the french revolutionary

GREGORY FREMONT-BARNES

was born in San Francisco and

studied history at the University

of California, Berkeley, and the

Universities of Chicago and

Oxford. Since 1993 he has

lectured in British and American

history in Japan, principally at

Kobe University. He has

published a number of articles

on British diplomatic and

military history.

PROFESSOR ROBERT O'NEILL,

AO D.Phil, is the Chichele

Professor of the History of War

at the University of Oxford and

Series Editor of the Essential

Histories. His wealth of

knowledge and expertise shapes

the series content, and provides

up-to-the-minute research

and theory. Born in 1936 an

Australian citizen, he served in

the Australian army (1955-68)

and has held a number of

eminent positions in history

circles. He has been Chichele

Professor of the History of War

and a Fellow of All Souls

College, Oxford since 1987.

He is the author of many books

including works on the German

army and the Nazi party, and

the Korean and Vietnam wars.

Essential Histories

The French Revolutionary Wars

First published in Great Britain in 2001 by Osprey Publishing,

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Contents

Introduction

Chronology

Background to war

Historical rivalries

Warring sides

Opposing strength

Outbreak

A clash of ideologies

The fighting

The first and second coalitions

Portrait of a sailor

William Dillon: A midshipman in the Royal Navy

The world around war

The impact of conflict

Portrait of a civilian

Emma Hamilton: British Ambassadress at Naples

How the war ended

Hohenlinden and Copenhagen

Conclusion and consequences

Further reading

Index

7

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25

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93

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1. France Valmy (1792), Valenciennes, Perpignan, Truillas,Hondschoote, and Wattignies (1793), Le Boulon andTourcoing (1794).

2. Belgium Jemappes (1792), Neerwinden, (1793),

Courtrai. Tournai and Fleurus (1794).

3. Holland Bergen, twice, and Castricum (1799).

4. Germany Amberg, Friedberg, Wurzburg, Schliengen

(1796), Stockach (1799), Hochstadt and Hohenlinden

(1800).

5. Switzerland Zurich - three times (1799).

6. Italy Loano (1795), Montenotte, Dego, Mondovi,

Lodi, Lonato, Castiglione, Bassano, Caldiero and Arcola(1796), Rivoli (1797), Magnano, Cassano, The Trebbiaand Novi (1799), Montebello and Marengo (1800).

7. Spain Campródon, San Marcial and Figueras (1794).

8.The Middle East The Pyramids (1798). Mount Taborand Aboukir (1799), Heliopolis (1800) and Alexandriatwice (1801). Important sieges: Lille. Longwy andVerdun (1792);Valenciennes, Condé, Mainz, QuesnoyDunkirk and Toulon (1793); Collioure (1794), RosasLuxembourg (1795), Mantua (1796-97); Valetta(1798-1 800): Acre and Milan (1799); Genoa (1800).

Major actions on land 1792-1800

Introduction

Two centuries now separate us from theseries of conflicts known as the FrenchRevolutionary Wars. These wars, fought byarmies of unprecedented size, in the courseof a single decade (1792-1802) thrust uponan unwilling continent political, social, andmilitary changes of such radical proportionsthat they forever changed the Westernworld. For the first time in European historywar unleashed ideological forces whosepower and appeal called into question theprinciple that underpinned the Europeanpolitical system: the principle of monarchy.The French Revolutionaries, in challengingthe political legitimacy of the ancien regime,laid the foundations for the widespreadacceptance of democratic, representative,and constitutional rule. Wherever theirarmies went they brought with them theabstract notions of 'Nation' and 'People'.Here began a new phase in the history ofwarfare whose impact is still seen today inthe existence of mass citizen-armies. Theprecedent was set, through universalconscription and the systematic marshalingof national resources, for 'total' war.

The greatest naval and military figures ofmodern times - Nelson and Napoleon -came to the fore during this period. Theywere to reach their respective heights only ashort time later in the Napoleonic Wars(1803-15). Indeed, the French RevolutionaryWars were fought in an age when leadersand men still regarded war as 'glorious' andthe cult of the hero was at its pitch. TheRevolutionary Wars were the first proving-ground for the band of charismatic andcolorful men who were to serve as marshalsunder the French Empire. Most ofNapoleon's great marshals and Nelson's ablelieutenants gained their experience at thistime. Augereau, Jourdan, Massena,Kellermann and many others proved

themselves on the fields of Belgium andGermany, the plains of northern Italy and onthe sands of Egypt and Syria.

The Revolutionary Wars were fought on avast geographical scale. They raged acrossmuch of western and central Europe, theMiddle East, southern Africa and the WestIndies. At sea, rival navies struggled forsupremacy in all the waters around Europe,the Atlantic, the Caribbean, the IndianOcean and beyond. When we consider theirextent it should perhaps not surprise us thatcontemporaries and 19th-century historiansreferred to these conflicts, in conjunctionwith the Napoleonic Wars, as 'the GreatWar'.

The French Revolutionary Wars were morethan just the last conflict of a centuryalready riven by intense strife; they markedan abrupt and shattering end to the era of'limited' wars which had begun in the age ofEnlightenment. Up until this time, rivaldynasties ruling absolutely over their feudalsocieties matched the power of their small,meticulously trained, highly expensiveprofessional forces in the quest for territorialspoil or economic advantage withoutradically upsetting the existing balance ofpower between great empires.

The wars of the French Revolution sweptall that into the dustbin of history. Here wasa new and epic struggle, which therevolutionaries characterized as a life ordeath contest between the forces of liberty,equality, and fraternity, on the one hand,and the corrupt despotism of the ancienrégimes on the other. Indeed, for France theearly years were nothing less than a fight forpolitical survival, with cries of 'la Patrie endanger!' coming from all quarters. Yet evenbefore security from invasion was assured thewar aims of the Revolutionaries took aradical turn: the 'liberation' of their

8 Essential Histories • The French Revolutionary Wars

oppressed brethren in the Low Countries andthe Rhineland became the new objective.And, finally, emboldened by victories, thenoble aims of the Revolution had beenforgotten and the whole movement appearedto have lost its early idealism. What hadbegun as an ideological struggle, within afew, turbulent years developed into a simplewar of territorial expansion in the greattraditions of the revolutionaries' monarchistpolitical forebears. It was a supreme ironyindeed, and by 1795 - for the first time sincethe Carolingian kings of the 9th century -France stood triumphant on her 'natural'frontiers: the Rhine, the Alps, and thePyrenees. She achieved what both Louis XIVand Louis XV had failed to do earlier in thecentury despite the kings' enormousexpenditure in men and money.

The Revolutionary Wars mark thebeginning of modern war not because of theintroduction of new technology, but becausethey established the idea of the great citizen-army now so familiar to us today. Universalconscription implemented withorganizational genius by Lazare Carnotenabled France to field vast new armies.These, composed of men fired with patrioticenthusiasm, were used not only to hold backthe tide of counter-revolution, but to crossthe French frontiers taking with them theseeds of republicanism. Marching to thestrains of the Marseillaise and with cries of'Vive la Republic!', these 'armed missionaries',as Robespierre termed them, introducedforms of political and social changeswhich opponents of the Revolution couldnot contain.

The wars revolutionized warfare itself,with the use of light troops, the deploymentof armies by corps and divisions, the use ofconcentration both tactically andstrategically to bring maximum force to bearon a weaker opponent, and, above all, theprinciple of 'living off the land' rather thandepending exclusively on depots andenormous supply trains. Gone forever werethe days when civilians lived a separateexistence from the conflicts waged by theirrespective sovereigns. For occupied peoples,

the French Revolutionary Wars broughtconflict directly to the home front throughthe permanent presence of foreign armies,conscription, wholesale requisitioning andheavy, sometimes crippling, taxation. InFrance, particularly, war made hithertounheard of demands on its citizens, thusestablishing the close link between soldierand civilian so familiar to the generationswhich fought the World Wars more than acentury later.

The wars placed into the hands of theRevolutionary government in France powerwhich the European monarchs could nothave imagined - power which translateditself into armies whose combination ofsheer size and patriotic fervor drove themacross Europe, defying all who stood in theirpaths. Indeed, so great was the militarypower unleashed by the Revolution thatnothing less than the whole of Europe, sevencoalitions and a generation of fighting wererequired finally to bring France to heel.

Politically, the Revolutionary Wars openeda Pandora's box which even the final alliedvictory in 1815 could not completely close.As the revolutionary armies marchedtriumphant across the Low Countries,Germany, Italy, and Switzerland they laid thegroundwork of nationalism andconstitutional rule so necessary for a strongsense of nationhood or, in some cases, futureunification. The wars brought an effectiveend to the Holy Roman Empire. Prussia'sstatus and influence within Germany weretherefore increased. This had far-reachingimplications. Prussia ultimately became a farmore aggressive state than Austria ever wasand would become a menace to Europeansecurity after German unification in 1871. Byeliminating dozens of antiquated princedomsand electorates, France inadvertently openedthe way for eventual German unificationunder Prussian leadership.

The French Revolutionary Wars includedsome of history's most dramatic battles onland as well as at sea - and no previousconflict boasted so many. Seldom have warsbegun with battles so decisive not only forthe immediate conflict itself, but for history

Introduction 9

in general. Valmy did just that. A few hours'cannonade brought a halt to the carefullydressed ranks of Prussian infantry, that greatlegacy of Frederick the Great. This exchangeitself illustrates the emergence of the newcitizen-soldier and the decline of the'walking muskets' of absolutism. As MarshalFoch declared a century later, 'The wars ofkings were at an end. The wars of peopleswere beginning.' Lodi, though not in itselfmore than a minor engagement, neverthelesssymbolized the spirit of the age, with theyoung, energetic Bonaparte, flag in hand,leading his men across a heavily defendedbridge, driving before him a vastlysuperior force.

