1.
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
2.
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
3.
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
4.
War of the Second Coalition
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The War of the Second Coalition was the second war on revolutionary France by the European monarchies, led by Britain, Austria and Russia, and including the Ottoman Empire, Portugal and Naples. Their goal was to contain the spread of chaos from France and they failed to overthrow the revolutionary regime and French territorial gains since 1793 were confirmed. The Allies formed a new alliance and attempted to roll back Frances previous military conquests, the Coalition did very well in 1799, but Russia pulled out. Napoleon took charge in France in late 1799, and he, in the Treaty of Lunéville in 1801, France held all of its previous gains and obtained new lands in Tuscany, Italy, while Austria was granted Venetia and the Dalmatian coast. Britain and France signed the Treaty of Amiens in March 1802, by May 1803 Britain and France were again at war and in 1805 Britain assembled the Third Coalition to resume the war against France. On 20 April 1792, the French Legislative Assembly declared war on Austria, in this War of the First Coalition, France ranged itself against most of the European states sharing land or water borders with her, plus Portugal and the Ottoman Empire. In the summer of 1798, Napoleon Bonaparte led an expedition to Egypt, where his army was trapped, meanwhile, during his absence from Europe, the outbreak of violence in Switzerland drew French support against the old Swiss Confederation. When revolutionaries overthrew the government in Bern, the French Army of the Alps invaded. In northern Italy, Russian general Aleksandr Suvorov won a string of victories, driving the French under Moreau out of the Po Valley, forcing them back on the French Alps and the coast around Genoa. However, the Russian armies in the Helvetic Republic were defeated by French commander André Masséna, ultimately the Russians left the Coalition when Great Britain insisted on the right to search all vessels it stopped at sea. In Germany, Archduke Charles of Austria drove the French under Jean-Baptiste Jourdan back across the Rhine, Jourdan was replaced by Massena, who then combined the Armies of the Danube and Helvetia. From October 1797 until March 1799, the signatories of the Treaty of Campo Formio avoided armed conflict, despite their agreement at Campo Formio, two primary combatants, France and Austria, remained suspicious of each other and several diplomatic incidents undermined the agreement. The French demanded additional territory not mentioned in the Treaty, the Habsburgs were reluctant to hand over designated territories, much less additional ones. The Congress at Rastatt proved inept at orchestrating the transfer of territories to compensate the German princes for their losses, Ferdinand of Naples refused to pay tribute to France, followed by the Neapolitan rebellion and the subsequent establishment of the Parthenopaean Republic. Republicans in the Swiss cantons, supported by the French army, overthrew the government in Bern. Other factors contributed to the rising tensions, on his way to Egypt, Napoleon had stopped at the heavily fortified port city of Valletta. Grand Master Ferdinand von Hompesch zu Bolheim, who ruled the island, the French Knights of the order deserted, and the remaining Knights failed to mount a successful resistance. Bonaparte forcibly removed the other Knights from their possessions, angering Paul, Tsar of Russia, the French Directory, furthermore, was convinced that the Austrians were conniving to start another war
5.
Napoleon
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Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led several successful campaigns during the French Revolutionary Wars. As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 until 1814, Napoleon dominated European and global affairs for more than a decade while leading France against a series of coalitions in the Napoleonic Wars. He won most of these wars and the vast majority of his battles, one of the greatest commanders in history, his wars and campaigns are studied at military schools worldwide. Napoleons political and cultural legacy has ensured his status as one of the most celebrated and he was born Napoleone di Buonaparte in Corsica to a relatively modest family from the minor nobility. When the Revolution broke out in 1789, Napoleon was serving as an officer in the French army. Seizing the new opportunities presented by the Revolution, he rose through the ranks of the military. The Directory eventually gave him command of the Army of Italy after he suppressed a revolt against the government from royalist insurgents, in 1798, he led a military expedition to Egypt that served as a springboard to political power. He engineered a coup in November 1799 and became First Consul of the Republic and his ambition and public approval inspired him to go further, and in 1804 he became the first Emperor of the French. Intractable differences with the British meant that the French were facing a Third Coalition by 1805, in 1806, the Fourth Coalition took up arms against him because Prussia became worried about growing French influence on the continent. Napoleon quickly defeated Prussia at the battles of Jena and Auerstedt, then marched the Grand Army deep into Eastern Europe, France then forced the defeated nations of the Fourth Coalition to sign the Treaties of Tilsit in July 1807, bringing an uneasy peace to the continent. Tilsit signified the high watermark of the French Empire, hoping to extend the Continental System and choke off British trade with the European mainland, Napoleon invaded Iberia and declared his brother Joseph the King of Spain in 1808. The Spanish and the Portuguese revolted with British support, the Peninsular War lasted six years, featured extensive guerrilla warfare, and ended in victory for the Allies. The Continental System caused recurring diplomatic conflicts between France and its client states, especially Russia, unwilling to bear the economic consequences of reduced trade, the Russians routinely violated the Continental System and enticed Napoleon into another war. The French launched an invasion of Russia in the summer of 1812. The resulting campaign witnessed the collapse of the Grand Army, the destruction of Russian cities, in 1813, Prussia and Austria joined Russian forces in a Sixth Coalition against France. A lengthy military campaign culminated in a large Allied army defeating Napoleon at the Battle of Leipzig in October 1813, the Allies then invaded France and captured Paris in the spring of 1814, forcing Napoleon to abdicate in April. He was exiled to the island of Elba near Rome and the Bourbons were restored to power, however, Napoleon escaped from Elba in February 1815 and took control of France once again. The Allies responded by forming a Seventh Coalition, which defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in June, the British exiled him to the remote island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic, where he died six years later at the age of 51
6.
Jean Victor Marie Moreau
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Jean Victor Marie Moreau was a French general who helped Napoleon Bonaparte to power, but later became a rival and was banished to the United States. Moreau was born at Morlaix in Brittany and his father was a successful lawyer, and instead of allowing Moreau to enter the army, as he attempted to do, insisted on Moreau studying law at the University of Rennes. Young Moreau showed no inclination for law, but reveled in the freedom of student life, instead of taking his degree, he continued to live with the students as their hero and leader, and formed them into a sort of army, which he commanded as their provost. When 1789 came, he commanded the students in the daily affrays which took place at Rennes between the young noblesse and the populace, in 1791, Moreau was elected a lieutenant colonel of the volunteers of Ille-et-Vilaine. Lazare Carnot promoted Moreau to be general of division early in 1794, the Battle of Tourcoing established Moreaus military fame, and in 1795 he was given the command of the Army of the Rhine-and-Moselle, with which he crossed the Rhine and advanced into Germany. He was at first completely successful and won victories and penetrated to the Isar. It was at time he found a traitorous correspondence between his old comrade and commander Charles Pichegru and the émigré Prince de Condé. Too late to clear himself, he sent the correspondence to Paris, joubert fell in the battle, and Moreau then conducted the retreat of the army to Genoa, where he handed over the command to Jean Étienne Championnet. In reward, Napoleon again gave him command of the Army of the Rhine, on his return to Paris he married 19-year-old Eugénie Hulot, born in Mauritius and friend of Joséphine de Beauharnais, an ambitious woman who gained a complete ascendancy over him. After spending a few weeks with the army in Germany and winning the battle of Hohenlinden. His wife collected around her all who were discontented with the aggrandisement of Napoleon, all this was well known to Napoleon, who seized the conspirators. In 1804, Moreau passed through Spain and embarked for America, Moreau arrived with his wife in New York City, in August 1805. He lived there till 1813, dividing his time fishing, hunting, and social intercourse. His abode was the refuge of all political exiles, and representatives of foreign powers tried to induce him to raise his sword against Napoleon, at the outbreak of the War of 1812, President Madison offered him the command of the U. S. troops. Moreau was willing to accept, but after hearing the news of the destruction of the Grande Armée in Russia, Charles John and Tsar Alexander I of Russia were now together with the Prussians and the Austrians leading an army against Napoleon. Moreau, who wished to see Napoleon defeated and a republican government installed, gave advice to the Swedish, Moreau was mortally wounded in the Battle of Dresden on 27 August 1813 while he was talking to the tsar and died on 2 September in Louny. After Moreau was shot down at his side, the observed to Metternich. Moreau was buried in the Catholic Church of St. Catherine in St. Petersburg
7.
