Siege of Toulon (1707)

Siege of Toulon
Part of the War of the Spanish Succession
Fort St Louis, Toulon
Date 29 July – 21 August 1707 Location Toulon, France Result French victory
Belligerents
Habsburg monarchy  Savoy  Great Britain  Dutch Republic	France
Commanders and leaders
Victor Amadeus Prince Eugene Cloudesley Shovell Cornelis Beeckman Johann Wilhelm of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg  †	Comte de Tessé Comte de Médavy
Strength
35,000	10,000 garrison 20,000 field force [1]
Casualties and losses
13,000 dead, wounded, deserted or died of disease	Unknown 46 ships of the line scuttled

The siege of Toulon took place between 29 July to 21 August 1707 during the War of the Spanish Succession, when a combined Savoyard-Imperial army supported by a British naval force, attacked the French base at Toulon.

The Allies had insufficient men to institute a formal siege, while they were outnumbered by French land forces; after losing around 13,000 men, mostly from disease, they retreated to Piedmont. The French fleet inside the harbour, including 46 ships of the line, was sunk to prevent its destruction; the fleet would not be re-floated until after the war ended, cementing British control of the western Mediterranean.

However, the Allied defeat ended hopes of attacking France through its vulnerable southern border, forcing the Allies into a war of attrition on its much more strongly held northern frontier. The battle's outcome also effectively brought an end to major operations in Italy.