Invasion of Isle Bonaparte
| Invasion of Isle Bonaparte | |||||||||
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| Part of the Mauritius campaign of 1809–1811 | |||||||||
1763 map of Isle Bonaparte | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
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United Kingdom East India Company | France | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Josias Rowley Henry Sheehy Keating | Chrysostôme de Sainte-Suzanne | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
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3,650 regulars 5 frigates |
576 regulars 2,717 militia | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
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22 killed 79 wounded | Entire garrison captured | ||||||||
The invasion of Isle Bonaparte was an amphibious operation in 1810 that formed an important part of the British campaign to blockade and capture the French Indian Ocean colonies of Isle Bonaparte (now Réunion) and Isle de France (now Mauritius) during the Napoleonic Wars. These islands formed a fortified base for a French frigate squadron under Commodore Jacques Hamelin to raid British convoys of East Indiamen travelling between Britain and British India. Hamelin's ships had destroyed two convoys the previous year despite the attention of a squadron of Royal Navy ships under Commodore Josias Rowley. Rowley had responded by raiding the fortified anchorage of Saint Paul on Isle Bonaparte, capturing one of Hamelin's frigates and recapturing two British East Indiamen.
The raid had an unforeseen consequence, when the commander of Isle Bonaparte General Nicolas Des Bruslys, committed suicide rather than lead the garrison against the British landing parties. This encouraged Rowley to consider a larger operation to seize the whole island. Using the small British-held island of Rodriguez as a base, Rowley and his British Army counterpart Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Sheehy Keating planned to land two forces either side of the island's capital Saint Denis and force the governor to capitulate before the island's militia could be mobilised against them.
The plan was launched on 7 July 1810 as two combined forces of British sailors, soldiers, sepoys and Royal Marines landed at separate beaches. Although a number of men were drowned in the heavy surf, the majority of the invasion force reached the beaches safely and marched inland, attacking French outposts as they approached the capital. Recognising that his demoralised garrison would be unable to defend Saint Denis and that the militia would take too long to mobilise, the French commander Colonel Chrysostôme de Sainte-Suzanne surrendered the island, its garrison and its stores to Rowley.