The Army of the Moselle (''Armée de la Moselle'') was a

French Revolutionary Army The French Revolutionary Army (french: Armée révolutionnaire française) was the French land force that fought the French Revolutionary Wars from 1792 to 1804. These armies were characterised by their revolutionary fervour, their poor equipment ...

from 1791 through 1795. It was first known as the ''

Army of the Centre The Army of the Centre (''armée du Centre'') was one of the first French Revolutionary Armies, named after the location it was set up, the Centre region. It was established by the order of King Louis XVI on 14 December 1791 and attached to Champ ...

'' and it fought at Valmy. In October 1792 it was renamed and subsequently fought at

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 ...

, 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 Fleurus (; wa, Fleuru) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It has been the site of four major battles. The municipality consists of the following districts: Brye, Heppignies, Fleurus, Lambusart, ...

before being absorbed by the ''

Army of Sambre-et-Meuse The Army of Sambre and Meuse (french: Armée de Sambre-et-Meuse) was one of the armies of the French Revolution. It was formed on 29 June 1794 by combining the Army of the Ardennes, the left wing of the Army of the Moselle and the right wing ...

''. In late 1794, the army captured

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 ''

'', it was renamed by decree of the

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 ...

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 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 ...

'' 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 ...

'' to form the ''

''. The right wing remained under the orders of Jean René Moreaux 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 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 ...

'' 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 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. Th ...

''.

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 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 ...

, with supreme command of the

* 2 September – 1 October 1792:

François Christophe Kellermann 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, King ...

, 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:

, 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, subordinate of Adam Philippe Custine * 24 January – 28 March 1793: René Charles Élisabeth de Ligniville, subordinate of Adam Philippe Custine * 29 March – 28 April 1793: Augustin Gabriel d'Aboville * 29 April - 2 August 1793:

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 ...

, subordinate – Adam Philippe Custine 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 * 30 September 1793: Jean René Moreaux rejects command * 30 September - 30 October 1793: interim – Jacques Charles René Delaunay * 31 October 1793 - 18 March 1794:

Lazare Hoche Louis Lazare Hoche (; 24 June 1768 – 19 September 1797) was a French military leader of the French Revolutionary Wars. He won a victory over Royalist forces in Brittany. His surname is one of the names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe, on ...

with high command of the

until January 13 * 19 March - 2 June 1794:

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 ...

* 3 June - 1 July 1794:

commanded the armies of the Moselle, Ardennes and the right of the Army of the North, with

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 ...

* 2 July 1794 - 7 July 1794: Jean René Moreaux * 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 – Jean René Moreaux * 10 February - 19 April 1795, intérim –

Jean-Jacques Ambert Jean-Jacques Ambert (30 September 1765 – 20 November 1851) commanded a French division in several engagements during the French Revolutionary Wars. He embarked on a French ship of the line during the American Revolutionary War and saw severa ...

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 ''Chasseur'' ( , ), a French term for "hunter", is the designation given to certain regiments of French and Belgian light infantry () or light cavalry () to denote troops trained for rapid action. History This branch of the French Army origi ...

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

* 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 ...

* General of Division Charles François Desbureaux * General of Division

Jacques Maurice Hatry Jacques Maurice Hatry (Strasbourg, 12 February 1742 – Paris, 30 November 1802) was a French general. A colonel on the outbreak of the French Revolution, he rose to général de division in 1794 and fought with distinction in the armée du Nord ...

* 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 of Division Jean René Moreaux * 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 ''Source:''

3 June 1794

Army of the Moselle, Left Wing: General of Division

* Division Championnet: General of Division

(7,500) ** General of Brigade Paul Grenier *** 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

(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 Jean Pierre François Bonet, Count of BonetOman (1902) spells the surname Bonnet (Alençon, 8 August 1768 – Alençon, 23 November 1857) was a French military commander during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars. During the Pe ...

*** 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

(9,925) ** General 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 ...

*** 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

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 ...