Early in 1793, during the War of the First Coalition, the French Navy made a concerted assault on the island of Sardinia, then a possession of the House of Savoy. A French fleet bombarded the chief city on the island, Cagliari, but was repelled by the locals and withdrew. On quitting Cagliari, the French entered the gulf of Palmas and took the islands of San Pietro and Sant'Antioco, where they established garrisons. As a diversion, a second fleet, carrying a division from Corsica, anchored at Le Tigge off the island of La Maddalena on Sardinia's northern coast on 22 February. The French attempted to take the Maddalena archipelago, but though it obtained partial success, the spirited resistance of the locals drove them off with the loss of 200 men, their artillery and stores. The incident,