| 翻訳と辞書 |
| Siege of Malta (1798-1800) ： ウィキペディア英語版 |
Siege of Malta (1798–1800)
The Siege of Malta was a two-year siege and blockade of the French garrison in Valletta, the largest city and main port on the Mediterranean island of Malta between 1798 and 1800. Valletta had been captured by a French expeditionary force during the Mediterranean campaign of 1798, and garrisoned with 3,000 men under the command of Claude-Henri Belgrand de Vaubois. When the French Mediterranean Fleet was destroyed at the Battle of the Nile on 1 August 1798, the British Royal Navy was able to initiate a blockade of Malta, assisted by an uprising among the native Maltese population against French rule. Forced to retreat to Valletta, the French garrison faced severe food shortages, exacerbated by the effectiveness of the British blockade: although small quantities of supplies arrived in early 1799, there was no further traffic until early 1800, by which time starvation and disease was having a disastrous effect on health, morale, and combat capability of the French troops.
In February 1800, a significant convoy under Contre-Admiral Jean-Baptiste Perrée sent from Toulon made a determined effort to resupply the garrison. The blockade squadron under Rear-Admiral Lord Nelson intercepted the convoy within sight of the starving troops on Malta and in the ensuing, but brief, battle, Perrée was killed and his flagship captured. The following month, the ship of the line ''Guillaume Tell'' set sail from Valletta to Toulon, laden with soldiers, but this too was intercepted and in a hard-fought battle was forced to surrender to a larger British squadron. These defeats rendered the French position on Valletta untenable, and its surrender inevitable. Although Vaubois held out for another five months, he eventually surrendered on 4 September, by which time the garrison mortality from malnourishment and typhus had reached 100 men a day. Malta was retained by Britain, and control of the island was a factor in the outbreak of the Napoleonic Wars in 1803. Ultimately it remained under British government for 164 years, gaining independence in 1964.
==French invasion of Malta==
On 19 May 1798, a French fleet sailed from Toulon, escorting an expeditionary force of over 30,000 men under General Napoleon Bonaparte. The force was destined for Egypt, Bonaparte seeking to expand French influence in Asia and force Britain to make peace in the French Revolutionary Wars, which had begun in 1792.〔Cole, p. 13〕 Sailing southeast, the convoy collected additional transports from Italian ports and at 05:30 on 9 June arrived off Valletta, the heavily fortified port-city on the island of Malta.〔James, Vol. 2, p. 151〕 At this time, Malta and its neighbouring islands were ruled by the Knights of St. John, an old and influential feudal order weakened by the loss of most of their revenue during the French Revolution. The order was composed of men from across Europe, including a significant proportion of Frenchmen, who ruled over the majority Maltese population of the islands.〔Cole, p. 10〕 The head of government was Grand Master Ferdinand von Hompesch zu Bolheim, refused Bonaparte's demand that his entire convoy be allowed to enter Valletta and take on supplies, insisting that Malta's neutrality meant that only two ships could enter at a time.〔Cole, p. 8〕
On receiving this reply, Bonaparte immediately ordered his fleet to bombard Valletta and on 11 June General Louis Baraguey d'Hilliers directed an amphibious operation in which several thousand soldiers landed at seven strategic sites around the island. The French Knights deserted the order, and the remaining Knights failed to mount a meaningful resistance. Approximately 2,000 native Maltese militia resisted for 24 hours, retreating to Valletta once the city of Mdina fell to General Claude-Henri Belgrand de Vaubois.〔Cole, p. 9〕 Although Valletta was strong enough to hold out against a lengthy siege, Bonaparte negotiated a surrender with Hompesch, who agreed to turn Malta and all of its resources over to the French in exchange for estates and pensions in France for himself and his knights.〔Gardiner, p. 21〕 Bonaparte then established a French garrison on the islands, leaving 4,000 men under Vaubois while he and the rest of the expeditionary force sailed eastwards for Alexandria on 19 June.〔Adkins, p. 13〕
抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』
■ウィキペディアで「Siege of Malta (1798–1800)」の詳細全文を読む
スポンサード リンク
| 翻訳と辞書 : 翻訳のためのインターネットリソース |
Copyright(C) kotoba.ne.jp 1997-2016. All Rights Reserved.
|
|