Siege of Bastia

Part of the French Revolutionary Wars

Date	4 April to 19 May 1794
Location	Bastia, Corsica, France
Result	Anglo-Corsican victory

Belligerents

French Republic

Great Britain

Corsica

Commanders and leaders

Strength

5,000

Britain1,200 plus Royal Navy fleet
Corsica:2,000

Casualties and losses

743 casualties
4,500 prisoners
1 frigate

The Siege of Bastia took place in 1794 during the French Revolutionary War when an allied force of British and Corsicans laid siege to the French town of Bastia. After a six-week siege the garrison surrendered due to a lack of supplies owing to a blockade by the Royal Navy. The siege was marked by constant disputes between Lord Hood the naval commander and senior army officers.

British land and naval forces intervened in Corsica in January 1794 following a request by Pasquale Paoli, the leader of the Corsican independence movement. It was agreed that a British protectorate, the Anglo-Corsican Kingdom, should be created. Three isolated French garrisons remained at Saint-Florent, Calvi and Bastia. Morale in these garrisons was low thanks to a blockade under Horatio Nelson which had deprived them of resources.

Corsica offered potential to the British as a naval base which would allow them to continue the blockade of the major French fleet at the port of Toulon. Its significance grew following the Allied withdrawal from Toulon in December 1793. A force under David Dundas was landed to support the inhabitants, many of whom had refused to accept the island's 1768 annexation by France. On 18 February 1794, Dundas captured Saint-Florent but failed to follow it up with an immediate attack on Bastia, which was around eight miles away. The Admiral and overall commander of British forces in the Mediterranean Lord Hood was extremely disappointed as his strategy to seize Corsica relied on speed. Rumours reached them of a French relief force of 12,000 men being prepared at Nice.

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Wikipedia