wine and some pewter cups rested on the end of one table and Napoleon crossed to them, and poured himself a drink. It seemed to have gone well enough. He had given the men some sense of direction, an awareness of the significance of their role in the siege, and therefore some sense of their responsibility.That might be enough to drive them on. The trick of it was to keep them focused and that meant giving them some kind of victory as soon as possible. Something to vindicate the hard work he would make them do. His mind raced for a moment, then he quickly made his way to the tent flaps and stared down the slope towards Toulon. A number of the enemy warships lay at anchor in the west arm of the inner harbour, below the hill of Bregaillon.
Napoleon smiled to himself.Very well.That's where he would begin.
Chapter 75
Two days later, just as the first pale light of day was fringing the horizon, Napoleon glanced down the length of the sight of the twenty-four-pounder cannon.The ship he had chosen as a target was little more than a dark blur in the harbour below.The Aurore, a frigate, was one of the vessels captured by the English when Toulon had surrendered itself to the Royal Navy. The range was very long and Napoleon knew that the chances of actually hitting the frigate were small, but that was not the point of this morning's demonstration. Napoleon was serving notice on the enemies of France that their defences were not nearly as secure as they might think. More importantly, he was providing proof to his superiors that he was the kind of officer who seized the initiative.
Even as his men had set about bringing order to the camp and artillery park, Napoleon had dispatched his officers to find trench tools and wicker gabions for the construction of the battery. Captain Marmont, a young man just as keen as Napoleon to prove himself, had been sent to the coastal battery at Cap Negre to commandeer the twenty-four-pounders Napoleon needed for the battery. There were only light pieces in the army's artillery train, and they would be almost useless for siege work.
Marmont discovered that the guns were mounted on naval carriages, totally unsuitable for the rough tracks leading back to Toulon. So the guns had to be dismantled and heaved on to heavy wagons for the journey. The hard physical labour of drawing the wagons had exhausted Marmont's men and mules, but there had been no rest for them when they returned to the camp. Every available man was toiling away to complete the first of Captain Buona Parte's batteries.Work continued through the night, in the wan orange glow of small fires and torches. Napoleon had decided he would break with the normal tradition of assigning letters to each battery. Instead, he would give them names – something the men could relate to more closely. The first would be called the Battery of the Mountain.
As soon as the ramparts and embrasures were complete, sweating, grunting men dragged the thick timbers of the gun platform into position and packed them down into the earth, just as Marmont arrived with his guns. Napoleon hurried over, torch held above his head to examine them.
'They'll do for now, but we'll have to fit them to standard carriages as soon as we can.' Napoleon patted Marmont on the shoulder and smiled. 'Well done! The Royal Navy's going to have quite a shock when the first twenty-four-pounder balls start raining down on them!'
'I'm sure they will, sir,' Marmont replied, and then looked uneasy. 'Trouble is, we could only find a few shot and no gunpowder. The Cap Negre battery has been out of commission for some months, almost stripped bare.'
'Damn!' Napoleon clenched his fist. 'Then you'll have to set off and find some ammunition at first light. There's a battery at Bau Rouge. Try that.'
'Yes, sir.'
As Marmont turned to bellow orders to his men Napoleon checked his timepiece and bit his lip. The previous evening, he had sent an invitation to Saliceti, Freron and Carteaux to come and observe the Battery of the Mountain open fire on the British fleet. Even if all five guns were ready in time, there would only be enough ammunition for a handful of salvoes before they ran out. That would not look good. Napoleon realised the only solution was to use one gun.That way he could make the ammunition last and he could personally supervise the loading and aiming of the piece.
So, as the light slowly strengthened, Napoleon focused his attention on preparing the leftmost gun, carefully selecting the best cannon balls for the opening shots. As the crew finished loading the first round and Napoleon sighted the barrel, Marmont came hurrying up to him. He nodded back over his shoulder.
'The representatives are coming. Are we ready, sir?'
Napoleon nodded. 'As ready as we'll ever be. Is the general with them?'
'I didn't see him.'
So Carteaux had decided to snub him, Napoleon smiled.That was no surprise. Napoleon had achieved more in two days than the general had in several weeks – something that representatives Saliceti and Freron were bound to appreciate.
Looking up, Napoleon saw the dim outlines of two horsemen cresting the ridge above the battery before they trotted down towards him. He advanced to meet them, saluting as they reined in. Saliceti looked around at the earthworks with a keen eye.
'You've done well, Buona Parte.Very well indeed.' He glanced at Freron. 'Wouldn't you agree, citizen?'
Freron nodded, and for the first time he smiled at Napoleon. 'Seems I misjudged you, young man.'
Napoleon struggled not to wince at the backhanded compliment, and just bowed his head in modest acknowledgement. 'Thank you, Citizen Freron.'
'How long before you are ready to fire?'
'We were just about to start.' Napoleon waved his hand towards a small platform that had been erected beside the battery. 'If you'd like to observe from that platform, you'll have a good view of proceedings.'
As Saliceti and Freron took up their position, Napoleon crossed over to the gun he had selected and nodded to the corporal in charge of the crew. 'I'll fire the weapon.'
