1.
French Revolution
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Through the Revolutionary Wars, it unleashed a wave of global conflicts that extended from the Caribbean to the Middle East. Historians widely regard the Revolution as one of the most important events in human history, the causes of the French Revolution are complex and are still debated among historians. Following the Seven Years War and the American Revolutionary War, the French government was deeply in debt, Years of bad harvests leading up to the Revolution also inflamed popular resentment of the privileges enjoyed by the clergy and the aristocracy. Demands for change were formulated in terms of Enlightenment ideals and contributed to the convocation of the Estates-General in May 1789, a central event of the first stage, in August 1789, was the abolition of feudalism and the old rules and privileges left over from the Ancien Régime. The next few years featured political struggles between various liberal assemblies and right-wing supporters of the intent on thwarting major reforms. The Republic was proclaimed in September 1792 after the French victory at Valmy, in a momentous event that led to international condemnation, Louis XVI was executed in January 1793. External threats closely shaped the course of the Revolution, internally, popular agitation radicalised the Revolution significantly, culminating in the rise of Maximilien Robespierre and the Jacobins. Large numbers of civilians were executed by revolutionary tribunals during the Terror, after the Thermidorian Reaction, an executive council known as the Directory assumed control of the French state in 1795. The rule of the Directory was characterised by suspended elections, debt repudiations, financial instability, persecutions against the Catholic clergy, dogged by charges of corruption, the Directory collapsed in a coup led by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1799. The modern era has unfolded in the shadow of the French Revolution, almost all future revolutionary movements looked back to the Revolution as their predecessor. The values and institutions of the Revolution dominate French politics to this day, the French Revolution differed from other revolutions in being not merely national, for it aimed at benefiting all humanity. Globally, the Revolution accelerated the rise of republics and democracies and it became the focal point for the development of all modern political ideologies, leading to the spread of liberalism, radicalism, nationalism, socialism, feminism, and secularism, among many others. The Revolution also witnessed the birth of total war by organising the resources of France, historians have pointed to many events and factors within the Ancien Régime that led to the Revolution. Over the course of the 18th century, there emerged what the philosopher Jürgen Habermas called the idea of the sphere in France. A perfect example would be the Palace of Versailles which was meant to overwhelm the senses of the visitor and convince one of the greatness of the French state and Louis XIV. Starting in the early 18th century saw the appearance of the sphere which was critical in that both sides were active. In France, the emergence of the public sphere outside of the control of the saw the shift from Versailles to Paris as the cultural capital of France. In the 1750s, during the querelle des bouffons over the question of the quality of Italian vs, in 1782, Louis-Sébastien Mercier wrote, The word court no longer inspires awe amongst us as in the time of Louis XIV
2.
Georges Moreau de Tours
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Georges Moreau de Tours was a French history painter and illustrator. His father was the psychiatrist Jacques-Joseph Moreau, who first suggested hemp as a treatment of mental illness and his brother Paul also became a psychiatrist and criminologist. In 1865 he entered the École des Beaux-Arts, where he studied with Alexandre Cabanel and he was a regular exhibitor at the Salon from that time until 1896. In addition to his canvas paintings, he produced three scenes for the chamber at the Town Hall in the Second Arrondissement. The works he illustrated include Amy Robsart and Marie Tudor, dramas by Victor Hugo and he was awarded the Légion dhonneur in 1892. A street in Bois-le-Roi is named after him and his wife Thérèse was also a painter of some note. Bois-le-Roi website, Moreau de Tours family ArtNet, More works by Moreau de Tours
3.
Maubeuge
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Maubeuge is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is situated on banks of the Sambre,36 km east of Valenciennes and about 9 km from the Belgian border. Maubeuge owes its origin to Maubeuge Abbey, a monastery, for men and women, founded in the 7th century by Saint Aldego. It subsequently belonged to the territory of Hainaut and it was burnt by Louis XI of France, by Francis I of France, and by Henry II of France, and was finally assigned to France by the Treaty of Nijmegen. It was fortified by Vauban by the command of Louis XIV of France, besieged in 1793 by Prince Josias of Coburg, it was relieved by the victory of Wattignies, which is commemorated by a monument in the town. It was unsuccessfully besieged in 1814, but was compelled to capitulate, after a vigorous resistance, the forts were besieged in World War I by the German Empire. Maubeuge suffered heavily in World War II, 90% of the centre was destroyed by bombardments in May 1940. Fighting again occurred in early September 1944, in and around the outskirts of Maubeuge, 1st Infantry Division during the American push toward Belgium. There are important foundries, forges and blast furnaces, together with manufactures of machine tools, the town has a board of trade arbitration, a communal college, a commercial and industrial school. In 2003, on the 100th anniversary of his win, he was commemorated with a named after him. Official website Webpage about the fortifications
4.
France
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France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
5.
French First Republic
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In the history of France, the First Republic, officially the French Republic, was founded on 21 September 1792 during the French Revolution. The First Republic lasted until the declaration of the First Empire in 1804 under Napoleon, under the Legislative Assembly, which was in power before the proclamation of the First Republic, France was engaged in war with Prussia and Austria. The foreign threat exacerbated Frances political turmoil amid the French Revolution and deepened the passion, in the violence of 10 August 1792, citizens stormed the Tuileries Palace, killing six hundred of the Kings Swiss guards and insisting on the removal of the king. A renewed fear of action prompted further violence, and in the first week of September 1792, mobs of Parisians broke into the citys prisons. This included nobles, clergymen, and political prisoners, but also numerous common criminals, such as prostitutes and petty thieves, many murdered in their cells—raped, stabbed and this became known as the September Massacres. The resulting Convention was founded with the purpose of abolishing the monarchy. The Conventions first act, on 10 August 1792, was to establish the French First Republic, the King, by then a private citizen bearing his family name of Capet, was subsequently put on trial for crimes of high treason starting in December 1792. On 16 January 1793 he was convicted, and on 21 January, throughout the winter of 1792 and spring of 1793, Paris was plagued by food riots and mass hunger. The new Convention did little to remedy the problem until late spring of 1793, despite growing discontent with the National Convention as a ruling body, in June the Convention drafted the Constitution of 1793, which was ratified by popular vote in early August. The Committees laws and policies took the revolution to unprecedented heights, after the arrest and execution of Robespierre in July 1794, the Jacobin club was closed, and the surviving Girondins were reinstated. A year later, the National Convention adopted the Constitution of the Year III and they reestablished freedom of worship, began releasing large numbers of prisoners, and most importantly, initiated elections for a new legislative body. On 3 November 1795, the Directory was established, the period known as the French Consulate began with the coup of 18 Brumaire in 1799. Members of the Directory itself planned the coup, indicating clearly the failing power of the Directory, Napoleon Bonaparte was a co-conspirator in the coup, and became head of the government as the First Consul. He would later proclaim himself Emperor of the French, ending the First French Republic and ushering in the French First Empire
6.
Holy Roman Empire
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The Holy Roman Empire was a multi-ethnic complex of territories in central Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806. On 25 December 800, Pope Leo III crowned the Frankish king Charlemagne as Emperor, reviving the title in Western Europe, more than three centuries after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The title was revived in 962 when Otto I was crowned emperor, fashioning himself as the successor of Charlemagne, some historians refer to the coronation of Charlemagne as the origin of the empire, while others prefer the coronation of Otto I as its beginning. Scholars generally concur, however, in relating an evolution of the institutions and principles constituting the empire, the office of Holy Roman Emperor was traditionally elective, although frequently controlled by dynasties. Emperor Francis II dissolved the empire on 6 August 1806, after the creation of the Confederation of the Rhine by Napoleon, before 1157, the realm was merely referred to as the Roman Empire. In a decree following the 1512 Diet of Cologne, the name was changed to Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, by the end of the 18th century, the term Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation had fallen out of official use. As Roman power in Gaul declined during the 5th century, local Germanic tribes assumed control, by the middle of the 8th century, however, the Merovingians had been reduced to figureheads, and the Carolingians, led by Charles Martel, had become the de facto rulers. In 751, Martel’s son Pepin became King of the Franks, the Carolingians would maintain a close alliance with the Papacy. In 768 Pepin’s son Charlemagne became King of the Franks and began an expansion of the realm. He eventually incorporated the territories of present-day France, Germany, northern Italy, on Christmas Day of 800, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne emperor, restoring the title in the west for the first time in over three centuries. After the death of Charles the Fat in 888, however, the Carolingian Empire broke apart, according to Regino of Prüm, the parts of the realm spewed forth kinglets, and each part elected a kinglet from its own bowels. After the death of Charles the Fat, those crowned emperor by the pope controlled only territories in Italy, the last such emperor was Berengar I of Italy, who died in 924. Around 900, autonomous stem duchies reemerged in East Francia, on his deathbed, Conrad yielded the crown to his main rival, Henry the Fowler of Saxony, who was elected king at the Diet of Fritzlar in 919. Henry reached a truce with the raiding Magyars, and in 933 he won a first victory against them in the Battle of Riade, Henry died in 936, but his descendants, the Liudolfing dynasty, would continue to rule the Eastern kingdom for roughly a century. Upon Henry the Fowlers death, Otto, his son and designated successor, was elected King in Aachen in 936 and he overcame a series of revolts from an elder brother and from several dukes. After that, the managed to control the appointment of dukes. In 951, Otto came to the aid of Adelaide, the queen of Italy, defeating her enemies, marrying her. In 955, Otto won a victory over the Magyars in the Battle of Lechfeld
7.
