The Army of Sambre and Meuse (french: Armée de Sambre-et-Meuse) was one of the armies of the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
. It was formed on 29 June 1794 by combining the
Army of the Ardennes
The Army of the Ardennes (''armée des Ardennes'') was a French Revolutionary Army formed on the first of October 1792 by splitting off the right wing of the Army of the North, commanded from July to August that year by La Fayette. From July to ...
, the left wing of the
Army of the Moselle
The Army of the Moselle (''Armée de la Moselle'') was a French Revolutionary Army from 1791 through 1795. It was first known as the ''Army of the Centre'' and it fought at Valmy. In October 1792 it was renamed and subsequently fought at Trier, F ...
and the right wing of the
Army of the North
The Army of the North ( es, link=no, Ejército del Norte), contemporaneously called Army of Peru, was one of the armies deployed by the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata in the Spanish American wars of independence. Its objective was fre ...
. Its maximum paper strength (in 1794) was approximately 120,000.
After an inconclusive campaign in
1795
Events
January–June
* January – Central England records its coldest ever month, in the Central England temperature, CET records dating back to 1659.
* January 14 – The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Uni ...
, the French planned a co-ordinated offensive in
1796
Events
January–March
* January 16 – The first Dutch (and general) elections are held for the National Assembly of the Batavian Republic. (The next Dutch general elections are held in 1888.)
* February 1 – The capital ...
using
Jean-Baptiste Jourdan
Jean-Baptiste Jourdan, 1st Count Jourdan (29 April 1762 – 23 November 1833), was a French military commander who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was made a Marshal of the Empire by Emperor Napoleon I in ...
's Army of the Sambre et Meuse and the
Army of the Rhine and Moselle
The Army of the Rhine and Moselle (french: Armée de Rhin-et-Moselle) was one of the field units of the French Revolutionary Army. It was formed on 20 April 1795 by the merger of elements of the Army of the Rhine and the Army of the Moselle.
The ...
commanded by his superior,
Jean Victor Moreau
Jean Victor Marie Moreau (, 14 February 1763 – 2 September 1813) was a French general who helped Napoleon Bonaparte to power, but later became a rival and was banished to the United States.
Biography
Rise to fame
Moreau was born at Morl ...
. The first part of the operation called for Jourdan to cross the Rhine north of Mannheim and divert the Austrians while the Army of the Moselle crossed the southern Rhine at
Kehl
Kehl (; gsw, label= Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic, Kaal) is a town in southwestern Germany in the Ortenaukreis, Baden-Württemberg. It is on the river Rhine, directly opposite the French city of Strasbourg, with which it shares some munic ...
and
Huningen
Huningue (; german: Hüningen; gsw-FR, Hinige) is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department of Alsace in north-eastern France. Huningue is a northern suburb of the Swiss city of Basel. It also borders Germany (Weil am Rhein, a suburb of Basel locate ...
. This was successful and, by July 1796, a series of victories forced the Austrians, commanded by
Archduke Charles
Archduke Charles Louis John Joseph Laurentius of Austria, Duke of Teschen (german: link=no, Erzherzog Karl Ludwig Johann Josef Lorenz von Österreich, Herzog von Teschen; 5 September 177130 April 1847) was an Austrian field-marshal, the third s ...
to retreat into the German states. By late July, most of the southern German states had been coerced into an armistice. The Army of Sambre and Meuse maneuvered around northern Bavaria and Franconia, and the Army of the Rhine and Moselle operated in Bavaria.
Internal disputes between Moreau and Jourdan and with Jourdan's subordinate commanders within the Army of the Sambre and Meuse prevented the two armies from uniting. This gave the Austrian commander time to reform his own forces, driving Jourdan to the northwest. By the end of September 1796, Charles had permanently separated the two French armies, forcing Jourdan's command further northwest and eventually across the Rhine. On 29 September 1797, the Army of Sambre and Meuse merged with the Army of the Rhine and Moselle to become the
Army of Germany.
Background
![Rhein-Karte](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Rhein-Karte.png)
Initially, the rulers of Europe viewed the
1789 revolution in France as an internal matter between the French king and his subjects. In 1790,
Leopold
Leopold may refer to:
People
* Leopold (given name)
* Leopold (surname)
Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters
* Leopold (''The Simpsons''), Superintendent Chalmers' assistant on ''The Simpsons''
* Leopold Bloom, the protagonist o ...
succeeded his brother
Joseph
Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...
as emperor of the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...
; by 1791, the danger to his sister,
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child a ...
and her children, alarmed him. In August 1791, in consultation with French ''émigré'' nobles and
Frederick William II of Prussia, Leopold's
Declaration of Pillnitz
The Declaration of Pillnitz was a statement of five sentences issued on 27 August 1791 at Pillnitz Castle near Dresden (Saxony) by Frederick William II of Prussia and the Habsburg Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II who was Marie Antoinette's brothe ...
articulated that the interests of the monarchs of Europe were as one with the interests of Louis and his family. He and his fellow monarchs threatened unspecified consequences if anything should happen to the royal family. French ''
émigrés'' continued to agitate for support of a counter-revolution, and on 20 April 1792 the
French National Convention
The National Convention (french: link=no, Convention nationale) was the parliament of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for the rest of its existence during the French Revolution, following the two-year National ...
declared war on Austria. In this
War of the First Coalition
The War of the First Coalition (french: Guerre de la Première Coalition) was a set of wars that several European powers fought between 1792 and 1797 initially against the Kingdom of France (1791-92), constitutional Kingdom of France and then t ...
(1792–1798), France ranged itself against most of the European states sharing its land or water borders, plus Portugal and the Ottoman Empire.
[ Timothy Blanning. ''The French Revolutionary Wars''. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996, pp. 41–59.]
Although initially successful in the campaigns of 1792 and 1793, the French army lost some effectiveness during the
Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror (french: link=no, la Terreur) was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the First Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public executions took place in response to revolutionary fervour, ...
, during which its generals were intimidated or executed and many of the army's experienced officers left France for safer havens. Elements of the armies that were later formed into the Army of Sambre and Meuse participated in the conquest of the
Dutch Republic
The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...
and the
siege of Luxembourg. The various elements of the army won a victory at the
Battle of Fleurus on 16 June 1794. The merging of the forces into the Army of Sambre and Meuse was made official soon afterwards. Shortly after Fleurus, the position of the
First Coalition
The War of the First Coalition (french: Guerre de la Première Coalition) was a set of wars that several European powers fought between 1792 and 1797 initially against the constitutional Kingdom of France and then the French Republic that suc ...
in Flanders collapsed and the French armies overran the
Austrian Netherlands
The Austrian Netherlands nl, Oostenrijkse Nederlanden; french: Pays-Bas Autrichiens; german: Österreichische Niederlande; la, Belgium Austriacum. was the territory of the Burgundian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire between 1714 and 1797. The p ...
and the
Dutch Republic
The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...
in the winter of 1794–1795. French and Coalition military strategy subsequently focused on the
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, so ...
river as the principle line of defense: for each side, control of the opposite bank or at least, the river's principal crossings, was the basis of defensive strategy.
[
]
Geopolitical terrain
Geography
The Rhine River flows west along the border between the German states and the Swiss Cantons
The 26 cantons of Switzerland (german: Kanton; french: canton ; it, cantone; Sursilvan and Surmiran: ; Vallader and Puter: ; Sutsilvan: ; Rumantsch Grischun: ) are the member states of the Swiss Confederation. The nucleus of the Swiss C ...