Battles at sea were no less significant. AtCape St Vincent, off the Spanish coast,Horatio Nelson's success bore out his policyof ignoring orthodox naval tactics. Thefollowing year, with his crushing victory atthe Nile, Nelson would end foreverBonaparte's dream of establishing an Easternempire and threatening British rule in India.And there was Marengo - where after drivinghis weary men over the Alps in the greattraditions of Hannibal, Bonaparte snatchedvictory from the jaws of defeat, leavingAustria defenseless in Italy and almostincapable of further resistance.

Although France ultimately attainedsupremacy on land, Britain had swept theoceans of the French merchant marine,snapped up most of France's colonies, andhad consistently defeated her navy in greatfleet actions which so reduced French powerat sea as to render the outcome at Trafalgaralmost a foregone conclusion. Naval powercomplemented and sustained Britain'scommercial and financial strength. Britainwas able to establish and maintain twogreat coalitions, only to see them crushed byher seemingly invincible counterpart onland. After a decade of conflict France hadvanquished all the Continent's great powers- Austria, Prussia, and Russia - leaving anuneasy and temporary stalemate withBritain mistress of the seas and Francemaster on land.

In 1802, Napoleon inherited a FrenchRepublic greatly enlarged and supremelyself-confident. He was by then not simply aleader of men but a leader of the nation. Hisunrivalled success in the Revolutionary Warsgave him the authority he needed to seizepolitical power in France, and also amandate to prosecute war on an even greaterscale than before, so building - andultimately losing - the greatest empire inEurope since Rome.

Chronology

1789 14 July Storming of the Bastille. AParis mob seizes the infamous stateprison and fortress, signaling therevolt against the monarchy andestablished authority.

1791 2 August Declaration of Pillnitz.Prussia and Austria declare theirintention to form a general Europeancoalition to restore the Bourbonmonarchy in France.

1792 7 February Conclusion ofAustro-Prussian Alliance. Troopsbegin advance toward Frenchfrontier; Sardinia (Piedmont) joinssoon after.20 April French declare war onAustria. Hostilities begin in Flanders.20 September Battle of Valmy.Dumouriez and Kellermann, with59,000 men, confront and drive away35,000 Prussians by cannon fire alone.The Allied advance on Paris istemporarily checked; the Revolution issaved.6 November Battle of Jemappes.Austrian defeat leads to the fall ofBrussels to the French, who then laysiege to Antwerp, causing alarm inBritain.

1793 21 January Execution of Louis XVI,outraging the crowned heads ofEurope; national conscription called;Belgium annexed; invasion of Hollandimminent.1 February France declares war onBritain and Holland, then againstSpain (March 7).18 March Battle of Neerwinden.Austrians repulse French underDumouriez.23 August Levee en masse. Frenchgovernment decrees universal maleconscription.

27 August-19 December Siege ofToulon. Royalist forces, backed by anAnglo-Spanish fleet and troops, fail tohold the city.8 September Battle ofHondschoote. Houchard with24,000 French defeats 16,000 menunder the Duke of York.

1794 23 May Battle of Tournai. Drawnaction between equal forces; both sidesretreat.1 June Battle of the Glorious First ofJune. British naval victory; Howedefeats his rival but fails to prevent avital food convoy from reaching France.26 June Battle of Fleurus. Kléberdefeats Saxe-Coburg's attempts torelieve Charleroi.

1795 January-March French Occupationof both Belgium and Holland.5 April-22 June Treaty of Basle.Prussia, plus several minor Germanstates, leaves the war. Spain followssuit.

1796 27 March Bonaparte assumescommand of the Army of Italy.10 May Battle of Lodi. Bonapartepersonally leads the attack over thebridge and secures victory. Milan iscaptured (May 15) and peace reachedwith Piedmont. France annexes Niceand Savoy.5 August Battle of Castiglione.Bonaparte turns both flanks ofWürmser's army, forcing it across theMincio River.19 August Treaty of San Ildefenso.Spain becomes a French ally,threatening the Royal Navy's presencein the Mediterranean.3 September Battle of Würzburg.Archduke Charles of Austria defeatsJourdan.

Chronology 11I

8 September Battle of Bassano.French defeat the Austrians, whoretreat into the besieged city ofMantua.15-17 November Battle of Arcola.Bonaparte, with the able assistance ofAugereau and Massena, defeatsthe Austrians.

1797 14 January Battle of Rivoli.Significant French victory over theAustrians.14 February Battle of Cape StVincent. Admiral Jervis defeats aSpanish fleet with a vital contributionfrom Nelson.17 October Treaty of Campo Formio.Austria recognizes French annexationof Belgium; France establishes satelliteCisalpine Republic in northern Italy;Austria compensated with Republic ofVenice; most of the left bank of theRhine becomes French.

1798 19 May Expedition to Egypt begins.Bonaparte embarks from Toulon withthe Army of the Orient.21 July Battle of the Pyramids.Bonaparte repulses Mameluke forcesnear Gizeh.July-August Occupation of Egypt.1 August Battle of the Nile. Nelsondecisively defeats Bruey's fleet inAboukir Bay, leaving Bonaparte's armystranded in Egypt.24 December Anglo-Russian allianceestablishes the basis for the SecondCoalition, which includes Austria,Portugal, Naples, and Turkey.

1799 March Jourdan invades Germany;operations begin in Switzerland.25 March Battle of Stockach. Jourdanretreats to the Rhine after seriousdefeat at the hands of ArchdukeCharles. .5 April Battle of Magnano. Austriansdefeat the French under Schérer.17 April Battle of Mount Tabor.Bonaparte drives off a Turkish forceduring his campaign in Syria.27 April Battle of Cassano. Moreaudefeated. Russian troops under

Suvorov enter Milan (April 28) andsoon after Turin.5 June Massena repulses theAustrians at Zurich but is forcedto withdraw by overwhelmingnumbers.17-19 June Battle of the Trebbia.Suvorov defeats Macdonald andpushes the French back to the Riviera.August-October Anglo-Russianoperations in the Netherlands. TheAllies' campaign is withdrawn as afailure. The Dutch fleet is, however,captured in the Texel.15 August Battle of Novi. TheRussians decisively defeat the French,allowing Suvorov to pursue themacross the Apennines.25 September Third Battle ofZurich. Massena severely defeats theRussians, bringing the campaign to anend.4 November Battle of Genoa.Austrian victory; French retreat backover the Alps.

1800 8 March Bonaparte raises a newarmy. Having returned from Egypt, heplans to invade northern Italy andreverse French misfortunes.14 June Battle of Marengo.Significant Austrian defeat,Bonaparte's greatest victory thus far.3 December Battle of Hohenlinden.Brilliant French victory over ArchdukeJohn in southern Germany.

1801 9 February Treaty of Lunéville.Austria withdraws from the SecondCoalition; terms of Campo Formioreconfirmed.March-August British operations inEgypt. The French capitulate on31 August and are shipped back home.2 April Battle of Copenhagen.Nelson crushes the Danish fleet,effectively ending the League ofArmed Neutrality.

1802 27 March Treaty of Amiens.Establishment of peace betweenBritain and France, ending the FrenchRevolutionarv Wars.

Background to war

Historical rivalries

On the eve of the French Revolution thepolitical construction of Europe wasremarkably simple. The Continent wasdominated by five great powers: Britain,France, Austria, Russia, and Prussia. Theirweaker neighbors - Sweden, Spain, Poland,Holland, and Turkey - had all once enjoyedperiods of economic, military, or navalgreatness, but by the end of the 18th centuryhad slipped into the ranks of the lesserpowers. Most of western Germany remainedfragmented into hundreds of minorprincipalities, ecclesiastical cities, and minorstates contained within the Holy RomanEmpire. Italy, similarly, contained a numberof small kingdoms, some independent andothers controlled by Austria.

Europe was overwhelmingly agrarian andfeudal, particularly in the east, withmonarchs ruling absolutely within theirdomains. Britain was a somewhat differentcase: though the vast majority of her peoplewere disenfranchised, the monarchy ruledunder constitutional constraints. Thenation's prosperity was based not onagriculture but on trade. The process ofindustrialization, though still in its infancy,was well under way.

A generation before the French Revolution,Prussia, under the ruling house ofHohenzollern, had established herself asEurope's newest great power, having won aseries of costly and exhausting wars in whichshe had taken on and defeated practicallyevery major state on the Continent. Frederickthe Great had inherited from his father,Frederick William (1713-40), a highlymilitarized, extremely efficient state wherethe landed aristocracy and king enjoyed aclose relationship. The aristocracy werefreeholders of their land and, in effect, overtheir peasants as well. In return, the crowntaxed the nation heavily in order to maintain

a standing army proportionally much largerthan that of any other European state.Frederick used that army aggressively: heinvaded Austrian Silesia in 1740, and thusbegan the War of the Austrian Succession(1740-48). This was followed by the SevenYears' War (1756-63) (see Osprey EssentialHistories,The Seven Years' War, by DanielMarston) in which Prussia used herformidable army for the glory of the nationand to consolidate her territorial gains,generally at the expense of Austria. Duringthe Seven Years' War Frederick fought thegreatest coalition ever seen in Europe -Austria, France, Russia, Sweden, and most ofthe German states of the Holy Roman Empire- and survived intact. It was the hard-foughtbloody encounters of this war that confirmedfor Prussia her place among the Great Powers.