Lazare Hoche
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Louis Lazare Hoche was a French soldier who rose to be general of the Revolutionary army. He is best known for his victory over Royalist forces in Brittany and his surname is one of the names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe, on Column 3. Richard Holmes says he was, quick-thinking, stern, and ruthless. a general of real talent whose early death was a loss to France, born of poor parents near Versailles, he enlisted at sixteen as a private soldier in the Gardes Françaises. When the Gardes françaises disbanded in 1789 he had reached the rank of corporal, when Charles Dumouriez deserted to the Austrians, Hoche, along with le Veneur and others, fell under suspicion of treason. In October 1793 he was appointed to command the Army of the Moselle. He lost his first battle at Kaiserslautern on 28–30 November 1793 against the Prussians, pertinacity and fiery energy, in their eyes, outweighed everything else, and Hoche soon showed that he possessed these qualities. On 22 December 1793 he won the Battle of Froeschwiller, in the Second Battle of Wissembourg on 26 December 1793, the French drove Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmsers Austrian army from Alsace. Hoche pursued his success, sweeping the enemy before him to the middle Rhine in four days and he then put his troops into winter quarters. Before the following campaign opened, he married Anne Adelaide Dechaux at Thionville, but ten days later he was suddenly arrested, charges of treason having been proferred by Charles Pichegru, the displaced commander of the Army of the Rhine, and by his friends. Hoche escaped execution, but was imprisoned in Paris until the fall of Maximilien Robespierre, shortly after his release he was appointed to command against the Vendéans. He completed the work of his predecessors in a few months by the peace of Jaunaye, Hoche showed himself equal to the crisis and inflicted a crushing blow on the Royalist cause by defeating and capturing de Sombreuils expedition at Quiberon and Penthièvre. Thereafter, by means of columns he succeeded before the summer of 1796 in pacifying the whole of the west. After this Hoche was appointed to organise and command the Ireland Expedition, a tempest, however, separated Hoche from the expedition, and after various adventures the whole fleet returned to Brest without having effected its purpose. But his health grew worse, and he died at Wetzlar on 19 September 1797 of consumption. The belief spread that he had poisoned, but the suspicion seems to have had no foundation. He first was buried next to his friend François Marceau in a fort at Koblenz on the Rhine. In 1919, the French Rhine army buried his remains into the 1797 built Monument General Hoche in Weißenthurm near Neuwied. He is commemorated by a statue in Place Hoche, a square not far from the main entrance to the Palace of Versailles
8.
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
9.
Thomas-Alexandre Dumas
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Thomas-Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie was a general in Revolutionary France and the highest-ranking man of African descent ever in a European army. He was the first person of color in the French military to become general, the first to become divisional general. He was born into slavery because of his mothers status but was born into nobility because of his fathers. His father took the boy with him to France in 1776 and had him educated, slavery had been illegal in metropolitan France since 1315 and thus any slave would be freed de facto by being in the country. His father helped Thomas-Alexandre enter the French military, Dumas played a pivotal role in the French Revolutionary Wars. Entering the military as a private at age 24, Dumas rose by age 31 to command 53,000 troops as the General-in-Chief of the French Army of the Alps. Dumass strategic victory in opening the high Alps passes enabled the French to initiate their Second Italian Campaign against the Austrian Empire, during the battles in Italy, Austrian troops nicknamed Dumas as the Schwarzer Teufel. The French – notably Napoleon – nicknamed him the Horatius Cocles of the Tyrol for single-handedly defeating a squadron of troops at a bridge over the Eisack River in Clausen. Dumas served as commander of the French cavalry forces on the Expédition d’Égypte, a failed French attempt to conquer Egypt, on the march from Alexandria to Cairo, he clashed verbally with the Expeditions supreme commander Napoleon Bonaparte, under whom he had served in the Italian campaigns. In March 1799, Dumas left Egypt on a vessel, which was forced to put aground in the southern Italian Kingdom of Naples. He languished there until the spring of 1801, returning to France after his release, he and his wife had a son, Alexandre Dumas, who became one of Frances most widely read authors of all time. Alexandre Dumas Juniors most famous characters were inspired by his fathers life, the general’s grandson, Alexandre Dumas, fils, would become one of Frances most celebrated playwrights of the second half of the nineteenth century. Another grandson, Henry Bauër, who was never recognized by the novelist Dumas, was a prominent left-leaning theater critic in the same period, the Generals great-grandson, Gérard Bauër, son of Henry Bauër, was also an accomplished writer in the twentieth century. A great-great-grandson, Alexandre Lippmann, was a gold medalist in fencing at the 1908 and 1924 Olympic games. Alexandre Antoine Davy de la Pailleterie, born 1714, was the oldest of three sons of the Marquis Alexandre Davy de la Pailleterie and Jeanne-Françoise Paultre, de Dominon, the Davy de la Pailleteries were provincial Norman aristocrats whose wealth was in decline. The family had acquired the title of lords by 1632, the French kingdom granted the title marquis to the family by 1708. Alexandre Antoine Davy de la Pailleterie had two brothers, Charles Anne Edouard born in 1716, and Louis François Thérèse born in 1718. All three were educated at a school and pursued careers as officers in the French military
10.
French language
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French is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages, French has evolved from Gallo-Romance, the spoken Latin in Gaul, and more specifically in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are the other langues doïl—languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, French was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by the Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. Today, owing to Frances past overseas expansion, there are numerous French-based creole languages, a French-speaking person or nation may be referred to as Francophone in both English and French. French is a language in 29 countries, most of which are members of la francophonie. As of 2015, 40% of the population is in Europe, 35% in sub-Saharan Africa, 15% in North Africa and the Middle East, 8% in the Americas. French is the fourth-most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union, 1/5 of Europeans who do not have French as a mother tongue speak French as a second language. As a result of French and Belgian colonialism from the 17th and 18th century onward, French was introduced to new territories in the Americas, Africa, most second-language speakers reside in Francophone Africa, in particular Gabon, Algeria, Mauritius, Senegal and Ivory Coast. In 2015, French was estimated to have 77 to 110 million native speakers, approximately 274 million people are able to speak the language. The Organisation internationale de la Francophonie estimates 700 million by 2050, in 2011, Bloomberg Businessweek ranked French the third most useful language for business, after English and Standard Mandarin Chinese. Under the Constitution of France, French has been the language of the Republic since 1992. France mandates the use of French in official government publications, public education except in specific cases, French is one of the four official languages of Switzerland and is spoken in the western part of Switzerland called Romandie, of which Geneva is the largest city. French is the language of about 23% of the Swiss population. French is also a language of Luxembourg, Monaco, and Aosta Valley, while French dialects remain spoken by minorities on the Channel Islands. A plurality of the worlds French-speaking population lives in Africa and this number does not include the people living in non-Francophone African countries who have learned French as a foreign language. Due to the rise of French in Africa, the total French-speaking population worldwide is expected to reach 700 million people in 2050, French is the fastest growing language on the continent. French is mostly a language in Africa, but it has become a first language in some urban areas, such as the region of Abidjan, Ivory Coast and in Libreville. There is not a single African French, but multiple forms that diverged through contact with various indigenous African languages, sub-Saharan Africa is the region where the French language is most likely to expand, because of the expansion of education and rapid population growth
11.
French Revolutionary Wars
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The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of sweeping military conflicts, lasting from 1792 until 1802, resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted the French First Republic against Britain, Austria and several other monarchies and they are divided in two periods, the War of the First Coalition and the War of the Second Coalition. Initially confined to Europe, the fighting gradually assumed a global dimension as the political ambitions of the Revolution expanded, French success in these conflicts ensured the spread of revolutionary principles over much of Europe. The Revolutionary Wars began from increasing political pressure on King Louis XVI of France to prove his loyalty to the new direction France was taking. In the spring of 1792, France declared war on Prussia and Austria, the victory rejuvenated the French nation and emboldened the National Convention to abolish the monarchy. A series of victories by the new French armies abruptly ended with defeat at Neerwinden in the spring of 1793, by 1795, the French had captured the Austrian Netherlands and knocked Spain and Prussia out of the war with the Peace of Basel. A hitherto unknown general called Napoleon Bonaparte began his first campaign in Italy in April 1796, in less than a year, French armies under Napoleon decimated the Habsburg forces and evicted them from the Italian peninsula, winning almost every battle and capturing 150,000 prisoners. With French forces marching towards Vienna, the Austrians sued for peace and agreed to the Treaty of Campo Formio, the War of the Second Coalition began with the French invasion of Egypt, headed by Napoleon, in 1798. The Allies took the opportunity presented by the French strategic effort in the Middle East to regain territories lost from the First Coalition. The war began well for the Allies in Europe, where they pushed the French out of Italy and invaded Switzerland—racking up victories at Magnano, Cassano. However, their efforts largely unraveled with the French victory at Zurich in September 1799, meanwhile, Napoleons forces annihilated a series of Egyptian and Ottoman armies at the battles of the Pyramids, Mount Tabor, and Abukir. These victories and the conquest of Egypt further enhanced Napoleons popularity back in France, however, the Royal Navy had managed to inflict a humiliating defeat on the French fleet at the Battle of the Nile in 1798, further strengthening British control of the Mediterranean. Napoleons arrival from Egypt led to the fall of the Directory in the Coup of 18 Brumaire, Napoleon then reorganized the French army and launched a new assault against the Austrians in Italy during the spring of 1800. This latest effort culminated in a decisive French victory at the Battle of Marengo in June 1800, another crushing French triumph at Hohenlinden in Bavaria forced the Austrians to seek peace for a second time, leading to the Treaty of Lunéville in 1801. With Austria and Russia out of the war, the United Kingdom found itself increasingly isolated and agreed to the Treaty of Amiens with Napoleons government in 1802, concluding the Revolutionary Wars. The lingering tensions proved too difficult to contain, however, in 1789–1792, the entire governmental structure of France was transformed to fall into line with the Revolutionary principles of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. As a result, one of the first major elements of the French state to be restructured was the army, the transformation of the army was best seen in the officer corps. Before the revolution 90% had been nobility, compared to only 3% in 1794, Revolutionary fervour was high, and was closely monitored by the Committee of Public Safety, which assigned Representatives on Mission to keep watch on generals
12.