. The stretch between Rheinfall
, photo = File:SBB RABe 514 DTZ Rheinfall.jpg
, photo_width = 280
, photo_caption = Rhine Falls with Rheinfall Bridge and Laufen Castle
, location = On the border between the cantons of Schaffhausen and Zürich next to Schaffhausen, i ...
, by Schaffhausen
Schaffhausen (; gsw, Schafuuse; french: Schaffhouse; it, Sciaffusa; rm, Schaffusa; en, Shaffhouse) is a list of towns in Switzerland, town with historic roots, a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in northern Switzerland, and the ...
and Basel, is the High Rhine
The High Rhine (german: Hochrhein) is the name used for the part of the Rhine that flows westbound from Lake Constance to Basel. The High Rhine begins at the outflow of the Rhine from the Untersee in Stein am Rhein and turns into the Upper Rhine ...
(''Hochrhein''); it cuts through steep hillsides over a gravel bed, and moves in torrents in such paces as the former rapids at Laufenburg. A few miles north and east of Basel, the terrain flattens. The Rhine makes a wide, northerly turn, in what is called the Rhine knee
The Rhine knee or Rhine's knee (german: Rheinknie) is the name of several distinctive bends in the course of the river Rhine.
Basel
In Basel, the Rhine changes its westerly direction of flow in an angle of 90 degrees to a northerly direction, alo ...
, and enters the so-called Rhine ditch (''Rheingraben''), part of a rift valley
A rift valley is a linear shaped lowland between several highlands or mountain ranges created by the action of a geologic rift. Rifts are formed as a result of the pulling apart of the lithosphere due to extensional tectonics. The linear dep ...
bordered by the Black Forest on the east and Vosges
The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single ...
mountains on the west.[Knepper, pp. 19–20.]
The Rhine looked different in the 1790s than it does in the twenty-first century; the passage from Basel to Iffezheim
Iffezheim is a town in the district of Rastatt in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. It lies close to the Rhine river, where the Lock Iffezheim is also situated. Iffezheim is also known for the horse races, which takes place three times a year.
Pol ...
was "corrected" (straightened) between 1817 and 1875. Construction of a canal to control the water level occurred from 1927 to 1974.[ In 1790, the river was wild and unpredictable, in some places more than four times wider than in the twenty-first century, even under normal conditions. Its channels wound through marsh and meadow and created islands of trees and vegetation that were periodically submerged by floods. Systems of ]viaduct
A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide v ...
s and causeway
A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet Tra ...
s made access reliable at Kehl
Kehl (; gsw, label= Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic, Kaal) is a town in southwestern Germany in the Ortenaukreis, Baden-Württemberg. It is on the river Rhine, directly opposite the French city of Strasbourg, with which it shares some munic ...
, by Strasbourg
Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...
, and at Hüningen
Huningue (; german: Hüningen; gsw-FR, Hinige) is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department of Alsace in north-eastern France. Huningue is a northern suburb of the Swiss city of Basel. It also borders Germany (Weil am Rhein, a suburb of Basel locate ...
, by Basel
, french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese
, neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
. In 1796, the plain on both sides of the river, some wide, was dotted with villages and farms. At the furthest edges of the flood plain, especially on the eastern side, the old mountains created dark shadows on the horizon. Tributaries cut through the hilly terrain of the Black Forest
The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is t ...
, creating deep defiles in the mountains, and became rivulets through the flood plain to the river.[
]
Politics
The German-speaking states on the east bank of the Rhine were part of the vast complex of territories in central Europe
Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the area' ...
called the Holy Roman Empire.[ Joachim Whaley, ''Germany and the Holy Roman Empire: Volume I: Maximilian I to the Peace of Westphalia, 1493–1648 '', Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012]
pp. 17–20
The number of territories in the Empire included more than 1,000 entities. Their size and influence varied, from the '' Kleinstaaten'' (little states) that covered no more than a few square miles to large and powerful states. The states and territories involved in late 1796 included the Breisgau (Habsburg), Offenburg and Rottweil (imperial cities), the princely states of Fürstenberg Fürstenberg (also Fuerstenberg and Furstenberg) may refer to:
Historical states
* Fürstenberg-Baar, county (1441–1559)
* Fürstenberg-Blumberg, county (1559–1614)
* Fürstenberg-Donaueschingen, county (1617–1698)
* Fürstenberg-Fürsten ...
, Neuenburg and Hohenzollern, the Margraviate of Baden
The Margraviate of Baden (german: Markgrafschaft Baden) was a historical territory of the Holy Roman Empire. Spread along the east side of the Upper Rhine River in southwestern Germany, it was named a margraviate in 1112 and existed until 1535, ...
, the Duchy of Württemberg
The Duchy of Württemberg (german: Herzogtum Württemberg) was a duchy located in the south-western part of the Holy Roman Empire. It was a member of the Holy Roman Empire from 1495 to 1806. The dukedom's long survival for over three centuries ...
, and several dozen ecclesiastic polities. Rule varied: they included free imperial cities
In the Holy Roman Empire, the collective term free and imperial cities (german: Freie und Reichsstädte), briefly worded free imperial city (', la, urbs imperialis libera), was used from the fifteenth century to denote a self-ruling city that ...
of different sizes, such as the powerful Augsburg
Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...
and the minuscule Weil der Stadt
Weil der Stadt is a town of about 19,000 inhabitants in the Stuttgart Region of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is about west of Stuttgart city centre, in the valley of the River Würm, and is often called the "Gate to the Black Fore ...
; ecclesiastical territories, also of varying sizes and influence, such as the wealthy Abbey of Reichenau
Reichenau Abbey was a Benedictine monastery on Reichenau Island (known in Latin as Augia Dives). It was founded in 724 by the itinerant Saint Pirmin, who is said to have fled Spain ahead of the Moorish invaders, with patronage that included Charl ...
and the powerful Archbishopric of Cologne
The Archdiocese of Cologne ( la, Archidioecesis Coloniensis; german: Erzbistum Köln) is an archdiocese of the Catholic Church in western North Rhine-Westphalia and northern Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany.
History
The Electorate of Cologn ...
; and such dynastic states as Württemberg. When viewed on a map, the Empire resembled a ''Flickenteppich'' ( patchwork carpet). Some states included non-contiguous pieces, the Habsburg
The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
domains and Hohenzollern
The House of Hohenzollern (, also , german: Haus Hohenzollern, , ro, Casa de Hohenzollern) is a German royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenb ...
Prussia also governed territories outside the Empire, such as the Habsburg territories in eastern Europe and northern Italy; for others, a village could belong predominantly to one polity but have a farmstead, a house or even one or two strips of land that belonged to another polity. There were also territories surrounded by France that belonged to Württemberg, such as the county of Solm, the archbishopric of Trier and Hesse-Darmstadt. Among the German-speaking states, the Holy Roman Empire's administrative and legal mechanisms provided a venue to resolve disputes between peasants and landlords, between and within jurisdictions. Through the organization of Imperial Circles (''Reichskreise''), groups of states consolidated resources and promoted regional and organizational interests, including economic cooperation and military protection.
Purpose and formation
Military challenges
By 1792 the armies of the French Republic
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
were in a state of disruption; experienced soldiers of the ''Ancien Régime
''Ancien'' may refer to
* the French word for "ancient, old"
** Société des anciens textes français
* the French for "former, senior"
** Virelai ancien
** Ancien Régime
** Ancien Régime in France
{{disambig ...
