The Army of the North or is a name given to several historical units of the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

. The first was one of the French Revolutionary Armies that fought with distinction against the First Coalition from 1792 to 1795. Others existed during the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...

, the Hundred Days and the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

Campaigns

1791 to 1797

At the creation of the Army of the North on 14 December 1791, the government of the

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appointed Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, Comte de Rochambeau, as its commander. Rochambeau was replaced in May 1792, and he retired from service. The suspicious government of the First French Republic later charged him with treason and he barely escaped execution. In 1792–1794, the guillotine awaited military commanders who either failed, belonged to the nobility, or displayed insufficient revolutionary zeal. In the Army of the North these unfortunates included Nicolas Luckner, Adam Custine, and Jean Houchard. Under Charles François Dumouriez, the Army of the North helped blunt the Prussian invasion at the Battle of Valmy on 20 September 1792. It also made up a large part of Dumouriez's expedition into the

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which resulted in victory at the Battle of Jemappes on 6 November 1792. On 18 March 1793, the

Austrians Austrians (, ) are the citizens and Nationality, nationals of Austria. The English term ''Austrians'' was applied to the population of Archduchy of Austria, Habsburg Austria from the 17th or 18th century. Subsequently, during the 19th century, ...

defeated Dumouriez at the Battle of Neerwinden. Auguste Dampierre was killed in battle on 8 May at the Battle of Raismes near Valenciennes. Under François Joseph Drouot de Lamarche, the army lost again at the Battle of Famars on 23 May. Charles Edward Jennings de Kilmaine skirmished with the Coalition army at Caesar's Camp near Cambrai on 7 August. Houchard won the Battle of Hondshoote in September, forcing the English to raise the Siege of Dunkirk. Nevertheless, the government arrested Houchard for not following up his victory and executed him. Jean-Baptiste Jourdan won the Battle of Wattignies in October. On 17–18 May 1794, the Army of the North won a victory at the Battle of Tourcoing while under the temporary leadership of Joseph Souham. The right wing of the army fought under Jourdan in an important victory at the Battle of Fleurus on 26 June. Soon after this, the Allied position in Flanders collapsed, leading to Austria's loss of

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and the extinction of the

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in the winter of 1794-1795. During this period, the army was engaged in mopping up operations and sieges. On 25 October 1797, the Army of the North officially ceased to exist and its troops became an army of occupation in the newly created

Batavian Republic The Batavian Republic (; ) was the Succession of states, successor state to the Dutch Republic, Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. It was proclaimed on 19 January 1795 after the Batavian Revolution and ended on 5 June 1806, with the acce ...

. The Army of the North's commanders are listed as follows. *

Marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used fo ...

Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau, 14 December 1791 – 18 May 1792 * Marshal Nicolas Luckner, 19 May – 11 July 1792 * Lieutenant-General

Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette, Marquis de La Fayette (; 6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (), was a French military officer and politician who volunteered to join the Conti ...

, 12 July – 19 August 1792 * Lieutenant-General Charles François Dumouriez, 18 August – 28 September 1792 * Lieutenant-General Anne François Augustin de La Bourdonnaye, 28 September – 25 November 1792 * Lieutenant-General Francisco de Miranda, 16 November 1792 – 1 February 1793 * Lieutenant-General Dumouriez, 2 February – 4 April 1793 * General of Division Auguste Marie Henri Picot Dampierre, 6 April – 8 May 1793 * Maréchal de camp François Joseph Drouot de Lamarche, 8 – 27 May 1793 * Lieutenant-General Adam Philippe, Comte de Custine, 28 May – 16 July 1793 * General of Division Charles Edward Jennings de Kilmaine, 17 July – 10 August 1793 * General of Division Jean Nicolas Houchard, 11 August – 23 September 1793 * General of Division Florent Joseph Duquesnoy, 24 – 25 November 1793 * General of Division Jean-Baptiste Jourdan, 25 September – 9 November 1793 * General of Division Duquesnoy, 10 – 14 November 1793 * General of Division Jourdan, 15 November 1793 – 12 January 1794 * General of Division Jean Henri Becays Ferrand, 13 January – 8 February 1794 * General of Division Jean-Charles Pichegru, 9 February – 18 October 1794 * General of Division Jean Victor Marie Moreau, 19 October – 4 December 1794 * General of Division Pichegru, 5 December 1794 – 20 March 1795 * General of Division Moreau, 21 March 1795 – 29 March 1796 * General Joseph Souham, 30 March – 3 April 1796 * General Pierre de Ruel, marquis de Beurnonville, 4 April – 15 September 1796 * General Jean François Aimé Dejean, 16 September 1796 – 24 September 1797