The Russian Empire covered a vast stretchof territory containing at the turn of thecentury about 48 million subjects, over halfof whom were serfs tied to the land. Theautocratic Romanov dynasty had ruled sincethe early 17th century. Russia's militaryreputation had been won under Peter theGreat, who had defeated the Swedes in theGreat Northern War (1700-21). AlthoughRussia had briefly fought Prussia in the lateryears of the Seven Years' War, her territorialgains were made at Polish and Turkishexpense during the reign of Catherine theGreat (1762-96), particularly during the FirstPartition of Poland in 1772 and in theannexation of the Crimea, an Ottomanpossession, in 1783.

Russia fought simultaneous conflicts withSweden (1788-90) and, in alliance withAustria, Turkey (1787-92). She wasultimately successful in both of theseconflicts. When the French RevolutionaryWars began, Catherine the Great remainedneutral and she died four years later in 1796

Background to war 13

without having challenged the Revolution.That task was left to her son and successor,Paul I, who would finally face France duringthe War of the Second Coalition(1798-1802). Paul was known for his mentalinstability and obsession with militarymatters and was assassinated in 1801.

George III, who had presided over thesomewhat different and more constitutionalmonarchy of Britain since 1760, proved to beone of the Revolution's most implacableopponents. Political power rested withParliament and the Prime Minister. WilliamPitt the Younger had attained office in 1783with a loyal following in the House ofCommons and the support of the crown.Though small by continental standards - witha population of fewer than 10 million -Britain was the world's most prosperousnation. Her wealth was based on thrivingtrade with Europe and her exclusive access toa vast empire which, in addition to Canadaand, above all, India, included newly acquiredterritories in Australia and many of thebountiful 'sugar islands' of the West Indies. Asinternational trade was the basis of the rapidlyincreasing national wealth, the protection oftrade was paramount. Britain's unrivalledmerchant fleet, which exceeded 10,000vessels, could confidently rely on the power ofthe Royal Navy for its protection. Althoughagriculture was still important - accountingfor one-third of the national product - Britainwas the birthplace of the recent phenomenonof industrialization, and its growingmanufacturing capacity played a major role instimulating a booming economy.

Britain and France were long-standingenemies, having fought one another regularlyover the past century and on opposite sidesin nearly every conflict in which the twocountries were engaged since the MiddleAges. Indeed, the French Revolutionary Warswere just the latest conflict in a longsuccession dating back to Louis XIV whichhistorians would later refer to as the secondHundred Years' War. The roots of Anglo-French hostility were political and economic.Britain was chiefly concerned withpreventing the French from dominating the

George III. By the time Britain entered the RevolutionaryWars he had already reigned for 33 years, during whichtime he had presided over the loss of the Americancolonies. He suffered from periodic fits of madness, buthis eccentricities did not adversely affect his conduct assovereign during the 1790s. Indeed, his own patrioticidealism enhanced his popular reputation. He opposedthe Revolution on ideological grounds and sharplycondemned the execution of his brother sovereign.Louis XVI. (Ann Ronan Picture Library)

Continent. The cornerstone of this policy wasthe protection of the Low Countries and theChannel ports, in support of which aimBritain had participated in the Wars of theSpanish and Austrian Successions,challenging France in Europe as well asoverseas. The two powers were traditionalcolonial and commercial rivals. Britain hadfought over North America and India, and atthe end of the Seven Years' War Britain wasin possession of the whole of Canada and theAmerican colonies, together with largeportions of the subcontinent. France hadexacted a degree of revenge by providing vital


Emperor Francis II of Austria. Succeeding to the thronein 1792 just as relations with France were worsening, hisopposition to the Revolution helped bring the twonations closer to war Francis accompanied his troopsduring part of the campaign in Flanders during 1793-94.Throughout the wars his policies shifted under theinfluence of court and military factions which divided hiscounsels between doves and hawks. (Roger-Viollet)

aid to the American colonies during the Warof Independence (1775-83), a war thatdeprived Britain of an important piece of herempire and left her in serious debt.

At the start of the French RevolutionAustria was ruled by Joseph II, brother toMarie Antoinette. As head of the Habsburgmonarchy he also held the title of HolyRoman Emperor, which enabled him toexercise considerable political influence overa large number of small German states,many bordering France, whose existencestretched back to the days of Charlemagne.Francis II (1768-1835) succeeded to thethrone in 1792. He held personal control ofaffairs through a council of ministers,although regional diets, or parliaments,administered Hungary, Holland, and lands inItaly. His domains were vast and stretchedfrom northern Italy, across Austria proper,

Hungary, parts of Poland and portions of theBalkans, to the Netherlands (roughly modernBelgium). The number of nationalities - theempire included Germans, Hungarians,Czechs, Italians, Poles, Croats, and others,totaling about 27 million subjects in 1800,with 250,000 in Vienna - and geographicalcircumstances (the fact that, for example,Belgium was not contiguous to Austria)rendered the empire less cohesive than thestates of western Europe.

Austria had been repeatedly defeated: byFrance during the War of the PolishSuccession (1733-35); by the Turks during aBalkan war from 1737 to 1739, and, asalready noted, by Prussia in a series of majorconflicts between 1740 and 1763, during thereign of Maria Theresa. Not only did theEmpress suffer loss of territory, she jealouslywitnessed the slowly rising influence ofPrussia in German affairs. Her successor hadhis own share of problems. In 1787, JosephII had been obliged to go to war againstTurkey after the Turks declared war onAustria's ally, Russia. As the Russians soonbecame enmeshed in a simultaneous warwith the Swedes in the north, this left Josephalone to take on the Turks in the south,where they briefly invaded southernHungary. To complicate matters, the Austrianpossessions in the Low Countries rose inrevolt in 1789. Yet in the meantime theTurks were defeated, Belgrade taken and thewar ended in the same year. The Habsburgmonarchy thus continued to enjoy its statusas a great power when war again loomedafter the revolution in France.

France possessed an illustrious militarypast, though the wars of the 18th centuryhad done much to erode this reputation.Since the 16th century her rivalry withHabsburg Spain and Austria had formed thepillars of her foreign policy, and the conflictsthat resulted enabled France to expand herterritory and commerce to such a degree thatunder Louis XIV she was Europe's foremostmilitary power. Louis continued to challengeHabsburg power, particularly in the LowCountries and regularly fought Britain bothin Europe and overseas. Yet the War of the

Background to war 15

Spanish Succession did not yield the LowCountries, as France had hoped, and in lateryears, in spite of several successful campaignsduring the War of the Austrian Succession,France was obliged to return to Austria theconquests in the Netherlands she had madeduring that conflict. During the 'diplomaticrevolution' of 1756 she made amends withher long-time Habsburg foe and allied herselfwith Austria to take on Prussia, as well as hergreat colonial and commercial rival, Britain.

However, France suffered catastrophicallyas a result of the Seven Years' War, losingCanada to Britain, and also many of herpossessions in the West Indies and most ofthose in India. Thus France was in decline,and although she was instrumental inensuring the success of the rebel cause duringthe War of American Independence, the

Treaty of Paris offered independence to theAmericans and territorial gain to Spain butvirtually nothing to France. The halcyon daysof Louis XIV were now long in the past.France's wars had not only cost her dear incolonies and men, but they were alsocrippling financially. The strain on the Frencheconomy and the threat of bankruptcyobliged ministers to institute radical reforms,beginning in 1787, which required theimposition of new taxes. In order to passthese reforms, Louis XVI required the

The Storming of the Bastille, 14 July 1789. The great stateprison in Paris held only seven inmates but a largequantity of weapons and gunpowder eagerly sought bythe Paris mob.Thus armed, they marched on Versailles inOctober and brought the king and queen back to thecapital, where they remained effective prisoners until theirflight to Varennes in June, 1791. (Oil by David. Gamma)


convocation of the Estates General, a bodydivided into three parts consisting of theclergy, nobility, and commoners.

It was here that all the trouble began. Oneof Louis's ministers warned him of thepotentially disastrous consequences: 'As aFrenchman, I want the Estates General, [but]as a minister 1 feel bound to tell you thatthey could destroy your authority.' Thepolitical and financial crisis grew throughout1788, with many army officers discontentedat the imposition of new reforms. Thingsfinally came to a head in the spring of 1789when Louis convened the Estates General.Catastrophic harvest failures had caused a risein the cost of bread - this in an essentiallymedieval society still held together by feudalties and peopled by millions of impoverishedpeasants and an increasingly discontentedurban working class.

The Revolution was unleashed on twovery different fronts. The Estates General,which met in May at Versailles, representedpolitical legitimacy, even if they had notbeen elected by the people; while in Paris, avast city of 700,000 inhabitants, the crowdshad no such claims to power, but would nolonger accept disenfranchisement, much lessoutright tyranny. Events moved swiftly andin June the Estates General - or rather thatportion consisting of commoners, known asthe Third Estate - declared the creation of a'National Assembly' and pledged in thefamous 'Tennis Court Oath' not to dissolveuntil a new constitution for the nation hadbeen settled. The nation and not the kingwas now the supreme authority in the land.The Third Estate regarded itself as thelegitimate representative body of the nation.In effect, the king was no longer sovereign.

Louis was not prepared simply to sit backand watch the erosion of royal authority,and while the National Assembly, supportedby the people of Paris, might declare theprinciple of national sovereignty, the kingstill retained that ultimate instrument ofabsolutist power: the army. Yet Louis couldnot depend on this traditional bulwark of

the crown. On the contrary, politicaldisaffection in the officer corps was sowidespread that it was impossible to rely onthe army to confront the National Assemblyor, still less, to disperse seething Parisianmobs. Indeed, an overwhelming proportionof the nobles among the Estates Generalwere army officers who actively supportedradical political change, and without thearmy's defection the Revolution wouldprobably never have happened.