Habsburg Monarchy
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The Monarchy was a composite state composed of territories within and outside the Holy Roman Empire, united only in the person of the monarch. The dynastic capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, from 1804 to 1867 the Habsburg Monarchy was formally unified as the Austrian Empire, and from 1867 to 1918 as the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The two entities were never coterminous, as the Habsburg Monarchy covered many lands beyond the Holy Roman Empire, the monarchy had no official name. The entity had no official name, Austrian Empire, This was the official name. Note that the German version is Kaisertum Österreich, i. e. the English translation empire refers to a territory ruled by an emperor, Austria-Hungary, This was the official name. An unofficial popular name was the Danubian Monarchy also often used was the term Doppel-Monarchie meaning two states under one crowned ruler, Crownlands or crown lands, This is the name of all the individual parts of the Austrian Empire, and then of Austria-Hungary from 1867 on. The Hungarian parts of the Empire were called Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen or Lands of Holy Stephens Crown, the Bohemian Lands were called Lands of the St. Wenceslaus Crown. Burgenland came to Austria in 1921 from Hungary, Salzburg finally became Austrian in 1816 after the Napoleonic wars. Vienna, Austrias capital became a state January 1,1922, after being residence, Upper and Lower Austria, historically, were split into Austria above the Enns and Austria below the Enns. Upper Austria was enlarged after the Treaty of Teschen following the War of the Bavarian Succession by the so-called Innviertel, formerly part of Bavaria. Hereditary Lands or German Hereditary Lands or Austrian Hereditary Lands, In a narrower sense these were the original Habsburg Austrian territories, i. e. basically the Austrian lands, in a wider sense the Lands of the Bohemian Crown were also included in the Hereditary lands. The term was replaced by the term Crownlands in the 1849 March Constitution, within the Habsburg Monarchy, each province was governed according to its own particular customs. Until the mid 17th century, not all of the provinces were even necessarily ruled by the same members of the family often ruled portions of the Hereditary Lands as private apanages. An even greater attempt at centralization began in 1849 following the suppression of the revolutions of 1848. For the first time, ministers tried to transform the monarchy into a bureaucratic state ruled from Vienna. The Kingdom of Hungary, in particular, ceased to exist as a separate entity, in this system, the Kingdom of Hungary was given sovereignty and a parliament, with only a personal union and a joint foreign and military policy connecting it to the other Habsburg lands. When Bosnia and Herzegovina was annexed, it was not incorporated into either half of the monarchy, instead, it was governed by the joint Ministry of Finance. Austria-Hungary collapsed under the weight of the various unsolved ethnic problems that came to a head with its defeat in World War I, to these were added in 1779 the Inn Quarter of Bavaria, and in 1803 the Bishoprics of Trent and Brixen
8.
Dutch Republic
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It preceded the Batavian Republic, the Kingdom of Holland, the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, and ultimately the modern Kingdom of the Netherlands. Alternative names include the United Provinces, Seven Provinces, Federated Dutch Provinces, most of the Low Countries had come under the rule of the House of Burgundy and subsequently the House of Habsburg. In 1549 Holy Roman Emperor Charles V issued the Pragmatic Sanction, Charles was succeeded by his son, King Philip II of Spain. This was the start of the Eighty Years War, in 1579 a number of the northern provinces of the Low Countries signed the Union of Utrecht, in which they promised to support each other in their defence against the Spanish army. This was followed in 1581 by the Act of Abjuration, the declaration of independence of the provinces from Philip II. In 1582 the United Provinces invited Francis, Duke of Anjou to lead them, but after an attempt to take Antwerp in 1583. After the assassination of William of Orange, both Henry III of France and Elizabeth I of England declined the offer of sovereignty, however, the latter agreed to turn the United Provinces into a protectorate of England, and sent the Earl of Leicester as governor-general. This was unsuccessful and in 1588 the provinces became a confederacy, the Union of Utrecht is regarded as the foundation of the Republic of the Seven United Provinces, which was not recognized by the Spanish Empire until the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. During the Anglo-French war, the territory was divided into groups, the Patriots, who were pro-French and pro-American and the Orangists. The Republic of the United Provinces faced a series of revolutions in 1783–1787. During this period, republican forces occupied several major Dutch cities, initially on the defence, the Orangist forces received aid from Prussian troops and retook the Netherlands in 1787. After the French Republic became the French Empire under Napoleon, the Batavian Republic was replaced by the Napoleonic Kingdom of Holland, the Netherlands regained independence from France in 1813. In the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814 the names United Provinces of the Netherlands, on 16 March 1815, the son of stadtholder William V crowned himself King William I of the Netherlands. Between 1815 and 1890 the King of the Netherlands was also in a union the Grand Duke of the sovereign Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. After Belgium gained its independence in 1830, the state became known as the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The County of Holland was the wealthiest and most urbanized region in the world, the free trade spirit of the time received a strong augmentation through the development of a modern, effective stock market in the Low Countries. The Netherlands has the oldest stock exchange in the world, founded in 1602 by the Dutch East India Company, while Rotterdam has the oldest bourse in the Netherlands, the worlds first stock exchange, that of the Dutch East-India Company, went public in six different cities. Later, a court ruled that the company had to reside legally in a city so Amsterdam is recognized as the oldest such institution based on modern trading principles
9.
Jean-Baptiste Jourdan
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Jean-Baptiste Jourdan, 1st Comte Jourdan, enlisted as a private in the French royal army and rose to command armies during the French Revolutionary Wars. Emperor Napoleon I of France named him a Marshal of France in 1804, after 1815, he became reconciled to the Bourbon Restoration. He was one of the most successful commanders of the French Revolutionary Army, born at Limoges, France into a surgeons family, he enlisted in the French royal army in early 1778 when he was not quite sixteen. Assigned to the Regiment of Auxerrois, he participated in the assault at the Siege of Savannah on 9 October 1779 during the American War of Independence. After service in the West Indies, he returned home in 1782 sick with a fever, bouts of illness troubled him for the rest of his life. In 1784 he was discharged from the army and set up a business in Limoges. He married a dressmaker in 1788 and the couple had five daughters, when the National Assembly asked for volunteers, Jourdan was elected Chef de bataillon of the 2nd Haute-Vienne Battalion. He led his troops in the French victory at the Battle of Jemappes on 6 November 1792, Jourdans leadership skills were noticed and led to his promotion to general of brigade on 27 May 1793 and to general of division two months later. On 8 September, he led his division at the Battle of Hondschoote, on 22 September he was named to lead the Army of the North. Three of his predecessors, Nicolas Luckner, Adam Philippe, comte de Custine and his first assignment was to relieve Jacques Ferrands 20, 000-man garrison of Maubeuge which was besieged by an Austrian-Dutch army commanded by Prince Josias of Coburg. The Committee of Public Safety felt that this mission was so important that it dispatched Lazare Carnot to oversee the operation, Jourdan defeated Coburg on 15–16 October at the Battle of Wattignies and broke the siege. Carnot claimed that it was his own intervention that won the victory, historian Michael Glover writes that the first days attack was a failure because of Carnots interference, while the second days success resulted from Jourdan using his own tactical judgment. In any case, only Carnots account reached Paris, on 10 January 1794, after refusing to carry out an impossible order, Jourdan was brought before the Committee of Public Safety. Carnot presented Jourdans arrest warrant, which was signed by Maximilien de Robespierre, Bertrand Barère, Jourdan was saved from certain execution when an eyewitness, Representative-on-mission Ernest Joseph Duquesnoy rose and contradicted Carnots version of events at Wattignies. Spared from arrest, Jourdan was nevertheless dismissed from the army, the government soon recalled Jourdan to lead the Army of the Moselle. In May, he was ordered north with the wing of the Army of the Moselle. This force was combined with the Army of the Ardennes and the wing of the Army of the North to form an army which did not officially become the Army of Sambre-et-Meuse until 29 June 1794. With 70,000 soldiers of the new army, Jourdan laid siege to Charleroi on 12 June, an 41, 000-man Austrian-Dutch army under William V, Prince of Orange defeated the French at the Battle of Lambusart on 16 June and drove them south of the Sambre River
10.
