Napoleon's invasion of England
Encyclopedia
Napoleon's planned invasion of the United Kingdom at the start of the War of the Third Coalition, although never carried out, was a major influence on British naval strategy and the fortification of the coast of south-east England
. French attempts to invade Ireland
in order to destabilise the United Kingdom or as a stepping-stone to Great Britain
had already occurred in 1796. The first Army of England had gathered on the Channel
coast in 1798, but an invasion of England was sidelined by Napoleon's concentration on campaigns in Egypt
and Austria
, and shelved in 1802 by the Peace of Amiens. Building on planning for mooted invasions under France's ancien régime in 1744
, 1759
and 1779
, preparations began again in earnest soon after the outbreak of war in 1803, and were finally called off in 1805.
From 1803 to 1805 a new army of 200,000 men, known as the Armée des côtes de l'Océan (Army of the Ocean Coasts) or the Armée de l'Angleterre (Army of England), was gathered and trained at camps at Boulogne
, Bruges
and Montreuil. A large "National Flotilla" of invasion barges was built in Channel ports along the coasts of France
and Holland (then under French domination as the Batavian Republic
), right from Etaples
to Flushing
, and gathered at Boulogne. This flotilla was initially under the energetic command of Eustache Bruix, but he soon had to return to Paris, where he died of tuberculosis in March 1805.
Port facilities at Boulogne were improved (even though its tides made it unsuitable for such a role) and forts built, whilst the discontent and boredom that often threatened to overflow among the waiting troops was allayed by constant training and frequent ceremonial visits by Napoleon himself (including the first ever awards of the Imperial Légion d'honneur
). A medal was struck and a triumphal column erected at Boulogne to celebrate the invasion's anticipated success. However, when Napoleon ordered a large-scale test of the invasion craft despite choppy weather and against the advice of his naval commanders such as Charles René Magon de Médine
(commander of the flotilla's right wing), they were shown up as ill-designed for their task and, though Napoleon led rescue efforts in person, many men were lost.
Napoleon also seriously considered using a fleet of troop-carrying balloons
as part of his proposed invasion force and appointed Marie Madeline Sophie Blanchard
as an air service chief, though she said the proposed aerial invasion would fail because of the winds. (France's first military balloon
had been used in 1794 by Jean-Marie Coutelle.) Though an aerial invasion proved a dead-end, the prospect of one captured the minds of the British print media and public.
These preparations were financed by the Louisiana Purchase
of 1803, whereby France ceded her huge North American territories to the United States in return for a payment of 60 million French franc
s ($
11,250,000). The entire amount was spent on the projected invasion. Ironically, the United States had partly funded the purchase by means of a loan from Baring Brothers, a British bank.
Though the fleet-test disaster made the idea of a mass invasion unrealistic, Britain continued to be on high alert with defences from invasion. With the flotilla and encampment at Boulogne visible from the south coast of England, Martello tower
s were built along the English coast to counter the invasion threat, and militias were raised. In the areas closest to France new fortifications were built and existing ones initiated against the 1779 invasion completed or improved - Dover Castle had underground tunnels added to garrison extra troops, the Dover Western Heights
were constructed (with a Grand Shaft to deploy its troops from its hilltop site to sea level rapidly should a landing occur), and the Royal Military Canal
cut to impede Napoleon's progress into England should he land on Romney Marsh
. Unfounded rumours of a massive flat French invasion raft powered by windmills and paddle-wheels, a secretly-dug channel tunnel and an invasion fleet of balloons spread via the print media, as did caricatures ridiculing the prospect of invasion. A naval raid on Boulogne
was also carried out in October 1804 and British fleets continued to blockade the French and Spanish fleets that would be needed to gain naval superiority long enough for a crossing.
- in his own words, "Let us be masters of the Channel for six hours and we are masters of the world." He envisaged doing this by having the Brest
and Toulon
Franco
-Spanish fleets break out from the British blockade (led at Brest by Collingwood and Toulon by Nelson), and then sail across the Atlantic to threaten the West Indies. This, he hoped, would draw off the Royal Navy
force under William Cornwallis
defending the Western Approaches
. The Toulon and Brest fleets (under Pierre-Charles Villeneuve
and Honoré Joseph Antoine Ganteaume
respectively) could then rendezvous at Martinique
, quickly sail back across the Atlantic to Europe (losing both these pursuing British fleets en route), land a force in Ireland (as in the two French Revolutionary invasions of Ireland in 1796 and 1798
) and, more importantly, defeat what parts of the Channel Fleet had remained in the Channel, take control of the Channel and defend and transport the invasion force, all before the pursuing fleets could return to stop them.