Louis recalled elements of the army fromthe frontiers but feared that they wouldmutiny if ordered to fire on the people.Worse still, when the French Guards whowere garrisoned at Paris began to fraternizewith the people, any hopes of relying onthem to uphold the royal will evaporated.Then, on the fateful day of 14 July, the mobstormed the Bastille and the Revolution wasset on its radical course. But it was not thepeople alone who captured the greatprison-fortress; the French Guards andother mutinous elements of the armyprovided the military know-how to seize theBastille, a structure less significant as abastion of royal power than it was as astorehouse of the weapons needed to armthe new militia, shortly to become theNational Guard.

The next day Louis ordered the army towithdraw from Paris and Versailles. Now thatthe king could no longer depend on hisarmy, the last defense of royal authority hadevaporated. One can easily oversimplify therole of the army in explaining the outbreakof the Revolution; it was only one factoramong many. Crop failure, food shortages,and bankruptcy also played their part. Yetthe army's role was decisive, not onlyensuring the survival and expansion of theRevolution at home, but within a few yearsachieving a succession of military victories.These victories would preserve andconsolidate the Revolution, and, in arelatively short space of time, raise Frenchpower to heights never dreamt of, much lessachieved, under the ancien regime.

Warring Sides

Opposing strengths

Austria was to become France's mostdetermined continental foe, fighting in bothcoalitions against the Republic with by far thegreatest contribution of forces. Her armieswere raised partly by voluntary enlistment andpartly by conscription, which in German-speaking areas meant conscription for life.Units were designated 'German', whichincluded men from the Netherlands, Italy andPoland, and 'Hungarian', which includedCroatia and Transylvania. Training varied inquality, was often poorly funded andconstantly underwent reorganization. Officerswere largely drawn from the minor aristocracy,and earned their commissions through socialand political connections. Though Austria onpaper had an army of nearly 360,000 men, inactual numbers she mobilized only about230,000 when war began.

As discussed earlier, during the reign ofFrederick the Great, Prussia entered the ranksof the Great Powers largely through theremarkable military successes of her king. Inthe course of two wars against Austria andher allies, Frederick raised the army'sreputation and effectiveness to unrivaledheights in Europe. By making maximum useof his relatively scarce resources and smallpopulation, by economizing in Spartan style,by a strict system of recruitment and byextolling the virtues of loyalty to state andarmy, Frederick built an army that wassecond to none. By the time of his death in1786, Prussia was the thirteenth largestcountry in Europe in population and thetenth largest in area, yet possessed the thirdlargest army - the very model of amilitarized state which could count on theloyal support of its proud subjects.

However, since the glory days of theSeven Years' War the army had undergonesomething of a decline, such that by thetime Prussia entered the war in 1 792 under

Frederick William II, it was resting on itslaurels and clinging to the tactics of anearlier period. It had fought as recently as1778 against Austria, and later intervened inHolland in 1787, but with few opportunitiesfor action its deficiencies were not entirelyrevealed, and the popularly held belief in thesuperiority of the Prussian army remainedthe orthodox view of many observersthroughout Europe. In contrast to his uncle,Frederick William preferred cooperation withAustria, and thus his kingdom entered thewar as Austria's ally with an army numberinga respectable 200,000 men.

When Britain entered the FrenchRevolutionary Wars in 1793 she wasunquestionably the world's leading navalpower, with 195 ships-of-the-line incommission, 210 frigates, and 256 sloops - atotal of over 600 vessels manned by100,000 men. Emphasis on naval strengthhad always adversely affected the army,which was small by continental standards.Defeat in the American colonies only adecade earlier had damaged the army'sreputation and its leadership left much to bedesired. It was not only Britain's navy thatwas strong. The economy, the product of herbooming trade with her far-flung colonies inIndia, Canada, the West Indies, andelsewhere, as well as with Europe, enabledher to supply her allies with enormoussubsidies with which to prosecute theircampaigns on the Continent. In 1800 alonethe Treasury spent over 7 percent of its totalrevenue on subsidies, most of it for Austria.

Although Russia did not join the conflictuntil the formation of the Second Coalition atthe end of 1798, her army had recent combatexperience in wars with Sweden, Poland, andTurkey, as well as with various peoples on herlengthy frontier. Imperial rule was absolute.The Russian soldier in the ranks was almost


invariably illiterate and destitute, and wasdistinguished by his unquestioning loyalty,high degree of discipline in combat, and hisextraordinary ability to endure privation andhardship without complaint.

Vast as the Russian Empire was, stretchingfrom the Baltic to the Ukraine, the Crimeaand beyond, its soldiers were principallydrawn from the heartland of ancient GreatRussia. In theory the army exceeded400,000 men, including garrison regiments,militia and irregular forces - notably theCossacks - but in reality its effective strengthwas much lower. The army and navy wereconscripted by imperial levies, of which therewere three under Tsar Paul. At the end ofCatherine's reign in 1796, Russia had in herregular forces 140,000 infantry (rising to200,000 by 1800), 30,000 cavalry, and8,000 in the artillery. Irregular forces werelarge but of limited value. In any event,Suvorov had only about 20,000 men duringhis campaign in Switzerland in 1799.Principally a land power, Russia neverthelesspossessed a respectable navy operating out ofCronstadt on the Baltic and Sebastopol onthe Black Sea. In 1790 she possessed 67 ships-of-the-line, 36 frigates, and 700 sloops,crewed by 21,000 sailors.

Although defeated in the Seven Years' Warthe French army had regained some of itsreputation in America. With monarchistenemies ranged against her in 1792 Franceburst forth with patriotic fervor with the cryof 'la patrie en danger!' thus calling forth themassive manpower and financial resources ofthe nation in a wave of unprecedentednationalist enthusiasm. The officer corps,traditionally dominated by the aristocracy,was by the beginning of the war open to allon merit. However, the flight and purge ofroyalist officers in the early years of the warsleft the army in a pathetic state, and officialsfound that there was no time to train thelarge influx of recruits and conscripts. Someeven refused to accept the degree of disciplinenecessary for an effective fighting force.Nevertheless, enough officers and men of theold regular army remained to form a nucleusfor the new Republican armies. Without these

veterans, defeat would have been inevitable atthe hands of the more professional andbetter-disciplined armies. Laws formalizingconscription were passed in 1798, requiringall men between the ages of 18 and 40 toregister, with those between 18 and 25 liableto be called. Conscription raised vast armiesand between January 1791 and July 1799 theFrench Republic called up 1,570,000 men - anamazing achievement which other nationscould not match: they simply did not dare topress into service such a huge proportion oftheir subjects for fear of political instability.

Since the start of the revolution the armyhad undergone considerable changes. Forexample, old regimental titles were abolishedand replaced by numbered units, units wereincreased in size, and large numbers of newbattalions were raised. Some of thesebattalions were of reasonable quality, such asthe Garde Nationale, while others were poorlytrained, often ill-disciplined conscripts andvolunteer hordes such as those created by thelevee en masse in 1793. If they were not quiteas drilled and precise as their adversaries, theymore than made up for it in elan anddevotion to their cause. As one Prussian,Laukhard, noted at the time:

The volunteers were not as straight as a die,as were the Prussians, and were not as polished,well-trained or skilled in handling a gun ormarching in step; nor did they know how totighten their belts around their tunics as thePrussians did, yet they were devoted to the causethey served in body and soul. Nearly all those Iencountered at that time knew for whom and forwhat they were fighting and declared that theywere ready to die for the good of their patrie. Theonly alternatives they knew were liberty or death.

The navy consisted of 81 ships-of-the-line,69 frigates, and 141 sloops, crewed by78,000 sailors. Numbers can prove deceptive,however: the general state of the ships waspoor, dockyards suffered from a shortage ofsupplies, and the service was generallydogged by an inefficient administration,poor seamanship, defective gunnery, and lowmorale and discipline.

Outbreak

A clash of ideologies

It might seem logical to presume that theEuropean monarchs, witnessing the fall of theBastille, the deposing of the French king, andthe establishment of constitutionalgovernment should immediately have goneto war against the revolutionaries, if only toprevent similar uprisings in their owncountries. But it was not to be, largelybecause of events elsewhere in Europe,particularly in the East. Frederick William,supremely smug from his conquest ofHolland in 1787 and already a beneficiary ofthe first partition of Poland, had his eye onfurther gains, particularly Danzig and Thorn,while the Austrians and Russians wereengaged in conflicts of their own againstSweden and Turkey. The fact that all thecontinental Great Powers were engaged fortwo years in intrigues and conflicts in easternEurope meant that France and its nascentrevolution remained undisturbed - indeedalmost entirely ignored - by its powerful andotherwise suspicious neighbors.

It is also important to remember that, farfrom being disturbed by the implications ofthe French Revolution, many of Britain'sleaders and politicians actually welcomed theupheavals in France. When Pitt first heardnews of the Revolution while dining with afriend, he 'spoke of it as an event highlyfavorable to us & indicates a long peace withFrance.' As the Revolution developed, manyBritish observers suggested that Franceappeared to be embracing the principles ofBritain's own 'Glorious Revolution' of 1688.What better way to maintain good relationsthan to deal with another constitutionaldemocracy, particularly one distracted fromcolonial gain and commercial competitionby internal political upheaval? In short, aself-obsessed France could hardly threatenBritish trade or interests abroad.

