Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1917-07-18
TOULON CHOSEN As.
TRAINING STATION
FOR !. s. Av|ATORS

WASHINGTON, D. c., July 1S.-"Ey-
identity the French war office does not
believe that student aviators should be
subjected to the danger of baptism
OF bombs while they are learning the
mastery of the air, says war geog-
raphy bulletin issued by the National
Geographic Society This fact is indl-
Gated by the choice of Toulon as a
training camp for American flying men.
An aviation school located in this city,
one of the strongest fortresses IN
France and sharing with Brest the
distinction of being the two leading
bases of the French Navy, is about as
far removed from the danger zone OF
German air raiders as it is possible to-
be and still remain on French soil.
"Toulon, with it's exceptional har-
Dor, comprising five splendid basins, is
situated on the Mediterranean, AZ
miels by rail southeast of Marseilles
and 100 miles southwest of Nice. The
entrance to the bay, easily defended by
torpedoes and girdled by forts and bat
teries, is 300 feet wide. Three of the
five basins are reserved for the use OF
THE warships of the French mediter-
ranean fleet, which has its headquar-
ters here. The maritime arsenal, with
its workshops, its stores of supplies
and it's splendid docks, is closed to-
foreigners even in times of peace.
"Now boasting a population of more
than 100000 and enjoying brisk COM
mercial life, fostered by such indus
tries os shipbuilding, wine-growing,
fishing and lace-making, Toulon is one
of the most ancient cities of France.
It is supposed to have been founded by
those great merchants of the ancient
world, the Phoenician and it was
known to, Greek travellers at Telonian'
while the Romans knew it as Telc Mar
thus
"Goths, Franks, Burgundians and
saracens sacked Toulon from time to-
time; it was twice captured during the
18th century by Charles V, and it was
finally fortified during the reign of
Henry ". The famous engineer Vau-
ban, under the direction of Louis XIV,
greatly strengthened it's military works
and during the very year in which that
military genius died broken hearted
because many Of the 100 fortresses
which he had constructed or rebuilt
had been captured, Toulon, thanks toI
his labors, was able to withstand an at
tack from the allied fleets of England
and Holland and an army under Prince
Eugene.
Nearly a century later, however,
Q793) the French royalists threw open
the city to an English, Neapolitan and
Spanish feet under Admiral Hood
The foreigners. were not in possession
long, for the revolutionary forces laid
siege to the town and after six weeks
il fell This military event is a great
milestone in history for it was here
that a young artillery officer first dis
tin uished himself-Napoleon oBna-
parte.
This is not the Battle of Toulon'
which finds such prominence in the
naval history of Great Britain. That
encounter with the French occurred
nearly fifty years, previously (1744
when a British feet of 80 sails attack
ed with unfortunate results Franco
Spanish fleet of q sails. The British
officers, including the commander-in-
chief, Thomas Matthews were court
martialed for this failure and Matthews
and number of his captains were dis
missed from the service. The trial
courts decision was such as to affect
naval tactics of British officers for a
number of years, for it prescribed GER
tain methods of attack which greatly
hampered the initiative of future COM
manders.
Napoleon embarked from Toulon on
his Egyptian Campaign in 1898"