Siege of Calvi 1794
.jpg){kind=link}
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 17 June 1794 – 10 August 1794 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1794 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
| Era | Early modern (1500–1799) | derived from year |
| Location | France | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Invasion of Corsica | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Anglo-Corsican Kingdom, French First Republic, Kingdom of Great Britain | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 42.5686, 8.7569 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The siege of Calvi was a combined British and Corsican military operation during the Invasion of Corsica in the early stages of the French Revolutionary Wars. The Corsican people had risen up against the French garrison of the island in 1793, and sought support from the British Royal Navy's Mediterranean Fleet under Lord Hood. Hood's fleet was delayed by the Siege of Toulon, but in February 1794 supplied a small expeditionary force which defeated the French garrison of San Fiorenzo and then a larger force which besieged the town of Bastia. The British force, now led by General Charles Stuart, then turned their attention to the fortress of Calvi, the only remaining French-held fortress in Corsica.
Calvi was a heavily fortified position, defended by two large modern artillery forts. Stuart therefore prepared for a long siege, seizing the mountainous heights over the approaches to the town and opening a steady fire, which was vigorously returned. Both sides took casualties; among the British wounded was Captain Horatio Nelson, who was blinded in one eye. After several weeks the French positions were sufficiently damaged and Stuart launched a major assault, driving the French out of the forts in turn and into the town.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Siege of Calvi (revision 1370739998), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Ponte Novu 1769 · 44 km
- Siege of San Fiorenzo 1794 · 46 km
- Battle of Borgo 1768 · 55 km
- Siege of Bastia 1794 · 59 km
- Aleria standoff 1975 · 79 km
- Battle of Alalia · 83 km
Other battles of the Invasion of Corsica
- Siege of Bastia 1794
- Siege of San Fiorenzo 1794
All 3 battles of the Invasion of Corsica →
Browse more: battles in France · Europe · Early modern battles