This plan was typical of Napoleon in its dash and reliance on fast movement and surprise, but such a style was more suited to land than to sea warfare, with the vagaries of tide and wind and the effective British blockade making it ever more impractical and unlikely to succeed as more and more time passed. Only the Toulon force eventually broke out (on 29 March 1805) and, though it managed to cross the Atlantic, it did not find the Brest fleet at the rendezvous and so sailed back to Europe alone, where it was met by the force blockading Rochefort
and Ferrol (where invasion vessels had been prepared), defeated at the Battle of Cape Finisterre
and forced back into port. Therefore, on 27 August 1805 Napoleon used the invasion army as the core of the new Grande Armée
and had it break camp and march eastwards to begin the Ulm Campaign
. Thus, by the time of the battle of Trafalgar
on 21 October, the invasion had already been called off, and so this battle merely further guaranteed British control of the Channel rather than preventing the invasion. The comment attributed to Admiral John Jervis
- "I do not say they [the French] cannot come - I only say they cannot come by sea" - had been proved right.
(the tallest of such columns in France), built in the 1840s, with a statue of Napoleon on top, panels on the base showing him presenting medals of the Lègion d'Honneur to his troops and surrounded by railings decorated with the golden French Imperial eagle. The arsenal from the camp is preserved.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. French attempts to invade Ireland
Expédition d'Irlande
The Expédition d'Irlande was an unsuccessful attempt by the First French Republic during the French Revolutionary Wars to assist the outlawed Society of United Irishmen, a popular rebel Irish republican group, in their planned rebellion against British rule...
in order to destabilise the United Kingdom or as a stepping-stone to Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
had already occurred in 1796. The first Army of England had gathered on the Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
coast in 1798, but an invasion of England was sidelined by Napoleon's concentration on campaigns in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, and shelved in 1802 by the Peace of Amiens. Building on planning for mooted invasions under France's ancien régime in 1744
Planned French Invasion of Britain (1744)
A planned invasion of Great Britain was to be undertaken by France in 1744 shortly after the declaration of war between them as part of the War of the Austrian Succession. A large invasion force was prepared and put to sea from Dunkirk in February 1744, only to be partly wrecked and driven back...
, 1759
Planned French Invasion of Britain (1759)
A French invasion of Great Britain was planned to take place in 1759 during the Seven Years' War, but due to various factors including naval defeats at the Battle of Lagos and the Battle of Quiberon Bay was never launched. The French planned to land 100,000 French soldiers in Britain to end British...
and 1779
Armada of 1779
The Armada of 1779 was an exceptionally large joint French and Spanish fleet intended, with the aid of a feint by the American Continental Navy, to facilitate an invasion of Britain, as part of the wider American War of Independence, and in application of the Franco-American alliance...
, preparations began again in earnest soon after the outbreak of war in 1803, and were finally called off in 1805.
French preparations
Boulogne-sur-Mer
-Road:* Metropolitan bus services are operated by the TCRB* Coach services to Calais and Dunkerque* A16 motorway-Rail:* The main railway station is Gare de Boulogne-Ville and located in the south of the city....
, Bruges
Bruges
Bruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country....
and Montreuil. A large "National Flotilla" of invasion barges was built in Channel ports along the coasts of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Holland (then under French domination as the Batavian Republic
Batavian Republic
The Batavian Republic was the successor of the Republic of the United Netherlands. It was proclaimed on January 19, 1795, and ended on June 5, 1806, with the accession of Louis Bonaparte to the throne of the Kingdom of Holland....
), right from Etaples
Étaples
Étaples or Étaples-sur-Mer is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. It is a fishing and leisure port on the Canche river.There is a separate commune named Staple, Nord.-History:...
to Flushing
Flushing, Netherlands
Vlissingen is a municipality and a city in the southwestern Netherlands on the former island of Walcheren. With its strategic location between the Scheldt river and the North Sea, Vlissingen has been an important harbour for centuries. It was granted city rights in 1315. In the 17th century...
, and gathered at Boulogne. This flotilla was initially under the energetic command of Eustache Bruix, but he soon had to return to Paris, where he died of tuberculosis in March 1805.
Port facilities at Boulogne were improved (even though its tides made it unsuitable for such a role) and forts built, whilst the discontent and boredom that often threatened to overflow among the waiting troops was allayed by constant training and frequent ceremonial visits by Napoleon himself (including the first ever awards of the Imperial Légion d'honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
). A medal was struck and a triumphal column erected at Boulogne to celebrate the invasion's anticipated success. However, when Napoleon ordered a large-scale test of the invasion craft despite choppy weather and against the advice of his naval commanders such as Charles René Magon de Médine
Charles René Magon de Médine
Charles René Magon de Médine was a French contre-amiral killed at the battle of Trafalgar whilst commanding the ship-of-the-line Algésiras - his conduct in the battle is seen by French historians as one of the few redeeming features of that disaster, and his name appears on the Arc de Triomphe...