Lazare Carnot
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Lazare Nicolas Marguerite, Count Carnot was a French politician, engineer, freemason and mathematician. He was known as the Organizer of Victory in the French Revolutionary Wars, born on May 13,1753 in the village of Nolay, Côte-dOr, Carnot was the son of local judge and royal notary, Claude Carnot and his wife, Marguerite Pothier. He was the second oldest of eighteen children, at the age of fourteen, Lazare and his brother were enrolled at the Collège d’Autun, in Burgundy where he focused on the study of philosophy and the classics. He held a belief in stoic philosophy and was deeply influenced by Roman civilization. When he turned fifteen, he left the Collège d’Autun to strengthen his philosophical knowledge, during his short time with them, he studied logic, mathematics and theology under the Abbe Bison. Here, he was enrolled in M. de Longpres pension school in 1770 until he was ready to enter one of two engineering and artillery schools in Paris. A year later, in February of 1771, he was ranked the third highest among twelve who were out of his class of more than one hundred who took the entrance exams. It was at point when he entered the Mézières School of Engineering appointed as second lieutenant. Studies at the Mézières included geometry, mechanics, geometrical designing, geography, hydraulics, on January 1,1773, he graduated the school ranked as first lieutenant. It was here where he met and studied with Benjamin Franklin and at the age of twenty, at this moment, he made a name for himself both in the line of theoretical engineering and in his work in the field of fortifications. While in the army, he continued his study of mathematics and this publication earned him the honor of admittance to a literary society. In that same year, he received a promotion to the rank of captain. At the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789, Carnot entered political life and he became a delegate to the Legislature in 1791. While a member of the Legislative Assembly, Carnot was elected to the Committee for Public Instruction, after the Legislative Assembly was dissolved, Carnot was elected to the National Convention in 1792. He spent the last few months of 1792 on a mission to Bayonne, upon returning to Paris, Carnot voted for the death of King Louis XVI, although he had been absent for the debates surrounding the king’s trial. On 14 August 1793 Carnot was elected to the Committee of Public Safety, with the establishment of the Directory in 1795, Carnot became one of the five initial directors. For the first year, the Directors did well working harmoniously together as well as with the Councils, Carnot and Barthélemy supported concessions to end the war, and hoped to oust the triumvirate and replace them with more conservative men. Carnot took refuge in Geneva, and there in 1797 issued his La métaphysique du calcul infinitésimal, the creation of the French Revolutionary Army was largely due to his powers of organization and enforcing discipline
11.
Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
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Prince Frederick Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld was a general in the Austrian service. Born at Schloß Ehrenburg in Coburg, he was the youngest son of Duke Francis Josias, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and Anna Sophie and he was the great-uncle of King Leopold I of Belgium, and the great-great-uncle of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. Josias joined the Habsburg military as Colonel in 1759, participated in the Seven Years War, during the occupation of Moldavia, Josias met Therese Stroffeck, a commoner. On 24 September 1789, in the town of Roman, she bore him a son, Josias married Therese after their return to Coburg, on 24 December and recognized his son. Frederick was ennobled by the Austrian Emperor on 25 August 1808 and on 17 February 1853 the Duke Ernst II of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha created him Freiherr von Rohmann, named after the place of his birth. Frederick however, as the child of a marriage. In 1793 and 1794 he commanded the army in the Austrian Netherlands during the Flanders Campaign, due to his victory in the French Revolutionary Wars at Neerwinden in March 1793, he returned the region to Austrian control. Entering France, he took Condé, Valenciennes, Quesnoy and Landrecies and he thereupon abandoned the Netherlands, which Habsburg diplomats had already decided to give up. Angered by this, and openly criticizing the policies of the Baron Thugut, Josias resigned as Field Marshal and retired to Coburg, in turn, it cites, A. von Witzleben, Prinz Friedrich J. von Koburg-Saalfeld, Herzog zu Sachsen, Berlin,1859
12.
William I of the Netherlands
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William I was a Prince of Orange and the first King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg. In Germany, he was ruler of the Principality of Nassau-Orange-Fulda from 1803 until 1806 and of the Principality of Orange-Nassau in the year 1806, in 1813 he proclaimed himself Sovereign Prince of the United Netherlands. He proclaimed himself King of the Netherlands and Duke of Luxembourg on 16 March 1815, in the same year on 9 June William I became also the Grand Duke of Luxembourg and after 1839 he was furthermore the Duke of Limburg. After his abdication in 1840 he styled himself King William Frederick, King William Is parents were the last stadtholder William V, Prince of Orange of the Dutch Republic, and his wife Wilhelmina of Prussia. Until 1806, William was formally known as William VI, Prince of Orange-Nassau, in Berlin on 1 October 1791, William married his first cousin Wilhelmina, born in Potsdam. She was the daughter of King Frederick William II of Prussia, after Wilhelmina died in 1837, William married Countess Henriette dOultremont de Wégimont, created Countess of Nassau, on 17 February 1841, also in Berlin. Like his younger brother Prince Frederick of Orange-Nassau he was tutored by the Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler and they were both tutored in the military arts by general Prince Frederick Stamford. After the Patriot revolt had been suppressed in 1787, he in 1788-89 attended the academy in Brunswick which was considered an excellent military school. In 1790 he visited a number of foreign courts like the one in Nassau and the Prussian capital Berlin, William subsequently studied briefly at the University of Leiden. As such he commanded the troops took part in the Flanders Campaign of 1793-95. He took part in the battles of Veurne, Menin, and Wervik in 1793, the siege of Landrecies, which surrendered to him. In May 1794 he had replaced general Kaunitz as commander of the combined Austro-Dutch forces on the instigation of Emperor Francis II who apparently had an opinion of him. But the French armies proved too strong, and the allied leadership too inept, the French first entered Dutch Brabant which they dominated after the Battle of Boxtel. When in the winter of 1794-95 the rivers in the Rhine delta froze over, the French breached the southern Hollandic Water Line, in many places Dutch revolutionaries took over the local government. After the Batavian Revolution in Amsterdam on 18 January 1795 the stadtholder decided to flee to Britain, the next day the Batavian Republic was proclaimed. However, the neutral Prussian government forbade this, in 1799, William landed in the current North Holland as part of an Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland. The local Dutch population, however, was not pleased with the arrival of the prince, one local Orangist was even executed. The hoped-for popular uprising failed to materialise, after several minor battles the Hereditary Prince was forced to leave the country again after the Convention of Alkmaar
13.
War of the First Coalition
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France declared war on the Habsburg Monarchy of Austria on 20 April 1792. In July 1792, an army under the Duke of Brunswick and composed mostly of Prussians joined the Austrian side and invaded France, France suffered reverses and internal strife and responded with draconian measures. The Committee of Public Safety formed and the en masse drafted all potential soldiers aged 18 to 25. The new French armies counterattacked, repelled the invaders, and advanced beyond France, the French established the Batavian Republic as a sister republic 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, the Holy Roman Empire ceded the Austrian Netherlands to France, Spain made a separate peace accord with France and the French Directory carried out plans to conquer more of the Holy Roman Empire. The First Coalition collapsed, leaving only Britain in the fighting against France. The key figure, the Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II, brother to the French Queen Marie Antoinette, had looked on the Revolution calmly. He became more concerned as the Revolution grew further radical, although he hoped to avoid war. Dumouriez prepared an invasion of the Austrian Netherlands, where he expected the population to rise against Austrian rule. However, the revolution had thoroughly disorganized the French army, which had insufficient forces for the invasion and its soldiers fled at the first sign of battle, deserting en masse, in one case murdering General Théobald Dillon. While the revolutionary government frantically raised fresh troops and reorganized its armies, in July 1792 the invasion commenced. Brunswicks army, composed mostly of Prussian veterans, took the fortresses of Longwy, although the battle was a tactical draw, it bought time for the revolutionaries and gave a great boost to French morale. Dumouriez went on the offensive in Belgium once again, winning a victory over the Austrians at Jemappes on 6 November 1792. On 21 January the revolutionary government executed Louis XVI after a trial and this united all European governments, including Spain, Naples, and the Netherlands against the Revolution. France declared war against Britain and the Netherlands on 1 February 1793, in the course of the year 1793 the Holy Roman Empire, the kings of Portugal and Naples, and the Grand-Duke of Tuscany declared war against France. Thus the First Coalition was formed, the French government sent Citizen Genet to the United States to encourage them into entering the war on Frances side. The newly formed nation refused and remained throughout the conflict. After a victory in the Battle of Neerwinden in March, the Austrians suffered twin defeats at the battles of Wattignies, British land forces were defeated at the Battle of Hondschoote in September
14.
