Chapter 28 – Evacuation
The first mounted scouts emerged from the mountain pass into the sun-kissed Montugan countryside a day later to the sound of loud cheers from a large crowd. They had gathered at the Montugan entrance to the mountain pass after news had broken that France and Montuga were at war and that King Jason was being pursued by General Napoleon. Many believed that the king had been foolish to agree to meet Napoleon in France in the first place and they doubted whether they would ever see their king or any of the seven hundred and twenty soldiers sent to France again.
Everyone realised that the pass would be the route along which any news of what had transpired would travel. Some republicans also joined the crowd in the hope that a victorious Napoleon himself might emerge from the pass to, as they saw it, liberate Montuga from its oppressive monarchy.
The scouts were followed immediately afterwards by ten mounted royal guards who galloped out of the pass with the royal ensign. Jason himself then emerged followed by another ten royal mounted guards. A huge roar went up from most of the crowd. The republicans were easily identifiable by their stony expressions of disbelief. Jason stopped in front of the crowd and acknowledged their applause. He then lifted his hand to speak:
‘I and three hundred royal guards went to Lyon to meet the French consul Napoleon. He demanded that Montuga join forces with him to fight against French royalists and against the British navy in exchange for a guarantee of independence. I refused. Montuga is not a kingdom of slaves or mercenaries. How dare a foreign state order the sons of Montuga to war on their behalf?’ The crowd cheered in approval. The king continued:
‘Napoleon, who issued your king with a document of safe passage whilst in France, then reneged on this agreement. He indicated that pursuant to my refusal to assist France, he could not permit the royal guards and I to return to Montuga alive.’ The crowd were stunned into silence as they absorbed word. ‘I am pleased to say that after I sent word to Montuga for reinforcements, the reinforcements were sent and yesterday, I and seven hundred and twenty of the royal guards engaged a force of around eighteen hundred French cavalry in battle. I am proud to say that the royal guards fought bravely and we prevailed. I have never been prouder to be from Montuga.’ The crowds cheered again.
‘Unfortunately, it is my sad duty to inform you that around sixty or so brave young men lost their lives fighting for Montuga. There have also been about as many injuries. There will be a service in the High Cathedral for all our fallen comrades and I will personally speak to each and every family who has had to suffer such a tragic loss. There are two more things to be said. General Napoleon did not turn up for the battle against us. I will leave you to make of that what you will. Secondly, after the Montugan royal guards had the French on the run, a royalist army arrived and the French were forced to interrupt their flight in order to surrender. Let history record, however, that Montuga defeated the French army before the royalists arrived.’ Again the king’s words were followed by the roar of the crowd.
With that, the king, escorted by the royal guards, departed for the palace in Monte Vista. Along the way, additional crowds gathered to cheer the arrival of the king. Where he considered that the crowd numbers were large enough, Jason stopped to repeat his earlier address. He believed that a monarch who communicated with the people could gain their trust and their loyalty. He was also mindful of the fact that, Julius Caesar, in earlier times, had made an effort to ensure that his own versions of his battles were recorded for posterity.
As the king’s entourage approached the palace gates in Monte Vista, the gates opened and they galloped through. The royal ensign was soon flying from its usual place on the tower on the palace’s roof to signal the return of the king. A twenty-one gun salute was fired from one of the ships in the harbour shortly after the ensign was detected. Jason knew that he would be expected to visit the navy before the day was out. However, his immediate priority was his wife.
Prior to visiting the navy, Jason summoned the British ambassador to the palace. He wanted to establish whether Britain had actually thrown its weight behind a royalist attempt to capture the French navy at Toulon. Lord Graveny confirmed that a royalist uprising had indeed occurred in Toulon and in several other French towns including Lyon itself.
‘After the royalists captured most of Toulon, they signalled the royal navy and I am pleased to report, your majesty that we succeeded in entering and capturing the harbour and all the French warships in it. We are there at the invitation of the French royalists. The last I heard, neither the royal navy nor any of our marines have engaged in any conflict with the French republicans.’
‘How is the royalist uprising in France proceeding your excellency?’ Jason asked.
‘I understood that the royalists initially took control of all the towns in which they started an uprising. However, Napoleon has arrived and he is apparently using his artillery to turn the tide in favour of the republicans. I also understand that Napoleon is exploiting the royalist alliance with the royal navy to maximum effect. The news that the royalists have handed French ships to the royal navy on a plate has incensed many Frenchmen and it could tip the balance against the royalists in most of the towns. Napoleon’s genius with artillery is doing the rest.’
‘Is Britain intending to use its army to defend Toulon?’
‘Yes, your majesty. A British general is there with about one and a half thousand dragoons. I understand that he is supported by a further two thousand royalists. Royalist numbers in Toulon are apparently increasing as Napoleon drives them south into Toulon. I hear that captured royalists face public execution by bayonet in the stomach. Not a pleasant way to meet one’s end I rather fear.’