In fact, none of the continental powers

was prepared to lead a counter-revolution.Indeed, the Emperor Joseph was determinedto remain neutral, whatever the fate of theFrench king and the queen, his sister. ThePrussians were equally blase. Catherine ofRussia, despite her hostility to the ideas ofthe Revolution, effectively did nothing,while Charles IV of Spain, cousin of LouisXVI, made vague threats which in realityamounted to nothing more than merebluster. In any event, he was soon caught upin a nasty disagreement with Britain overfar-off Vancouver Island - the Nootka Soundincident - which brought the two countriesto the brink of war in 1790. Thus the FrenchRevolutionaries had absolutely no reason tofear intervention by the absolute monarchs.Put in simple terms, in the first two years ofthe Revolution every potential enemy ofsignificant power had other matters tocontend with: in 1787, Turkey was at warwith Russia and Austria, and Prussia invadedHolland; in 1788, Sweden and Russia were atwar; in 1790, Prussia and Poland came closeto war with Austria, and Britain and Spainnarrowly escaped conflict; in 1791, Britainand Prussia nearly fought Russia.

How, then, did this atmosphere ofcomplacency and even satisfaction change toone of open hostility? The simple answer isthat, by the middle of 1791, all of theseconflicts or disputes had been settled, orwere on the point of being settled. The mostserious of these, in which Russia and Austriawere allied against Turkey, ended in August.Now all these countries could consider theproblem of France. But the origins of theFrench Revolutionary Wars also owed muchto the vociferous and consistent pleas ofroyalist emigres, who tirelessly agitated forarmed foreign intervention against the forcesof radicalism. The hawkish policies of radicalpoliticians in Paris and the gradually


mounting antagonisms of the Germanmonarchies also played a significant role inbringing about war.

Up until the spring of 1792 few obstaclesexisted to prevent the flight from France of thearistocracy, nobles, clergy, and army officers.Large numbers left, swelling the population ofdisaffected expatriates longing for a return tothe old order. They were right to leave, fortheir lives and livelihoods were under gravethreat and the political changes forced uponthem were naturally quite intolerable to themwhen compared to the life of uncheckedprivilege that they had previously enjoyed forso long. The leading emigre was the king'syounger brother, the Comte d'Artois, who leftFrance soon after the fall of the Bastille andbecame the focal point for dispossessedaristocrats. From their base at Turin, Artois andhis adherents established a committee whichthroughout 1789-90 produced plans toextricate the King from Paris, establishcounter-revolutionary insurrections insideFrance, and secure foreign aid in a royalistcrusade to crush the Revolution andre-establish legitimate Bourbon rule.

Yet all such plans failed completely, for theywere unable to attain the aid necessary frompowerful foreign governments without whichany hopes of a return to absolute rule wereillusory. Although Austria seemed the naturalally of the emigres - after all, Marie Antoinettewas sister to Joseph II - the fact remained thatfrom the outbreak of the Revolution until1792 the Habsburg monarchy never showedmuch enthusiasm for the emigre cause.Indeed, Joseph had demanded their departurefrom his domains in the Netherlands, andwhen his brother Leopold succeeded to theimperial throne at the beginning of 1790 heshowed little interest in the cause of restoringBourbon rule on its previous footing.

In any event, the pressing internalproblems that Leopold confrontednecessarily took precedence over foreignaffairs: rebellion in the Austrian Netherlandsand near-revolt in Hungary, together withmore moderate, but nevertheless widespread,dissent across Habsburg domains. Thesedomestic problems were compounded by

failures in the war against the OttomanEmpire. Thus, in the course of his two yearsin power (1790-92), Leopold chose to placateinternal opposition and implement reformsrather than confront revolutionary France.

Yet if Leopold's conduct exasperatedemigres for a time, French domestic eventsgradually altered his views and, with them, hispolicies. Louis's flight from Paris to Varennesin June 1791 was important in promptingAustrian intervention. Louis had consistentlyrejected proposals to leave France and returnat the front of an army determined onre-establishing Bourbon rule. Duty to thenation and to himself as sovereign - howeverrestricted his political role had become -encouraged him to remain in Paris. But by thespring of 1791 the King had come round tothe idea, for by then it had become all tooclear that the Revolution was no mere passingphase and that the concessions now forced onhim were only going to increase in the future.Now persuaded that the only sensible measurewas to flee the country to secure foreign aid,Louis made his historic escape from thecapital, only to be arrested at Varennes andreturned to Paris a prisoner. The suspension ofhis royal powers soon followed and allgovernment matters were now theresponsibility of the Constituent Assembly.

The King's attempt to leave France hadfar-reaching consequences, triggering fearsinside the country that foreign armies wouldsoon be on the march to save the captivesovereign. Vigorous military measures wereundertaken and the widespread belief thatforeign intervention was only a matter oftime began to affect the political scenethroughout the country. The King's arresthad still more significance abroad, forthroughout Europe both at court and amongthe populace there emerged a groundswell ofsympathetic support for the French royalfamily and a sense of apprehension for theirsafety. Such sentiment was encouraged bythe constant calls for aid from MarieAntoinette. Action soon resulted: in July1791, Leopold approached the othercrowned heads with a proposal for a jointdeclaration demanding the release of the

Outbreak 21

French royal family, the 'Padua Circular'.This did not amount to a threat of war -which Leopold did not seek - but rather ademonstration of royalist unity meant tooverawe the Republican government.

In fact, there was no unified opposition tothe French revolutionary movement at thecourts of Europe, though each of themprovided substantial financial assistance tothe emigre cause. Tsarina Catherineadamantly opposed the Revolution, but herforeign policy remained focused onacquiring territory at the expense of Polandand Turkey, both weak and easy prey.Sweden, under Gustavus III, wholeheartedlyembraced military action against therevolutionaries, but his country'sgeographical isolation and meager resourcesprecluded any unilateral intervention on hispart. In any event, Gustavus was assassinatedin March 1792. The Prussian king repeatedlydeclared his desire for a military solution toFrench internal upheaval and the threatswhich revolutionary ideas posed abroad.Nonetheless, like Catherine, FrederickWilliam had an eye on Polish land and wasnot prepared to fight unaided. Thus, in thesummer of 1791, in spite of growingantagonism within the courts of severalcapitals, the likelihood of joint military-intervention in France remained slight.

That situation soon took a decisive turn,however, for since Leopold had assumed theImperial throne, Austro-Prussian relations -traditionally tense and occasionallyoutwardly hostile - had improvedconsiderably. This made possible a jointdeclaration by the respective sovereigns,issued at Pillnitz on 27 August 1791, whichexpressed their anxieties over Louis'spredicament and their hope that the leadingroyal houses of Europe would make a jointeffort to assist him. Though outwardlythreatening, it was not a general call to armsand in any event did not commit Austria andPrussia to anything without the cooperationof other powers. It aimed to

put an end to the anarchy in the interior ofFrance, to stop the attacks carried on against the

throne and the altar, to re-establish the legalpower, to restore to the king the security andliberty of which he is deprived, and to put himin a position to exercise the legitimate authoritywhich is his due.

No such support was forthcoming, andPillnitz remained for a time nothing morethan bluster and intimidation.

However ineffective the declarationappeared for the moment, it neverthelessadded to the general sense of impendingdanger within France. As the year progressed,moreover, the prospect of war became an evermore attractive option for those politicians inParis who viewed it as an opportunity to attaintheir own specific aims. This was particularlythe case among the war part}' under theleadership of Jacques-Pierre Brissot, whosepopularity continued to rise as the new yearbegan. His followers, the 'Brissotins' or'Girondins', held an aggressive stance in theLegislative Assembly. The 37-year-old Brissot,an unsuccessful writer with a grudge againstthe ruling establishment, had been one of thefirst to call for the abolition of the monarchy.Brissot was not alone. By the winter of 1791-92the Jacobins could more than match theGirondins for radicalism. Yet as a speechdelivered on 26 December by Gensonné, oneof Brissot's colleagues, shows, the Girondinswere exceptionally provocative as they stood:'The common enemy is at the gates of the city;a general assault threatens us; so now there canbe no more beating about the bush; let us rushto the breach; we must defend our ramparts orbury ourselves beneath their ruins.'

A fortnight later Guadet stood before theAssembly and raised the members to feverpitch in a dramatic foretaste of the hysteriawhich was to engulf France during the Reignof Terror two years later. 'Gentlemen,' hedeclared earnestly, 'let us make known to allthese German princes that the French nationhas decided to maintain its constitution inits entirety; we shall die here.' His wordswere met with wild applause as the membersrose in acclamation with cries of 'Yes, weswear it!' Waving their hats in the air andwith arms outstretched, the deputies,


government ministers, ushers, and thosethronging the public galleries shouted acommon oath: 'We shall live in freedom orwe shall die, the constitution or death!'Amidst the tumult Guadet concluded hisspeech in words calculated to bring thehouse down: 'In a word, let us mark out inadvance a place for traitors, and that placewill be on the scaffold!' The message wasclear: the Republic must have war; a warwith total victory or total defeat. The nationwas to live free or die in its defense, whilethose at home who threatened France fromwithin would be crushed.

At the same time, those at the oppositeend of the political spectrum - the monarchyand its traditional ally, the aristocracy -increasingly viewed war as an answer to theirrapidly declining political fortunes. Into thiscauldron of hostility was thrown the stillactive efforts of the emigres to restore thestatus quo, and however little their efforts mayhave as yet achieved, their very existenceassumed an importance out of all proportionto the actual danger to the Revolution thatthey presented. The recent growth of anemigre presence in the Rhineland, an areaused as the springboard for the emigres'subversive schemes, naturally raised concernsfor the Republican government, ever vigilantfor evidence of counter-revolutionary enemieswithin and without France.