Battle of Valmy
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The Battle of Valmy was the first major victory by the army of France during the Revolutionary Wars that followed the French Revolution. The action took place on 20 September 1792 as Prussian troops commanded by the Duke of Brunswick attempted to march on Paris, generals François Kellermann and Charles Dumouriez stopped the advance near the northern village of Valmy in Champagne-Ardenne. The outcome was unexpected by contemporary observers – a vindication for the French revolutionaries. The victory emboldened the newly assembled National Convention to formally declare the end of monarchy in France, Valmy permitted the development of the Revolution and all its resultant ripple-effects, and for that it is regarded by historians as one of the most significant battles in history. As the French Revolution continued, the monarchies of Europe became concerned that revolutionary fervor would spread to their countries, the War of the First Coalition was an effort to stop the revolution, or at least contain it to France. King Frederick William II of Prussia had the support of Great Britain, the French commander Charles Dumouriez, meanwhile, had been marching his army northeast to attack the Austrian Netherlands, but this plan was abandoned because of the more immediate threat to Paris. A second army under General François Kellermann was ordered to link up with him in a mutual defense and these veterans provided a professional core to steady the enthusiastic volunteer battalions. Combined, Dumouriez Army of the North and Kellermanns Army of the Centre totalled approximately 54,000 troops. Heading towards them was Brunswicks coalition army of about 84,000, all veteran Prussian and Austrian troops augmented by large complements of Hessians and the French royalist Army of Condé. The invading army handily captured Longwy on 23 August and Verdun on 2 September, in response, Dumouriez halted his advance to the Netherlands and reversed course, approaching the enemy army from its rear. From Metz, Kellermann moved to his assistance, joining him at the village of Sainte-Menehould on 19 September, the French forces were now east of the Prussians, behind their lines. The unfavorable situation was compounded by bad weather and an increase in sickness among the troops. With few other options available, Brunswick turned back and prepared to do battle, the troops trudged laboriously through a heavy downpour – rain as of the days of Noah, in the words of Thomas Carlyle. Brunswick headed through the northern woods believing he could cut off Dumouriez, at the moment when the Prussian manœuvre was nearly completed, Kellermann advanced his left wing and took up a position on the slopes between Sainte-Menehould and Valmy. His command centered around an old windmill, and his veteran artillerists were well-placed upon its accommodating rise to begin the so-called Cannonade of Valmy, Brunswick moved toward them with about 34,000 of his troops. As they emerged from the woods, a gunnery duel ensued. The Prussian infantry made a cautious, and fruitless, effort to advance under fire across the open ground, as the Prussians wavered, a pivotal moment was reached when Kellermann raised his hat and made his famous cry of Vive la Nation. The cry was repeated again and again by all the French army, the French troops sang La Marseillaise and Ça Ira, and a cheer went up from the French line
15.
Siege of Lille (1792)
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The Siege of Lille saw a Republican French garrison under Jean-Baptiste André Ruault de La Bonnerie hold Lille against an assault by a Habsburg Austrian army commanded by Duke Albert of Saxe-Teschen. Though the city was bombarded, the French successfully withstood the Austrian attack in the War of the First Coalition action. Because the Austrians were unable to encircle the city, the French were able to continuously send in reinforcements. After news of the French victory over the Prussians at Valmy, Albert withdrew his troops, the next battle was at Jemappes in November. The Column of the Goddess monument was completed in 1845 to commemorate the siege, after the Kingdom of France captured Lille in 1668, the famous military engineer Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban was ordered to improve its defenses. The five-sided citadel was constructed between 1668 and 1672 at a cost of 1,500,000 florins and the result was announced by Vauban to be the Queen of Citadels. The citadel was surrounded by marshes, except where it adjoined the city, in 1670, parts of the old walls were torn down to make room for new fortifications. When the work was done, Lille was protected by 16 bastions, Vauban estimated that 12,000 soldiers were required to defend the huge fortifications, including 1,000 manning the citadel. On 19 August, Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette left his command at the Army of the North, on 17 August, the increasingly radicalized French Legislative Assembly had demanded that La Fayette report to Paris for questioning and on the 19th he was charged with treason. Not understanding that his enemies wanted to guillotine him, the Prussians and Austrians imprisoned La Fayette until 1797. His replacement in command was the more astute Charles François Dumouriez. Dumouriez dreamed of an invasion of the Austrian Netherlands. On 24 August, the politically-connected François Joseph Westermann arrived at headquarters with the news that Longwy had fallen to the Coalition the day before after a feeble defense, the Coalition forces bombarded Longwy into submission then gained a quick triumph in the Battle of Verdun on 2 September. At last Dumouriez realized that Brunswick might be headed to Paris and he also ordered Pierre de Ruel, marquis de Beurnonville to join him with 10,000 soldiers from the Army of the North and Blaise Duval to bring 3,050 more. The Battle of Valmy occurred on 20 September, after which Brunswick withdrew from France, with Dumouriez absent, the French only had 6,000 troops under René Joseph Lanoue to defend Maubeuge. There were 4,000 soldiers led by Jacques Henri Moreton Chabrillant spread between Bruille-Saint-Amand, Saint-Amand-les-Eaux and Orchies as well as 4, 000–5,000 men in the Camp of Maulde. Duke Albert of Saxe-Teschen decided to divert French strength away from Brunswicks invasion by launching attacks on the enemies before him, Saxe-Teschen counted 51 infantry battalions and 40 cavalry squadrons of which 14 battalions were in garrisons. On 3 September Anton Sztáray threatened Philippeville while Johann Peter Beaulieu menaced Quiévrain, when Maximilian Anton Karl, Count Baillet de Latour advanced from Tournai toward Lille on 5 September, Moreton abandoned the Camp of Maulde and fell back behind the Scarpe River
16.
Flanders Campaign
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The Flanders Campaign was conducted from 6 November 1792 to 7 June 1795 during the first years of the French Revolutionary Wars. A coalition of states mobilised military forces all the French frontiers, with the intention to invade Revolutionary France. The largest of these forces assembled on the Franco-Flemish border, the Allies enjoyed several early victories, but were unable to advance beyond the French border fortresses and were eventually forced to withdraw by a series of French counter-offensives. The Allies established a new front in the south of the Netherlands and Germany, the Austrians pulled back to the lower Rhine and the British to Hanover from where they were eventually evacuated. Austria and Prussia had been at war with France since 1792, although Britain, only after the execution of the French king Louis XVI on 21 January 1793 and the declaration of war by the Revolutionary Government did they finally mobilize. Allied armies mobilised along all of the French frontiers, the largest and most important in the Flanders Franco-Belgian border region. In the north, the immediate aim was to eject the French from the Dutch Republic. Austria and Prussia broadly supported this aim, but both were short of money, initially, just fifteen hundred troops landed with York in February 1793. The Duke of York was obliged to follow objectives set by Pitts Foreign Minister Henry Dundas, thus Allied military decisions in the campaign were tempered by political objectives from Vienna and London. The defences of the Dutch Republic were in condition, its States Army not having fought in a war for 45 years. Williams main concern therefore was the preservation of the House of Orange, many of the old officer class had emigrated, leaving the cavalry in particular in chaotic condition. Only the artillery arm, less affected by emigration, had survived intact, the problems would become even more acute following the introduction of mass conscription, the Levée en Masse, in 1793. The price of failure or disloyalty was the guillotine, as the Austrians retreated, Dumouriez saw an opportunity with the Patriot exiles to overthrow the weak Dutch Republic by making a bold move north. A second French Division under Francisco de Miranda manoeuvred against the Austrians and Hanoverians in eastern Belgium, on 16 February Dumouriezs republican Armée du Nord advanced from Antwerp and invaded Dutch Brabant. Dutch forces fell back to the line of the Meuse abandoning the fortress of Breda after a siege. Within nine days an initial British guards brigade had assembled and dispatched across the English Channel, landing at Hellevoetsluis under the command of general Lake. Meanwhile, while Dumouriez moved north into Brabant, a army under Francisco de Miranda laid siege to Maastricht on 23 February. However the Austrians had been reinforced to 39,000 and, now commanded by Saxe-Coburg, crossed the Ruhr River on 1 March, the next day the Austrians took Aachen before reaching Maastricht on the Meuse and forcing Miranda to lift the siege
17.