Sister republic
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A sister republic was a republic established by invading French armies or by local revolutionaries and assisted by the First French Republic during the French Revolutionary Wars. Ideals favored by the National Convention and Robespierre during the period were popular sovereignty, rule of law, the republicans also borrowed ideas and values from Whiggism and Enlightenment philosophers. The republican governments promoted nationalism over the monarchy, primarily the Bourbons, in France, Revolutionary Republicanism was, in part, based on limiting corruption and greed. The revolutionaries saw these vices as endemic at the time, but were more readily preventable in a popular republic, a virtuous citizen was defined as one who ignored monetary compensation and made a commitment to resist and eradicate corruption. The Republic was sacred, therefore, it was necessary to serve the state in a representative way, ignoring self-interest. Republicanism required supporters who were willing to give up their own interests for a common good, virtuous citizens needed to be strong defenders of liberty and challenge the corruption and greed in government. The duty of the virtuous citizen became a foundation for the American Revolution, the French Revolution looked to incorporate these founding ideals and to export them throughout Europe. However, most of these French client republics were short-lived, as the revolutionary republic became the Napoleonic Empire, they were often annexed to France proper or subsumed into more openly French puppet regimes
13.
Reign of Terror
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The Reign of Terror or The Terror, is the label given by some historians to a period of violence during the French Revolution. Different historians place the date at either 5 September 1793 or June 1793 or March 1793 or September 1792 or July 1789. Between June 1793 and the end of July 1794, there were 16,594 official death sentences in France, but the total number of deaths in France in 1793–96 in only the civil war in the Vendée is estimated at 250,000 counter-revolutionaries and 200,000 republicans. During 1794, revolutionary France was beset with conspiracies by internal, within France, the revolution was opposed by the French nobility, which had lost its inherited privileges. The Catholic Church opposed the revolution, which had turned the clergy into employees of the state, in addition, the French First Republic was engaged in a series of wars with neighboring powers, and parts of France were engaging in civil war against the loyalist regime. The latter were grouped in the parliamentary faction called the Mountain. Through the Revolutionary Tribunal, the Terrors leaders exercised broad powers, the Reign was a manifestation of the strong strain on centralized power. Many historians have debated the reasons the French Revolution took such a turn during the Reign of Terror of 1793–94. The public was frustrated that the equality and anti-poverty measures that the revolution originally promised were not materializing. Jacques Rouxs Manifesto of the Enraged on 25 June 1793, describes the extent to which, four years into the revolution, the foundation of the Terror is centered on the April 1793 creation of the Committee of Public Safety and its militant Jacobin delegates. Those in power believed the Committee of Public Safety was an unfortunate, according to Mathiez, they touched only with trepidation and reluctance the regime established by the Constituent Assembly so as not to interfere with the early accomplishments of the revolution. Similar to Mathiez, Richard Cobb introduced competing circumstances of revolt, counter-revolutionary rebellions taking place in Lyon, Brittany, Vendée, Nantes, and Marseille were threatening the revolution with royalist ideas. Cobb writes, the revolutionaries themselves, living as if in combat… were easily persuaded that only terror, Terror was used in these rebellions both to execute inciters and to provide a very visible example to those who might be considering rebellion. Cobb agrees with Mathiez that the Terror was simply a response to circumstances, at the same time, Cobb rejects Mathiezs Marxist interpretation that elites controlled the Reign of Terror to the significant benefit of the bourgeoisie. Instead, Cobb argues that social struggles between the classes were seldom the reason for actions and sentiments. Widespread terror and a consequent rise in executions came after external and internal threats were vastly reduced, with the backing of the national guard, they persuaded the convention to arrest 29 Girondist leaders, including Jacques Pierre Brissot. On 13 July the assassination of Jean-Paul Marat – a Jacobin leader, georges Danton, the leader of the August 1792 uprising against the king, was removed from the committee. The Jacobins identified themselves with the movement and the sans-culottes
14.
Declaration of Pillnitz
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It declared the joint support of the Holy Roman Empire and of Prussia for King Louis XVI of France against the French Revolution. At the same time, many French aristocrats were fleeing France and taking up residence in neighbouring countries, spreading fear of the Revolution, after the Flight to Varennes in June 1791, Louis had been arrested and was imprisoned. On 6 July 1791, Leopold issued the Padua Circular, calling on the sovereigns of Europe to join him in demanding Louis freedom, the declaration stated that Austria would go to war if and only if all the other major European powers also went to war with France. Leopold chose this wording so that he would not be forced to go to war, he knew the British prime minister, Leopold issued the declaration only to satisfy the French emigres who had taken refuge in his country and were calling for foreign interference in their homeland. In that case, aforementioned Majesties are determined to act promptly and unanimously, with the necessary for realizing the proposed. In expectation, they give the suitable orders to their troups so that they will be ready to commence activity. The National Assembly of France interpreted the declaration to mean that Leopold was going to declare war, media related to Declaration of Pillnitz at Wikimedia Commons Pillnitzer Punktation auf EPOCHE NAPOLEON in German. Declaration of Pillnitz audio episode at Warsofcoalition. com
15.
Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor
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Leopold II was Holy Roman Emperor and King of Hungary and Bohemia from 1790 to 1792, Archduke of Austria and Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1765 to 1790. He was a son of Emperor Francis I and his wife, Empress Maria Theresa, Leopold was a moderate proponent of enlightened absolutism. In 1753, he was engaged to Maria Beatrice dEste, heiress to the Duchy of Modena, the marriage never materialised, Maria Beatrice instead married Leopolds brother, Archduke Ferdinand. On the death of his brother, Charles, in 1761, it was decided that he should succeed to his fathers grand duchy of Tuscany. This settlement was the condition of his marriage on 5 August 1764 with Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain, daughter of Charles III of Spain, on the death of his father, Francis I, he succeeded to the grand duchy. Leopold was famous in Florence for his numerous extra-marital affairs, among his lovers was Countess Cowper, wife of the 3rd Earl Cowper, who in compensation for being cuckolded was given honours by Leopolds brother, Joseph II. For five years, he exercised little more than nominal authority, in 1770, he made a journey to Vienna to secure the removal of this vexatious guardianship and returned to Florence with a free hand. During the twenty years which elapsed between his return to Florence and the death of his eldest brother Joseph II in 1790, he was employed in reforming the administration of his small state. As he had no army to maintain, and as he suppressed the small naval force kept up by the Medici, Leopold was never popular with his Italian subjects. His disposition was cold and retiring, but his steady, consistent, and intelligent administration, which advanced step by step, brought the grand duchy to a high level of material prosperity. His ecclesiastical policy, which disturbed the deeply rooted convictions of his people and he was unable to secularize the property of the religious houses or to put the clergy entirely under the control of the lay power. However, his abolition of capital punishment was the first permanent abolition in modern times, Leopolds concept of this was based on respect for the political rights of citizens and on a harmony of power between the executive and the legislative. However, Leopold developed and supported social and economic reforms. Smallpox inoculation was made available, and an early institution for the rehabilitation of juvenile delinquents was founded. Leopold also introduced reforms to the system of neglect and inhumane treatment of those deemed mentally ill. On 23 January 1774, the legge sui pazzi was established, a few years later Leopold undertook the project of building a new hospital, the Bonifacio Hospital. He used his skill at choosing collaborators to put a young physician, Vincenzo Chiarugi and he and Joseph II were tenderly attached to one another and met frequently both before and after the death of their mother. The portrait by Pompeo Batoni in which appear together shows that they bore a strong personal resemblance to one another
16.
