The Army of the

Grisons The Grisons () or Graubünden,Names include: *german: (Kanton) Graubünden ; * Romansh: ** rm, label= Sursilvan, (Cantun) Grischun ** rm, label=Vallader, (Chantun) Grischun ** rm, label= Puter, (Chantun) Grischun ** rm, label=Surmiran, (Cant ...

(''Armée des Grisons'') was a field army of the

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 ...

. Its commander-in-chief from 5 October 1800 to 1 April 1801 was Etienne-Jacques-Joseph-Alexandre Macdonald, during which time it operated as the hinge between the Army of Italy under Brune 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 ...

under

Jean Moreau Adrien Édouard Jean Moreau (31 July 1888 – 5 June 1972) was a French politician. Moreau was born in Paris. He belonged first to the Republican Party of Liberty (1945–1946), then to the Independent Republicans (1946–1955) and then to ...

, crossing the

Splügen Splügen ( Romansh: ''Spleia'', Italian: ''Spluga'') is a former municipality in the Viamala Region in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. On 1 January 2006 Splügen incorporated its neighbouring municipality of Medels im Rheinwald. On 1 January 2 ...

(4 December) and capturing

Trento Trento ( or ; Ladin and lmo, Trent; german: Trient ; cim, Tria; , ), also anglicized as Trent, is a city on the Adige River in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol in Italy. It is the capital of the autonomous province of Trento. In the 16th centu ...

(6 January).

Operational history

The Army of Grisons was formed between the Army of Italy and the Army of the Rhine. Its first taste of combat occurred in December 1800, when they crossed the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

, opposing Austrian Forces. The First Consul, Napoleon, also crossing the Alps, ordered that General Macdonald thrust forwards and occupy

Austrian Tyrol Tyrol (; german: Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a state (''Land'') in western Austria. It comprises the Austrian part of the historical Princely County of Tyrol. It is a constituent part of the present-day Euroregion Tyrol–South Tyrol–Trentino ( ...

. The march was slow, with 12,000 men making it though in 4 columns. It almost ended in disaster however. A wave of snow and ice fell upon the army when the last column was making it though. But Macdonald, following Napoleon's orders, moved on and encountered Austrian Forces at

Mincio The Mincio (; Latin: Mincius, Ancient Greek: Minchios, ''Μίγχιος'', Lombard: Mens, Venetian: Menzo) is a river in the Lombardy region of northern Italy. The river is the main outlet of Lake Garda. It is a part of the ''Sarca-Mincio'' ...

and routed them, turning back the frontier. They moved on to

, not yet forcing the Austrians out of Tryol. After the

Battle of Hohenlinden The Battle of Hohenlinden was fought on 3 December 1800 during the French Revolutionary Wars. A French army under Jean Victor Marie Moreau won a decisive victory over an Austrian and Bavarian force led by 18-year-old Archduke John of Austri ...

, the Army was shortly disbanded in 1801 to later form part of the

Grande Armée ''La Grande Armée'' (; ) was the main military component of the French Imperial Army commanded by Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte during the Napoleonic Wars. From 1804 to 1808, it won a series of military victories that allowed the French Empi ...

References

{{reflist French military units and formations of the Napoleonic Wars