Chouannerie
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It played out in three phases and lasted from the spring of 1794 until 1800. The uprising was caused by the Civil Constitution of the Clergy. A first uprising attempt was carried out by the Association bretonne to defend the French monarchy and reinstate the specific laws, the first confrontations broke out in 1792 and evolved to a peasant revolt, then to guerrilla warfare and eventually to full-scale battles until the Republican victory in 1800. Shorter peasant uprisings in other such as in Aveyron and Lozère were also qualified as chouanneries. A petite chouannerie broke out in 1815 during the Hundred Days, the following spring, in the area around Quimper, a justice of the peace led several parishes in a rising in the name of King Louis XVI against the local authorities. During the summer of 1792, incidents occurred in the districts of Carhaix, Lannion, Pontrieux, Craon, Château-Gontier and Laval, at Saint-Ouën-des-Toits, in the district of Laval, Jean Cottereau led the insurgents. His nickname probably came from his imitation of the call of the tawny owl for a recognition-signal, a reward was put on his head, but nevertheless he reached England in March 1793. The republican administration recognised him and his brother as the leaders of the revolt, in January 1794, the Vendeans of the Vendée militaire, following the setback of the Virée de Galerne, tried to resist the infernal columns of General Turreau. During this time, groups of Chouans north of the Loire took up again in the areas crossed by the Vendeans. The Chouannerie was born on the borders of the Mayenne and of the Ille-et-Vilaine, near Fougères, Vitré, condemned to live in almost total secrecy, the Chouans knew that being captured by the Republicans would mean certain death. Most of them were motivated by a desire to avenge their relatives who had disappeared in the Virée de Galerne, in guerilla warfare, Chouans in groups of a few score or a few hundred men ambushed military detachments, couriers and stagecoaches carrying government funds. They attacked Republican towns, executed informers, constitutional priests and republicans, to oppose the Chouans, Republicans built strongholds or fortified towns which were defended by local territorial guards. They were led by general Jean Antoine Rossignol, chief commander of the Army of the Coasts of Brest, a law enacted on 23 March 1793 mandated that captured insurgents should be executed by firing squad or by guillotine within twenty-four hours. Rossignol also assembled groups of Fake Chouan outlaws in order to do as much as possible to discredit the real Chouans, murders were carried out throughout the whole war with a varying degree of intensity. For example, in the district of Fougères, in conflict between some 2,000 Chouans and a number of Republicans,219 people were assassinated or executed by Chouans and 300 by Republicans. This did not include deaths during fights, summary executions on the battlefield, the Chouannerie spread quickly to Brittany and reached the Côtes-dArmor, dominated by the Chevalier de Boishardy. On 15 March it reached Morbihan where Joseph de Fay and Béjarry assisted by Pierre Guillemot incited a peasant uprising aimed at Vannes, the insurgents were easily countered by the Republicans at the battle of Mangolérian. However, in the Finistère and the west of the Côtes-dArmor, the Basse-Cornouaille, the Léon, georges Cadoudal and Pierre-Mathurin Mercier, nicknamed la Vendée, rescued from the battle of Savenay, moved to the Morbihan where Boulainvilliers was appointed general-in-chief of the département
18.
War of the Pyrenees
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The War of the Pyrenees, also known as War of Roussillon or War of the Convention, was the Pyrenean front of the First Coalitions war against the First French Republic. It pitted Revolutionary France against the kingdoms of Spain and Portugal from March 1793 to July 1795 during the French Revolutionary Wars, the war was fought in the eastern Pyrenees, the western Pyrenees, at the French port of Toulon, and at sea. In 1793, a Spanish army invaded Roussillon in the eastern Pyrenees, the French army drove the Spanish back into Catalonia and inflicted a serious defeat on it in November 1794. After February 1795, the war in the eastern Pyrenees became a stalemate, in the western Pyrenees, the French began to win in 1794. By 1795, the French army controlled a portion of northeast Spain, the war was brutal in at least two ways. First, the Committee of Public Safety decreed that all French royalist prisoners be executed, Second, French generals who lost battles or otherwise displeased the all-powerful representatives-on-mission were sent to prison or the guillotine with alarming frequency. Army of the Eastern Pyrenees commanders and generals were especially unlucky in this regard, on 21 January 1793, the National Convention of France executed King Louis XVI of France by guillotine, enraging the other monarchs of Europe. France was already at war with Habsburg Austria, the Kingdom of Prussia, after winning the Battle of Jemappes, the French army occupied the Austrian Netherlands. Emboldened, the government decreed annexation of the territory, provoking a diplomatic break with Great Britain, on 1 February, France declared war on Britain and the Dutch Republic. On 7 March, France declared war on her ancient ally Spain, Spanish forces took part in the Siege of Toulon, which lasted from 18 September to 18 December 1793. The French were led by Dugommier while the Anglo-Spanish defenders were commanded by Admirals Juan de Lángara, Federico Gravina, Samuel Hood, the Allies abandoned the port after a young officer of artillery, Napoleon Bonaparte took the fleets anchorage under cannon fire. The French navy lost 14 ships of the burned and 15 more captured. French casualties numbered 2,000 while Allied losses were twice as great, afterward, the victors massacred up to 2,000 French Royalists taken as prisoners. The Action of 14 February 1795 in the Gulf of Roses was a defeat for the French navy, at the outbreak of war, King Charles IV of Spain appointed Captain General Antonio Ricardos to command the Army of Catalonia in the eastern Pyrenees. Ricardos invaded the Cerdagne and captured Saint-Laurent-de-Cerdans on 17 April 1793, three days later, he routed a French force at Céret on the Tech River. In despair, the elderly French commander in charge of Roussillon, on 30 April, the French government split the Army of the Pyrenees into the Army of the Eastern Pyrenees and the Army of the Western Pyrenees. In the Battle of Mas Deu on 19 May 1793, Ricardos defeated Louis-Charles de Flers and this allowed the Spanish to invest the Fort de Bellegarde on 23 May. The Siege of Bellegarde ended when the French garrison surrendered on 24 June, in the Battle of Perpignan on 17 July, de Flers turned back the Spanish, though French losses were heavier
19.
Italian campaigns of the French Revolutionary Wars
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The War of the First Coalition broke out in autumn 1792, when several European powers formed an alliance against Republican France. The first major operation was the annexation of Nice by 30,000 French troops and this was reversed in mid-1793, when the Republican forces were withdrawn to deal with a revolt in Lyon, triggering a counter-invasion of Savoy by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia. The conflict soon escalated with Austrian and Neapolitan forces being mobilised for an invasion of southern France to recover Nice, the Allied forces were bolstered by some 45,000 Austrians, Piedmontese, and Neapolitans, with additional support from the British Royal Navy. This two-pronged French offensive drove back the Allied force, despite their strong positions, a new offensive, again devised by General Bonaparte, was similarly successful despite its more complicated nature, calling for the co-ordination of the Army of Italy and the Army of the Alps. Further French assaults on the Allied positions were called off under orders from war minister Carnot, the commanders in the field were unhappy about this decision, but appeals were interrupted by the overthrow of the Committee of Public Safety and its leader, Maximilien de Robespierre. During the political chaos ensued in the French army, the Allies launched an assault on Savona. Ignoring Carnots orders, the commander of the Army of Italy launched a counter-offensive, following this the French consolidated the front and awaited further opportunities. The main focus of the war then shifted north to the Rhine, until 29 June 1795, nominally 107, 000-strong, the Army of Italy could only manage to field an effective force of about 30,000. Kellermann, who had resumed command, appealed to Carnot for reinforcements, instead, General Bonaparte was appointed to the general staff where he devised a third plan for an attack towards Vado and Ceva. Kellermann was replaced by General Schérer soon after and he carried out the attacks, following a short respite in hostilities Schérer resigned and Bonaparte was appointed commander-in-chief on 2 March 1796. The motives for Bonapartes appointment were most likely political, on 9 March, Bonaparte had married Joséphine de Beauharnais, who had shared her imprisonment with the woman who had become wife to Tallien, one of the then Directors of the French Republic. It was universally believed that Josephine had been introduced by her friend to the First Director, Barras, josephines letters claim Barras had promised the command to Bonaparte, before shed consented to marry him. Barras is cited by his colleagues as saying of Bonaparte, Advance this man or he will advance himself without you, Bonaparte had shown himself to be highly ambitious and had made a name for himself following 13 Vendémiaire in 1795. Bonaparte launched attacks almost immediately after he arrived on the front on 27 March and his 37,000 men and 60 guns were facing more than 50,000 Allied troops in the theatre. His only chance of support came from Kellermanns Army of the Alps, Bonaparte had no chance of gaining reinforcements as the Republican war effort was being concentrated on the massive offensives planned on the Rhine. At the Battle of Montenotte Bonaparte defeated the Austrians and fought a second engagement around Dego soon after, following these battles he launched an all-out invasion of Piedmont and won a further victory at Mondovì. Piedmont was forced to accept the Armistice of Cherasco on 28 April, knocking it out of the war and it had taken Bonaparte just a month to defeat Piedmont, a country which had resisted the French armies for over three years. Total loses during the campaign were 6,000 French troops
20.