Artois and his adherents amounted to a sortof royalist government in exile, based atKoblenz; although their influence in foreigncourts was minimal, seen together with theDeclaration of Pillnitz, the emigres wereerroneously assumed to be a real and powerfulthreat to the Revolution. In addition toreceiving large amounts of financial aid, Artoiscould boast of a respectably sized emigre armyin the Rhineland. The threat posed by suchforces was negligible in military terms, but thevery presence of this emigre army causedwidespread alarm in France, where war feverwas spreading.

Austria was not only pressured by theemigres but also miscalculated the situation:by adopting an increasingly threateningattitude designed to intimidate but not

provoke the republican government in Paris,Leopold paradoxically achieved the reverseof his intentions. Hoping to lend weight tothe power of the moderates in Paris, he infact increased the power of the radicals. Thuswas created a vicious circle: increasingFrench fears of emigre activity on theirborders and the apparently menacingposture of Austria and Prussia gave impetusto the general atmosphere of fear and theprospect of not only counter-revolution, butalso armed foreign intervention.

Events took on a new momentum with 1March 1792, and the succession of Francis.Consistently unwilling to embrace the morebellicose views of the Prussian king, theprinces of the Empire, and the emigres,Leopold had preferred merely to pressureFrance rather than openly threaten her withforce. True, he had shown greater support forthe restoration to power of Louis XVI -briefly suspended by the National Assemblyafter Varennes before moderates reinstatedhim in September 1791 - than most othercrowned heads, yet Leopold's death usheredin an entirely new Habsburg attitude towardforeign affairs. Leopold had acted withcaution and restraint; Francis tended moretoward belligerence. The hawkish elementsof the court grew in influence while the newcabinet, particularly with the replacement ofthe more pacific chancellor, Kaunitz, openedthe way for an altogether more hostile policytoward revolutionary France. The road to warwas now free of its former obstacles.

OPPOSITE On the eve of the French Revolutionary Warsthe European continent contained about 180 millionpeople, most of whom still lived under feudal conditionswithin the realms of a sovereign or prince endowed withsubstantial - if not autocratic - power over his subjects.Representative institutions with more than simply a tokenpolitical role were rare, and even in Britain the franchiseextended only to men of sufficient property or financialmeans. In the realm of power politics five powers stoodabove the rest: Britain. France. Austria, Russia and Prussia.Austria was a natural target for those revolutionarieslooking to export their creed: to the north lay the AustrianNetherlands: to the east the Holy Roman Empire, overwhom the Habsburgs traditionally exercised their notinconsiderable power and influence, and to the south layItaly, another region with strong Habsburg connections.

Europe in 1792

Outbreak

23


As politicians in Paris were rightlyperceiving the changing mood in Vienna,they were growing more vocal and bellicosethemselves. The new foreign minister,Charles Francois Dumouriez, came to officefrom relative obscurity amidst the growingwar fever. Long hostile to Austria, Dumouriezdemanded immediate military action. Warnow seemed inevitable. Indeed, it was notlong in coming: on 20 April, France formallydeclared war on Austria. 'The NationalAssembly,' the declaration of war ran,

declares that the French nation, faithful to theprinciples consecrated in the constitution, not toundertake any war with a view to makingconquest, and never to employ its forcesagainst the liberty of any people, takes armsonly to maintain its liberty and itsindependence.

That the war which it is forced to sustain isnot a war of nation against nation, but the justdefense of a free people against the unjustaggression of a king.

That the French will never confound theirbrothers with their real enemies; that they willneglect nothing in order to alleviate the scourgeof war, to spare and preserve property, and tocause to return upon those alone, who shallleague themselves against its liberties, all themiseries inseparable from war.

Little did anyone know that this war -which all sides believed would be short -would eventually engulf all of Europe inmore than two decades of conflict.

Neither side bore sole responsibility forthe war. The conflict cannot be said to haveoriginated either exclusively in Paris or inVienna. It was not only kings and politicianswho shaped foreign policy; prevailing viewsamong the general populace in both capitalsplayed their role. In the end both sidessought war, but their objectives proved verydifferent. Austria, joined shortly by Prussia

on 21 May, wished to restore the old order inFrance, whereas for the revolutionaries thiswas to be an ideological struggle betweena free people and the tyranny ofmonarchical rule. This had been thephilosophy so stridently advocated byBrissot since the autumn of 1791. Towardthis end the revolutionaries were confidentin their hopes of seeing a general risingof the minority nationalities of theHabsburg Empire: they were to be sorelydisappointed.

Those powers ranged against France clungsteadfastly to a policy more than merelyideological: there were distinct territorialgains to be made, a wholly realistic aimwhen one considers the Allies' completeconfidence in the superiority of theirprofessional, highly trained, highlydisciplined armies over the rabble thatappeared to them to constitute the forces ofthe Republic. It was therefore not surprisingthat the Allies did not yet appreciate theimmense threat to the political stability ofEurope's monarchies posed by the armiesmarching in the name of 'the People', forthose armies were as yet untested. Theycould hardly then know - and indeed itwould be to the astonishment of all - thatthe revolutionary armies would, despitesome serious setbacks, achieve remarkabletriumphs in the field between 1793 and1795, rapidly annexing neighboringterritories in great swathes never evenimagined - much less achieved - by LouisXIV or Louis XV. Nor could the Allies havedared to imagine the full horror that layahead for them: seemingly unstoppablerevolutionary forces carrying with them thebanner of liberté, egalité et fraternité acrosswestern and central Europe, challenging thevery legitimacy of monarchical rule. Onlythen was the war perceived as the truly gravethreat to European political and socialstability that it actually was.

The fighting

The first and second coalitions

The War of the First Coalition,1792-97

The Campaign of 1792The French Revolutionary Wars were dividedinto two distinct periods, organized aroundthe War of the First Coalition (1792-97) andthat of the Second Coalition (1798-1802),each with its own combination of Europeanpowers. The fervor of revolutionary ideologyin France, together with the revulsion that itinspired abroad, brought France into openconflict with Austria and Prussia, soon to bejoined by various other states. The Alliesexpected a quick and decisive victory.Once across the Rhine they expected tobrush aside the poorly equipped amateurishforces sent to meet them. At the end of adecade of continuous fighting, the FrenchRevolutionary Wars left France in a farstronger position than she had begunthem, controlling not only the so-called'natural' frontiers of the Rhine, the Alps,and the Pyrenees, but exercisingconsiderable influence over her satellitestates in the Low Countries, westernGermany, Italy, and Switzerland. Theseachievements, though relatively swiftlyattained, were made only after fighting onan unprecedented scale, in many separatetheaters of war and under very differentgeographical conditions.

When hostilities began in April 1792,France deployed her armies along all herborders. To the north, two officersdistinguished by their previous service in theWar of American Independence, GeneralsRochambeau and Lafayette, with about50,000 men each, held positions extendingfrom the northern coast to the Ardennes. Asomewhat smaller army under GeneralLuckner stood near the Rhine further south.Fifty thousand men under Montesquieu

occupied the border with Piedmont, on thesouth coast. Each of these armies wasunderstrength and suffered from poordiscipline and disorganization.

Fighting began when French forcesinvaded the Austrian Netherlands (modernBelgium), where, at Valenciennes, theRepublicans overcame all resistance in thefirst action of the war. Further south, alongthe Rhine, however, the Austrians andPrussians were aiming directly for Paris itself.The prospect of invasion had a profoundeffect in the French capital, where theNational Assembly decreed that every citizenwas to come forward in defense of theRepublic, while radical politicians movedcloser to deposing the King. On 24 JulyPrussia, together with a number of lesserGerman states, formally joined Austria'scause by declaring war on France.

On 1 August the Allies issued theBrunswick Manifesto, a statement thatproved immensely counter-productive sinceit inadvertently fanned the flames ofrevolutionary fervor in France. While it wasmeant to be an ominous warning ofpunishment which would cow the French, aswell as being a pledge to protect Louis XVI,it played into the hands of Frenchpropagandists who presented it as a direthreat to the nation's existence. If theTuileries were attacked, the BrunswickManifesto said,

if the least violence or outrage he offered to theirMajesties, the king, queen and royal family, iftheir preservation and their liberty be notimmediately provided for, they [the Allies] willexact an exemplary and ever-memorablevengeance, by delivering the city of Paris over toa military execution and to complete ruin, andthe rebels guilty of these outrages to thepunishments they shall have deserved.


Parisians bid farewell to the National Guard, September1792. Scenes like these took place all over France:soldiers leaving for the front kiss their sweethearts andreceive bouquets from enthusiastic ladies lining thestreets while men cheer and raise or throw their hatsinto the air. 'Every citizen should be a soldier proclaimedone revolutionary,'and every soldier should be a citizen.'(Print after Coginet, Roger-Viollet)

Received in Paris on 3 August, it causedwidespread public demonstrations and theimprisonment of the King, who was nowsovereign in name only. The determinationto repel the enemy grew enormouslyand volunteer enlistments rose at anastonishing pace.