1811 to 1813

The Army of the North in Spain formed in January 1811 and included soldiers from the Imperial Guard. Its duties included holding cities and fortresses in northern Spain, fighting guerillas, and keeping the roads to France clear. On 3–5 May 1811, about 1,600 cavalry and six artillery pieces belonging to the army fought at the Battle of Fuentes de Onoro. The Spanish beat a 1,500-man detachment on 23 June at Cogorderos in León (province). This action prevented the army from helping in the fight against Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington's Anglo-Portuguese Army. Only 800 men fought at the

Battle of Vitoria At the Battle of Vitoria (21 June 1813), a United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British, Kingdom of Portugal, Portuguese and Spanish Empire, Spanish army under the Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Marquess of Wellington bro ...

in June 1813. After the disastrous defeat at Vitoria, the Army of the North became part of the reorganized Army of Spain. Its commanders were as follows. *

Jean-Baptiste Bessières, January – July 1811 * General of Division Jean-Marie Dorsenne, July 1811 – May 1812 * General of Division Marie-François Auguste de Caffarelli du Falga, May 1812 – January 1813 * General of Division Bertrand Clausel, January 1813 – July 1813

1815

This name was also given to the force commanded by

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

during the Waterloo Campaign in 1815. At its height, including reserves, it numbered 130,000 strong and consisted of many veterans from previous campaigns. In terms of quality it was the best army Napoleon had commanded since 1812 when he had led his (Grand Army) to disaster in

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. It also fielded proportionally more

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

(344 pieces) and significantly more

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

, than had French armies in the campaigns of 1813 and 1814. Its left and right wings (''Aile Gauche'' and ''Aile Droite'') were under the independent command of

Marshals Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated of ...

Ney and Grouchy respectively, when Napoleon himself was not present to direct them. This ''Armée du Nord'' is often mistakenly regarded as separate from ''Armée de la Réserve'' (Reserve Army), which it fought beside during the 1815 campaign. In fact the ''Armée de la Réserve'' was simply a large corps of the ''Armée du Nord'' that remained under Napoleon's direct command. For more detailed organizational details on this ''Armée du Nord'', see Order of Battle of the Waterloo Campaign.

1870-1871

During the

a new Army of the North was created under Louis Faidherbe to try to break the Siege of Paris from the North. The army had achieved several small victories at towns such as Ham, La Hallue, and

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; , or ) is a city and Communes of France, commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in the region ...

and was protected by the belt of fortresses in northern France, allowing Faidherbe's men to launch quick attacks against isolated Prussian units, then retreat behind the fortresses. Despite access to the armaments factories of

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

, the Army of the North suffered from severe supply difficulties, which depressed morale. In January 1871, Léon Gambetta forced Faidherbe to march his army beyond the fortresses and engage the Prussians in open battle. The army was severely weakened by low morale, supply problems, the terrible winter weather and low troop quality, whilst general Faidherbe was unable to command due to his poor health, the result of decades of campaigning in

West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...

. At the Battle of St. Quentin, the Army of the North suffered a crushing defeat and was scattered, releasing thousands of Prussian soldiers to be relocated to the East.

References

Books

* Eggenberger, David. ''An Encyclopedia of Battles.'' New York: Dover Publications, 1985. * Glover, Michael. ''The Peninsular War 1807-1814.'' London: Penguin, 2001. * Smith, Digby. ''The Napoleonic Wars Data Book.'' London: Greenhill, 1998.

References

* French Wikipedia, Armee du Nord

Footnotes

{{Reflist, 2 French military units and formations of the Napoleonic Wars

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 ...

Military units and formations established in 1791 Military units and formations disestablished in 1797 Military units and formations established in 1811 Military units and formations disestablished in 1813 Military units and formations established in 1815 Military units and formations disestablished in 1815 Military articles needing translation from French Wikipedia 1815 establishments in France 1791 establishments in France