War of the First Coalition
| War of the First Coalition | |||||||||
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| Part of the Coalition Wars | |||||||||
 Click an image to load the appropriate article. Left to right, top to bottom: Battles of Valmy, Toulon, Fleurus, Quiberon, Arcole and Mantua | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
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First Coalition:
Other Italian states[9] |
(from 1792) | ||||||||
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| Strength | |||||||||
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
 94,000 soldiers killed in combat[16]~282,000 died of disease 220,000 captured 100,000 wounded[17] |
 100,000 soldiers killed in combat~300,000 died of disease 150,000 captured[18][16] | ||||||||
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620miles
The War of the First Coalition (
Relations between the French revolutionaries and neighbouring monarchies had deteriorated following the
Subsequently, these powers made several invasions of France by land and sea, in association with Prussia and Austria attacking from the
The French established the Batavian Republic as a sister republic (May 1795) and gained Prussian recognition of French control of the Left Bank of the Rhine by the first Peace of Basel. With the Treaty of Campo Formio, Austria ceded the Austrian Netherlands to France and Northern Italy was turned into several French sister republics. Spain made a separate peace accord with France (Second Treaty of Basel) and the French Directory annexed more of the Holy Roman Empire.
North of the Alps, Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen redressed the situation in 1796, but Napoleon Bonaparte carried all before him against Sardinia and Austria in northern Italy (1796–1797) near the Po Valley, culminating in the Peace of Leoben and the Treaty of Campo Formio (October 1797). The First Coalition collapsed, leaving only Britain in the field fighting against France.
Background
Revolution in France
For the full article, see French Revolution.
As early as 1791, other monarchies in Europe were watching the developments in France with alarm, and considered intervening, either in support of Louis XVI or to take advantage of the chaos in France. The key figure, the Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II, brother of the French Queen Marie Antoinette, had initially looked on the Revolution calmly. He became increasingly concerned as the Revolution grew more radical, although he still hoped to avoid war.
On 27 August 1791, Leopold and King Frederick William II of Prussia, in consultation with émigré French nobles, issued the Declaration of Pillnitz, which declared the concern of the monarchs of Europe for the well-being of Louis and his family, and threatened vague but severe consequences if anything should befall them. Although Leopold saw the Pillnitz Declaration as a way of taking action that would enable him to avoid actually doing anything about France, at least for the moment, Paris saw the Declaration as a serious threat and the revolutionary leaders denounced it.[21]
In addition to the ideological differences between France and the monarchical powers of Europe, disputes continued over the status of Imperial estates in Alsace,[21] and the French authorities became concerned about the agitation of émigré nobles abroad, especially in the Austrian Netherlands and in the minor states of Germany. In the end, France declared war on Austria first, with the Assembly voting for war on 20 April 1792, after the presentation of a long list of grievances by the newly appointed foreign minister Charles François Dumouriez, who sought a war which might restore some popularity and authority to the King.[22]
1792
Invasion of the Austrian Netherlands
Dumouriez prepared an invasion of the Austrian Netherlands, where he expected the local population to rise against Austrian rule. However, the revolution had thoroughly disorganized the French army, which had insufficient forces for the invasion. Its soldiers fled at the first sign of battle, deserting en masse, in one case murdering General Théobald Dillon.[22] The French soldiers were insulted, hissed, even assaulted. The situation of "Flanders Campaign" was alarming.[23]
While the revolutionary government frantically raised fresh troops and reorganized its armies, an allied army under
Prussian progress
Brunswick's army, composed mostly of Prussian veterans, crossed into French territory on 19 August and easily took the fortresses of
Fronts in Italy and Germany
Meanwhile, the French had been successful on several other fronts, occupying the Duchy of Savoy and the County of Nice until the Massif de l'Authion, while General Custine invaded Germany, capturing Speyer, Worms and Mainz along the Rhine, and reaching as far as Frankfurt. Dumouriez went on the offensive in the Austrian Netherlands once again, winning a great victory over the Austrians at Jemappes on 6 November 1792, and occupying the entire country by the beginning of winter.[19]
1793
On 21 January the revolutionary government executed Louis XVI after a trial.[26] This united all European governments, including Spain, Naples & Sicily, and the Netherlands against the Revolution. France declared war against Britain and the Netherlands on 1 February 1793 and soon afterwards against Spain. In the course of the year 1793 the Holy Roman Empire (on 23 March), the kings of Portugal and Naples, and the Grand Duke of Tuscany declared war against France. Thus the First Coalition was formed.[19]
Introduction of conscription
France introduced a new levy of hundreds of thousands of men, beginning a French policy of using levée en masse (mass conscription) to deploy more of its manpower than the other states could,[19] and remaining on the offensive so that these mass armies could commandeer war material from the territory of their enemies. The Girondin faction of the French government sent Citizen Genet to the United States to encourage them to enter the war on France's side. The newly formed nation refused, and the Washington administration's 1793 Proclamation of Neutrality threatened legal action against any citizen providing assistance to any side in the conflict.