(commander of the flotilla's right wing), they were shown up as ill-designed for their task and, though Napoleon led rescue efforts in person, many men were lost.
Balloon (aircraft)
A balloon is a type of aircraft that remains aloft due to its buoyancy. A balloon travels by moving with the wind. It is distinct from an airship, which is a buoyant aircraft that can be propelled through the air in a controlled manner....
as part of his proposed invasion force and appointed Marie Madeline Sophie Blanchard
Sophie Blanchard
Sophie Blanchard was a French aeronaut and the wife of ballooning pioneer Jean-Pierre Blanchard. Blanchard was the first woman to work as a professional balloonist, and after her husband's death she continued ballooning, making more than 60 ascents...
as an air service chief, though she said the proposed aerial invasion would fail because of the winds. (France's first military balloon
Balloon
A balloon is an inflatable flexible bag filled with a gas, such as helium, hydrogen, nitrous oxide, oxygen, or air. Modern balloons can be made from materials such as rubber, latex, polychloroprene, or a nylon fabric, while some early balloons were made of dried animal bladders, such as the pig...
had been used in 1794 by Jean-Marie Coutelle.) Though an aerial invasion proved a dead-end, the prospect of one captured the minds of the British print media and public.
These preparations were financed by the Louisiana Purchase
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition by the United States of America of of France's claim to the territory of Louisiana in 1803. The U.S...
of 1803, whereby France ceded her huge North American territories to the United States in return for a payment of 60 million French franc
French franc
The franc was a currency of France. Along with the Spanish peseta, it was also a de facto currency used in Andorra . Between 1360 and 1641, it was the name of coins worth 1 livre tournois and it remained in common parlance as a term for this amount of money...
s ($
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
11,250,000). The entire amount was spent on the projected invasion. Ironically, the United States had partly funded the purchase by means of a loan from Baring Brothers, a British bank.
British countermeasures
Martello tower
Martello towers are small defensive forts built in several countries of the British Empire during the 19th century, from the time of the Napoleonic Wars onwards....
s were built along the English coast to counter the invasion threat, and militias were raised. In the areas closest to France new fortifications were built and existing ones initiated against the 1779 invasion completed or improved - Dover Castle had underground tunnels added to garrison extra troops, the Dover Western Heights
Dover Western Heights
The Western Heights of Dover are one of the most impressive fortifications in Britain. They comprise a series of forts, strong points and ditches, designed to protect the country from invasion...
were constructed (with a Grand Shaft to deploy its troops from its hilltop site to sea level rapidly should a landing occur), and the Royal Military Canal
Royal Military Canal
The Royal Military Canal is a canal running for 28 miles between Seabrook near Folkestone and Cliff End near Hastings, following the old cliff line bordering Romney Marsh.-Construction:...
cut to impede Napoleon's progress into England should he land on Romney Marsh
Romney Marsh
Romney Marsh is a sparsely populated wetland area in the counties of Kent and East Sussex in the south-east of England. It covers about 100 mi ² .-Quotations:*“As Egypt was the gift of the Nile, this level tract .....
. Unfounded rumours of a massive flat French invasion raft powered by windmills and paddle-wheels, a secretly-dug channel tunnel and an invasion fleet of balloons spread via the print media, as did caricatures ridiculing the prospect of invasion. A naval raid on Boulogne
Raid on Boulogne
The Raid on Boulogne in 1804 was a naval assault by elements of the Royal Navy on the fortified French port of Boulogne, during the Napoleonic Wars. It differed from the conventional tactics of naval assaults of the period by utilizing a wide range of new equipment produced by the American-born...
was also carried out in October 1804 and British fleets continued to blockade the French and Spanish fleets that would be needed to gain naval superiority long enough for a crossing.
Naval plan
Before the flotilla could cross, however, Napoleon had to gain naval control of the English ChannelEnglish Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
- in his own words, "Let us be masters of the Channel for six hours and we are masters of the world." He envisaged doing this by having the Brest
Brest, France
Brest is a city in the Finistère department in Brittany in northwestern France. Located in a sheltered position not far from the western tip of the Breton peninsula, and the western extremity of metropolitan France, Brest is an important harbour and the second French military port after Toulon...
and Toulon
Toulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
Franco
History of the French Navy
Although the History of the French Navy goes back to the Middle Ages, its history can be said to effectively begin with Richelieu under Louis XIII.Since the establishment of her present territory, France had to face three major challenges on the naval level:...