Initially the army of the Duke of Brunswickmet little resistance in its August advance onthe French capital. In leisurely fashion hetook the fortresses at Longwy and Verdunbefore proceeding through the Argonneforest. Opposing him was the Army of theCentre under General Francois Kellermann,joined by part of the Army of the Northunder General Charles Dumouriez. Togetherthe Generals could deploy 36,000 menof dubious quality compared to the

34,000 professional troops under Brunswick.At last, on September 20, the two armies metat a position prepared by the French at Valmy.Both sides opened a cannonade until 1 pm,when the Prussian guns fell silent and theirinfantry, arrayed in two lines, marchedforward in attack. Kellermann seized themoment: raising his hat on his sword he cried'Vive la Nation!' and thousands of troopsanswered back in a great surge of patrioticenthusiasm. To the astonishment of theFrench, Brunswick halted his attack andwithdrew - and he did not stop until he hadgone back across the Rhine. Goethe, who waspresent with the allied army, rightly perceivedthe great historical significance of the Frenchvictory, for not only did it save Paris, it savedthe Revolution itself. 'From here and today,'he told his colleagues, 'there begins a newepoch in the history of the world, and youcan say that you were there.'

On the southern front Montesquieu's armyinvaded Piedmont and Savoy, capturing Nicein the process. Dumouriez, for his part, madeprogress in the north. On his approach theAustrians raised the siege of Lille and made

The fighting 27

camp for the winter at Jemappes, just over theBelgian frontier. Now was the time forDumouriez to strike. While Austrian andPrussian attention was diverted by matters inPoland, where the Eastern powers werearranging the second partition of thatunfortunate country, Dumouriez launchedanother, more powerful invasion, this timewith 40,000 men and 100 guns, defeating the13,000 Austrians at Jemappes on 6 November.

The battle was a turning point in the war,for the French followed up by taking Brussels10 days later, and sent a squadron up theScheldt to besiege Antwerp. Significantly, theFrench had now adopted new tactics anddisplayed a thirst for the offensive, of élan,which was to serve them well over the nextseveral years. Meanwhile, on the Rhine front,neither side had gained the upper hand.General Custine took Mainz but penetratedinto Germany only as far as Frankfurt.Nevertheless, by the end of 1792, republicanarmies had preserved the nation and,moreover, sat ominously on the borders ofHolland, while at home the Revolution hadtaken a more radical turn. A new government,the National Convention, came to power andpromptly abolished the monarchy.

This, together with a French declarationon 16 November that opened the ScheldtEstuary to international shipping (in overtviolation of existing treaties whichguaranteed Holland sole control), led Britainto make war preparations. British securityrested on the premise that no great maritimepower held control of the Channel ports.Britain was right to be concerned, forDumouriez planned to invade the DutchRepublic in the spring. In Paris Anglophobiawas growing rapidly, particularly within theNational Assembly.

The so-called 'Edict of Fraternity', issuedon 19 November, gave further alarm inBritain, for it was an open invitation forradicals across Europe - and specificallywithin the small German states of the Holy

Valmy, 20 September 1792. In one of history's mostdecisive battles, the Duke of Brunswick made twohalf-hearted advances against Dumouriez andKellermann before acknowledging his numericalinferiority and declaring:'We shall not strike here.' Frenchmorale soared. The French Revolutionaries have comethrough their baptism of fire,' noted one Prussian officerThey expected more from us. Now we have fallen intheir estimation, but they have risen. We have lost morethan a battle. Our credibility is gone.' (Gamma)


Roman Empire - to overthrow theirgovernments, whether or not thosegovernments were then hostile to France.The French could hardly have produced amore provocative document:

The National Convention declares, in thename of the French nation, that it will grantfraternity and assistance to all peoples who wishto recover their liberty, and instructs theExecutive Power to give the necessary orders tothe generals to grant assistance to these peoplesand to defend those citizens who have been - ormay be - persecuted for their attachment to thecause of liberty.

The critical point came on 21 January1793. The execution of Louis XVI causedoutrage throughout Europe, includingBritain, where the government had alreadybegun discussing military plans withAustrian and Prussian officials. Just 10 dayslater, on 31 January, the National Assemblyformally annexed Belgium, and it declaredwar on Britain and Holland the next day.The power of the Allies' coalition wasenormously increased with the additionalmilitary, naval, and above all financialresources of Britain, who began to use herdiplomatic influence to draw in othermembers. Naples and Portugal soon joinedthe ranks of the Allies, followed by Spain, onwhom France declared war on 7 March. Tothese Sweden and Russia gave theirsympathy, if not their practical support.

The Campaign of 1793France faced a whole host of threats in thespring of 1793: to the south Spain couldmount an attack across the Pyrenees; Austrianand Italian troops were preparing for thespring campaign season near Nice; amultinational army under British commandwas being readied for operations in Flandersin conjunction with Habsburg forces; and theAllies now boasted an army of120,000 men along the Rhine. Thesecombined forces numbered nearly350,000 men, while in France civil andpolitical instability, workers' strikes, and

administrative collapse left the armies of theRepublic lacking in supplies and pay andsuffering from low morale. In theory theynumbered 270,000, but the true figure musthave been considerably lower, and withmorale at its lowest point there was no tellingwhat the next season of campaigning wouldbring. To make matters worse, France hadnow also to contend with the powerful RoyalNavy, which was reckoned by all more than amatch for its French counterpart. With Francealready on the verge of bankruptcy, theprospect of losing her colonies and havingher commerce swept from the seas must haveseemed like a nightmare.

The French duly invaded Holland in themiddle of February, but the Allies weremeanwhile launching their own offensivewith 40,000 Austrians under the Prince ofSaxe-Coburg, who crossed the Meuse toretake Belgium. On the Rhine, Brunswickreturned with 60,000 Prussians to besiegeCustine in Mainz, but neither of their twooperations was vigorously pressed. Indeed,the allied campaign in Flanders stumbledalong without any rush to reach the Frenchfrontier. Adhering to the strategies ofprevious wars, the forces of the coalitioninstead chose to spend the summerconsolidating their ground by laying siege tothe cities of Valenciennes, Condé, and Mainz.

Nevertheless, the French under GeneralFrancisco de Miranda suffered defeat atMaastricht on 6 March, while on the 18th, atNeerwinden, Dumouriez launched eightseparate columns totaling 45,000 menagainst Saxe-Coburg in an attempt to turnhis left. The French columns were defeatedin detail, rapidly putting paid to Frenchplans of swift conquest. The Austrians retookBrussels, and Dumouriez, unwilling to facethe inevitable backlash in Paris where hisJacobin political enemies demanded blood,defected to the enemy on 5 April. Custine,who ultimately replaced him, was defeated atthe besieged city of Valenciennes on21-23 May, and fell victim to the ruthlessCommittee of Public Safety in Paris, themain instrument of the Reign of Terror (asort of revolutionary dictatorship led by

The fighting 29

Maximilien Robespierre). Custine was sent tothe guillotine, setting a chilling precedentfor many other generals who would eitherfail on the battlefield or whose loyalties tothe Republic would come under suspicion.Saxe-Coburg duly followed up his success bytaking Condé on 10 July and Valencienneson the 29th.

While the Terror sought to cleanse Franceof its internal enemies - real and imagined -the nation was in an increasingly dangerousposition, with fighting along the Pyreneesand, from August, serious royalist counter-revolutions under way in the Vendee, Lyon,and Toulon. An Anglo-Spanish fleet underAdmiral Lord Hood appeared off Toulon,disembarked troops for its defense againstrepublican forces, and prepared to burn orcapture the French fleet sitting at anchor.The British were also active to the north,dispatching an Anglo-Hanoverian expeditionunder the Duke of York to Flanders, where itinvested Dunkirk and linked forces with theAustrians to the east. Elsewhere, with lowmorale among both their leaders and men,French forces along the Rhine could nothope to stop the allied advance from the eastthat recaptured Mainz in August. These weredark times indeed for France, a country nowapparently on the point of collapse.

Execution of Louis XVI. His death at the guillotine notonly galvanized existing opposition to the Revolutionfrom abroad, it went far in persuading even many Britishrepublicans that things had gone sour 1 will tell you whatthe French have done.' said William Cowper. 'They havemade me weep for a King of France, which I neverthought to do, and have made me sick of the very nameof liberty, which I never thought to be.' (Roger-Viollet)

Fortunes shifted, however, as a result offaulty allied strategy and wrangling amongthe various governments. The new offensivein Flanders failed to concentrate its forces,dividing them instead between the British,who marched on Dunkirk, and the Austrians,who laid siege to Quesnoy. These forces nowconfronted French armies that were newlyenlarged, well led, and encouraged by thefar-reaching reforms instituted by LazareCarnot, the new War Minister. Later dubbedthe 'Organizer of Victory', Carnot wasinstrumental in formulating the famous leveeen masse, decreed on 23 August, by which theRepublic ordered the conscription of theentire male population. From this moment untilthat in which the enemy shall have been drivenfrom the soil of the Republic, ran one of theRevolution's greatest documents,

all Frenchmen are in permanent requisition forthe service of the armies. The young men


shall go to battle; the married men shall forgearms and transport provisions; the women shallmake tents and clothing and shall serve in thehospitals; the children shall turn old linen intolint; the aged shall betake themselves to thepublic places in order to arouse the courage ofthe warriors and preach the hatred of kings andthe unity of the Republic.

Within a matter of weeks the tirelessCarnot had raised an astonishing14 new armies.

