First Lieutenant
Serves as lieutenant en premier in the 4th Regiment of Artillery
Role range: 1789-1792
Historical biography archive · Updated 2026-11-03
Napoleon Bonaparte Biography and Timeline
Follow Napoleon Bonaparte through 110 dated historical records for France.
Napoleon Bonaparte, historical timeline
A chronological timeline drawn from matching World History Database records.
110Distinct records
1 of 3Page
1791–1796Years on this page
1791
First Lieutenant
Serves as lieutenant en premier in the 4th Regiment of Artillery.
Role range: 1789-1792
Ajaccio Politics
Participates in Jacobin politics and local National Guard activity in Corsica
Role range: 1789-1792
Ajaccio Politics
Participates in Jacobin politics and local National Guard activity in Corsica.
Role range: 1789-1792
Corsican National Guard factional politics
Napoleon Bonaparte participated in Corsican revolutionary politics and local armed organization. National Guard activity on the island reflected disputes over allegiance and political authority.
Role range: 1789-1792
1792
Bonaparte's Ajaccio Guard campaign
Bonaparte became embroiled in struggles involving Corsican volunteer and National Guard forces during disturbances in Ajaccio. His involvement highlighted the contentious local politics of revolutionary military service.
Role range: 1789-1792
1793
Bonaparte Replaces Wounded Artillery Officer
The young artillery officer assumed increasing responsibility after the commander of guns was wounded. He soon began reorganizing the besiegers' artillery positions around the port.
Role range: 1793-1799
Bonaparte Surveys Allied Harbour Defences
Bonaparte studied the positions from which cannon could threaten enemy shipping. He concluded that control of the heights commanding the inner anchorage was vital.
Role range: 1793-1799
Artillery Plan Targets Little Gibraltar Heights
Bonaparte advocated capturing positions controlling the entrance to the harbor. These heights included the strongpoint later known as Fort Mulgrave or Little Gibraltar.
Role range: 1793-1799
Forward French Battery Provokes Allied Sortie
Republican artillery positions outside Toulon drew a counterattack from Allied defenders. Fighting over the batteries demonstrated how much control of artillery sites mattered to the siege.
Role range: 1793-1799
French Artillery Deploys New Heavy Guns
Bonaparte sought additional cannon and ammunition for siege batteries. Concentrating effective artillery was essential to challenging the enemy's defended positions.
Role range: 1793-1799
Republican Batteries Threaten Allied Shipping
Bonaparte's guns increasingly challenged ships and coastal defenders occupying the harbor. The growing threat made the capture of the southern heights even more consequential.
Role range: 1793-1799
Artillery Supports Storming of Fort Mulgrave
Bonaparte's siege guns contributed to the attack on the stronghold overlooking Toulon's anchorage. The capture of the position was decisive because cannon could then threaten the fleet.
Role range: 1793-1799
Bonaparte Recommended for Higher Military Rank
The young officer's effective handling of artillery drew notice after Toulon fell. His subsequent promotion marked an important acceleration in his military career.
Role range: 1793-1799
Bonaparte Reorganizes Guns after Enemy Attack
Following Allied attempts to disrupt forward batteries, Bonaparte continued strengthening the republican gun line. His work sustained pressure on fortifications surrounding the harbor.
Role range: 1793-1799
Bonaparte Wounded during Final Assault
Bonaparte was wounded in the fighting that led to the capture of the key heights. His role in the siege subsequently attracted favorable attention from republican authorities.
Role range: 1793-1799
Toulon Victory Establishes Artillery Officer Reputation
The siege demonstrated Bonaparte's ability to connect artillery placement with strategic objectives. His growing reputation helped open opportunities for subsequent appointments in the revolutionary armies.
Role range: 1793-1799
Artillery command outside Toulon Bonaparte
During the republican siege of Toulon, Bonaparte assumed responsibility for improving French artillery positions. His concentration of guns against the allied anchorage was central to the plan for retaking the port.
Role range: 1793-1799
Bonaparte family refuge in Provence Bonaparte
Following the failure of the republican cause in Corsica, the Bonaparte family fled to the French mainland. Napoleon sought military employment while his relatives struggled to establish themselves as political refugees.
Role range: 1793-1799
Capture of Fort Mulgrave positions Bonaparte
French troops captured the fortified heights guarding Toulon's harbour after a difficult assault. Bonaparte's artillery preparations contributed to making the allied naval position untenable.
Role range: 1793-1799
Corsican rupture with Paoli Bonaparte
Bonaparte's allegiance to the French Republic brought him into open conflict with Pasquale Paoli's Corsican leadership. The quarrel shattered his family's position on the island and redirected his career toward mainland France.