After a victory in the
1794
Battle of Fleurus
1794 brought increased success to the revolutionary armies. A major victory against combined coalition forces at the Battle of Fleurus gained all of the Austrian Netherlands and the Rhineland for France.[27] Although the British navy maintained its supremacy at sea, it was unable to support effectively any land operations after the fall of the Belgian provinces.[28] The Prussians were slowly driven out of the eastern provinces[27] and by the end of the year they had retired from any active part in the war.[28] Against Spain, the French made successful incursions into both Catalonia and Navarre[28] in the War of the Pyrenees.
Actions in the West Indies
Action extended into the French colonies in the
1795
French capture of the Low Countries
After seizing the Low Countries in a surprise winter attack, France established the Batavian Republic as a puppet state. Even before the close of 1794 Prussia retired from any active part in the war, and on 5 April 1795 King Frederick William II concluded with France the Peace of Basel, which recognized France's occupation of the left bank of the Rhine. The new French-dominated Dutch government bought peace by surrendering Dutch territory to the south of that river. A treaty of peace between France and Spain followed in July. The grand duke of Tuscany had been admitted to terms in February. The coalition thus fell into ruin and France proper would be free from invasion for many years.[30]
Battle of Quiberon
Britain attempted to reinforce the rebels in the
Battle of Mainz
On the Rhine frontier, General
1796
The French prepared a great advance on three fronts, with Jourdan and
.Rhine campaign
In the Rhine campaign of 1796, Jourdan and Moreau crossed the Rhine river and advanced into Germany. Jourdan advanced as far as Amberg in late August while Moreau reached Bavaria and the edge of Tyrol by September. However Jourdan was defeated by Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen and both armies were forced to retreat back across the Rhine.[34][35]
Invasion of Italy
Napoleon, on the other hand, was successful in a daring invasion of Italy. In the
End of the War of the Vendée
The
1797
Battle of Mantua
On 2 February Napoleon finally captured Mantua,[36] with the Austrians surrendering 18,000 men. Archduke Charles of Austria was unable to stop Napoleon from invading the Tyrol, and the Austrian government sued for peace in April. At the same time, there was a new French invasion of Germany under Moreau and Hoche.[36]
Invasion of Great Britain
On 22 February, a French invasion force consisting of 1,400 troops from the
Austrian peace
Austria signed the Treaty of Campo Formio in October,[36] ceding Belgium to France and recognizing French control of the Rhineland and much of Italy.[35] The ancient Republic of Venice was partitioned between Austria and France. This ended the War of the First Coalition, although Great Britain and France remained at war.
See also
Notes
- ^ Left the war after signing the Treaty of The Hague (1795) with France.
- ^ <https://www.britannica.com/event/Wars-of-the-Vendee
- ^ Including the Army of Condé
- Duchy of Massa. Left the war after signing the Treaty of Campo Formiowith France.
- ^ a b c Left the war after signing the Peace of Basel with France.
- ^ a b Left the war after signing the Peace of Paris with France.