-Spanish fleets break out from the British blockade (led at Brest by Collingwood and Toulon by Nelson), and then sail across the Atlantic to threaten the West Indies. This, he hoped, would draw off the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
force under William Cornwallis
William Cornwallis
Admiral the Honourable Sir William Cornwallis GCB was a Royal Navy officer who fought in the Napoleonic Wars. He was the brother of Charles Cornwallis, the 1st Marquess Cornwallis, governor-general of India...
defending the Western Approaches
Western Approaches
The Western Approaches is a rectangular area of the Atlantic ocean lying on the western coast of Great Britain. The rectangle is higher than it is wide, the north and south boundaries defined by the north and south ends of the British Isles, the eastern boundary lying on the western coast, and the...
. The Toulon and Brest fleets (under Pierre-Charles Villeneuve
Pierre-Charles Villeneuve
Pierre-Charles-Jean-Baptiste-Silvestre de Villeneuve was a French naval officer during the Napoleonic Wars. He was in command of the French and Spanish fleets defeated by Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar....
and Honoré Joseph Antoine Ganteaume
Honoré Joseph Antoine Ganteaume
Count Honoré Joseph Antoine Ganteaume was a French admiral.Ganteaume was born to a family of merchant sailors, and sailed on a dozen commercial cruises in his youth...
respectively) could then rendezvous at Martinique
Martinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
, quickly sail back across the Atlantic to Europe (losing both these pursuing British fleets en route), land a force in Ireland (as in the two French Revolutionary invasions of Ireland in 1796 and 1798
Irish Rebellion of 1798
The Irish Rebellion of 1798 , also known as the United Irishmen Rebellion , was an uprising in 1798, lasting several months, against British rule in Ireland...
) and, more importantly, defeat what parts of the Channel Fleet had remained in the Channel, take control of the Channel and defend and transport the invasion force, all before the pursuing fleets could return to stop them.
This plan was typical of Napoleon in its dash and reliance on fast movement and surprise, but such a style was more suited to land than to sea warfare, with the vagaries of tide and wind and the effective British blockade making it ever more impractical and unlikely to succeed as more and more time passed. Only the Toulon force eventually broke out (on 29 March 1805) and, though it managed to cross the Atlantic, it did not find the Brest fleet at the rendezvous and so sailed back to Europe alone, where it was met by the force blockading Rochefort
Rochefort, Charente-Maritime
Rochefort is a commune in southwestern France, a port on the Charente estuary. It is a sub-prefecture of the Charente-Maritime department.-History:...
and Ferrol (where invasion vessels had been prepared), defeated at the Battle of Cape Finisterre
Battle of Cape Finisterre (1805)
In the Battle of Cape Finisterre off Galicia, Spain, the British fleet under Admiral Robert Calder fought an indecisive naval battle against the Combined Franco-Spanish fleet which was returning from the West Indies...
and forced back into port. Therefore, on 27 August 1805 Napoleon used the invasion army as the core of the new Grande Armée
La Grande Armée
The Grande Armée first entered the annals of history when, in 1805, Napoleon I renamed the army that he had assembled on the French coast of the English Channel for the proposed invasion of Britain...
and had it break camp and march eastwards to begin the Ulm Campaign
Ulm Campaign
The Ulm Campaign consisted of a series of French and Bavarian military maneuvers and battles to outflank and capture an Austrian army in 1805 during the War of the Third Coalition. It took place in the vicinity of and inside the Swabian city of Ulm...
. Thus, by the time of the battle of Trafalgar
Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Trafalgar was a sea battle fought between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French Navy and Spanish Navy, during the War of the Third Coalition of the Napoleonic Wars ....
on 21 October, the invasion had already been called off, and so this battle merely further guaranteed British control of the Channel rather than preventing the invasion. The comment attributed to Admiral John Jervis
John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent
Admiral of the Fleet John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent GCB, PC was an admiral in the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom...
- "I do not say they [the French] cannot come - I only say they cannot come by sea" - had been proved right.
Memorial
Today, the Boulogne camp's site is marked by a 53 metre-high columnColumn of the Grande Armée
The Column of the Grande Armée is a 53 metre high Doric order triumphal column on the Rue Napoleon in Wimille, near Boulogne-sur-Mer, France.-To 1815:The column was intended to commemorate a successful invasion of England The Column of the Grande Armée (French - Colonne de la grande Armée or...
(the tallest of such columns in France), built in the 1840s, with a statue of Napoleon on top, panels on the base showing him presenting medals of the Lègion d'Honneur to his troops and surrounded by railings decorated with the golden French Imperial eagle. The arsenal from the camp is preserved.
External links
- Invasion of Britain - National Maritime MuseumNational Maritime MuseumThe National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England is the leading maritime museum of the United Kingdom and may be the largest museum of its kind in the world. The historic buildings forming part of the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site, it also incorporates the Royal Observatory, Greenwich,...
- Objects related to the invasion in the NMM collections
- Anti-Napoleon Caricature and Propaganda in England 1798-1803
- Napoleon's views on the invasion of Britain