Atlantic campaign of May 1794
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The French lost seven battleships, the British none, but the battle distracted the British fleet long enough for the French convoy to safely reach port. By the spring of 1794, the French Republic, under the rule of the National Convention, was at war with all its neighbours. However, political upheaval had severely reduced the French Navys ability to fight coherently and supply shortages had devastated its morale, significantly weakening the fleet. Britain, by contrast, was at a state of readiness with a well-organised command structure. The French Atlantic Fleet, under Admiral Villaret de Joyeuse, was tasked with keeping the British Channel Fleet occupied long enough for the convoy to reach France safely. For over a week the two battlefleets manoeuvred around one another, Villaret drawing Howe deeper westwards into the Atlantic and away from the convoy. Two partial but inconclusive fleet actions on 28 and 29 May followed, during which Howe seized the weather gage from Villaret, granting him freedom to choose the time and place of his next attack. The culminating action of the campaign took place over 400 nautical miles into the Atlantic and this final engagement saw Howe use the weather gage to attack Villaret directly while his opponent attempted to fight in a traditional line of battle formation. In the battle, the British fleet inflicted a defeat on the French after a bitterly contested day of fighting. Forcing Villaret to retreat, Howes force captured seven French battleships, one of which later sank, Villaret however, claimed strategic success as his delaying tactics had bought enough time for the convoy to reach France safely. In the winter of 1793, war and internal disorder had combined with poor weather to leave France facing starvation following the collapse of the harvest. Frances ongoing conflict with her neighbours precluded overland imports, the only nation willing, importing food from the Americas was a highly risky venture, as the British Royal Navy—at war with France since early 1793—patrolled much of the Atlantic passage. To provide effective protection for the vessels involved, a plan was agreed between France and the United States to collect the supplies over a period of months and transport them in a single convoy, a gathering point was arranged at Hampton Roads in the Chesapeake Bay. A squadron commanded by Admiral Pierre Vanstabel was dispatched to Hampton Roads to provide escort, Vanstabel would bring the convoy to the Bay of Biscay, where a second squadron under Joseph-Marie Nielly would reinforce him for the rest of the journey. Together, these officers mustered six ships of the line and numerous smaller craft, the main French battlefleet of 25 ships under Admiral Villaret de Joyeuse would cruise the Bay of Biscay in order to challenge the British Channel Fleet if it attempted to intercept the supplies. The convoys passage was expected to take two months, and it included 117 merchant ships carrying enough food to feed France for a year. Lord Howe, admiral of the British Channel Fleet, was aware of the nature and destination long before it left the Chesapeake. April 1794 was a month of fevered activity on both sides of the English Channel as Villaret and Howe made their preparations for the coming campaign
21.
Capture of the Dutch fleet at Den Helder
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After an extraordinary charge across the frozen Zuiderzee, the French cavalry captured 14 Dutch ships and 850 guns. A capture of ships by horsemen is a rare feat in military history. However, some say that no battle actually took place. The French units were the 8th Hussar Regiment and the 15th Line Infantry Regiment of the French Revolutionary Army, jean-Charles Pichegru was the leader of the French army that invaded the Dutch Republic. The Dutch fleet was commanded by H. Reintjes, the actual capture was accomplished by Jean-Guillaume de Winter and Louis Joseph Lahure. The action happened during the War of the First Coalition, part of the French Revolutionary Wars, Den Helder is located at the tip of the North Holland peninsula, south of the island of Texel, on what was then the shallow Zuiderzee bay. The Zuiderzee has been closed off and partly pumped out in the 20th century, the French Army entered Amsterdam on the 19 January 1795 to stay there over winter. Well informed, the found out that a Dutch fleet was anchored at Den Helder. The winter of 1794–1795 was exceptionally cold, causing the Zuiderzee to freeze, Pichegru ordered General of Brigade Jean-Guillaume de Winter to lead a squadron of the 8th Hussar. De Winter had been serving with the French since 1787, General de Winter arrived at Den Helder with his troops during the night of the 23 January 1795. The Dutch fleet was there as expected, trapped by ice, each hussar had brought on the croup of his horse an infantryman of the 15th Line Infantry Regiment. After a careful approach to awakening the Dutch sailors, Lieutenant-Colonel Louis Joseph Lahure launched the assault. The ice did not break, and the hussars and infantrymen were able to board the Dutch ships, the French captured the Dutch admiral and the vessels crews, the French suffered no casualties. The traditional narrative of French cavalry storming and capturing the ships at Den Helder is primarily based off French sources, however, the Dutch historian Johannes de Jonge claimed that the Dutch fleet had already received orders on the 21st of January to offer no resistance. Instead, some French hussars merely crossed the ice for a meeting with the Dutch officers to negotiate a handover, the legend of a capture on the ice is likely based on an 1819 publication by the Swiss general Antoine-Henri Jomini. The capture completed, the French conquest of the Netherlands was brought to an end and the French Army captured 14 warships,850 guns and it is one of the only times in recorded military history wherein cavalry captured a fleet. The ships of the line, frigates, and corvettes received French crews in February 1795, france returned all her prizes to the Batavian Republic in May 1795 against a payment of 100 million Florins. The incident occurred during the Anglo-Russian Invasion of Holland and it took place on a sandbank near the channel between Texel and the mainland that was known as De Vlieter, near Wieringen
22.
Rhine Campaign of 1796
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After sending large reinforcements to Italy in May, Austria was forced onto the defensive. Both French armies penetrated deeply into southern Germany in August, in battles at Amberg on 24 August and Würzburg on 3 September Charles defeated Jourdan and compelled his army to retreat to the west bank of the Rhine. With Jourdan neutralized, Charles left Franz von Werneck to keep an eye on the Army of Sambre-et-Meuse, Moreau briskly repulsed Latour at Biberach and safely reached the Rhine before Charles cut him off from France. However, in the battles of Emmendingen and Schliengen in October, during the winter the Austrians reduced the French bridgeheads at Kehl and Huningue. Despite Charles splendid success in Germany, Austria was losing the war in Italy to a new French army commander named Napoleon Bonaparte, in a decree on 6 January 1796, Lazare Carnot gave Germany priority over Italy as a theater of war. Jean Baptiste Jourdan commanding the Army of Sambre-et-Meuse was instructed to besiege Mainz, farther south, Jean Victor Marie Moreau leading the Army of Rhin-et-Moselle was ordered to mask Mannheim and invade Swabia. On the secondary front, Napoleon Bonaparte was to invade Italy, neutralize the Kingdom of Sardinia, hopefully, the Italian army would cross the Alps via the County of Tyrol and join the other French armies in crushing the Austrian forces in southern Germany. By the spring of 1796, Jourdan and Moreau each had 70,000 men while Bonapartes army numbered 63,000, including reserves and garrisons. Additionally, François Christophe de Kellermann counted 20,000 troops in the Army of the Alps, the First French Republics finances were in poor shape so its armies were expected to invade new territories and then live off the conquered lands. At the end of the Rhine Campaign of 1795 the two called a truce. This accord lasted until 20 May 1796 when the Austrians announced that it would end on 31 May, the Army of the Lower Rhine was commanded by the 25-year-old Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen and counted 90,000 troops. The 20, 000-man right wing under Duke Ferdinand Frederick Augustus of Württemberg was on the east bank of the Rhine behind the Sieg River observing the French bridgehead at Düsseldorf, the garrisons of Mainz Fortress and Ehrenbreitstein Fortress counted 10,000 more. The remainder of Charles army was posted on the west bank behind the Nahe River, dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser led the 80, 000-strong Army of the Upper Rhine. Its right wing occupied Kaiserslautern on the west bank while the wing under Anton Sztáray, Michael von Fröhlich and Louis Joseph. The original Austrian strategy was to capture Trier and to use their position on the west bank to strike at each of the French armies in turn, however, Wurmser was sent to Italy with 25,000 reinforcements after news arrived of Bonapartes early successes. In the new situation, the Aulic Council gave Archduke Charles command over both Austrian armies and ordered him to hold his ground. At the start of the campaign, the 80, 000-man Army of Sambre-et-Meuse held the west bank of the Rhine down to the Nahe, on the armys left flank, Jean Baptiste Kléber had 22,000 troops in an entrenched camp at Düsseldorf. Carnots grand plan called for the two French armies to press against the Austrian flanks, but first, Jourdans army would push south from Düsseldorf
23.