- ^ Left the war after signing the Treaty of Tolentino with France.
- ^ Left the war after signing the Treaty of Paris with France.
- Val Telline.
- ^ Including the Polish Legions formed in French-allied Italy in 1797, following the abolition of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth after the Third Partition in 1795.
- ^ The French Revolutionary Army and Dutch revolutionaries overthrew the Dutch Republic and established the Batavian Republic as a puppet state in its place.
- ^ Various conquered Italian states, including the Cisalpine Republic from 1797
- ^ Re-entered the war against Britain as an ally of France after signing the Second Treaty of San Ildefonso.
- ^ The coalition was prepared by Emperor Leopold II: "The French Revolution, 1789–1799".; "Austria's Leopold II on the French Revolution (1791)". 30 March 2015.
- ^ Lynn, John A. (1994). Recalculating French Army Growth during the Grand Siecle, 1610–1715. French Historical Studies 18, no. 4: 881–906, p. 904. Only counting frontline army troops, not naval personnel, militiamen, or reserves; the National Guard alone was supposed to provide a reserve of 1,200,000 men in 1789.
- ^ a b Victimario Histórico Militar Capítulo IV Guerras de la Revolución Francesa (1789 a 1815)
- ^ Clodfelter, Micheal (2017). Warfare and Armed Conflicts A Statistical Encyclopedia of Casualty and Other Figures, 1492–2015, 4th edition, MacFarland. p. 100.
- ^ Clodfelter, p. 100.
- ^ a b c d e Holland 1911, Battle of Valmy.
- ^ (in Dutch) Shusterman, Noah (2015). De Franse Revolutie (The French Revolution). Veen Media, Amsterdam. (Translation of: The French Revolution. Faith, Desire, and Politics. Routledge, London/New York, 2014.) Chapter 7, pp. 271–312: The federalist revolts, the Vendée and the beginning of the Terror (summer–fall 1793).
- ^ a b Holland 1911, The king and the nonjurors.
- ^ a b c d Holland 1911, War declared against Austria.
- ^ Howe, P.C. (2008). Endgame, March–December 1793, p. 159, 172. In: Foreign Policy and the French Revolution. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230616882_11 Archived 30 December 2023 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Holland 1911, Rising of the 10th of August.
- ^ Holland 1911, The revolutionary Commune of Paris.
- ^ Holland 1911, Trial and execution of Louis XVI.
- ^ a b c d Holland 1911, The Revolutionary War. Republican successes..
- ^ a b c Holland 1911, Progress of the war..
- ^ a b Hannay 1911, p. 204.
- ^ One of more of the preceding sentences text from a publication now in the public domain: Holland 1911, Progress of the war
- ^ Holland 1911, Progress of the war.
- ^ Holland 1911, Insurrection of 13 Vendémiaire.
- ^ Holland 1911, Character of the Directory.
- ^ a b c Hannay 1911, p. 182.
- ^ a b c d Holland 1911, Military triumphs under the Directory. Bonaparte.
- ^ a b c Hannay 1911, p. 193.
References
- Hannay, David (1911). . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- Holland, Arthur William (1911). . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Further reading
- Clausewitz, Carl von (2018). Napoleon's 1796 Italian Campaign. Trans and ed. Nicholas Murray and Christopher Pringle. This also includes the notes from J. Colin's French translation as well as extensive commentary on Clausewitz's history and theory. Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas. ISBN 978-0-7006-2676-2
- Fremont-Barnes, Gregory (2013). The French Revolutionary Wars
- Gardiner, Robert (2006). Fleet Battle And Blockade: The French Revolutionary War 1793–1797
- Lefebvre, Georges (1964). The French Revolution Volume II: from 1793 to 1799
- Ross, Steven T.(1973). Quest for Victory; French Military Strategy, 1792–1799
External links
Media related to War of the First Coalition at Wikimedia Commons
| Preceded by Siege of Namur (1792) |
French Revolution: Revolutionary campaigns War of the First Coalition |
Succeeded by War in the Vendée |
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