‘What can we do to help, your Excellency?’ Jason asked despite suspecting that his offer would be politely declined. Now that Britain was in control of Toulon and its French warships, she was unlikely to agree to share control of the port and its extensive facilities with another navy.
‘It is indeed most kind of you to offer, your majesty. However, we believe that we have things well enough in hand at this stage.’ The ambassador twirled his moustache repeatedly.
Two weeks later, however, it was the ambassador who requested an urgent audience with Jason.
‘I regret to report that the news from Toulon is most grave, your majesty. Napoleon has managed to move his artillery progressively closer to Toulon. He is bombarding British fortifications from all sides. We are fighting a rear-guard action, and it is likely that the British army, the French royalist army and the Royal Navy will have to withdraw from Toulon soon.’
‘You realise of course, your Excellency, that Britain would not be in this position had it been willing to accept Montugan assistance when it was on offer.’
The ambassador’s complexion reddened considerably, leading Jason to assume that he had concurred with the original decision to exclude Montuga.
‘As you will have suspected, your majesty, my government felt confident that they had matters in hand and I think they felt too that if the Montugan navy’s offer of assistance was accepted, the royal navy would have had to share the port facilities and the seized French ships with the Montugan navy. I fear that sometimes, we rather live up to our reputation as an island nation in several respects which may not be particularly flattering.’
‘Thank you for your frankness. Of the situation is as bad as you have sketched, I assume there is no time to lose. The Montugan navy will have to leave immediately for Toulon.’
Navigating towards Toulon was made considerably easier by the enormous smoke cloud emanating from the French coast. As the Montugan warships drew closer the sound of consistent canon fire was audible. Jason initially concluded that canons were responsible for most of the smoke. He was wrong. As the Montugan ships reached the outer breakwater of the harbour it became apparent that many of the ships in the harbour were on fire. Most of these ships flew French colours. Several large sheds were also on fire. It seemed that if the Britis
h could not continue to hold Toulon, they certainly intended to deprive the French of access to their Mediterranean fleet and to deprive them of any naval supplies which remained in the enormous storage sheds.
Jason spotted a jetty which he estimated was out of range of the French cannons for the present. A large group of men, some women and a few children were waiting on it. Their attention was firmly fixed on Jason’s fleet and some of them gestured frantically to his ships. Four Montugan ships at a time anchored in the harbour. Many of the royalists, and their families commenced boarding the ships. Jason’s marines struggled to ensure that none of his ships would be overloaded with more passengers than the vessels could reasonably be expected to bear.
‘Merci, Merci,’ was the prevalent refrain as the royalists boarded the Montugan warships. Some told their rescuers about the fate which had awaited them if they were to have been caught by the republicans. As the last two of his ships were preparing to enter the harbour, Jason noticed several cannon balls striking the water near the harbour entrance, several yards short of the first of his two ships. The responsible French gunners were evidently adjusting to their new and evidently closer position. The entire harbour was now within reach of at least some of Napoleon’s cannons. The last three British ships of the line were now also under sail and were departing from the harbour.
The captain of the first of the Montugan ships heading for the harbour sent an urgent signal requesting leave to turn about. Jason reluctantly gave the order. If either of the ships had entered the harbour it would have been under consistent fire from several of Napoleon’s cannons. The accuracy and the tempo of Napoleon’s gunners were not to be taken on lightly. The ships would be risking severe destruction long before they were likely to reach any of the remaining royalists. Through his telescope, he could see the despair and disappointment on the faces of the royalists on the quay as they realised that they were not going to be rescued. He saw two men pulling out pistols. Both put their pistols to their heads and pulled the triggers. A few decided that it would be best to charge down the quay to the French artillery positions with their bayonets affixed to their muskets. Many were torn to shreds by the cannon fire. A few royalists nearly reached the closest French artillery position. Jason watched to see if the charge would be successful. If so he would be able to revisit his decision to turn his last two ships around. Infantryman assigned to protecting the gunners fired several volleys at the last of the brave charging souls. None remained standing. Jason sent a signal to the fleet that they would now all return to Montuga.
Jason watched, as the first two of the royal navy’s ships managed to reach the harbour exit without suffering any noticeable damage. The last of the three ships of the line, however, suffered several strikes on their starboard side. Jason could not determine the extent of the damage since the port side of that vessel faced him. As the vessel cleared the harbour its rear mast was struck. Although the ship slowed as a result, it managed to limp out of range of the cannons which had been tormenting it. Napoleon’s cannons fell silent at last, marking the return of Toulon to republican control. Although Napoleon had failed to save the French Mediterranean fleet, the speed with which he had repulsed the royalist rebels and their British allies nonetheless sent an unmistakeable warning to the enemies of Republican France.