Frederick William II of Prussia
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Frederick William II was King of Prussia, from 1786 until his death. He was in personal union the Prince-elector of Brandenburg and sovereign prince of the Canton of Neuchâtel, pleasure-loving and indolent, he is seen as the antithesis to his predecessor, Frederick II. Under his reign, Prussia was weakened internally and externally, and his religious policies were directed against the Enlightenment and aimed at restoring a traditional Protestantism. However, he was a patron of the arts and responsible for the construction of notable buildings. Frederick William was born in Berlin, the son of Prince Augustus William of Prussia and his mothers elder sister, Elisabeth, was the wife of Augustus Williams brother King Frederick II. Frederick William became heir-presumptive to the throne of Prussia on his fathers death in 1758, the boy was of an easy-going and pleasure-loving disposition, averse to sustained effort of any kind, and sensual by nature. His marriage with Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Lüneburg, daughter of Charles I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and he then married Frederika Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt, daughter of Ludwig IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt on 14 July 1769 also in Charlottenburg. He also was a talented cellist, for his part, Frederick William, who had never been properly introduced to diplomacy and the business of rulership, resented his uncle for not taking him seriously. The misgivings of Frederick II appear justified in retrospect, Frederick William also terminated his predecessors state monopolies for coffee and tobacco and the sugar monopoly. However, under his reign the codification known as Allgemeines Preußisches Landrecht, initiated by Frederick II, on 26 August 1786 Wöllner was appointed privy councillor for finance, and on 2 October 1786 was ennobled. Though not in name, he in fact prime minister, in all internal affairs it was he who decided. Bischoffswerder, too, still a major, was called into the king′s counsels. From this position Wöllner pursued long lasting reforms concerning religion in the Prussian state, the king proved eager to aid Wöllners crusade. On 18 December 1788 a new law was issued, to secure the orthodoxy of all published books. This forced major Berlin journals like Christoph Friedrich Nicolais Allgemeine Deutsche Bibliothek, moreover, people like Immanuel Kant were forbidden to speak in public on the topic of religion. Finally, in 1791, a Protestant commission was established at Berlin to watch over all ecclesiastical, although Wöllners religious edict had many critics, it was an important measure which, in fact, proved an important stabilizing factor for the Prussian state. The edict was also a step forward regarding the rights of Jews, Mennonites, and Herrnhut brethren. But far more fateful for Prussia was the attitude towards the army
17.
Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette
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A close friend of George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and Thomas Jefferson, Lafayette was a key figure in the French Revolution of 1789 and the July Revolution of 1830. Born in Chavaniac, in the province of Auvergne in south central France and he followed its martial tradition, and was commissioned an officer at age 13. He became convinced that the American cause in its war was noble. There, he was made a general, however, the 19-year-old was initially not given troops to command. Wounded during the Battle of Brandywine, he managed to organize an orderly retreat. He served with distinction in the Battle of Rhode Island, in the middle of the war, he returned home to lobby for an increase in French support. He again sailed to America in 1780, and was given positions in the Continental Army. In 1781, troops in Virginia under his command blocked forces led by Cornwallis until other American, Lafayette returned to France and, in 1787, was appointed to the Assembly of Notables, which was convened in response to the fiscal crisis. He was elected a member of the Estates-General of 1789, where representatives met from the three orders of French society—the clergy, the nobility, and the commoners. He helped write the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, after the storming of the Bastille, Lafayette was appointed commander-in-chief of the National Guard and tried to steer a middle course through the French Revolution. In August 1792, the radical factions ordered his arrest, fleeing through the Austrian Netherlands, he was captured by Austrian troops and spent more than five years in prison. Lafayette returned to France after Napoleon Bonaparte secured his release in 1797, after the Bourbon Restoration of 1814, he became a liberal member of the Chamber of Deputies, a position he held for most of the remainder of his life. During Frances July Revolution of 1830, Lafayette declined an offer to become the French dictator, instead, he supported Louis-Philippe as king, but turned against him when the monarch became autocratic. Lafayette died on 20 May 1834, and is buried in Picpus Cemetery in Paris, for his accomplishments in the service of both France and the United States, he is sometimes known as The Hero of the Two Worlds. Lafayettes lineage was likely one of the oldest and most distinguished in Auvergne and, perhaps, males of the Lafayette family enjoyed a reputation for courage and chivalry and were noted for their contempt for danger. One of Lafayettes early ancestors, Gilbert de Lafayette III, a Marshal of France, had been a companion-at-arms of Joan of Arcs army during the Siege of Orléans in 1429, according to legend, another ancestor acquired the crown of thorns during the Sixth Crusade. Lafayettes father likewise died on the battlefield, on 1 August 1759, Michel de Lafayette was struck by a cannonball while fighting a British-led coalition at the Battle of Minden in Westphalia. Lafayette became marquis and Lord of Chavaniac, but the estate went to his mother, in 1768, when Lafayette was 11, he was summoned to Paris to live with his mother and great-grandfather at the comtes apartments in Luxembourg Palace
18.
Nicolas Luckner
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Nicolas, Count Luckner was a German officer in French service who rose to become a Marshal of France. Luckner grew up in Cham, in eastern Bavaria and received his education from the Jesuits in Passau. Before entering the French service, Luckner spent time in the Bavarian, Dutch and he fought as a commander of hussars during the Seven Years War in the Hanoverian army against the French. Luckner joined the French army in 1763 with the rank of lieutenant general, in 1784 he became a Danish count. He supported the French Revolution, and the year 1791 saw Luckner become a Marshal of France, in 1791-92 Luckner served as the first commander of the Army of the Rhine. In April 1792, Rouget de Lisle dedicated to him the Chant de Guerre pour lArmée du Rhin, as commander of the Army of the North in 1792 he captured the Flemish cities of Menen and Kortrijk, but then had to retreat towards Lille. After the flight of Lafayette he was made generalissimo with orders to build a Reserve Army near Châlons-sur-Marne, however, the National Convention was not satisfied with his progress and Choderlos de Laclos was ordered to support or replace him. Luckner, now over 70 years of age, then asked for dismissal and he was arrested by the Revolutionary Tribunal and sentenced to death. He died by the guillotine in Paris in 1794, the carillon of the town hall in the Bavarian town of Cham rings the Marseillaise every day at 12.05 p. m. to commemorate the citys most famous son, Nikolaus Graf von Luckner. He was the great-grandfather of Count Felix von Luckner, a German naval officer who commanded the merchant raider SMS Seeadler during World War I. Luckner owned Krummbek Manor in Holstein, theodor Heuss, Der Marschall aus der Oberpfalz, in, Schattenbeschwörung. Wunderlich, Stuttgart und Tübingen 1947, Neuausgabe, Klöpfer und Meyer, Tübingen 1999, ISBN 3-931402-52-5
19.
Sans-culottes
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The sans-culottes, most of them urban labourers, served as the driving popular force behind the revolution. Though ill-clad and ill-equipped, they made up the bulk of the Revolutionary army during the years of the French Revolutionary Wars. The most fundamental political ideals of the sans-culottes were social equality, economic equality, the height of their influence spanned from the original overthrow of the monarchy in roughly 1789 to the Thermidorian Reaction in 1794. Several important leaders of the Enragés and Hébertists were imprisoned and executed by the revolutionary tribunals they had supported. After the defeat of the 1795 popular revolt in Paris, the sans-culottes ceased to play any political role in France until the July Revolution of 1830. The term sans-culottism, sans-culottisme in French, refers to this idealized image, many public figures and revolutionaries who were not strictly working class styled themselves citoyens sans-culottes in solidarity and recognition. However, in the immediately following the Thermidorian Reaction the sans-culottes. According to Sally Waller, part of the sans-culottes mantra was permanent anticipation of betrayal, the members of the sans-culottes were constantly on edge and fearing betrayal, which can be attributed to their violent and radical rebellion tactics. Marxist historian Eric Hobsbawm observes that the sans-culottes were a shapeless, mostly urban movement of the poor, small craftsmen, shopkeepers, artisans, tiny entrepreneurs. He further notes they were organised notably in the political clubs of Paris. Hobsbawm writes that these were the actual demonstrators, rioters and constructors of street barricades, the Marxist historian Albert Soboul emphasized the importance of the sans-culottes as a social class, a sort of proto-proletariat that played a central role in the French Revolution. That view has been attacked by scholars who say the sans-culottes were not a class at all. Indeed, as one historian points out, Sobouls concept has not been used by scholars in any period of French history. For example, currently, the term culottes in French is now used to describe womens underpants, the term sans-culottes has been used to refer colloquially to mean not wearing underpants. Enragés Hébertists Descamisado Andrews, Richard Mowery. in JSTOR Furet, François and Mona Ozouf, a Critical Dictionary of the French Revolution, pp 393–99 Sonenscher, Michael. Sans-Culottes, An Eighteenth-Century Emblem in the French Revolution, a Revolution in Political Culture in McPhee, ed. A Companion to the French Revolution 435–453
20.