'' fought side by side with volunteers. Recruits, urged on by revolutionary fervor from the special representatives—agents of the legislature, sent to ensure cooperation among the military—lacked the discipline and training to function efficiently; frequently insubordinate, they often refused orders and undermined unit cohesion. After a defeat, they were capable of mutiny, as Théobald Dillon
Théobald Dillon (1745, Dublin – April 29th, 1792, near Lille) was count of Dillon and an Irish-born general in the French army. He was a distant cousin of general Arthur Dillon (who also had a brother named Theobald).
He entered Dillon's ...
learned when his troops lynched him in 1792.
The problems of command became more acute following the 1793 introduction of mass conscription (''levée en masse
''Levée en masse'' ( or, in English, "mass levy") is a French term used for a policy of mass national conscription, often in the face of invasion.
The concept originated during the French Revolutionary Wars, particularly for the period followi ...
''). French commanders walked a fine line between the security of the frontier and the Parisian clamor for victory. Add to this the desperate condition of the Army—in training, supplies and leadership—and the military leadership faced a crisis. They were constantly under suspicion from the representatives of the new regime and sometimes from their own soldiers. Failure to achieve unrealistic expectations implied disloyalty and the price of disloyalty was an appointment with ''Madame guillotine
A guillotine is an apparatus designed for efficiently carrying out executions by beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secured with stocks at th ...
'': several of the highest ranking generals, including the aged Nicolas Luckner
Nicolas, Count Luckner (german: Johann Nikolaus, Graf Luckner; 12 January 1722, Cham in der Oberpfalz – 4 January 1794, Paris) was a German officer in French service who rose to become a Marshal of France.
Luckner grew up in Cham, in eastern ...
, Jean Nicolas Houchard
Jean Nicolas Houchard (24 January 1739 – 17 November 1793) was a French General of the French Revolution and the French Revolutionary Wars.
Biography
Born at Forbach in Lorraine, Houchard began his military career at the age of sixteen in th ...
, Adam Philippe Custine
Adam Philippe, Comte de Custine (4 February 174028 August 1793) was a French general. As a young officer in the French Royal Army, he served in the Seven Years' War. In the American Revolutionary War he joined Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, c ...
, Arthur Dillon and Antoine Nicolas Collier, were killed. Francisco de Miranda
Sebastián Francisco de Miranda y Rodríguez de Espinoza (28 March 1750 – 14 July 1816), commonly known as Francisco de Miranda (), was a Venezuelan military leader and revolutionary. Although his own plans for the independence of the Spani ...
's failure to take Maastricht
Maastricht ( , , ; li, Mestreech ; french: Maestricht ; es, Mastrique ) is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of the ...
landed him in La Force Prison
La Force Prison was a French prison located in the Rue du Roi de Sicile, in what is now the 4th arrondissement of Paris. Originally known as the Hôtel de la Force, the buildings formed the private residence of Henri-Jacques Nompar de Caumont, duc ...
for several years. Many of the old officer class had emigrated, forming émigré
An ''émigré'' () is a person who has emigrated, often with a connotation of political or social self-exile. The word is the past participle of the French ''émigrer'', "to emigrate".
French Huguenots
Many French Huguenots fled France followi ...
armies; the cavalry in particular suffered from their departure and the ''Hussards du Saxe'' and the ''15éme Cavalerie (Royal Allemande)'' regiments defected ''en masse'' to the Austrians. The artillery arm, considered by the old nobility to be an inferior assignment, was less affected by emigration and survived intact.[ Charles Clerget]
''Tableaux des armées françaises: pendant les guerres de la Révolution''
R. Chapelot, 1905, pp. 55, 62.
Military planners in Paris understood that the upper Rhine Valley
The Upper Rhine Plain, Rhine Rift Valley or Upper Rhine Graben (German: ''Oberrheinische Tiefebene'', ''Oberrheinisches Tiefland'' or ''Oberrheingraben'', French: ''Vallée du Rhin'') is a major rift, about and on average , between Basel in the s ...
, the south-western German territories and Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
river basin held strategic importance for the defense of the Republic. The Rhine offered a formidable barrier to what the French perceived as Austrian aggression and the state that controlled its crossings controlled the river and access into the territories on either side. Ready access across the Rhine and along the Rhine bank between the German states and Switzerland or through the Black Forest, gave access to the upper Danube river valley. For the French, control of the Upper Danube or any point in between, was of immense strategic value and would give the French a reliable approach to Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
.
Original formation
The basic unit of the army, the demi-brigade
A ''demi-brigade'' ( en, Half-brigade) is a military formation used by the French Army since the French Revolutionary Wars. The ''Demi-brigade'' amalgamated the various infantry organizations of the French Revolutionary infantry into a single ...
, mixed the men of the old army with the recruits from the ''levee en masse.'' Ideally, it was designed to include the regular infantry inherited from the old Royal regiments of the King, who were relatively well trained and equipped, dressed in white uniforms and wearing tarleton helmet
Sir Banastre Tarleton, 1st Baronet, GCB (21 August 175415 January 1833) was a British general and politician. He is best known as the lieutenant colonel leading the British Legion at the end of the American Revolution. He later served in Portug ...
s, with the national guard
National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards.
Nat ...
units, who were less well-trained or equipped, with blue uniforms, and the ''fédéré'' volunteer battalions, who were poorly trained and equipped, with no uniform other than a red phrygian cap and a cockade of France
The cockade of France (french: Cocarde tricolore) is the national ornament of France, obtained by circularly pleating a blue, white and red ribbon. It is composed of the three colors of the French flag with blue in the center, white immediately o ...
. In 1794, the right flank of the Armies of the Center, later called the Army of the Moselle
The Army of the Moselle (''Armée de la Moselle'') was a French Revolutionary Army from 1791 through 1795. It was first known as the ''Army of the Centre'' and it fought at Valmy. In October 1792 it was renamed and subsequently fought at Trier, F ...
, the entirety of the Armies of the North
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography.
Etymology
T ...
and the Ardennes
The Ardennes (french: Ardenne ; nl, Ardennen ; german: Ardennen; wa, Årdene ; lb, Ardennen ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Be ...
formed the Army of the Sambre and Meuse, on 29 June 1794. The remaining units of the former Army of the Center and the Army of the Rhine
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
united initially on 29 November 1794 and formally on 20 April 1795, under command of General Jean-Charles Pichegru
Jean-Charles Pichegru (, 16 February 1761 – 5 April 1804) was a French general of the Revolutionary Wars. Under his command, French troops overran Belgium and the Netherlands before fighting on the Rhine front. His royalist positions led to h ...
as the Army of the Rhine and Moselle. These were the French armies involved in the successes at Fleurus and the Lowlands, but the strength of the units had been enhanced by untrained conscripts.
Pressures exerted by the Coalition forces on the French front at the Rhine required the movement of the Army of Sambre and Meuse troops from the Fortress of Luxembourg
The Fortress of Luxembourg is the former fortifications of Luxembourg City, the capital of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, which were mostly dismantled beginning in 1867. The fortress was of great strategic importance for the control of the Left ...
, Belgium and the Netherlands into a unit on the middle Rhine. These units were reorganized into task forces that wcould engage the Austrian and Coalition forces directly in the Rhineland. Its paper strength equaled close to 83,000 men, although its actual strength was considerably less. By 1 October 1795, some of the troops had been assembled in five locations to form an advanced guard of 63,615, men commanded by the veteran General of Division François Joseph Lefebvre
François Joseph Lefebvre ( , ; 25 October 1755 – 14 September 1820), Duc de Dantzig, was a French military commander during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and one of the original eighteen Marshals of the Empire created by Napoleon.
E ...
. General Louis Friant Louis may refer to:
* Louis (coin)
* Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name
* Louis (surname)
* Louis (singer), Serbian singer
* HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy
See also
Derived or associated terms
* Lewis (d ...
's division of 3,296 men remained at the Luxembourg fortress and General Antoine Morlot
Antoine Morlot (5 May 1766 – 23 March 1809) was a French division commander during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars. After almost eight years of service in the French Royal Army, he became an officer in a local volunteer bat ...
's division of 3,471 remained in Aachen.Digby Smith
Digby Smith (born 1 January 1935) is a British military historian. The son of a British career soldier, he was born in Hampshire, England, but spent several years in India and Pakistan as a child and youth. As a "boy soldier", he entered train ...
, The Napoleonic Wars Data Book, London: Greenhill, 1966. p. 101.
Hochheim am Main (Zeilsheim and Niederliederbach)
* Divisional position unnamed
:*Generals of Brigade Jean François Leval
Jean François Leval (18 April 1762 – 7 August 1834) was promoted to general officer during the French Revolutionary Wars and led a division in a number of battles during the Napoleonic Wars. He rapidly rose in rank during the French Revoluti ...
, Jean-Baptiste Jacopin
Jean Baptiste Jacopin (20 October 1755 – 28 May 1811), was a French General during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was appointed Adjutant General and Chief of Brigade on 28 November 1793, and General of Brigade on 10 Jan ...
and Jean-Joseph Ange d'Hautpoul
Jean-Joseph Ange d'Hautpoul (; 13 May 1754 – 14 February 1807) was a French cavalry general of the Napoleonic wars. He came from an old noble family of France whose military tradition extended for several centuries.
Efforts by the French Rev ...
:*10th and 13th Demi-brigades Legere
:*8th, 90th and 119th Demi-brigades de Ligne
:*1st, 6th and 9th Chasseurs de Cheval
::*Total 12,618 men[
]
Herdenheim and Helsheim
* General of Division Jacques Louis François Delaistre de Tilly
Jacques-Louis-François Delaistre de Tilly (2 February 1749, Vernon, Eure – 10 January 1822, Paris) became a general officer in the French army during the French Revolutionary Wars. He led a cavalry division in a number of battles during th ...
:*General of Brigade Bernard Étienne Marie Duvignau and Jean Thomas Guillaume Lorge
Jean Thomas Guillaume Lorge (born 22 November 1767 in Caen; died 28 November 1826 in Chauconin-Neufmontiers), was a French cavalry commander during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Lorge is one of the names inscribed under the Arc de ...
:*23rd, 27th and 72nd Demi brigades ''de Ligne'' (3 battalions each)
:*Guard Unit Yonne
Yonne () is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in France. It is named after the river Yonne, which flows through it, in the country's north-central part. One of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté's eight constituent departments, it is lo ...
(3 battalions)
:*12th Chasseurs de Chaval
::* Total: 9,861 men[
]
Weilbach am Main
* General of Division Paul Grenier
:*Generals of Brigade Henri Simon, Jean-Baptiste Olivié
Jean-Baptiste is a male French name, originating with Saint John the Baptist, and sometimes shortened to Baptiste. The name may refer to any of the following:
Persons
* Charles XIV John of Sweden, born Jean-Baptiste Jules Bernadotte, was King ...
, and Christophe Ossvald
:*110th and 173rd Demi brigades ''de Ligne''
:*112th and 172nd Demi brigades ''de Ligne'' (3 battalions each)
:*19th Chasseurs de Chaval
:*4th Hussars
::*Total 11,150 men[
]
North bank of Main, by streams of Wicker and Weilbach
* General of Division André Poncet
:*Generals of Brigade Jean-Baptiste Schlachter and Jean-de-Dieu Soult
Marshal General Jean-de-Dieu Soult, 1st Duke of Dalmatia, (; 29 March 1769 – 26 November 1851) was a French general and statesman, named Marshal of the Empire in 1804 and often called Marshal Soult. Soult was one of only six officers in Fren ...
:*53rd, 87th, 66th and 116th Demi brigades (3 battalions each)
:* 7th and 11th Dragoons
::*Total: 9,384 men[
]
Plateau west of Mainz
* General of Division Jean Étienne Championnet
Jean may refer to:
People
* Jean (female given name)
* Jean (male given name)
* Jean (surname)
Fictional characters
* Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character
* Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations
* Jea ...
:*Generals of Brigade Claude Juste Alexandre Louis Legrand and Louis Klein
Dominique Louis Antoine Klein (19 January 1761 – 2 November 1845) served in the French military during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars as a general of cavalry.
Initially part of the house guard at the royal residences fo ...
:* 59th, 132nd and 181st Demi brigades ''de Ligne'' (3 battalions each)
:* 1st and 12th Dragoon Regiments
::*total: 9,816 men[
]
Biebrich and Kastel
* General of Division Bernadotte
:*Generals of Brigade Charles Daurier
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was "f ...
and Gabriel Barbou des Courières
:* 21st Demi-brigade ''de Legere''
:* 71st, 111th and 123rd Demi brigades ''de Ligne'' (3 battalions each)
:* 2nd Hussars and 3rd Chasseurs de Chaval
::*Total: 8,223[
]
Langenhain and Marxheim
* General of Division Louis-Auguste Juvénal des Ursins d'Harville
Louis-Auguste Juvénal des Ursins d'Harville, Count of Harville (23 April 17498 May 1815) was a French military officer and politician in late 18th-century France. A Divisional General in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars, he ...
:*6th, 8th, 10, and 13th Cavalry Regiments (four squadrons each)
::* Total 1,593 men[
]
Ehrenbreitstein castle
* General of Division François Séverin Marceau-Desgraviers
François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis.
People with the given name
* Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters"
* Francis II of France, Kin ...
:* Generals of Brigade Gilbert Bandy de Nalèche and Jean Hardy
:* 1st, 9th, 21st, 26th and 178th Demi brigades ''de Ligne'' (3 battalions each)
:*11th Chasseurs de Chaval
:*31st Gendarmes (1 battalion)
::*Total 11,240 men[
]
Dusseldorf
* General of Division Claude-Sylvestre Colaud
Claude Silvestre, Count Colaud (12 December 1754 – 4 December 1819) was a French Napoleonic general and senator.
Biography
Colaud was born at Briançon on 12 December 1754. In 1801, for his military services, he was made a senator of the French ...
:* Generals of Brigade Louis Bastoul
Louis Bastoul was a general French in the French Revolutionary Wars. He was born in Montolieu 19 August 1753, and died in Munich on 15 January 1801, of wounds received at the Battle of Hohenlinden.
Service
*Volunteer in the regiment ''Vivarais In ...
and Charles Jean Theodore Schoenmezel
:* 34th, 112th and 175th Demi brigade ''de Ligne'' (3 battalions each)
:* four composite battalions of unknown composition
:* 2nd and 14th Dragoons
:*Total 8,911 men[
]
Campaign of 1795
In 1795 the French sent the Army of the Sambre and Meuse, also called the northern army, and the Army of the Rhine and Moselle, sometimes called the southern army, in thrusts across the Rhine. After winning a bridgehead on the east bank, the northern French army under Jourdan advanced south to the Main River
Main rivers () are a statutory type of watercourse in England and Wales, usually larger streams and rivers, but also some smaller watercourses. A main river is designated by being marked as such on a main river map, and can include any structure o ...
. On 8 September 1795, Jourdan's northern army crossed the Rhine north of Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...
. Besieging the Bavarian garrison in Düsseldorf, the rest of the Army of Sambre and Meuse swept south as far as the Lahn River
The Lahn is a , right (or eastern) tributary of the Rhine in Germany. Its course passes through the federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia (23.0 km), Hesse (165.6 km), and Rhineland-Palatinate (57.0 km).
It has its source in t ...
, by 20 September.[J. Rickard]
''Battle of Hochst, 11 October 1795''
Accessed 8 February 2014. Hemmed in by Lefebvre and 12,600 French troops, Count Hompesch surrendered the Bavarian garrison at Düsseldorf on 21 September.[Smith, pp. 105–106.]
Threatened by Jourdan's incursion, the Habsburg commander, François Sébastien Charles Joseph de Croix, Count of Clerfayt
François Sébastien Charles Joseph de Croix, Count of Clerfayt (14 October 1733 – 21 July 1798),His title is also spelled Count of Clairfayt and Count of Clairfait a Walloon, joined the army of the Habsburg monarchy and soon fought in the Seven ...
, shifted his army north to oppose him. This movement gave Pichegru the opportunity to move his army against the weakened rear guard of Clerfayt's force.[ Despite having a sizable garrison force, Baron von Belderbusch turned over ]Mannheim
Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's 2 ...
and its 471 guns to the Army of Rhine and Moselle after negotiations. The Austrians were furious at their ally but could do nothing to prevent the French from gaining this valuable bridgehead. Pichegru, the commander of the southern French army, proved uncooperative, which allowed Clerfayt to maneuver the bulk of the Austrian forces against Jourdan. Clerfayt crossed the Main to the east, gaining a dangerously exposed position on the French left flank. After being repulsed at Höchst, the French withdrew northwards, eventually abandoning the east bank of the Rhine.[
]
Campaign of 1796
The campaign of 1796 was part of the French Revolutionary Wars in which republican France pitted itself against a fluid coalition of Prussians and Austrians and several other states of the Holy Roman Empire, the British, Sardinia
Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...
ns, Dutch and royalist French emigres. The French had won several victories but the campaigns of 1793 through 1795 had been less successful. The Coalition partners had difficulty coordinating their war aims and their efforts faltered. In 1794 and 1795, French victories in northern Italy salvaged French enthusiasm for the war and forced the Coalition to withdraw further into Central Europe. At the end of the Rhine Campaign of 1795, the Habsburg
The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
Coalition and the French Republicans
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...
called a truce between their forces that had been fighting in Germany. The agreement lasted until 20 May 1796, when the Austrians announced that the truce would end on 31 May.
The Austrian Army of the Lower Rhine included 90,000 Habsburg and Imperial troops. The 20,000-man right wing, first under Duke Ferdinand Frederick Augustus of Württemberg
Duke Ferdinand Frederick Augustus of Württemberg (22 October 1763 – 20 January 1834) was a Habsburg Austrian general during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars.
Early life
He was born into the House of Württemberg as the f ...
, then later under Wilhelm von Wartensleben
Gustav Wilhelm Ludwig Count Wartensleben (11 October 1734 – 21 April 1798) was a Swedish nobleman active in the Dutch military.
He was born in Hesse-Kassel. He was the younger son of the Swedish royal house and the princely Hesse house of Scha ...
, stood on the east bank of the Rhine behind the Sieg
The Sieg is a river in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a right tributary of the Rhine.
The river is named after the Sicambri. It is in length.
The source is located in the Rothaargebirge mountains. From here t ...
River, observing the French bridgehead at Düsseldorf. The garrisons of Mainz Fortress
The Fortress of Mainz was a fortressed garrison town between 1620 and 1918. At the end of the Napoleonic Wars, under the term of the 1815 Peace of Paris, the control of Mainz passed to the German Confederation and became part of a chain of stra ...
and Ehrenbreitstein Fortress
Ehrenbreitstein Fortress (german: Festung Ehrenbreitstein, ) is a fortress in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, on the east bank of the Rhine where it is joined by the Moselle, overlooking the town of Koblenz.
Occupying the position of an ...
included 10,000 more. The remainder of the Imperial and Coalition army, the 80,000-strong Army of the Upper Rhine, secured the west bank behind the Nahe River
The Nahe () is a river in Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, Germany, a left tributary to the Rhine. It has also given name to the wine region Nahe (wine region), Nahe situated around it.
The name Nahe is derived from the Latin word ''Nava'', w ...
. Commanded by Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser
Dagobert Sigismund, Count von Wurmser (7 May 1724 – 22 August 1797) was an Habsburg monarchy, Austrian field marshal during the French Revolutionary Wars. Although he fought in the Seven Years' War, the War of the Bavarian Succession, and mount ...
, this force anchored its right wing in Kaiserslautern
Kaiserslautern (; Palatinate German: ''Lautre'') is a city in southwest Germany, located in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate at the edge of the Palatinate Forest. The historic centre dates to the 9th century. It is from Paris, from Frankfur ...
on the west bank, while the left wing under Anton Sztáray, Michael von Fröhlich and Louis Joseph, Prince of Condé
Louis Joseph de Bourbon (9 August 1736 – 13 May 1818) was Prince of Condé from 1740 to his death. A member of the House of Bourbon, he held the prestigious rank of '' Prince du Sang''.
Youth
Born on 9 August 1736 at Chantilly, Louis Jos ...
guarded the Rhine from Mannheim to Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
. The original Austrian strategy was to capture Trier
Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...
and to use their position on the west bank to strike at each of the French armies in turn. After news arrived in Vienna of Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
's successes in northern Italy, Wurmser was sent to there with 25,000 reinforcements and the Aulic Council
The Aulic Council ( la, Consilium Aulicum, german: Reichshofrat, literally meaning Court Council of the Empire) was one of the two supreme courts of the Holy Roman Empire, the other being the Imperial Chamber Court. It had not only concurrent juris ...
gave Archduke Charles
Archduke Charles Louis John Joseph Laurentius of Austria, Duke of Teschen (german: link=no, Erzherzog Karl Ludwig Johann Josef Lorenz von Österreich, Herzog von Teschen; 5 September 177130 April 1847) was an Austrian field-marshal, the third s ...
command over both Austrian armies in the Rhineland and ordered him to hold his ground.[Dodge, pp. 286–287.]
Two French armies opposed the Imperial and Coalition troops. Jean Victor Moreau
Jean Victor Marie Moreau (, 14 February 1763 – 2 September 1813) was a French general who helped Napoleon Bonaparte to power, but later became a rival and was banished to the United States.
Biography
Rise to fame
Moreau was born at Morl ...
's commanded both armies, but the northern army, Sambre and Moselle, was large enough for a sub command: Jourdan. The 80,000-man Army of Sambre and Meuse held the west bank of the Rhine down to the Nahe and then southwest to Sankt Wendel
Sankt Wendel is a town in northeastern Saarland. It is situated on the river Blies 36 km northeast of Saarbrücken, the capital of Saarland, and is named after Saint Wendelin of Trier. According to a survey by the German Association for Hou ...
. On the army's left flank, Jean Baptiste Kléber
Jean may refer to:
People
* Jean (female given name)
* Jean (male given name)
* Jean (surname)
Fictional characters
* Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character
* Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations
* Jean ...
had 22,000 troops in an entrenched camp at Düsseldorf. The Army of the Rhine and Moselle
The Army of the Rhine and Moselle (french: Armée de Rhin-et-Moselle) was one of the field units of the French Revolutionary Army. It was formed on 20 April 1795 by the merger of elements of the Army of the Rhine and the Army of the Moselle.
The ...
, directly commanded by Moreau, was positioned behind (west of) the Rhine from Hüningen, where Pierre Marie Barthélemy Ferino
Pierre Marie Barthélemy Ferino, (23 August 1747, Craveggia – 28 June 1816, Paris), was a general and politician of France. Born in the Savoy, he was the son of a low-ranking officer in the Habsburg military. In 1789, during the French Revolut ...
commanded the furthest right wing, northward, along the Queich
The Queich is a tributary of the Rhine, which rises in the southern part of the Palatinate Forest, and flows through the Upper Rhine valley to its confluence with the Rhine in Germersheim. It is long and is one of the four major drainage system ...
River near Landau
Landau ( pfl, Landach), officially Landau in der Pfalz, is an autonomous (''kreisfrei'') town surrounded by the Südliche Weinstraße ("Southern Wine Route") district of southern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a university town (since 1990 ...
, and with its left wing extended west toward Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken (; french: link=no, Sarrebruck ; Rhine Franconian: ''Saarbrigge'' ; lb, Saarbrécken ; lat, Saravipons, lit=The Bridge(s) across the Saar river) is the capital and largest city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken is S ...
. The far right wing under.
The French plan called for a spring (April–May–June) offensive, during which two French armies would press against the flanks of the Coalition's northern armies in the German states and a third army approached Vienna through Italy. Jean-Baptiste Jourdan's army would push south from Düsseldorf, hopefully drawing troops toward themselves, while Moreau's army massed on the east side of the Rhine by Mannheim; a deft feint toward Mannheim caused Charles to reposition his troops. Once this occurred, Moreau's army executed a forced march south and, on 23 June, overwhelmed the bridgehead at Kehl. The Imperial troops there included only 7,000 troops recruited that spring from the Swabian Circle
The Circle of Swabia or Swabian Circle (german: Schwäbischer Reichskreis or ''Schwäbischer Kreis'') was an Imperial Circle of the Holy Roman Empire established in 1500 on the territory of the former German stem-duchy of Swabia. However, it did ...
polities; despite their lack of experience and training, they held the bridgehead for several hours before retreating toward Rastatt
Rastatt () is a town with a Baroque core, District of Rastatt, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located in the Upper Rhine Plain on the Murg river, above its junction with the Rhine and has a population of around 50,000 (2011). Rastatt was an ...
. Moreau reinforced the bridgehead with his forward guard and his troops poured into Baden unhindered. In the south, by the Swiss city of Basel, Ferino's column moved quickly across the river and advanced (eastward) up the Rhine along the Swiss and German shoreline toward Lake Constance, spreading into the southern end of the Black Forest. Worried that his supply lines would be overextended or his army would be flanked, Charles retreated to the east. By the end of July, the entirety of the Swabian Circle, most of Bavaria, Franconia, Baden and Wuerttemberg had reached a separate peace with the French. which disarmed the Imperial army, and gave French free rein to demand supplies from the southern polities.
With Charles absent from the north, Jourdan recrossed the Rhine and drove Wartensleben behind the Lahn river. The Army of Sambre and Meuse defeated its opponents in the Battle of Friedberg (also called the First Battle of Limburg) on 10 July, while Charles was busy at Ettlingen.[Dodge, p. 296.] Jourdan captured Frankfurt am Main
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
on 16 July. Leaving behind François Séverin Marceau-Desgraviers
François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis.
People with the given name
* Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters"
* Francis II of France, Kin ...
with 28,000 troops to blockade Mainz and Ehrenbreitstein, Jourdan pressed up the Main River. Following Carnot's strategy, the French commander continually operated against Wartensleben's north flank, causing the Austrian general to fall back.[ Jourdan's army numbered over 46,000 men, while Wartensleben counted 36,000 troops; Wartensleben refused to attack the larger French force. Buoyed up by their forward movement and by the capture of Austrian supplies, the French captured ]Würzburg
Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River.
Würzburg is ...
on 4 August. Three days later, the Army of Sambre and Meuse, under the temporary direction of Kléber, won another clash with Wartensleben at Forchheim
Forchheim () is a town in Upper Franconia (german: Oberfranken) in northern Bavaria, and also the seat of the administrative district of Forchheim. Forchheim is a former royal city, and is sometimes called the Gateway to the Franconian Switzer ...
on 7 August. Despite this success, though, the two French armies remained separated.[
]
Losing the initiative in late summer
Archduke Charles saw that if he could unite with Wartenbsleben, he could pick off the French armies in succession. Having sufficient reinforcements and having transferred his supply line from Vienna to Bohemia
Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
, he moved north to unite with Wartensleben. With 25,000 of his best troops, Charles crossed to the north bank of the Danube at Regensburg
Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the f ...
.[ On 22 August 1796, Charles and ]Friedrich Joseph, Count of Nauendorf
Friedrich Joseph of Nauendorf, a general in Habsburg service during the French Revolutionary Wars, was noted for his intrepid and daring cavalry raids. Like most Austrian officers of the French Revolutionary Wars, he joined the military as a you ...
, encountered Bernadotte's division at Neumarkt. The outnumbered French were driven north west through Altdorf bei Nürnberg
Altdorf bei Nürnberg (, ) is a town in south-eastern Germany. It is situated 25 km east of Nuremberg, in the district Nürnberger Land. Its name literally means “Altdorf near Nuremberg”, to distinguish it from Altdorf (disambiguation), o ...
to the Pegnitz River
The Pegnitz () is a river in Franconia in the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Bavaria.
The Pegnitz has its source in the Pegnitz (town), town of the same name at an altitude of and meets the Rednitz at in Fürth to form the Regnitz ...
. Leaving Friedrich Freiherr von Hotze
Friedrich Freiherr (Baron) von Hotze (20 April 1739 – 25 September 1799), was a Swiss-born general in the Austrian army during the French Revolutionary Wars. He campaigned in the Rhineland during the War of the First Coalition and in Switzer ...
with a division to pursue Bernadotte, the Archduke thrust north at Jourdan's right flank. The French fell back to Amberg
Amberg () is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in the Upper Palatinate, roughly halfway between Regensburg and Bayreuth. In 2020, over 42,000 people lived in the town.
History
The town was first mentioned in 1034, at that time under t ...
as Charles and Wartensleben's forces converged on the Army of Sambre and Meuse. On 20 August, Moreau sent Jourdan a message vowing to closely follow Charles, which he did not do. In the Battle of Amberg
The Battle of Amberg, fought on 24 August 1796, resulted in an Habsburg victory by Archduke Charles over a French army led by Jean-Baptiste Jourdan. This engagement marked a turning point in the Rhine campaign, which had previously seen Fre ...
on 24 August, Charles defeated the French and destroyed two battalions of their rear guard.[Dodge, p. 297.] The Austrians lost 400 killed and wounded out of 40,000 troops. Of a total of 34,000 soldiers, the French suffered greater losses of 1,200 killed and wounded plus 800 men and two colors captured.[Smith, pp. 120–121.] Jourdan retreated first to Sulzbach and then behind the Regnitz river where Bernadotte joined him on 28 August. Hotze and his Habsburg troops reoccupied Nürnberg
Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ci ...
and Jourdan, who had expected Moreau to keep Charles occupied in the south, found himself outnumbered.[
]
Collapse in September 1796
As Jourdan fell back to Schweinfurt
Schweinfurt ( , ; ) is a city in the district of Lower Franconia in Bavaria, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the surrounding district (''Landkreis'') of Schweinfurt and a major industrial, cultural and educational hub. The urban agg ...
, he saw a chance to retrieve his campaign by offering battle at Würzburg, an important stronghold on the Main River.[Dodge, p. 298.] At this point, the petty jealousies and rivalries that had fostered in the Army over the summer came to a head. Jourdan had a spat with his wing commander Kléber and that officer suddenly resigned his command. Two generals from Kléber's clique, Bernadotte and Colaud, also made excuses to leave the army immediately. Faced with this mutiny, Jourdan replaced Bernadotte with General Henri Simon and divided Colaud's rebellious units among the other divisions. Jourdan marched south with 30,000 men of the infantry divisions of Simon, Jean Étienne Championnet
Jean may refer to:
People
* Jean (female given name)
* Jean (male given name)
* Jean (surname)
Fictional characters
* Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character
* Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations
* Jea ...
, Paul Grenier and with Jacques Philippe Bonnaud
Jacques Philippe Bonnaud or Bonneau (11 September 1757 – 30 March 1797) commanded a French combat division in a number of actions during the French Revolutionary Wars. He enlisted in the French Royal Army as cavalryman in 1776 and was a non-com ...
's reserve cavalry. Lefebvre's division, 10,000-strong, remained at Schweinfurt to cover a possible retreat.[
Anticipating Jourdan's move, Charles had already rushed his army toward Würzburg, where they engaged on 1 September.][ Marshaling the divisions of Hotze, Sztáray, Kray, ]Johann Sigismund Riesch
Johann Sigismund Graf von Riesch (2 August 1750 – 2 November 1821) joined the army of Habsburg Austria as a cavalry officer and, during his career, fought against the Kingdom of Prussia, Ottoman Turkey, Revolutionary France, and Napoleon's ...
, Johann I Joseph, Prince of Liechtenstein
Johann I Joseph (''Johann Baptist Josef Adam Johann Nepomuk Aloys Franz de Paula''; 26 June 1760 – 20 April 1836) was Prince of Liechtenstein between 1805 and 1806 and again from 1814 until 1836. He was the last Liechtenstein prince to rule unde ...
and Wartensleben, the Austrians won the Battle of Würzburg
The Battle of Würzburg was fought on 3 September 1796 between an army of the Habsburg monarchy led by Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen and an army of the First French Republic led by Jean-Baptiste Jourdan. The French attacked the archduke's ...
on 3 September, forcing the French to retreat to the Lahn river. Charles lost 1,500 casualties out of 44,000 troops against 2,000 French casualties. The losses at Würzburg compelled the French to lift the siege of Mainz on 7 September and to move those troops to reinforce their lines further east. On 10 September, Marceau reinforced the Army of Sambre and Meuse with 12,000 troops that had been blockading the east side of Mainz. Jean Hardy's division from the west side of Mainz retreated to the Nahe river and dug in. The French government belatedly recognized the difficulties in which the Army of the Sambre and Meuse struggled and transferred two divisions commanded by Jacques MacDonald
Ancient and noble French family names, Jacques, Jacq, or James are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are over ...
and Jean Castelbert de Castelverd from the idle Army of the North
The Army of the North ( es, link=no, Ejército del Norte), contemporaneously called Army of Peru, was one of the armies deployed by the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata in the Spanish American wars of independence. Its objective was fre ...
. MacDonald's division stopped at Düsseldorf while Castelverd's was placed in the French line on the lower Lahn. These reinforcements brought Jourdan's strength back to 50,000 but the French abandonment of the sieges at Mainz and later Mannheim and Philippsburg
Philippsburg () is a town in the district of Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
History
Before 1632, Philippsburg was known as "Udenheim".
The city was a possession of the Bishop of Speyer from 1371–1718. The town is named after ...
, released about 27,000 Habsburg troops to reinforce Charles' now overwhelming numbers. Moreau continued in the south to press toward Vienna, seemingly oblivious to Jourdan's situation.
Over the next few days, most of the Army of Sambre and Meuse returned to the west bank of the Rhine, except for a small rear guard. After his disastrous panic at Diez in which he prematurely abandoned a critical bridge position, Jean Castelbert de Castelverd held east bank entrenchments at Neuwied, Poncet crossed at Bonn
The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...
while the other divisions retired behind the Sieg river. Jourdan handed over command to Pierre de Ruel, marquis de Beurnonville
Pierre de Ruel, marquis de Beurnonville (10 May 1752 – 23 April 1821) was a French general during the French Revolutionary Wars and later a marshal of France and Deputy Grand Master of Grand Orient de France.Dictionnaire de la Franc-maçonnerie ...
, on 22 September. Charles left 32,000 to 36,000 troops commanded by Franz von Werneck
Franz Freiherr von Werneck (13 October 1748 – 17 January 1806), enlisted in the army of Habsburg Austria and fought in the Austro-Turkish War, the French Revolutionary Wars, and the Napoleonic Wars. He enjoyed a distinguished career until 1797 ...
in the north, 9,000 more in Mainz and Mannheim to insure the Army did not recross the Rhine, and moved south with 16,000 men to intercept Moreau.
Reformation as the Army of Germany (1797)
Archduke Charles ruined the French strategy in the north; the Army of Sambre and Meuse withdrew across the river and remained inactive for the rest of the year. On 18 April 1797, with Napoleon's army threatening Vienna, Austria and France agreed to terms of an armistice
An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...
, which was followed by five months of negotiation, leading to the Peace of Campo Formio
The Treaty of Campo Formio (today Campoformido) was signed on 17 October 1797 (26 Vendémiaire VI) by Napoleon Bonaparte and Count Philipp von Cobenzl as representatives of the French Republic and the Austrian monarchy, respectively. The treaty ...
which concluded the War of the First Coalition on 18 October 1797. The peace treaty was to be followed up by the Congress of Rastatt. Campo Formio's terms held until 1798, when both groups recovered their military strength and began the War of the Second Coalition
The War of the Second Coalition (1798/9 – 1801/2, depending on periodisation) was the second war on revolutionary France by most of the European monarchies, led by Britain, Austria and Russia, and including the Ottoman Empire, Portugal, N ...
. Despite the renewal of military action, the Congress continued its meetings in Rastatt until the assassination of the French delegation in April 1799. The Army of Sambre and Meuse remained in cantonment until 29 September 1797, when it was united with other units, to form the Army of Germany.Georges Lefebvre
Georges Lefebvre (; 6 August 1874 – 28 August 1959) was a French historian, best known for his work on the French Revolution and peasant life. He is considered one of the pioneers of " history from below". He coined the phrase the ...
, ''The French Revolution,'' Volume II From 1793–1799, Columbia University Press, 1964,
pp. 199–201
Smith, pp. 131–133.
Commanders
Citations and notes
Sources
Bibliography
* Bertaud, Jean Paul and R.R. Palmer (trans). ''The Army of the French Revolution: From Citizen-Soldiers to Instrument of Power.'' Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1988.
* Blanning, Timothy. ''The French Revolutionary Wars.'' New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.
* Charles, Archduke of Austria (unattributed)
''Geschichte des Feldzuges von 1796 in Deutschland''
France, 1796.
* Charles, Archduke of Austria
''Grundsätze der Strategie: Erläutert durch die Darstellung des Feldzugs von 1796 in Deutschland''
Vienna, Strauss, 1819.
* Clerget, Charles. ''Tableaux des armées françaises: pendant les guerres de la Révolution.'' R. Chapelot, 1905.
* Dodge, Theodore Ayrault. ''Warfare in the Age of Napoleon: The Revolutionary Wars Against the First Coalition in Northern Europe and the Italian Campaign, 1789–1797.'' US: Leonaur Ltd., 2011. .
* Knepper, Thomas P. ''The Rhine.'' Handbook for Environmental Chemistry Series, Part L. New York: Springer, 2006. .
* Lefebvre, Georges, ''The French Revolution, 1793–1799,'' Vol. II, Columbia University Press, 1964.
* Phipps, Ramsey Weston, ''The Armies of the First French Republic: Volume II The Armées du Moselle, du Rhin, de Sambre-et-Meuse, de Rhin-et-Moselle.'' Pickle Partners Publishing, 2011 reprint (original publication 1923–1933)
* ''Relation de l'assassinat de M. Théobald Dillon, Maréchal-de-Camp, Commis à Lille, le 29 avril 1792.'' Imprimerie de Mignaret (4 May 1792).
* Rickard, J.
''Battle of Hochst, 11 October 1795''
ttp://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_ettlingen.html Ettlingen History of war.org. Accessed 18 November 2014.
* Rothenberg, Gunther E. ''Napoleon’s Great Adversaries: Archduke Charles and the Austrian Army, 1792–1914.'' Stroud, (Gloucester): Spellmount, 2007.
* Smith, Digby. ''Napoleonic Wars Data Book,'' New York: Greenhill Press, 1996.
* Vann, James Allen. ''The Swabian Kreis: Institutional Growth in the Holy Roman Empire 1648–1715''. Vol. LII, Studies Presented to International Commission for the History of Representative and Parliamentary Institutions. Bruxelles: Les Éditions de la Librairie Encyclopédique, 1975.
* Volk, Helmut
"Landschaftsgeschichte und Natürlichkeit der Baumarten in der Rheinaue."
''Waldschutzgebiete Baden-Württemberg'', Band 10, pp. 159–167.
* Walker, Mack. ''German Home Towns: Community, State, and General Estate, 1648–1871''. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1998.
* Whaley, Joachim, ''Germany and the Holy Roman Empire: Volume I: Maximilian I to the Peace of Westphalia, 1493–1648''. Oxford Univ. Press, 2012.
Additional resources
* Alison, Archibald
''History of Europe from the Commencement of the French Revolution to the Restoration of the Bourbons'', Volume 3
Edinburgh: W. Blackwood, 1847.
* Bodart, Gaston
''Losses of Life in Modern Wars, Austria-Hungary''
London: Clarendon Press, 1916.
''The Annual Register: World Events 1796.''
London: FC and J Rivington. 1813. Accessed 4 November 2014.
* La Bédoyère, Charles Angélique François Huchet, ''Memoirs of the Public and Private Life of Napoleon Bonaparte.'' nl, G. Virtue, 1828.
* Cuccia, Phillip. ''Napoleon in Italy: The Sieges of Mantua, 1796–1799.'' Tulsa: University of Oklahoma Press, 2014.
* Dunn-Pattison, Richard Phillipson. ''Napoleon's Marshals.'' Wakefield, EP Pub., 1977 (reprint of 1895 edition).
* Durant, Will and Ariel Durant
Ariel Durant (; May 10, 1898 – October 25, 1981) was a Russian-born American researcher and writer. She was the coauthor of '' The Story of Civilization'' with her husband, Will Durant. They were awarded the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fic ...
, ''The Age of Napoleon.'' New York: Simon and Schuster, 1975.
* Ebert, Jens-Florian "Feldmarschall-Leutnant Fürst zu Fürstenberg,"
Die Österreichischen Generäle 1792–1815
'
Napoleon Online: Portal zu Epoch
Markus Stein, editor. Mannheim, Germany. 14 February 2010 version. Accessed 28 February 2010.
* Ersch, Johann Samuel. ''Allgemeine encyclopädie der wissenschaften und künste in alphabetischer folge von genannten schrifts bearbeitet und herausgegeben.'' Leipzig, J. F. Gleditsch, 1889.
* Graham, Thomas, 1st Baron Lynedoch. ''The History of the Campaign of 1796 in Germany and Italy.'' London: (np) 1797.
* Lievyns, A., Jean Maurice Verdot, Pierre Bégat, ''Fastes de la Légion-d'honneur: biographie de tous les décorés accompagnée de l'histoire législative et réglementaire de l'ordre,'' Bureau de l'administration, 1844.
* Lühe, Hans Eggert Willibald von der
''Militär-Conversations-Lexikon:Kehl (Uberfall 1796) & (Belagerung des Bruckenkopfes von 1796–1797)''
Volume 4. C. Brüggemann, 1834.
* Malte-Brun, Conrad
''Universal Geography, Or, a Description of All the Parts of the World, on a New Plan: Spain, Portugal, France, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, and Holland''.
A. Black, 1831.
* McLynn, Frank. ''Napoleon: A Biography.'' New York: Arcade Pub., 2002.
* Mechel, Christian von
''Tableaux historiques et topographiques ou relation exacte...''
Basel, 1798.
* Millar, Stephen
Napoleon Series.org, April 2005. Accessed 21 January 2015.
* "Pichegru." ''Brockhaus Bilder-Conversations-Lexikon,'' Band 3. Leipzig, 1839, pp. 495–496.
* Philippart, John
''Memoires etc. of General Moreau''
London: A. J. Valpy, 1814.
* Rogers, Clifford, et al
''The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare and Military Technology''
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010.
* Rothenberg, Gunther E. "The Habsburg Army in the Napoleonic Wars (1792–1815)". Military Affairs, 37:1 (Feb. 1973), 1–5.
* Rotteck, Carl von. ''General History of the World'', np: C. F. Stollmeyer, 1842.
* Schama, Simon
Sir Simon Michael Schama (; born 13 February 1945) is an English historian specialising in art history, Dutch history, Jewish history, and French history. He is a University Professor of History and Art History at Columbia University.
He f ...
. ''Patriots and Liberators. Revolution in the Netherlands 1780–1813.'' New York: Vintage Books, 1998.
* Sellman, R. R. ''Castles and Fortresses.'' York (UK): Methuen, 1954.
* Wilson, Peter Hamish. ''German Armies: War and German Politics 1648–1806.'' London: UCL Press, 1997.
{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017
Military units and formations established in 1794
Sambre-et-Meuse
Sambre-et-Meuse () was a department of the French First Republic and French First Empire in present-day Belgium. It was named after the rivers Sambre and Meuse. It was created on 1 October 1795, when the Austrian Netherlands and the Prince-Bish ...
Sambre-et-Meuse
Sambre-et-Meuse () was a department of the French First Republic and French First Empire in present-day Belgium. It was named after the rivers Sambre and Meuse. It was created on 1 October 1795, when the Austrian Netherlands and the Prince-Bish ...
1794 establishments in France