But even as Napoleon and his guns reached the crest of the hill overlooking the two forts it was clear that events were outstripping the detail of his plan. A steady stream of boats was moving to and from the forts and the allied warships anchored in the harbour of Toulon. At first Napoleon’s heart sank and he slumped against the carriage of the leading gun. They were too late. The enemy was massively reinforcing the garrisons of the two forts. Then he realised the boats heading towards him were empty, and those heading away were laden with men and equipment.

‘My God . . . they’re abandoning the forts.’ He shook his head in wonder as Junot came towards him, laughing as he gestured towards the boats.

‘Sir. Look! They’re running away!’

‘Yes, I can see. But I can hardly believe it.’

Junot slapped his hand down on the barrel of the cannon, all trace of weariness gone from his mud-spattered face. On the slope around them the remains of the battalions who had participated in the assault on Fort Mulgrave looked on in astonishment as the enemy continued their evacuation. Junot suddenly turned to Napoleon.

‘Sir. What are your orders?’

‘Orders?’

‘Shall I give the order to attack? If we set the guns up we can pound them as they escape.’ Junot’s eyes gleamed at the thought. ‘Or should we send the infantry in?’

Napoleon shook his head. There had been enough killing. Nothing could be gained from further loss of life. ‘Leave them.’

‘Leave them?’ Junot frowned. ‘Sir, they’re the enemy. It’s our duty to kill them.’

‘I said leave them!’ Napoleon snapped, and instantly regretted it. Junot was simply overexcited. The lieutenant had performed well during the night and did not deserve a public dressing-down. Napoleon forced himself to smile. ‘Junot, a word of advice. Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.’

‘Sir?’

‘Look.’ Napoleon raised his stick towards the forts. ‘He’s quitting the field.We don’t need to attack. If we do, what happens if he decides to reinforce the defenders? Then all is lost. Sometimes you gain more by doing nothing.’

Junot nodded faintly. ‘I suppose so, sir.’

‘Good. Then send a message back to the general and let him know what’s happening.Tell him we’ll take the forts as soon as the enemy have left.We’ll have our guns in position and covering the inner harbour as soon as possible.’

‘Yes, sir.’ Junot saluted and hurried away to find a horse to ride back along the track towards Fort Mulgrave.

As the morning wore on the enemy was allowed to complete the evacuation without interference.The last detachment to leave spiked the guns and set off the powder still remaining in the magazines. The explosion made the ground shudder for a moment beneath Napoleon’s feet and he glanced up in time to see one of the buildings in Fort L’Eguillette disintegrate in a bright flash and then the fort was covered in a dense swirling cloud of smoke and dust. As soon as the last boat of redcoats pulled away from the fort the French soldiers marched in and raised the revolutionary flag. Napoleon set them to work at once, ordering his men to move aside the spiked guns so that those in his hurriedly acquired siege train could be hauled into position to open fire across the harbour. As the exhausted soldiers laboured Napoleon sat in the highest tower of the fort and watched events unfold on the other side of the harbour through a telescope.

Shortly after noon a cloud of smoke appeared above the dockyard and flames licked up from the naval workshops and warehouses. In the following hours the allied frigates took on boatloads of soldiers and civilians, and it was clear that the enemy intended to abandon the port, destroying as much of it as possible before they quit Toulon. Out to sea the great ships of the line of the Royal Navy looked on helplessly as their commander did not dare expose them to the French batteries that could sweep the inner harbour with heated shot.

As soon as the first of his guns was ready Napoleon gave the order to open fire and the French kept up a harassing bombardment while the daylight lasted.The fires in the dockyard continued to burn through the dusk and into the night, illuminating much of the port in a hellish orange hue. More fires bloomed amongst the captured warships that the enemy was forced to leave behind and then, as the flames reached the powder deep in the hulls of the ships they blew up in a series of blinding flashes, unleashing a succession of deep roars that echoed round the harbour.

At midnight, Lieutenant Junot joined Napoleon in the tower and they watched the destruction in shocked silence.

At length Junot muttered, ‘God help those poor souls over there.’

Napoleon turned to him with a curious expression. ‘They’re our enemy, Junot. This is what war is about.’

‘I realise that, sir.’ Junot shrugged. ‘But I cannot help feeling pity.’

Napoleon considered this for a moment before he replied, ‘War is a terrible thing. The best we can hope for is to fight it efficiently, so that the result comes quickly and as few people die as possible. To that end we cannot afford pity, Junot.’

‘You may be right, sir.’ Junot stared back across the harbour and continued softly. ‘But God help them anyway.’

Just after nine o’clock Junot directed his attention to the heart of Toulon. Raising the telescope, Napoleon panned across the red-tiled roofs until he saw a flash of white and blue: the flag of the Bourbons, slowly being hauled down from its mast above the port’s garrison. A moment later, the tricolour rose up in its place, lifted to the breeze and unfurled.

‘It’s over then.’ Napoleon felt strangely empty, and tired. After so many weeks of planning for this moment, of dedicating his every waking moment to the fall of Toulon, there was little sense of triumph, merely exhaustion. ‘We’ve won.’

‘This is your victory, sir.’ Junot smiled. ‘It was your plan, and it succeeded far better than anyone could have hoped.’

‘Thank you, Junot.’

They were interrupted by the sound of footsteps on the stairs and as they turned to look Captain Muiron emerged from the staircase and approached them. He was smiling as he stopped and saluted. Then he drew a sealed envelope from inside his filthy jacket and offered it to Napoleon.

‘Dispatch from representatives Saliceti and Fréron, sir.’

Napoleon broke the seal, scanned the message, then reread it more slowly before he finally looked up.

‘It seems I am to be promoted to brigadier.’

‘Congratulations, sir,’ Junot grinned. ‘It’s no more than you deserve.’

Napoleon looked at the letter again.Three months ago he had been a lowly captain, struggling to find a patron. Now, he was to be a brigadier. That was a swift rise for a soldier by any standard, and he wondered just how far such a man might go in this world.