Battle of Kehl (1796)
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In this action of the War of the First Coalition, the French drove the Swabians from their positions in Kehl and subsequently controlled the bridgehead on both sides of the Rhine. In the 1790s, the Rhine was wild, unpredictable, and difficult to cross, in places more than four or more times wider than it is in the twenty-first century. Its channels and tributaries wound through marsh and meadow and created islands of trees, the fortifications at Kehl and Strasbourg had been constructed by the fortress architect Sébastien le Préstre de Vauban in the seventeenth century. The crossings had been contested before, in 1678 during the French-Dutch war, in 1703 during the War of the Spanish Succession, critical to success of the French plan would be the armys ability to cross the Rhine at will. At the end of the Rhine Campaign of 1795, the two called a truce, which lasted until 20 May 1796, when the Austrians announced that it would end on 31 May. The Rhine River flows west along the border between the German states and the Swiss Cantons, a few miles north and east of Basel, the terrain flattens. In 1796, the plain on both sides of the river, some 19 miles wide, was dotted with villages and farms, at both far edges of the flood plain, especially on the eastern side, the old mountains created dark shadows on the horizon. Tributaries cut through the terrain of the Black Forest, creating deep defiles in the mountains. The tributaries then wind in rivulets through the plain to the river. The Rhine River itself looked different in the 1790s than it does in the twenty-first century, between 1927 and 1975, a canal was constructed to control the water level. In the 1790s, the river was wild and unpredictable, in places four or more times wider than the twenty-first century incarnation of the river. Its channels wound through marsh and meadow, and created islands of trees and it was crossable at Kehl, by Strasbourg, and Hüningen, by Basel, where systems of viaducts and causeways made access reliable. The German-speaking states on the east bank of the Rhine were part of the vast complex of territories in central Europe called the Holy Roman Empire, the considerable number of territories in the Empire included more than 1,000 entities. When viewed on a map, the Empire resembled a patchwork carpet, both the Habsburg domains and Hohenzollern Prussia also included territories outside the Empire. There were also territories completely surrounded by France that belonged to Württemberg, the Archbishopric of Trier, archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen and brother of the Holy Roman Emperor, served as commander-in-chief. In total, Charles’ troops stretched in a line from Switzerland to the North Sea, compared to French coverage, Charles had half the number of troops covering a 211-mile front, stretching from Renchen, near Basel to Bingen. To the north, Wilhelm von Wartensleben’s autonomous corps stretched in a line between Mainz and Giessen. It was an army entirely dependent for support upon the countryside it occupied for provisions, until 1796, wages were paid in the worthless assignat, after April 1796, although pay was made in metallic value, wages were still in arrears
24.
Battle of Ettlingen
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The Austrians under Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen tried to halt the northward advance of Jean Victor Marie Moreaus French Army of Rhin-et-Moselle along the east bank of the Rhine River. After a tough fight, the Austrian commander found that his left flank was turned and he conceded victory to the French and retreated east toward Stuttgart. Ettlingen is located 10 kilometres south of Karlsruhe, the Rhine Campaign of 1796 saw Moreaus army facing the Austrian Army of the Upper Rhine under Maximilian Anton Karl, Count Baillet de Latour in the south. Meanwhile, Jean-Baptiste Jourdans French Army of Sambre-et-Meuse opposed the Army of the Lower Rhine under Archduke Charles in the north, Jourdan drubbed Duke Ferdinand Frederick Augustus of Württemberg at Altenkirchen on 4 June, compelling Archduke Charles to rush to the rescue with reinforcements. Charles defeated Jourdan at Wetzlar on the 15th, forcing him to back to the west bank of the Rhine. At this time there was a shake up in the high command, in Charles absence, Moreau successfully crossed the Rhine at Kehl on the night of 23–24 June and beat Latour at Rastatt on 5 July. Leaving Wilhelm von Wartensleben in charge in the north, Charles rushed south to confront Moreau along the Alb River near Ettlingen. After an all-day combat, the Austrians held the advantage on their right wing near Malsch, the Army of the Lower Rhine had a 20, 000-strong right wing under Duke Ferdinand Frederick Augustus of Württemberg on the east bank observing the French bridgehead at Düsseldorf. The archdukes remaining 70,000 troops lay on the west bank along the Nahe River with powerful garrisons in Mainz and Ehrenbreitstein Fortress. The Army of Rhin-et-Moselle led by Jean Victor Marie Moreau was deployed with its right flank at Huningue, its center on the Queich River, the French grand strategy designed by Minister of War Lazare Carnot was for each of their two armies to turn the Austrian flanks. The strategic plan called for Jourdan to start by advancing by his wing and was designed to accomplish two goals. First, it was hoped that this would cause the Austrians to abandon the west bank of the Rhine, second, the move would draw Austrian strength north and allow Moreaus army a better chance to cross the Rhine in the south. Until this time, the Army of Rhine-et-Moselle consisted of independent divisions, when Moreau assumed command he reorganized the army into three corps or wings plus a small reserve. Over the objections of all three men, he named Louis Desaix, Laurent Gouvion Saint-Cyr and Pierre Marie Barthélemy Ferino wing commanders, the system soon proved its worth. Moreaus other innovation was to many of the heavy cavalry regiments in the army reserve. The Chasseurs à Cheval, Dragoon and Hussar regiments remained attached to the infantry divisions, on 8 June, Ferinos Right Wing had three divisions led by François Antoine Louis Bourcier, Henri François Delaborde and Augustin Tuncq. Desaixs Center had three divisions commanded by Michel de Beaupuy, Antoine Guillaume Delmas and Charles Antoine Xaintrailles, Saint-Cyrs Left Wing had two divisions under Guillaume Philibert Duhesme and Alexandre Camille Taponier. Altogether, Moreaus Army of Rhin-et-Moselle numbered 71,581 foot soldiers and 6,515 cavalry, counting artillery and other elements, Moreaus total was 79,592 soldiers while Jourdan commanded 77,792 men
25.
Battle of Neresheim
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The Battle of Neresheim saw a victory of Republican French army under Jean Victor Marie Moreau over the Habsburg Austrian army of Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen. Pursued by Moreaus Army of Rhin-et-Moselle, Charles launched an attack against the French, while the Austrian left wing saw some success, the battle degenerated into a stalemate and the archduke withdrew further into the Electorate of Bavaria. Neresheim is located in the state of Baden-Württemberg in Germany a distance of 57 kilometres northeast of Ulm, the action took place during the War of the First Coalition, part of a larger conflict called the French Revolutionary Wars. In the Rhine Campaign of 1796, two French armies successfully breached the Rhine River to invade Germany, Moreaus army in the south, Charles hoped to concentrate superior strength against one of the two French armies. To keep his enemies separated, the archduke wished to lure Moreau south of the Danube River by crossing to the south bank, to allow his columns to cross the river safely, Charles attacked the French, hoping to push them back. Though he failed to defeat the French, the battle gave the archduke enough space to get his troops over the Danube without interference, though he had a chance to join his army to Jourdans in the north, Moreau soon crossed to the south bank in pursuit. On 8 June 1796, the Army of Rhin-et-Moselle commanded by Jean Victor Marie Moreau numbered 71,581 foot soldiers and 6,515 cavalry, not counting artillerists. The army was formed into a Right Wing under Pierre Marie Barthélemy Ferino, a Center led by Louis Desaix and a Left Wing directed by Laurent Gouvion Saint-Cyr. Saint-Cyrs two divisions were under Guillaume Philibert Duhesme,7,438 infantry and 895 cavalry, with artillerymen, Moreaus host counted a total of 79,592 soldiers. Originally, the Army of Rhin-et-Moselle was opposed by 82,776 Austrians, but 25,330 Austrians were soon transferred to Italy and Wurmser went with this force on 18 June. Maximilian Anton Karl, Count Baillet de Latour was appointed the new commander of the Army of the Upper Rhine. The former leader of the Army of the Lower Rhine, Archduke Charles, on 24 June 1796, the Army of Rhin-et-Moselle mounted a successful assault crossing of the Rhine River in the Battle of Kehl. The French sustained losses of 150 killed, wounded and missing out of 10,065 engaged, the Swabian Regional Contingent defenders numbered 7,000 soldiers in eight foot battalions, eight horse squadrons and two artillery batteries. The Swabians suffered over 700 casualties and lost 14 guns and 22 munition wagons, Moreaus forces inflicted a second defeat on a force of 9,000 Swabians and their Austrian allies under Anton Sztáray at Renchen on 28 June. This time the French reported only 200 casualties while inflicting 550 killed and wounded on their enemies, in addition, the French captured 850 soldiers, seven guns and two munition wagons. During this period of maneuvering, Moreau switched the positions of two of his wings, Ferino still commanded the Right Wing, but Desaix now commanded the Left Wing while Saint-Cyr led the Center. On 30 June, Latours Army of the Upper Rhine was divided into a Left Wing under Michael von Fröhlich, a Center led by Karl Aloys zu Fürstenberg, fröhlichs wing was made up of eight battalions and 12 squadrons of Austrians organized in two brigades. Fürstenbergs command consisted of 17 battalions, five companies and 10 squadrons, including Swabians and Bavarians, Latours wing had 25 battalions and 58 squadrons organized into five divisions under Prince von Fürstemberg, Johann Mészáros von Szoboszló, Johann Sigismund Riesch, Karl von Riese, and Sztáray
26.
