FRANCE, Premier Empire. Napoléon I. 1804-1814. Æ Medal (33.5mm, 15.65 g, 12h). Encampment at Boulogne and the Planned Invasion of England. By Brenet. Denon, director. Dated
L’An 4 de Bonaparte (AD 1802/3). Bare head of Napoléon left; BRENET/ DENON DIREXIT below / A LA FORTUNE CONSERVATRICE, Fortuna reclining right on invasion barge, holding billowing sail with left hand, resting right arm on rudder; star above; BRENET and L’AN 4 DE/ BONAPARTE in exergue. Bramsen 275; Julius 1173. EF.
In the perennial conflicts between the two nations, the Ancien Régime of France had several times undertaken preparations for an invasion of the British Isles, though none of the threats ever came to fruition. Under the Republic, Napoléon first began to plan for a naval assault on the United Kingdom in 1798, but this first Armée de l'Angleterre was drawn away to support the general’s actions in Egypt.
Napoléon once again began serious preparations for an assault in 1803. Funding his machinations from the proceeds of the sale of the Louisiana territory to the Americas, Napoléon raised and trained an army of over 200,000 soldiers. The army encamped at the now-fortified port of Boulogne, which also hosted the flottille de Boulogne, a fleet of small gunboats, galleys, and invasion barges. Plans were even considered for an aerial invasion of the island. Napoléon consulted early aeronautical pioneer Marie Blanchard regarding this possibility, but was informed that unfavorable winds made such a plan untenable.
The French maintained high expectations for this endeavor. Before a single ship even set out to sea, officials erected a column celebrating their impending victory, and had numerous commemorative medals struck and distributed. Yet the mighty British navy continually stymied French efforts. Napoléon’s strategy involved a breakout of French ships from the blockaded Spanish and Dutch ports, followed by a spoiling attack on British forces in the West Indies, which would draw off the blockade and enable the amphibious assault on Britain. Though vessels from Toulon and Cadiz were able to run the blockade and harass the Carribean, the British navy ultimately annihilated them on their return to Europe in the Battle of Finisterre. In the words of Admiral John Jervis, “I do not say they cannot come – I only say they cannot come by sea.”
The Armée de l’Angleterre was disbanded in August 1805 and formed into the core of the Grand Armée.