Breeches
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Breeches are an article of clothing covering the body from the waist down, with separate coverings for each leg, usually stopping just below the knee, though in some cases reaching to the ankles. Formerly a standard item of Western mens clothing, they had out of use by the mid-19th century in favour of trousers. Modern athletic garments used for English riding and fencing, although called breeches or britches, Breeches is a double plural known since c. Breeches uses a form to reflect it has two legs, the word has no singular form. This construction is common in English and Italian, but is no common in some other languages in which it was once common, e. g. the parallel modern Dutch. At first breeches indicated a cloth worn as underwear by both men and women, philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield, uses the word breech as a synonym or perhaps a euphemism for anus in his letters. Until around the end of the 19th century, small boys wore special forms of dresses until they were breeched, or given the adult male styles of clothes, at about the age of 6 to 8. Their clothes were rarely as easy to confuse with those of girls, as the head covering and hair, chest and collar. During the French Revolution, breeches were seen as a symbol of the nobility, lower-class revolutionaries became known as sans-culottes. The spelling britches is a variant, not a corruption. Presently, britches reflects a pronunciation often used in casual speech to mean trousers or pants in many English-speaking parts of the world. Breeks is a Scots or northern English spelling and pronunciation and this also led to the following, a breech is the part of a firearm behind the bore. The terms breeches or knee-breeches specifically designate the knee-length garments worn by men from the later 16th century to the early 19th century, spanish breeches, stiff, ungathered breeches popular from the 1630s until the 1650s. Petticoat breeches, very full, ungathered breeches popular from the 1650s until the early 1660s, rhinegraves, full, gathered breeches popular from the early 1660s until the mid-1670s, often worn with an overskirt over them. Fall front breeches, breeches with a panel or flap covering the front opening, dress breeches are tight fitting and have buttons and a strap and buckle closure at the bottoms, made of velvet or barathea wool, used for livery, formal and court dress. From the 1890s to the 1930s a form of breeches called knickerbockers or knickers were in fashion with men and boys. Like their 18th century predecessor, they reached and were fastened just below the knees, vráka are the traditional breeches of the islands of Greece from the westernmost Ionian Islands to the easternmost, Cyprus. Greek breeches are extremely roomy and are meant to be tucked inside long boots just below the knee and they were originally meant to facilitate movement on fishing boats and sailing ships
21.
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
22.
Demi-brigade
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A demi-brigade is a military formation used by the French Army since the French Revolutionary Wars. The Demi-brigade amalgamated the various organizations of the French Revolutionary infantry into a single unit. Each one was headed by a chef de brigade, the term Demi-brigade was chosen to avoid the feudal ancien régime connotations of the term Régiment. Napoleon Bonaparte ordered the term to be abandoned in 1803, the term was reused by certain later units in the French Army, such as the 13th Foreign Legion Demi-Brigade, the only permanent demi-brigade in the modern French Army. The French Legislative Assembly voted to declare war on Austria on 20 April 1792,1792 ended well for France, having conquered the Austrian Netherlands and parts of Germany. By mid-1793, France had lost all the conquests of 1792, was fighting on multiple fronts, in an effort to reverse the setbacks, France took a number of measures. In late August 1793, instigated by Lazare Carnot, France introduced the levée en masse, also in late August, a law was passed to amalgamate the infantry, which saw the formation of Demi-brigades. Organized in 1794 as part of the French Revolutionary Armies, one division was made up of three brigades and one brigade was made up of 3 battalions. The main problem faced by the French Revolution infantry was a lack of unity, the purpose of the Demi-brigade was to blend all three formations into a single unit, with identical equipment, organization, pay, and uniforms. A Demi-brigade consisted of three battalions, one battalion of regulars, and two battalions of either volunteers or national guards. Each battalion had the organization of one company of grenadiers. On paper, a Demi-brigade would have 2,437 men, the levée en masse had swelled the ranks of the French army, so by August 1794 over a million men were under arms. The Demi-brigade created a streamlined and simple method of organizing the infantry, due to the current war situation, Demi-brigades were not formed until early 1794. Separate Demi-brigades were organised as infantry and light infantry, all lacked uniformity in either weapons or equipment. As the French Revolutionary Wars progressed, demi-brigades were issued with specific coloured uniform jackets, by late 1794, France had completed the re-conquest of the Austrian Netherlands and Rhineland of Germany. Peace was restored under the Treaty of Amiens in 1802, the Demi-brigades were renamed as regiments. The term has been revived for various French Army units since the Napoleonic period, perhaps the most famous unit to be termed a Demi-Brigade is the 13th Foreign Legion Demi-Brigade, the only permanent demi-brigade in the modern French Army. In the Second Polish Republic, demi-brigades were organized in the ranks of Border Protection Corps, the Wars of the French Revolution and Napoleon, 1792-1815
23.
Soldier
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A soldier is one who fights as part of an organised, land-based armed force. A soldier can be a person, a non-commissioned officer. The word soldier derives from the Middle English word soudeour, from Old French soudeer or soudeour, meaning mercenary, from soudee, meaning shillings worth or wage, from sou or soud, the word is also related to the Medieval Latin soldarius, meaning soldier. These words ultimately derive from the Late Latin word solidus, referring to an Ancient Roman coin used in the Byzantine Empire. In most armed forces use of the soldier has taken on a more general meaning due to the increasing specialization of military occupations that require different areas of knowledge. In many countries soldiers serving in specific occupations are referred to by other than their occupational name. For example, military personnel in the British Army are known as red caps because of the colour of their caps. Infantry are sometimes called grunts or squaddies, while US Army artillery crews, or gunners, are referred to as redlegs. U. S. soldiers are often called G. I. s, members of the Marine Corps are typically referred to as marines rather than soldiers. In the United States, the term warfighter is often used to refer collectively to all whose job it is to do the actual fighting, the army has not completely phased out this terminology and still uses warfighter in various contexts such as the Project Manager Warfighter Information Network-Tactical. French Marine Infantry are called marsouins because of their amphibious role, Military units in most armies have nicknames of this type, arising either from items of distinctive uniform, some historical connotation or rivalry between branches or regiments. Some soldiers, such as conscripts or draftees, serve a limited term. Others choose to serve until retirement, then receive a pension. In the United States, military members can retire after 20 years, in other countries, the term of service is 30 years, hence the term 30-year man. Airman Marine Military use of children Seaman Media related to Soldier at Wikimedia Commons
24.
Officer (armed forces)
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An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. In this sense, officers are not enlisted, but hold appointments from their government that typically remain in force indefinitely unless resigned, the proportion of officers varies greatly. Officers typically make up between an eighth and a fifth of modern armed forces personnel, in 2013, officers were the senior 17% of the British armed forces, and the senior 13. 7% of the French armed forces. In 2012, officers made up about 18% of the German armed forces, historically, however, armed forces have generally had much lower proportions of officers. During the First World War, fewer than 5% of British soldiers were officers, in the early twentieth century, the Spanish army had the highest proportion of officers of any European army, at 12. 5%. Within a nations armed forces, armies tend to have a proportion of officers. For example,13. 9% of British army personnel and 22. 2% of the RAF personnel were officers in 2013, having officers is one requirement for combatant status under the laws of war, though these officers need not have obtained an official commission or warrant. Commissioned officers are typically the only persons, in an armed forces environment, a superior officer is an officer with a higher rank than another officer, who is a subordinate officer relative to the superior. Non-commissioned officers in positions of authority can be said to have control or charge rather than command per se, many advanced militaries require university degrees as a prerequisite for commissioning, even from the enlisted ranks. In the Israel Defense Forces, a university degree is a requirement for an officer to advance to the rank of lieutenant colonel, the IDF often sponsors the studies for its majors, while aircrew and naval officers obtain academic degrees as a part of their training programmes. In the United Kingdom, there are three routes of entry for British Armed Forces officers, the first, and primary route are those who receive their commission directly into the officer grades following completion at their relevant military academy. The third route is similar to the second, in that they convert from an enlisted to a commission, but these are taken from the highest ranks of SNCOs. LE officers, whilst holding the same Queens Commission, generally work in different roles from the DE officers, in the infantry, a number of Warrant Officer Class 1s are commissioned as LE officers. For Royal Navy and Royal Air Force officer candidates, a 30-week period at Britannia Royal Naval College or a 30-week period at RAF College Cranwell, Royal Marines officers receive their training in the Command Wing of the Commando Training Centre Royal Marines during a grueling 15-month course. The courses consist of not only tactical and combat training, but also leadership, management, etiquette, until the Cardwell Reforms of 1871, commissions in the British Army were purchased by officers. The Royal Navy, however, operated on a more meritocratic, or at least socially mobile, AOCS also also included the embedded Aviation Reserve Officer Candidate and Naval Aviation Cadet programs. NAVCADs were personnel who held associates degrees, but lacked bachelors degrees, nAVCADs would complete the entire AOCS program, but would not be commissioned until completion of flight training and receiving their wings. After their initial tour, they would be assigned to a college or university full-time for no more than two years in order to complete their bachelors degree
25.
Non-commissioned officer
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A non-commissioned officer or noncommissioned officer is a military officer who has not earned a commission. Such is also called sub-officer in some countries, Non-commissioned officers, in the English-speaking world, usually obtain their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. In contrast, commissioned officers hold higher ranks than NCOs, have more legal responsibilities, are paid more, commissioned officers usually earn their commissions without having risen through the enlisted ranks. Mustang is a term in the United States Armed Forces used to refer to a commissioned officer who began his or her career as an enlisted service member. The NCO corps usually includes all grades of corporal and sergeant, in some countries, the naval equivalent includes some or all grades of petty officer, although not all navies class their petty officers as NCOs. There are different classes of non-commissioned officer, including junior non-commissioned officers, the non-commissioned officer corps is often referred to as the backbone of the armed services, as they are the primary and most visible leaders for most military personnel. Additionally, they are the leaders responsible for executing a military organizations mission. NCO training and education typically includes leadership and management as well as service-specific, senior NCOs are considered the primary link between enlisted personnel and the commissioned officers in a military organization. Their advice and guidance is important for junior officers, who begin their careers in a position of authority. In the Australian Army, Lance corporals and corporals are classified as junior NCOs, while sergeants, in the New South Wales Police Force, NCOs perform supervisory and coordination roles. The ranks of probationary constable through to leading senior constable are referred to as constables, all NCOs within the NSW Police are given a warrant of appointment under the Commissioners hand and seal. All officers within the Australian Defence Force Cadets are non-commissioned, ADFC officers are appointed by the Director-General of their respective branch. In the Canadian Forces, the Queens Regulations and Orders formally defined a non-commissioned officer as A Canadian Forces member holding the rank of Sergeant or Corporal. In the 1990s, the term non-commissioned member was introduced to all ranks in the Canadian Forces from recruit to chief warrant officer. In the Royal Canadian Navy, however, the definition of NCO reflects the international use of the term. Junior Non-commissioned officers mess and billet with privates and seamen, their mess is usually referred to as the junior ranks mess, as a group, NCOs rank above privates and below warrant officers. The term non-commissioned members includes these ranks, in the Finnish Defence Force, NCOs includes all ranks from corporal to sergeant major. Ranks of lance corporal and leading seaman are considered not to be NCO ranks and this ruling applies to all branches of service and also to the troops of the Border Guard
26.
Seven Years' War
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The Seven Years War was a war fought between 1754 and 1763, the main conflict occurring in the seven-year period from 1756 to 1763. It involved every European great power of the time except the Ottoman Empire and spanned five continents, affecting Europe, the Americas, West Africa, India, and the Philippines. The conflict split Europe into two coalitions, led by the Kingdom of Great Britain on one side and the Kingdom of France on the other. Meanwhile, in India, the Mughal Empire, with the support of the French, faced with this sudden turn of events, Britain aligned herself with Prussia, in a series of political manoeuvres known as the Diplomatic Revolution. Conflict between Great Britain and France broke out in 1754–1756 when the British attacked disputed French positions in North America, meanwhile, rising power Prussia was struggling with Austria for dominance within and outside the Holy Roman Empire in central Europe. In 1756, the major powers switched partners, realizing that war was imminent, Prussia preemptively struck Saxony and quickly overran it. The result caused uproar across Europe, because of Austrias alliance with France to recapture Silesia, which had been lost in a previous war, Prussia formed an alliance with Britain. Reluctantly, by following the diet, most of the states of the empire joined Austrias cause. The Anglo-Prussian alliance was joined by smaller German states, Sweden, seeking to re-gain Pomerania joined the coalition, seeing its chance when virtually all of Europe opposed Prussia. Spain, bound by the Pacte de Famille, intervened on behalf of France, the Russian Empire was originally aligned with Austria, fearing Prussias ambition on the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, but switched sides upon the succession of Tsar Peter III in 1762. Naples, Sicily, and Savoy, although sided with the Franco-Spanish alliance, like Sweden, Russia concluded a separate peace with Prussia. The war ended with the Treaty of Paris between France, Spain and Great Britain and the Treaty of Hubertusburg between Saxony, Austria and Prussia, in 1763. The Native American tribes were excluded from the settlement, a subsequent conflict, Prussia emerged as a new European great power. Although Austria failed to retrieve the territory of Silesia from Prussia its military prowess was noted by the other powers. The involvement of Portugal, Spain and Sweden did not return them to their status as great powers. France was deprived of many of its colonies and had saddled itself with heavy war debts that its inefficient financial system could barely handle. Spain lost Florida but gained French Louisiana and regained control of its colonies, e. g. Cuba and the Philippines, France and Spain avenged their defeat in 1778 when the American Revolutionary War broke out, with hopes of destroying Britains dominance once and for all. The Seven Years War was perhaps the first true world war, having taken place almost 160 years before World War I and it was characterized in Europe by sieges and the arson of towns as well as open battles with heavy losses
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Jacques Antoine Hippolyte, Comte de Guibert
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Jacques-Antoine-Hippolyte, Comte de Guibert was a French general and military writer. Born at Montauban, he accompanied his father in wars before he became a general himself, in 1770, he published an essay on tactics which was very influential in his time. Guiberts Journal dun voyage en Allemagne was published, with a memoir, during those years, he also won the love of Julie de Lespinasse, whose love letters to him, later published, are still read today. In 1777, however, Saint-Germain fell into disgrace, and his fall involved that of Guibert who was promoted to the rank of maréchal de camp, in his semi-retirement he vigorously defended his old chief Saint-Germain against his detractors. On the eve of the Revolution he was recalled to the War Office, in 1770 he published his Essai général de tactique in London, and this celebrated work appeared in numerous subsequent editions and in English, German and even Persian translations. One quotation may be given as being a most remarkable prophecy of the revolution in the art of war. The standing armies, while a burden on the people, are inadequate for the achievement of great and decisive results in war, the hegemony over Europe will fall to that nation which. Becomes possessed of manly virtues and creates a national army—a prediction fulfilled almost to the letter within twenty years of Guiberts death. Guibert was a member of the Académie française from 1786, and he wrote a tragedy, Le Connétable de Bourbon. His final work was De la force publique considérée par tous ses rapports in which he contradicted several of the postulates on militias and professional armies. Attribution This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Guibert. Beatrice Heuser, Guibert, Prophet of Total War, in Stig Förster & Roger Chickering, War in an Age of Revolution, The Wars of American Independence and French Revolution, 1775-1815, pp. 49–67
28.
Pierre-Joseph Bourcet
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Pierre-Joseph Bourcet was a French tactician, general, chief of staff, mapmaker and military educator. He was the son of Daniel-André Bourcet and of Marie-Magdeleine Legier, Bourcet was born at Usseaux, in what is now Piedmont, northern Italy. At 18 years old, he began serving under his father and he completed his training, studying maths, and became a gunner before entering the infantry and finally the engineers. With the support of M. dAsfeld, he joined the corps in 1729. A long military career followed, ending at the rank of lieutenant-général des armées du roi, in 1762, at the start of his career, he was a protégé of the maréchal de Maillebois, accompanying him on a secret reconnaissance mission to Frances Alpine frontier. He was chief engineer at Mont-Dauphin, from c,1742, succeeding M. de Pène, whose daughter Marie-Anne de Pène he married. Bourcet had initially joined the artillery, but by 1741 was already an engineer, an expert in mountain warfare, military engineering and fortifications, he devised the French invasion of Piedmont that led up to the Battle of Madonna dellOlmo in 1744. At the end of 1759, he was made kings chief commissioner and that year also saw him involved in diplomatic missions to the Sardianian court in 1760. By 1762, he was in Versailles dealing with secret correspondence. The end of the Seven Years War saw him back in Grenoble, there is a popular myth that under the direction of the minister of war, Choiseul, in 1764 he established a staff-officer training school at Grenoble, where he taught on mountain warfare. In fact, Bourcet was the Director of Engineering at Grenoble in 1763, on 1 April 1766, Bourcet was charged with the direction of officers engaged in reconnaissance of the land. He devised the concept of a plan with branches. He died at Meylan without issue in 1780 - his heart is buried at the church of Notre-Dame du Laus, principes de la guerre de montagne, only published in 1888
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Mountain warfare
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Mountain warfare refers to warfare in the mountains or similarly rough terrain. This type of warfare is also called Alpine warfare, after the Alps mountains, Mountain warfare is one of the most dangerous types of combat as it involves surviving not only combat with the enemy but also the extreme weather and dangerous terrain. Mountain ranges are of importance since they often act as a natural border. Attacking a prepared enemy position in mountain terrain requires a ratio of attacking soldiers to defending soldiers than a war conducted on level ground. Movement, reinforcements, and medical evacuation up and down steep slopes, the term mountain warfare is said to have come about in the Middle Ages after the monarchies of Europe found it difficult to fight the Swiss armies in the Alps. This was because the Swiss were able to fight in smaller units, similar styles of attack and defence were later employed by guerrillas, partisans and irregulars who hid in the mountains after an attack, making it challenging for an army of regulars to fight back. In Bonapartes Italian campaign, and the 1809 rebellion in Tyrol, other example of mountain warfare was the Crossing of the Andes carried out by the Argentinean Army of the Andes commanded by Gen José de San Martín in 1817. One of the division passed 5000 m height, Mountain warfare came to the fore once again, during World War I, when some of the nations involved in the war had mountain divisions that had hitherto not been tested. During the summer of 1918, the Battle of San Matteo took place on the Italian front, in December 1914, another offensive was launched by the Turkish supreme commander Enver Pasha with 95, 000-190,000 troops against the Russians in the Caucasus. Insisting on an attack against Russian positions in the mountains in the heart of winter. Since the partition in 1947, both countries have been locked in skirmishes and wars mainly in this Himalayan region with the highest mountains in the world. The first hostilities between the two nations in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947 showed that both were ill-equipped to fight in biting cold, let alone at the highest altitudes in the world. During the Sino-Indian War of 1962, hostilities broke out between the Republic of India and the Peoples Republic of China at some of the highest altitudes over the Himalayan mountains. Later wars between India and Pakistan were mainly fought in the rather than in the mountains, although several major mountain battles took place in all these conflicts. This changed in the Kargil War when Indian forces were faced with the task of flushing out intruders. This proxy warfare became the modern war that was fought exclusively on mountains. South Georgia is an island, and since the war took place during the southern winter. It was unusual, in that it combined aspects of water long range expeditions, Arctic warfare
30.
Column (formation)
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A military column is a formation of soldiers marching together in one or more files in which the file is significantly longer than the width of ranks in the formation. It is also applied by modern armies to vehicles, troops, during the early stages of the French Revolutionary Wars, battalions in French armies often attacked in column formation in an attempt to drive through enemy lines by sheer weight of numbers. Against enemy units already weakened by the fire from skirmishers or artillery, later, during the Napoleonic Wars, French units would approach in column formation and deploy into line when close to the enemy. However, against the British they frequently failed to deploy into line before being engaged, during the Peninsular War, after the Battle of Sabugal, the Duke of Wellington wrote, our loss is much less than one would have supposed possible, scarcely 200 men. Really these attacks against our lines with columns of men are contemptible and these failings were still evident at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, prompting Wellington to comment, They came on in the same old way and we defeated them in the same old way. Each company would form into two ranks of about thirty files and march close to the company in front, if attacked by cavalry, they could easily bunch up, forming a schiltron of bayonets that would be proof against unsupported cavalry. The column formation was used by Chinese infantry during the Korean War. When attacking, the Chinese would form their assault units into deep columns of platoons or squads, the rationale for such a tactic was that repeated assaults conducted by squad- or platoon-sized skirmish parties would eventually penetrate enemy lines through sheer attrition. This utilization of column formation also give birth to the human wave attack. A Reappraisal of Column Versus Line in the Peninsular War Oman and Historiography, The Napoleon Series, a Reappraisal of Column Versus Line in the Napoleonic Wars Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research LX no. Rules and regulations for the exercise and manoeuvres of infantry
31.
Bayonet
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In this regard, it is an ancillary close-quarter combat or last-resort weapon. Some modern bayonets, such as the one used on the British SA80 assault rifle, knife-shaped bayonets—when not fixed to a gun barrel—have long been utilized by soldiers in the field as general purpose cutting implements. The term bayonette dates back to the end of the 16th century, for example, Cotgraves 1611 Dictionarie describes the Bayonet as a kind of small flat pocket dagger, furnished with knives, or a great knife to hang at the girdle. Likewise, Pierre Borel wrote in 1655 that a kind of long-knife called a bayonette was made in Bayonne, the bayonet may have emerged to allow a hunter to fend off wild animals in the event of a missed shot. This idea was particularly persistent in Spain where hunting arms were equipped with bayonets from the 17th century until the advent of the cartridge era. The weapon was introduced into the French army by General Jean Martinet and was common in most European armies by the 1660s, the usefulness of such a dual-purpose arm soon became apparent. Early muskets fired at a rate, and could be both inaccurate and unreliable, depending on the quality of manufacture. A bayonet on a 5-foot tall musket achieved a similar to the infantry spear. The bayonet/musket combination was, however, considerably heavier than a polearm of the same length, early bayonets were of the plug type. This allowed light infantry to be converted to infantry and hold off cavalry charges. The bayonet had a handle that slid directly into the musket barrel. This naturally prevented the gun from being fired, in 1671, plug bayonets were issued to the French regiment of fusiliers then raised. They were issued to part of an English dragoon regiment raised in 1672 and disbanded in 1674, however, it was not widely adopted at the time. Soon socket bayonets would incorporate both ring mounts and a blade, keeping the bayonet well away from the muzzle blast of the musket barrel. In 1703, the French infantry adopted spring-loaded locking system that prevented the bayonet from accidentally separating from the musket, henceforward, the socket bayonet became, with the musket or other firearm, the typical weapon of the French infantry. The socket bayonet had by then adopted by most European armies. The British socket bayonet had a blade with a flat side towards the muzzle. However it had no lock to keep it fast to the muzzle and was well-documented for falling off in the heat of battle
32.
Frederick the Great
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Frederick II was King of Prussia from 1740 until 1786, the longest reign of any Hohenzollern king. Frederick was the last titled King in Prussia and declared himself King of Prussia after achieving full sovereignty for all historical Prussian lands, Prussia had greatly increased its territories and became a leading military power in Europe under his rule. He became known as Frederick the Great and was affectionately nicknamed Der Alte Fritz by the Prussian, in his youth, Frederick was more interested in music and philosophy than the art of war. Upon ascending to the Prussian throne, he attacked Austria and claimed Silesia during the Silesian Wars, winning acclaim for himself. Near the end of his life, Frederick physically connected most of his realm by conquering Polish territories in the First Partition of Poland and he was an influential military theorist whose analysis emerged from his extensive personal battlefield experience and covered issues of strategy, tactics, mobility and logistics. Considering himself the first servant of the state, Frederick was a proponent of enlightened absolutism and he modernized the Prussian bureaucracy and civil service and pursued religious policies throughout his realm that ranged from tolerance to segregation. He reformed the system and made it possible for men not of noble stock to become judges. Frederick also encouraged immigrants of various nationalities and faiths to come to Prussia, some critics, however, point out his oppressive measures against conquered Polish subjects during the First Partition. Frederick supported arts and philosophers he favored, as well as allowing complete freedom of the press, Frederick is buried at his favorite residence, Sanssouci in Potsdam. Because he died childless, Frederick was succeeded by his nephew, Frederick William II, son of his brother, historian Leopold von Ranke was unstinting in his praise of Fredericks Heroic life, inspired by great ideas, filled with feats of arms. Immortalized by the raising of the Prussian state to the rank of a power, Johann Gustav Droysen was even more extolling. However, by the 21st century, a re-evaluation of his legacy as a great warrior, Frederick, the son of Frederick William I and his wife, Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, was born in Berlin on 24 January 1712. The birth of Frederick was welcomed by his grandfather, Frederick I, with more than usual pleasure, with the death of his father in 1713, Frederick William became King of Prussia, thus making young Frederick the crown prince. The new king wished for his sons and daughters to be educated not as royalty and he had been educated by a Frenchwoman, Madame de Montbail, who later became Madame de Rocoulle, and he wished that she educate his children. However, he possessed a violent temper and ruled Brandenburg-Prussia with absolute authority. As Frederick grew, his preference for music, literature and French culture clashed with his fathers militarism, in contrast, Fredericks mother Sophia was polite, charismatic and learned. Her father, George Louis of Brunswick-Lüneburg, succeeded to the British throne as King George I in 1714, Frederick was brought up by Huguenot governesses and tutors and learned French and German simultaneously. Although Frederick William I was raised a Calvinist, he feared he was not of the elect, to avoid the possibility of Frederick being motivated by the same concerns, the king ordered that his heir not be taught about predestination
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Europe
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Europe is a continent that comprises the westernmost part of Eurasia. Europe is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, yet the non-oceanic borders of Europe—a concept dating back to classical antiquity—are arbitrary. Europe covers about 10,180,000 square kilometres, or 2% of the Earths surface, politically, Europe is divided into about fifty sovereign states of which the Russian Federation is the largest and most populous, spanning 39% of the continent and comprising 15% of its population. Europe had a population of about 740 million as of 2015. Further from the sea, seasonal differences are more noticeable than close to the coast, Europe, in particular ancient Greece, was the birthplace of Western civilization. The fall of the Western Roman Empire, during the period, marked the end of ancient history. Renaissance humanism, exploration, art, and science led to the modern era, from the Age of Discovery onwards, Europe played a predominant role in global affairs. Between the 16th and 20th centuries, European powers controlled at times the Americas, most of Africa, Oceania. The Industrial Revolution, which began in Great Britain at the end of the 18th century, gave rise to economic, cultural, and social change in Western Europe. During the Cold War, Europe was divided along the Iron Curtain between NATO in the west and the Warsaw Pact in the east, until the revolutions of 1989 and fall of the Berlin Wall. In 1955, the Council of Europe was formed following a speech by Sir Winston Churchill and it includes all states except for Belarus, Kazakhstan and Vatican City. Further European integration by some states led to the formation of the European Union, the EU originated in Western Europe but has been expanding eastward since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. The European Anthem is Ode to Joy and states celebrate peace, in classical Greek mythology, Europa is the name of either a Phoenician princess or of a queen of Crete. The name contains the elements εὐρύς, wide, broad and ὤψ eye, broad has been an epithet of Earth herself in the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European religion and the poetry devoted to it. For the second part also the divine attributes of grey-eyed Athena or ox-eyed Hera. The same naming motive according to cartographic convention appears in Greek Ανατολή, Martin Litchfield West stated that phonologically, the match between Europas name and any form of the Semitic word is very poor. Next to these there is also a Proto-Indo-European root *h1regʷos, meaning darkness. Most major world languages use words derived from Eurṓpē or Europa to refer to the continent, in some Turkic languages the originally Persian name Frangistan is used casually in referring to much of Europe, besides official names such as Avrupa or Evropa
34.