Second Battle of Kehl (1796)
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The Second Battle of Kehl occurred on 18 September 1796, when General Franz Petraschs Austrian and Imperial troops stormed the French-held bridgehead over the Rhine river. The village of Kehl, which is now in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, was part of Baden-Durlach. Across the river, Strasbourg, an Alsatian city, was a French Revolutionary stronghold and this battle was part of the Rhine Campaign of 1796, in the French Revolutionary War of the First Coalition. In the 1790s, the Rhine was wild, unpredictable, and its channels and tributaries created islands of trees and vegetation that were alternately submerged by floods or exposed during the dry seasons. A complex of bridges, gates, fortifications and barrage dams linked Kehl with Strasbourg and these had been constructed by the fortress architect Sébastien le Préstre de Vauban in the seventeenth century. Critical to French success would be the ability to cross the Rhine at will. In late summer of 1796, the Austrian force reacquired most of the territory lost to the French earlier in the summer, the situation remained in status quo until late October. Control of the territory there prevented the French from crossing to safety in Strasbourg. Immediately after the Battle of Schliengen, while most of Moreaus army retreated south to cross the Rhine at Hüningen, although initially the republican French experienced several victories, the campaigns of 1793 through 1795 had been less successful. However, the Coalition partners had difficulty coordinating their war aims, in 1794 and 1795, French victories in northern Italy salvaged French enthusiasm for the war, and forced the Coalition to withdraw further into Central Europe. At the end of the Rhine Campaign of 1795, the Habsburg Austrian Coalition and this agreement lasted until 20 May 1796, when the Austrians announced that the truce would end on 31 May. The Austrian Coalitions Army of the Lower Rhine included 90,000 troops, the garrisons of Mainz Fortress and Ehrenbreitstein Fortress included 10,000 more. The remainder of the Imperial and Coalition army, the 80, 000-strong Army of the Upper Rhine, the original Austrian strategy was to capture Trier and to use their position on the west bank to strike at each of the French armies in turn. On the French side, the 80, 000-man Army of Sambre-et-Meuse held the west bank of the Rhine down to the Nahe, on the armys left flank, Jean Baptiste Kléber had 22,000 troops in an entrenched camp at Düsseldorf. Pierre Marie Barthélemy Ferino led Moreaus right wing at Hüningen, Louis Desaix commanded the center, ferinos wing consisted of three infantry and cavalry divisions under François Antoine Louis Bourcier and Henri François Delaborde. Desaixs command included three divisions led by Michel de Beaupuy, Antoine Guillaume Delmas and Charles Antoine Xaintrailles, saint-Cyrs wing had two divisions commanded by Guillaume Philibert Duhesme and Alexandre Camille Taponier. According to plan, Jourdans army feinted toward Mannheim, and Charles repositioned his troops, Moreau reinforced the bridgehead with his forward guard, and his troops poured into Baden unhindered. Worried that his supply lines would be overextended or his army would be flanked, at this point, in July, the jealousies and competition between the French generals came into play
27.
Battle of Biberach (1796)
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The French army paused in its retreat toward the Rhine River to savage the pursuing Austrians. The action occurred during the War of the First Coalition, part of the French Revolutionary Wars, Biberach an der Riss is located 35 kilometres southwest of Ulm. During the summer of 1796, the two armies of Jean-Baptiste Jourdan in the north and Moreau in the south advanced into southern Germany and they were opposed by Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen who oversaw two Austrian armies under Latour and Wilhelm von Wartensleben. At the Battle of Amberg on 24 August 1796, Charles, after Jourdan was beaten again at the Battle of Würzburg on 3 September, Moreau was forced to abandon southern Bavaria to avoid being cut off from France. As the outnumbered Latour doggedly followed the French retreat, Moreau lashed out at him at Biberach. For a loss of 500 soldiers killed and wounded, Moreaus troops inflicted 300 killed and wounded on their enemies and captured 4,000 prisoners,18 artillery pieces, after the engagement, Latour followed the French at a more respectful distance. The next action was the Battle of Emmendingen on 19 October
28.
Battle of Fishguard
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The Battle of Fishguard was a military invasion of Great Britain by Revolutionary France during the War of the First Coalition. The brief campaign, on 22 –24 February 1797, is the most recent landing on British soil by a foreign force. The French General Lazare Hoche had devised a three-pronged attack on Britain in support of the Society of United Irishmen, two forces would land in Britain as a diversionary effort, while the main body would land in Ireland. Adverse weather and ill-discipline halted two of the forces but the third, aimed at landing in Wales and marching on Bristol, in a related naval action, the British captured two of the expeditions vessels, a frigate and a corvette. General Hoche proposed to land 15,000 French troops in Ireland to support the United Irishmen at Bantry Bay, as a diversionary attack to draw away British reinforcements, two smaller forces would land in Britain, one in northern England near Newcastle and the other in Wales. In December 1796, Hoches expedition arrived at Bantry Bay, unable to land even a single soldier, Hoche decided to set sail and return to France. However, the invasion went ahead and, on 16 February. The Wales-bound invasion force consisted of 1,400 troops from La Legion Noire under the command of Irish-American Colonel William Tate. He had fought against the British during the American War of Independence, under his command was the Seconde Légion des Francs, more commonly known as Légion Noire due to their using captured British uniforms dyed very dark brown or black. Tates age has been misrepresented by most historians, following E. H. Stuart Jones in his The Last Invasion of Britain, in which Jones claimed Tate was about 70 years old, the naval operation was led by Commodore Castagnier. His four warships were some of the newest in the French fleet, the frigates Vengeance and Résistance, the corvette Constance, and a smaller lugger called the Vautour. Castagniers orders from the Directory were to land Colonel Tates troops, all were well-armed, and some of the officers were Irish. They landed at Carregwastad Head near Fishguard in Pembrokeshire on 22 February, in reality, the Legion Noire landed under the cover of darkness at the secluded bay of Carregwastad, three miles west of Fishguard. By 2 a. m. on 23 February, the French had put ashore 17 boatloads of troops, one rowing boat was lost in the surf, taking with it several artillery pieces and their ammunition. Upon landing, discipline broke down amongst the irregulars, many of whom deserted to loot nearby settlements, the remaining troops confronted a quickly assembled group of around 500 British reservists, militia and sailors under the command of John Campbell, 1st Baron Cawdor. Many local civilians also organised and armed themselves, landowner William Knox had raised the Fishguard & Newport Volunteer Infantry in 1794 in response to the British Governments call to arms. By 1797, there were four companies totalling nearly 300 men, to command this regiment, William Knox appointed his 28-year-old son, Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Knox, a man who had bought his commission and had no combat experience. The import of this news was slow to dawn on Knox, at Haverfordwest, Lieutenant-Colonel Colby of the Pembrokeshire Militia had summoned together a force of 250 soldiers
Republican France
Habsburg Austria
Dutch Republic
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Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Wattignies". Encyclopædia Britannica. 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 419.
Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "
