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 Valmy () is a Communes of France, commune in the Marne (department), Marne Departments of France, department in north-eastern France. Geography The town stands on the west flank of the Forest of Argonne, Argonne massif, midway between Verdun-sur ...

. In October 1792 it was renamed and subsequently fought at Trier, First Arlon, Biesingen,

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 ...

, Froeschwiller and Second Wissembourg. In the spring of 1794 the left wing was detached and fought at Second Arlon,

Lambusart Lambusart ( wa, Lambussåt) is a village of Wallonia and a district of the Municipalities of Belgium, municipality of Fleurus located in the Hainaut Province, province of Hainaut, Belgium. References

Former municipalities of Hainaut (provi ...

and Fleurus before being absorbed by the '' Army of Sambre-et-Meuse''. In late 1794, the army captured Trier and initiated the Siege of Luxembourg. During the siege, the army was discontinued and its divisions were assigned to other armies.

History

Originally known as the '' Army of the Centre'', it was renamed by decree of the National Convention on 1 October 1792 and kept under that name in the decrees of 1 March and 30 April 1793. By the decree of 29 June 1794 its left wing joined with the '' Army of the Ardennes'' and the right wing of the '' Army of the North'' to form the '' Army of Sambre-et-Meuse''. The right wing remained under the orders of

Jean René Moreaux Jean René Moreaux (14 March 1758 – 10 February 1795) commanded the French ''Army of the Moselle'' during the French Revolutionary Wars. He joined the French Royal Army (1652–1830), French Royal Army in 1776 and was badly wounded in the America ...

as the ''Army of the Moselle''. However, this new army's right wing was joined with the left wing of the '' Army of the Rhine'' by a decree of 29 November 1794 under the name of the ''Armée devant Mayence'' (''Army before Mainz''), while the rest of the army was named the ''Army before Luxembourg'' under Moreaux. Finally what remained of the ''Army of the Moselle'' was merged with the ''Army of the Rhine'' by a decree of 3 March 1795 (executed on 20 April) to form the '' Army of the Rhine and Moselle''.

Generals

* 14 December 1791 – 11 July 1792:

Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (, ), was a French aristocrat, freemasonry, freemason and military officer who fought in the Ameri ...

* 12 July – 1 September 1792: Nicolas Luckner, with supreme command of the Army of the Rhine * 2 September – 1 October 1792: François Christophe Kellermann, subordinate –

Charles François Dumouriez Charles-François du Périer Dumouriez (, 26 January 1739 – 14 March 1823) was a French general during the French Revolutionary Wars. He shared the victory at Valmy with General François Christophe Kellermann, but later deserted the Revo ...

until 19 September. * 1 October – 7 November 1792: François Christophe Kellermann, commander of the new ''Army of the Moselle'', subordinate –

until October 5. * 8–14 November 1792: interim – Jean Étienne Philibert de Prez de Crassier * 15 November 1792 – 23 January 1793:

Pierre Riel 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 ...

, subordinate of

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 ...

* 24 January – 28 March 1793:

René Charles Élisabeth de Ligniville René (''born again'' or ''reborn'' in French) is a common first name in French-speaking, Spanish-speaking, and German-speaking countries. It derives from the Latin name Renatus. René is the masculine form of the name (Renée being the feminine ...

, subordinate of

* 29 March – 28 April 1793:

Augustin Gabriel d'Aboville Augustin Gabriel d'Aboville (20 March 1773 – 15 August 1820) was a French ''general de brigade'' (brigadier general). He was the older brother of Augustin-Marie d'Aboville. He was born in La Fère, Aisne, Picardy. He participated in the Battle ...

* 29 April - 2 August 1793: Jean Nicolas Houchard, subordinate –

until May 17, then moved to the high command of the Army of the Rhine * 3 August - 29 September 1793: interim –

Balthazar Alexis Henri Schauenburg Balthazar Alexis Henri Schauenburg (also spelled Schauenbourg), (born in Hellimer on 31 July 1748 and died in Geudertheim on 1 September 1831) was a French general who served in the wars of the French Revolution and the Empire. He briefly command ...

* 30 September 1793:

rejects command * 30 September - 30 October 1793: interim –

Jacques Charles René Delaunay 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 ...

* 31 October 1793 - 18 March 1794: Lazare Hoche with high command of the Army of the Rhine until January 13 * 19 March - 2 June 1794: Jean-Baptiste Jourdan * 3 June - 1 July 1794: Jean-Baptiste Jourdan commanded the armies of the Moselle, Ardennes and the right of the Army of the North, with Jean-Charles Pichegru * 2 July 1794 - 7 July 1794:

* 7 July - 3 August 1794: interim –

Claude Ignace François Michaud Claude Ignace François Michaud (28 October 1751 – 19 October 1835) commanded French troops during the French Revolutionary Wars, rising to command the ''Army of the Rhine'' in 1794. After serving in a cavalry regiment from 1780 to 1783 he r ...

* 3 August 1794 - 9 February 1795 –

* 10 February - 19 April 1795, intérim – Jean-Jacques Ambert.

Composition

1793

In 1793 the ''Army of the Moselle'' counted 27 battalions of line infantry, four battalions of light infantry, 42 battalions of National Guards and 12 mounted regiments. The line infantry included the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 30th, 33rd, 96th, 99th and 103rd Demi Brigades, the 1st Battalions of the 1st, 5th, 27th, 41st and 81st Demi Brigades and the 2nd Battalions of the 2nd, 8th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 40th, 47th, 54th, 55th, 58th, 71st and 100th Demi Brigades. The light infantry consisted of the 6th, 13th, 16th and 17th Battalions. The cavalry regiments were the 4th, 10th, 11th and 14th Cavalry, 1st, 11th and 14th Dragoons, 1st, 9th, 18th and 19th Chasseurs à Cheval and the 2nd Hussars. The National Guards were made up of the 1st Battalions of the ''Ardennes'', ''Creuse'', ''Paris Butte de Moulins'', ''Saône-et-Loire'' and ''Yonne'', the 2nd Battalions of the ''Lot'' and ''Haute-Marne'', the 3rd Battalions of the ''Côte-d'Or'', ''Manche'', ''Paris Sections Armée'' and ''Haut-Rhin'', the 4th Battalions of the ''Oise'' and ''Var'', the 5th Battalion of the ''Orne'', the 6th Battalions of the ''Basses-Pyrénées'' and ''Seine-et-Oise'', the 7th Battalion of the ''Marne'', the 9th Battalion of ''Paris Ste. Margueritte'', the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the ''Cher'', 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the ''Loiret'', the 4th, 6th and 7th Battalions of the ''Meurthe'', the 1st, 3rd and 5th Battalions of the ''Meuse'', the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th Battalions of the ''Moselle'', the 1st and 3rd Battalions of the ''Paris République'', the 3rd and 4th Battalions of the ''Bas-Rhin'', the 1st and 7th Battalions of the ''Rhône-et-Loire'', the 1st and 4th Battalions of the ''Haute-Saône'' and the 1st and 6th Battalions of the ''Vosges''.

19 February 1794

General of Division Lazare Hoche * General of Division Jean Étienne Championnet * General of Division

Charles François Desbureaux 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 ...

* General of Division Jacques Maurice Hatry * General of Division François Joseph Lefebvre * General of Division

* General of Division

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 ...

* General of Division

Nicolas Augustin Paillard Nicolas or Nicolás may refer to: People Given name * Nicolas (given name) Mononym * Nicolas (footballer, born 1999), Brazilian footballer * Nicolas (footballer, born 2000), Brazilian footballer Surname Nicolas * Dafydd Nicolas (c.1705–17 ...

''Source:''

3 June 1794

Army of the Moselle, Left Wing: General of Division Jean-Baptiste Jourdan * Division Championnet: General of Division Jean Étienne Championnet (7,500) ** General of Brigade

Paul Grenier Count Paul Grenier (29 January 1768 – 17 April 1827) joined the French royal army and rapidly rose to general officer rank during the French Revolutionary Wars. He led a division in the 1796-1797 campaign in southern Germany. During the 1800 c ...

*** 18th Line Infantry Demi Brigade (2,153 in three battalions) *** 1st Dragoon Regiment (444 in three squadrons) ** General of Brigade Gabriel Jacques Lerivint *** 59th Line Infantry Demi Brigade (1,638 in three battalions) *** 94th Line Infantry Demi Brigade (2,327 in three battalions) *** 4th Cavalry Regiment (398 in three squadrons) ** 2nd Light Artillery Company (90) * Division Hatry: General of Division Jacques Maurice Hatry (10,005) ** General of Brigade Jean Antoine Chapsal *** 27th Line Infantry Demi Brigade (680 in 1st Battalion) *** 44th Line Infantry Demi Brigade (768 in 1st Battalion) *** ''Moselle'' National Guard (771 in 2nd Battalion) *** ''Moselle'' National Guard (604 in 3rd Battalion) *** ''Cote-d'Or'' National Guard (428 in 3rd Battalion) *** ''Seine-et-Oise'' National Guard (1,030 in 6th Battalion) *** ''Doubs'' National Guard (455 in 9th Battalion) *** ''Meurthe'' National Guard (563 in 9th Battalion) *** 11th Dragoon Regiment (420 in three squadrons) *** 18th Chasseurs à Cheval Regiment (158 in one squadron) ** General of Brigade Jean Pierre François Bonet *** 33rd Line Infantry Demi Brigade (789 in 2nd Battalion) *** 58th Line Infantry Demi Brigade (730 in 2nd Battalion) *** ''Lot-et-Garonne'' National Guard (582 in 1st Battalion) *** ''Bas-Rhin'' National Guard (789 in 1st Battalion) *** ''Loiret'' National Guard (582 in 2nd Battalion) *** ''Var'' National Guard (554 in 4th Battalion) ** 3rd Light Artillery Company (93) * Division Lefebvre: General of Division François Joseph Lefebvre (9,925) ** General of Brigade Jean François Leval *** 5th Line Infantry Demi Brigade (777 in 1st Battalion) *** 54th Line Infantry Demi Brigade (423 in 2nd Battalion) *** 99th Line Infantry Demi Brigade (640 in 2nd Battalion) *** 9th Chasseurs à Cheval Regiment (341) ** General of Brigade Jean Baptiste Jacopin *** 13th Line Infantry Demi Brigade (1,572 in three battalions) *** 80th Line Infantry Demi Brigade (2,064 in three battalions) *** 149th Line Infantry Demi Brigade (1,663 in three battalions) ** General of Brigade Jean Sultzmann *** 16th Light Infantry Battalion (380) *** 1st Chasseurs à Cheval Regiment (381) *** 18th Chasseurs à Cheval Regiment (126) *** ''Légion de la Moselle'' (410) *** ''Vosges'' National Guard (717 in 1st Battalion) ** 19th Light Artillery Company (110) * Division Morlot: General of Division

(8,210) ** General of Brigade Jean Baptiste Olivier *** 110th Line Infantry Demi Brigade (2,709 in three battalions) *** 14th Dragoon Regiment (445 in three squadrons) ** General of Brigade Henri Simon *** 1st Line Infantry Demi Brigade (2,190 in three battalions) *** 34th Line Infantry Demi Brigade (2,354 in three battalions) *** 10th Cavalry Regiment (416 in four squadrons) ** 30th Light Artillery Company (96) ''Source:'' Brigade organization and numbers of battalions and squadrons are taken from the Fleurus order of battle on p. 86. After 20 April 1795, this army was combined with the Army of the Rhine, forming the Army of the Rhine and Moselle.

Notes

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Army Of The Moselle

Moselle The Moselle ( , ; german: Mosel ; lb, Musel ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it jo ...