Military history of France
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The first major recorded wars in the territory of modern-day France itself revolved around the Gallo-Roman conflict that predominated from 60 BC to 50 BC. The Romans eventually emerged victorious through the campaigns of Julius Caesar, after the decline of the Roman Empire, a Germanic tribe known as the Franks took control of Gaul by defeating competing tribes. The land of Francia, from which France gets its name, had points of expansion under kings Clovis I and Charlemagne. In the Middle Ages, rivalries with England prompted major conflicts such as the Norman Conquest, the Wars of Religion crippled France in the late 16th century, but a major victory over Spain in the Thirty Years War made France the most powerful nation on the continent once more. In parallel, France developed its first colonial empire in Asia, Africa, resurgent French armies secured victories in dynastic conflicts against the Spanish, Polish, and Austrian crowns. At the same time, France was fending off attacks on its colonies, as the 18th century advanced, global competition with Great Britain led to the Seven Years War, where France lost its North American holdings. Internal political upheaval eventually led to 23 years of continuous conflict in the French Revolutionary Wars. France reached the zenith of its power during this period, dominating the European continent in an unprecedented fashion under Napoleon Bonaparte, by 1815, however, it had been restored to the same borders it controlled before the Revolution. The rest of the 19th century witnessed the growth of the Second French colonial empire as well as French interventions in Belgium, Spain, other major wars were fought against Russia in the Crimea, Austria in Italy, and Prussia within France itself. Following defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, Franco–German rivalry erupted again in the First World War, France and its allies were victorious this time. The Allies, including the Free French Forces led by a government in exile, as a result, France secured an occupation zone in Germany and a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council. The imperative of avoiding a third Franco-German conflict on the scale of the first two world wars paved the way for European integration starting in the 1950s, France became a nuclear power and, since the late 20th century, has cooperated closely with NATO and its European partners. Starting with Clovis,1,500 years of warfare and diplomacy has witnessed the accomplishment of most of these objectives and these periods of incessant conflict were characterized by their own standards and conventions, but all required strong central leadership in order to permit the extension of French rule. Important military rivalries in history have come about as a result of conflict between French peoples and other European powers. Anglo-French rivalry, for prestige in Europe and around the world, continued for centuries, starting in the early 16th century, much of Frances military efforts were dedicated to securing its overseas possessions and putting down dissent among both French colonists and native populations. French troops were all across its empire, primarily to deal with the local population. The French colonial empire ultimately disintegrated after the attempt to subdue Algerian nationalists in the late 1950s. Since World War II, Frances efforts have been directed at maintaining its status as a great power, for example, France withdrew from NATO in 1966 over complaints that its role in the organization was being subordinated to the demands of the United States
35.
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
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Austrian Netherlands
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The Austrian Netherlands was the Southern Netherlands between 1714 and 1797. Austria, however, did not relinquish its claim over the province until 1797 in the Treaty of Campo Formio, the Austrian Netherlands was a noncontiguous territory that consisted of what is now western Belgium as well as greater Luxembourg, bisected by the Prince-Bishopric of Liège. The dominant languages were German, Dutch, and French, along with Picard, the result of the Barrier Treaty was that the Holy Roman emperor Charles VI did not have a lot to say about his Austrian Netherlands. This caused quite a lot of frustration with the Austrians, especially because the Dutch troops they had to allow were paid with money raised by the Austrian Netherlands themselves and this would last until empress Maria Theresa refused to pay for those troops any longer. The war of 1740-1748 showed that the fortifications manned with Dutch troops were not highly maintained, when Austria and France entered into an alliance in 1756, there was virtually no use for the barrier treaty anymore. In 1781 Emperor Joseph II of Austria unilaterally abolished the treaty, under the Treaty of Rastatt, following the War of the Spanish Succession, the surviving portions of the Spanish Netherlands were ceded to Austria. The Austrians were unconcerned with the upkeep of their province and the fortresses along the border were, by treaty, the area had, in fact, been given to Austria largely at British and Dutch insistence, as these powers feared potential French domination of the region. Charles VI attempted to use the Austrian Netherlands to compete with British, however, the agreement was later revoked by the Treaty of Versailles of 1758 and Austrian rule continued. However, the Emperors stance was far from militant, and he called off hostilities after the so-called Kettle War, known by that name because its only casualty was a kettle. In the 1780s, opposition emerged to the reforms of Emperor Joseph II, which were perceived as an attack on the Catholic Church. Resistance, focused in the autonomous and wealthy Estates of Brabant and Flanders, in the aftermath of rioting and disruption, known as the Small Revolution, in 1787, many of opponents took refuge in the neighboring Dutch Republic where they formed a rebel army. Soon after the outbreak of the French and Liège revolutions, the army crossed into the Austrian Netherlands. The rebels, supported by uprisings across the territory, soon took control over much of the territory, despite the tacit support of Prussia, the independent United Belgian States, established in January 1790, received no foreign recognition and soon became divided along ideological lines. The Vonckists, led by Jan Frans Vonck, advocated progressive and liberal government, whereas the Statists, led by Hendrik Van der Noot, were staunchly conservative, the Statists, who had a wider base of support, soon drove the Vonckists into exile through a terror. By mid-1790, Habsburg Austria ended its war with the Ottoman Empire, the new Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold II, was also a liberal and proposed an amnesty for the rebels. After defeating a Statist army at the Battle of Falmagne, the territory was soon overrun, the Austrian reestablishment was short-lived, however, and the territory was soon overrun by the French during the French Revolutionary Wars. In 1794, the armies of the French Revolution annexed the Austrian Netherlands and integrated them into the French Republic
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Hesse
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Hesse or Hessia is a federal state of the Federal Republic of Germany, with just over six million inhabitants. The state capital is Wiesbaden, the largest city is Frankfurt am Main, the English name Hesse originates in the Hessian dialects. The variant Hessia comes from the medieval Latin Hassia, the German term Hessen is used by the European Commission because their policy is to leave regional names untranslated. The term Hesse ultimately derives from a Germanic tribe called the Chatti, an inhabitant of Hesse is called a Hessian. The synthetic element hassium, number 108 on the table, is named after the state of Hesse. As early as the Paleolithic period, the Central Hessian region was inhabited, due to the favorable climate of the location, people lived there about 50,000 years ago during the last glacial period, as burial sites show from this era. Finds of paleolitical tools in southern Hesse in Rüsselsheim suggest Pleistocene hunters about 13,000 years ago, the Züschen tomb is a prehistoric burial monument, located between Lohne and Züschen, near Fritzlar, Hesse, Germany. Classified as a grave or a Hessian-Westphalian stone cist, it is one of the most important megalithic monuments in Central Europe. Dating to the fourth millennium BC, it belongs to the Late Neolithic Wartberg culture. An early Celtic presence in what is now Hesse is indicated by a mid-fifth-century BC La Tène style burial uncovered at Glauberg, the region was later settled by the Germanic Chatti tribe around the first century BC, and the name Hesse is a continuation of that tribal name. The ancient Romans had a camp in Dorlar, and in Waldgirmes directly on the eastern outskirts of Wetzlar was a civil settlement under construction. Presumably, the government for the occupied territories of the right bank of Germania was planned at this location. The governor of Germania, at least temporarily, likely had resided here, the settlement appears to have been abandoned by the Romans after the devastating Battle of the Teutoburg Forest failed in the year 9 AD. The Chatti were also involved in the Revolt of the Batavi in 69 AD, Hessia occupies the northwestern part of the modern German state of Hesse, its borders were not clearly delineated. Its geographic center is Fritzlar, it extends in the southeast to Hersfeld on the Fulda river, in the north to past Kassel and up to the rivers Diemel, to the west, it occupies the valleys of the rivers Eder and Lahn. It measured roughly 90 kilometers north-south, and 80 north-west, the area around Fritzlar shows evidence of significant pagan belief from the first century on. Excavations have produced a horse burial and bronze artifacts, a possible religious cult may have centered on a natural spring in Geismar, called Heilgenbron, the name Geismar itself may be derived from that spring. By 650, the Franks were establishing themselves as overlords, which is suggested by evidence of burials
France
First French Republic
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