Toulon, or Telo Martius as it was then known, served as a naval station for the Romans. Acquired by the French crown in 1481, Toulon was developed as a port by Henry IV (r. 1589-1610) and enlarged and fortified by Cardinal Richelieu and Sebastien Le Prestre de Vauban in the 17th century. The English captured Toulon in 1793, but the French recaptured it a year later in a battle in which Napoleon Bonaparte became a hero. During World War II much of the French fleet was scuttled in Toulon's harbor in November 1942 to prevent its seizure by the Germans. A submarine base during the period of German occupation, Toulon suffered heavy Allied bombing in 1943 and 1944. It was retaken by the French in August 1944.