As part of the fortification system of the Hyères Islands wanted by Napoleon to counter the British naval threat, the Mèdes battery protected the Var coast and controlled access to the bay of Hyères. It was outlined in 1794 to replace the forts devastated during the withdrawal of English troops from Toulon. The battery was later reorganized in 1841 by the Commission for the defense of the coasts of the July Monarchy to accommodate ten cannons and two mortars. It then took its current form of a rectangular building with a terraced roof and two levels consisting of a basement used as a store and a ground floor intended for the reception of troops and leaned to the west of the cliff. The Mèdes battery lost its military role at the end of the 19th century and was decommissioned in 1884.