Catholic and Royal Armies
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The Catholic and Royal Armies (French: Armées catholiques et royales) is the name given to the royalist armies in western France composed of insurgents during the war in the Vendée and the Chouannerie, who opposed the French Revolution.[1]
Catholic and Royal Army of Vendée
Catholic and Royal Army of Vendée | |
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The Catholic and Royal Army of Vendée was composed of the three Vendéen armies although that of lower Poitou joined only occasionally.
During the year 1793, the Vendéen army was distinguished into sub-armies: The army of
In reality, those armies were simply groups of fluctuating insurgents led by a chief who had authority over people following his beliefs. The only units with a quasi-permanent existence and organization are the "compagnies de paroisse" which grouped together members of the rural community who elected their captains. Although two-thirds of the insurgents were peasants, they only represented half of the men in these units, the rest being artisans and shopkeepers.
The flaws of this army were its few health services and its lack of permanent fighters, even considering their reinforcements of republican deserters,
After the Battle of Savenay, the army was reconstructed on paper but its actual existence was insignificant; the insurrection became a chouannerie.
Peasant soldiers
The royalist insurgents who take the name of Vendéens, and that the Republicans named Brigands, originated from four departments, southern Maine-et-Loire, northern Vendée, northern Deux-Sèvres, et southern Loire-Atlantique in the provinces of Poitou, Anjou and Brittany. The insurgent territory took the name of military Vendée.
The great majority of Vendéen insurgents were peasants, armed with
The mobilisation in the insurgent territories was massive. In Chemillé, the age of the insurgents varied from 11 to 67 years old. The typical age was 25 to 30 years old.
A few women also fought among the Vendéens; the most famous one was Renée Bordereau. The army of Charette was known to have a few amazons in its ranks, including Céleste Bulkeley.
It was only during the Virée de Galerne that the officers started adopting signs to distinguish themselves from the troops. The generals and officers of the counsel took white scarves worn at the belt with knots of different colors. La Rochejaquelein and Donnissan wore a black knot, Stofflet a red one, and Marigny a blue one. Officers of a lower rank started wearing a white scarf attached to their left arm.
Priests who opposed the revolution did not have a direct role in the war; a few held a seat in the royalist counsels and mainly took care of correspondences.[clarification needed] For a priest to serve as an officer or to physically participate in combat was generally not well considered by Vendéens.
Regular army
A few regular troops were formed in the army of Vendée, where they served as elite troops.
Nonetheless, the Vendéens didn't like leaving their homes for too long, so after a few days of combat they would leave the army and go back to their villages. Hence the Vendéens were incapable of keeping conquered towns like Angers, Saumur, Thouars and Fontenay-le-Comte, which were progressively abandoned and retaken by the republicans without difficulty.
To fix this disadvantage, regular troops were recruited among republican deserters and insurgents exterior to Vendée, especially Angevins from northern Maine-et-Loire and Bretons from the Loire-Atlantique. A few future Chouan officers served with these troops, including Georges Cadoudal, Pierre-Mathurin Mercier, Scépeaux, Jean Terrien, Joseph-Juste Coquereau and Louis Courtillé.
Regular cen troops also included a high number of foreigners, including Russians, Germans and many Jews (according to republican Jacques Léonard Laplanche's writings).
Among the foreign soldiers who joined the Vendéens are included the Germans of the Régiment de La Mark and of the Germanic Legion, as well as a battalion of 600 Swiss and Germans commanded by the baron of Keller, of which some were former Swiss Guards.
Generals of the Vendée
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François-Athanase Charette de La Contrie
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Henri de La Rochejaquelein
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Antoine-Philippe de La Trémoïlle, Prince de Talmont
Other leaders include: Jacques Nicolas Fleuriot de La Fleuriais and Charles Aimé de Royrand.
Catholic and Royal Army of Brittany
Catholic and Royal Army of Brittany | |
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From the
On 15 October 1794, Puisaye was named
Following the failure of the
Finally, Puisaye resigned in 1798. After René Augustin de Chalus commanded for a short while, then the Count of Artois chose Marigny to succeed him but he refused. The commandment went to Béhague who only stayed a few months in Brittany during the year 1798 and headed back to England.
In the end, it was Georges Cadoudal, named Major General of Béhague, who led the command of the army. Dead in 1804, Cadoudal was named Marshal of France after his death.
Catholic and Royal Army of Normandy
Catholic and Royal Army of Normandy | |
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Active | 1795–1800 |
Country | France Normandy and Maine: Orne, southern Manche, northern Mayenne |
Allegiance | Kingdom of France |
Type | Chouan |
Size | 5,000 to 10,000 men |
Engagements | Chouannerie |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | • Louis de Frotté |
The Catholic and Royal Army of Normandy, sometimes simply named Royal Army of Normandy because it hosted a few
References
- ^ Mark, Harrison W. "War in the Vendée". World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved 1 March 2024.