Role range: 1793-1799
Le Souper de Beaucaire published Bonaparte
Bonaparte wrote a political dialogue defending the Convention against federalist rebellion. The pamphlet displayed his republican sympathies and helped draw attention to his abilities among the army's political supervisors.
Role range: 1793-1799
Promotion after Toulon victory Bonaparte
The recapture of Toulon established Bonaparte's reputation as an unusually capable artillery officer. He received promotion to general of brigade following the operation.
Role range: 1793-1799
1794
Artillery inspector on Italian frontier Bonaparte
Bonaparte served with the Army of Italy and examined opportunities for offensive operations through the Maritime Alps. His work linked artillery expertise to increasingly ambitious operational planning.
Role range: 1793-1799
Suspicion following Thermidor Bonaparte
The fall of Robespierre placed officers associated with his political circle under suspicion. Bonaparte was briefly detained but emerged without a lasting conviction and resumed seeking a useful command.
Role range: 1793-1799
1795
Artillery deployed against Vendemiaire insurgents
Bonaparte directed artillery during the defeat of the royalist attack in Paris. The episode demonstrated the growing influence of regular military force over citizen-militia politics.
Role range: 1793-1799
Regular Artillery Outmatches Royalist Section Forces
Bonaparte's guns proved decisive against royalist insurgents during Vendémiaire. The confrontation highlighted the growing superiority of disciplined army units over politically divided civic formations.
Role range: 1793-1799
Suppression of Royalist Insurrection
Bonaparte deploys artillery to defend the Convention and helps defeat the royalist insurrection of 13 Vendemiaire in central Paris.
Role range: 1789-1799
Army of the Interior leadership Bonaparte
Following the defeat of the royalist rising, Bonaparte gained an important command in the Army of the Interior. His advancement tied him to the government emerging from the Convention.
Role range: 1795-1799
Refusal of western infantry posting Bonaparte
After his Italian command prospects deteriorated, Bonaparte resisted reassignment to an infantry post against western insurgents. His uncertain status reflected the instability of military appointments after Thermidor.
Role range: 1795-1799
Vendemiaire artillery concentration Bonaparte
Bonaparte organized artillery to defend the Convention against a royalist uprising on 13 Vendémiaire. His guns gave government troops a decisive advantage over insurgents advancing through central Paris.
Role range: 1795-1799
Work in the Topographical Bureau Bonaparte
Bonaparte undertook planning duties in the War Ministry's topographical bureau while out of an active field command. The assignment kept him close to senior military administrators and strategic discussions.
Role range: 1795-1799
1796
Advance through Trentino Bonaparte
Bonaparte advanced northward toward Trento as the armies maneuvered around the Adige. French operations threatened Austrian lines of retreat and sought to prevent a renewed coalition concentration.
Role range: 1795-1799
Arcole marshland maneuver Bonaparte
Bonaparte attempted to outflank Austrian troops through difficult marshy terrain near Arcole. Several days of fighting eventually forced the enemy to withdraw and relieved immediate pressure on French communications.
Role range: 1795-1799
Armistice of Cherasco Bonaparte
Bonaparte concluded an armistice with the Kingdom of Sardinia after his early victories. The agreement secured French communications and enabled the Army of Italy to concentrate against Austria.
Role range: 1795-1799
Assumption of Italian field command Bonaparte
Bonaparte took operational control of the Army of Italy and found troops suffering from shortages of pay and supplies. He prepared a rapid offensive intended to separate the Austrian and Piedmontese armies.
Role range: 1795-1799
Battle of Caldiero setback Bonaparte
A French attack at Caldiero failed against Austrian forces under Alvinczi. The reverse obliged Bonaparte to seek a different route for striking the enemy position.
Role range: 1795-1799
Battle of Castiglione Bonaparte
French forces defeated an Austrian army commanded by Wurmser near Castiglione. The success frustrated an attempt to rescue the Mantua garrison and allowed Bonaparte to resume the siege.
Role range: 1795-1799
Battle of Dego Bonaparte
Bonaparte's troops fought Austrian formations at Dego during the opening Italian offensive. By restoring control of the position after a counterattack, the French strengthened their operational advantage.
Role range: 1795-1799
Battle of Lodi bridge assault Bonaparte
French troops forced a crossing over the Adda at Lodi under heavy Austrian fire. The engagement strengthened Bonaparte's military prestige even though much of the opposing army escaped.
Role range: 1795-1799
Records, sources and methodology
These dates and descriptions come from the historical_events database. Exact duplicate records have been collapsed. Names are grouped by the country, Name 2 and Name 1 fields; records with missing Name 2 cannot be reliably assigned to an individual biography. Check the underlying sources before formal citation.