Chapter 10 Internal and External War:
The spread of war
- French fortunes in the war had turned between September 1792 and January 1793. Not only had the
“army of the North’ been successful in the Austrian Netherlands; the ‘Army of the Alps had also seized
Savoy and Nice, followed by parts of the Kingdom Piedmont-Sardinia which was allied with Austria.
- The advances of the French armies were inspired by not only revolutionary idealism (as seen in
November 1792 Edict of Fraternity), but also by France’s desperate need for money. Conquests brough
assets that could be sold for cash.
- Danton tried to justify the war effort by proclaiming the old French doctrine of ‘national frontiers’ in
January 1793.
- Britain began military preparations in late 1792 and expelled the French ambassador following the
execution of Louis XVI, whilst Spain and Portugal entered the anti-French coalition in January 1793.
- France did not wait for Britain to take action; on 1st February, it declared war on Britain and the United
Provinces. A declaration of war on Spain followed in March
- From March 1792, the French found themselves fighting against a largely British-financed block in the
‘War of the First Coalition’ (the revolutionary wars that spanned the years 1792 to 1797).
- This was to be the first series of revolutionary wars and France suffered badly. Its troops were driven
out of the Austrian Netherlands and British, Austrian and Spanish troops all mounted attacks into
France
- They also faced serious internal revolts in the west and south of France, which hindered their military
effort
Developments in the war from February 1792 to July 1793
- February 1792: Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II and Frederick William II of Prussia sign a treaty of
alliance
- March: Francis II becomes the new Holy Roman Emperor; France sends an ultimatum to Austria to
disperse émigrés
- April: France declares war on Austria which allies with Prussia. The War of the First Coalition begins.
France invades the Austrian Netherlands with two armies; one retreats after the Battle of Mons, the
other after the Battle of Tournai
- July: Fear of advancing enemy troops produces the decree La Patrie en Danger. Lafayette takes over the
Army of the North. The Brunswick Manifesto is announced
- August: Lafayette defects; Dumouriez commands the Army of the North. The Prussians take Longwy
- September: The Prussians take Verdun. The French, under Dumouriez, win victory at the Battle of
Valmy. General Adam-Phillipe Custine is successful against the Austrians at Speyer
- October: Custine takes Worms, Mainz and Frankfurt. The Prussians retreat from Verdun and Longwy
- November: Dumouriez achieves victory at Jemappes in the Austrian Netherlands. The Edict of
Fraternity is issued. The French take Brussels, Ostend, Mechelen, Liège, Antwerp and Namur and
declare the annexation of Savoy
- December: The French tale Aachen
- February 1793: France declares war on GB and the United Provinces. There is a rebellion in the
Vendée
- March: An Austrian counter-offensive begins and defeats the French at Neerwinden and Louvain. The
French evacuate Aachen. Spain declares war on France, France annexes territory on the Rhine
- April: Dumouriez defects to the Austrians (joined also by the son of the duc d’Orléans). The Austrians
begin the besiege of the ‘Republic of Mainz’ – the territory France had just annexed on the Rhine.
- May: The French are besieged at Valenciennes. There are uprisings in Lyons and other cities
- June: A British blockade of ports begins
- July: The siege of Mainz ends with French withdrawal; the ‘Republic of Mainz’ collapses. Valenciennes is
captured and occupied by Anglo-Austrian troops
The rising in the Vendée (proof that not everyone was behind Revolution)
- The Vendée was an area in central-west France, stretching around the mouth of the River Loire and
close to the sites of the continuing Chouan uprisings
- It was a rural, conservative and strongly Catholic area with a large number of refractory priests
The spread of war
- French fortunes in the war had turned between September 1792 and January 1793. Not only had the
“army of the North’ been successful in the Austrian Netherlands; the ‘Army of the Alps had also seized
Savoy and Nice, followed by parts of the Kingdom Piedmont-Sardinia which was allied with Austria.
- The advances of the French armies were inspired by not only revolutionary idealism (as seen in
November 1792 Edict of Fraternity), but also by France’s desperate need for money. Conquests brough
assets that could be sold for cash.
- Danton tried to justify the war effort by proclaiming the old French doctrine of ‘national frontiers’ in
January 1793.
- Britain began military preparations in late 1792 and expelled the French ambassador following the
execution of Louis XVI, whilst Spain and Portugal entered the anti-French coalition in January 1793.
- France did not wait for Britain to take action; on 1st February, it declared war on Britain and the United
Provinces. A declaration of war on Spain followed in March
- From March 1792, the French found themselves fighting against a largely British-financed block in the
‘War of the First Coalition’ (the revolutionary wars that spanned the years 1792 to 1797).
- This was to be the first series of revolutionary wars and France suffered badly. Its troops were driven
out of the Austrian Netherlands and British, Austrian and Spanish troops all mounted attacks into
France
- They also faced serious internal revolts in the west and south of France, which hindered their military
effort
Developments in the war from February 1792 to July 1793
- February 1792: Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II and Frederick William II of Prussia sign a treaty of
alliance
- March: Francis II becomes the new Holy Roman Emperor; France sends an ultimatum to Austria to
disperse émigrés
- April: France declares war on Austria which allies with Prussia. The War of the First Coalition begins.
France invades the Austrian Netherlands with two armies; one retreats after the Battle of Mons, the
other after the Battle of Tournai
- July: Fear of advancing enemy troops produces the decree La Patrie en Danger. Lafayette takes over the
Army of the North. The Brunswick Manifesto is announced
- August: Lafayette defects; Dumouriez commands the Army of the North. The Prussians take Longwy
- September: The Prussians take Verdun. The French, under Dumouriez, win victory at the Battle of
Valmy. General Adam-Phillipe Custine is successful against the Austrians at Speyer
- October: Custine takes Worms, Mainz and Frankfurt. The Prussians retreat from Verdun and Longwy
- November: Dumouriez achieves victory at Jemappes in the Austrian Netherlands. The Edict of
Fraternity is issued. The French take Brussels, Ostend, Mechelen, Liège, Antwerp and Namur and
declare the annexation of Savoy
- December: The French tale Aachen
- February 1793: France declares war on GB and the United Provinces. There is a rebellion in the
Vendée
- March: An Austrian counter-offensive begins and defeats the French at Neerwinden and Louvain. The
French evacuate Aachen. Spain declares war on France, France annexes territory on the Rhine
- April: Dumouriez defects to the Austrians (joined also by the son of the duc d’Orléans). The Austrians
begin the besiege of the ‘Republic of Mainz’ – the territory France had just annexed on the Rhine.
- May: The French are besieged at Valenciennes. There are uprisings in Lyons and other cities
- June: A British blockade of ports begins
- July: The siege of Mainz ends with French withdrawal; the ‘Republic of Mainz’ collapses. Valenciennes is
captured and occupied by Anglo-Austrian troops
The rising in the Vendée (proof that not everyone was behind Revolution)
- The Vendée was an area in central-west France, stretching around the mouth of the River Loire and
close to the sites of the continuing Chouan uprisings
- It was a rural, conservative and strongly Catholic area with a large number of refractory priests
