and Gabonese. On 21 February, the French arrested the senior Fon officials in Cotonou and began fortifying the town. Skirmishes with local militia also broke out. It was not long before word of this got back to Abomey. Dahomey sent a force straight to Cotonou with plans to bring it firmly back under Fon control once and for all. Battle of Cotonou On 4 March, a Dahomey army of several thousand charged the log stockade around Cotonou at approximately 5 in the morning. This was usual for the Fon army of Dahomey that almost always marched at night and attacked just before dawn. Prying apart the stakes and shoving their muskets through, the Fon fired into the enclosure. Some managed to surmount the 800-metre perimeter inflicting casualties within the walls. After four hours of intense fighting, often occurring hand-to-hand despite withering French firepower and even gunboat shells, the Fon force withdrew. The French sustained few losses, but the Fon suffered several hundred dead (129 within the French lines). Battle of Atchoukpa After regrouping, Dahomey sent another force south, this time toward Porto-Novo. After receiving numerous reinforcements, the French ordered 350 men with three field guns to march north and intercept the Fon. This time, the French would be assisted by 500 warriors of King Toffa I. As the French column arrived to the village of Atchoukpa, Toffa's warriors, who were walking ahead of the formation, came under Dahomey fire and fled the battlefield in a complete rout. The French formed infantry squares and held repeated Dahomey attacks for several hours. An attempt by King Béhanzin to send a detachment to bypass the French squares and sack Porto-Novo was thwarted by Colonel Terrillon. French squares slowly withdrew toward the undefended city. After another hour of unsuccessful clashes with French squares, Béhanzin ordered his army to retreat. By the next day, the Dahomey army had completely left the vicinity of Porto-Novo and withdrawn toward Abomey. End of hostilities Dahomey did not launch any further attacks on Cotonou or Porto-Novo. On 3 October 1890, Dahomey signed a treaty recognising the kingdom of Porto-Novo as a French protectorate. Béhanzin was also forced to cede Cotonou, but did receive 20,000 francs a year for giving up his customs rights. The war was a resounding victory for France and a humiliating, though eye-opening, experience for Dahomey. Despite the treaty, both sides believed peace could not last