On the very day this call to arms wasissued, Marseilles fell to republican forces.The following two months witnessed a seriesof great battlefield achievements. On8 September the French counter-attacked theDuke of York at Hondschoote, near Dunkirk.The new commander in Flanders, GeneralHouchard, flung his 42,000 men forward in aseries of madcap and uncoordinated assaults.The sheer size of his army gave the Anglo-Hanoverians, though they were bettertrained and more experienced, no choice butto retreat and abandon their siege train.Hondschoote ended the revolutionaryarmies' series of defeats and turned the tidein their favor once again. The French armieswent forward, bent on further victories and

William Pitt addressing the House of Commons, 1793.His early prediction that the Revolution would bringBritain 15 years of peace was entirely misplaced, thoughnot. at the time, inconceivable. After the strategic andideological threat posed by revolutionary France becameclear Pitt became a staunch advocate for war and wasinstrumental in establishing the First and SecondCoalitions, which he backed with only limited, oftenunsuccessful, military expeditions but a significant navaland financial commitment. (Ann Ronan Picture Library)

OPPOSITE Shifting fortunes and policies inevitably meantthat nations entered and left the conflict at differenttimes:1. France At war. April 1792-October 1797: hostilities

continued against Britain and Portugal.2. Austria Against France. April 1792-October 1797.3. Britain Against France. February 1793-March 1802.4. Prussia Against France. June 1792-April 1795.5. Holland Against France. February 1793-1795:

thereafter a French ally as the Batavian Republic.6. Spain Against France. August 1792-July 1795: French

ally against Britain. October 1796-March 1802.7. Portugal Against France. March 1793-1801: against

Spain, France's ally. 1801.

8. Small German states of the Holy RomanEmpire Baden, 1793-96: Bavaria, 1792: Hanover,1792-95: Hessel-Cassel, 1792-95: Hesse-Darmstadt,1792-1799: Saxony, 1792-96: Wurttemberg, 1792-97.

9. Northern and central Italian states Initiated waragainst France or attacked or forcibly occupied by her:Sardinia, 1792-96: Parma, 1796: Genoese Republic,

792: Venetian Republic, 1796.10. Naples Against France, 1793-96.

Belligerent pow

ers in the

first coalition

Th

e fighting 3

1


Lazare Carnot. As War Minister from August 1793 Carnotwas instrumental in establishing a host of fundamentalarmy reforms which contributed greatly to success in thefield, most notably the levée en masse, which swelled theranks of the armies to unprecedented levels. Extremelydiligent and hard-working, Carnot oversaw thereorganization of the infantry at demi-brigade level andthe armies at corps level, improved mobility for theartillery, introduced the use of semaphore and oversawlarge-scale factory production of arms and materiel.(Ann Ronan Picture Library)

further conquests. Only five days laterHouchard crushed the Prince of Orange,whose forces fled in disorder.

Despite these successes, the unfortunateFrench general went to the guillotine forfailing to drive the Austrians out of easternFrance. He was succeeded by GeneralJean-Baptiste Jourdan. Jourdan, accompaniedin the field by Carnot, sought to relieveMaubeuge, which was being besieged by Saxe-Coburg's 30,000 Austrians. The two-day Battleof Wattignies resulted. On 15 October thebetter-trained Austrians held off the attacks of50,000 determined yet less disciplinedRepublican troops. On the following dayJourdan turned his opponent's left flank,

obliging him to raise the siege of Maubeugeand withdraw eastward. Thus, by the end ofautumn, nearly all allied forces had beendriven from northeastern France. Growingnumbers and a determined spirit to prevailwere now bringing success for therevolutionary armies which, beginning withHondschoote, could now maneuver in battlerather than simply charge in headlong assault.

The Republic enjoyed further successes onother fronts. On the Rhine the Alliesretreated to the east side of the river aftertheir reverse at the Geisberg on 26 December.In October Kellermann had driven out thePiedmontese army from the newlyconquered French territory of Savoy.Despite the French defeat at Truillas on22 September, republican forces had held theSpanish front at a time when Spain wasbeginning to lose interest in the war. In themeantime, the civil war within Franceagainst the royalist counter-revolution hadalso turned in the Republic's favor: Lyon wasretaken on 20 October and after bloodyresistance and a campaign of exceptionallybrutal repression, the revolt in the Vendeewas finally subdued.

At sea, although Britain had failed toengage a French fleet, it will be recalled thatshe had sent an expedition to Toulon wherethe royalist populace found itself besieged bya frenzied Republican army. Hood managedto destroy much of the French fleet in theharbor but the Allies wrangled over strategy,the Spanish failed to cooperate as intended,and the expedition failed to stem theRepublican onslaught. The city fell to therevolutionaries' vengeance on 19 December.The government in Paris had decreed thedeath of its citizens as traitors, andthousands, including women and children,were murdered in cold blood.

By coincidence the siege brought tworising stars to the scene of action: the35-year-old Captain Horatio Nelson and the24-year-old Captain Napoleon Bonaparte.As commander of the artillery at Toulon,Bonaparte played a decisive role in therecapture of the city. Once in possession ofthe heights above the harbor he directed the

The fighting 33

bombardment that drove off the allied fleet.Nelson, the diminutive captain of theAgamemnon, also served for a time at Toulon.Supremely self-confident to the point ofarrogance, he relished a good fight andpredicted for himself a great future, boastingto a British diplomat, 'I am, now, only acaptain; but I will, if I live, be at the top ofthe tree.' Elsewhere at sea, while Britain'spolicy of blockade enabled her to concentrateon French trade and colonies, it was soonclear that neither fleet actions nor blockadecould, without greater success on land, bringthe revolutionary government to heel.

The Campaigns of 1794-95By 1794, the reforms introduced by Carnotwere rapidly yielding returns. Conscriptionon an unprecedented scale had raised1.5 million men since the introduction ofthe levee en masse, and the nation now hadin the field 15 armies totaling nearly800,000 men. The armies of the Ardennesand the North, stationed in the northeast,numbered almost 300,000; the armies of theRhine and of the Moselle had 200,000 men;about 120,000 stood along the Pyrenees andthe Italian frontier; and the Army of theInterior had a respectable 85,000 men.Carnot's strategy required that these vastnew armies were to depend on living off theland. Keeping them on foreign soil thusbecame a priority for the Frenchgovernment, which was concerned about thenation's resources being exhausted and aboutthe potential political threat they might posein the hands of a renegade commander.

While the ranks of the revolutionaryarmies had swelled beyond anythingpreviously seen in modern war, alliednumbers and coordination were rapidlydeclining. With only 430,000 men to deployon all fronts, their forces of 180,000 inFlanders and 145,000 on the Rhine were nowfor the first time inferior to the numbersopposing them. Both Austria and Prussiabecame increasingly distracted by affairsin Poland. Russia's intervention in the civilwar there gave them cause for concern.Continued military setbacks and the

Kléber fought successfully in the Vendée in 1793-94 and atthe pivotal battle of Fleurus, but he is most associated withthe campaign in the Middle East, where he became C-in-Cafter Bonaparte's departure. The abortive Convention ofEl Arish failed to deliver his army safe passage homeand despite preserving Cairo by his victory over theTurks at Heliopolis, he was murdered in June 1800.(Ann Ronan Picture Library)

influence of republicanism in the politics ofthe smaller coalition states were causingthem to reconsider their participation in thealliance. Britain meanwhile struggled to keepthe alliance alive through diplomacy andsubsidies. The example of Prussia bestillustrates the lack of cohesion of thealliance: its promise to provide an army ofover 60,000 men for the coming springcampaign was never fulfilled. Austria, for herpart, agreed to cooperate in an offensivethrough Flanders at the same time.

On 6 January 1794, the Duke of Brunswickresigned as commander on the Rhine. Withina fortnight the French had seized his lastposition on the west bank of the river. Neitherside in fact took the offensive and, apart fromthe arrest and imprisonment of GeneralHoche, who criticized this inactivity, nothingof consequence occurred on this front.Instead, the principal events of the season'scampaigning took place in Italy and inFlanders, where the Allies' offensive founderedas soon as it reached the first fortified position.In stark contrast, in April the new commanderof the Army of the North, General


Jean-Charles Pichegru, began a series of strikesat numerous points along the front whichresulted in triumphs at Courtrai on 11 Mayand at Tourcoing on the 18th. The combinedAustrian, Hanoverian, and British force underSaxe-Coburg was thus forced eastwards,leaving the main British contingent under theDuke of York in a vulnerable position aroundTournai. There, on the 23rd, the rival armies ofabout 50,000 men each fought an indecisiveaction before separating.

In June, leading a new combined forceknown as the Army of the Sambre andMeuse (which numbered about 80,000),Jourdan proceeded toward the allied left atthe Sambre and was confronted at Fleurus onthe 26th by Saxe-Coburg, with 52,000 men.The Allies attacked the French andachieved initial success until stopped bycounterattacks led by Kléber and Jourdan.The following day Saxe-Coburg retreated tothe Dutch border, together with York'scontingent, allowing Pichegru and Jourdanto follow up and join forces. The French

Napoleon Bonaparte in 1796. A student of artillery, atToulon in 1793 he rose from captain to brigadier-generalon the strength of his successful plan for recapturing thecity. He went on to perform well in Italy in 1794 but hisdestiny was not truly shaped until he used his cannon tosave the government from an angry mob in 1795. Ingratitude he was appointed C-in-C to the Army of Italy,the post in which he established himself as a greatmilitary commander (Engraving by W. Greatbach.Ann Ronan Picture Library)

Horatio Nelson. Patriotic and brave, yet excessively vain andself-promoting. Nelson fought in numerous sieges, singleship actions, raids, and fleet engagements. His significantcontribution at St. Vincent and his later victories at the Nileand at Copenhagen made him a national icon years beforeTrafalgar By the end of the Revolutionary Wars he hadbeen blinded in his right eye. had lost his right arm toamputation and had suffered a serious injury to his head.(Ann Ronan Picture Library)

retook Brussels on 10 July and enteredAntwerp on the 27th. The Austrians neversubsequently regained control over Belgium.

On the Italian front, advancing Frenchtroops had by May made possible renewedtrade connections with Genoa, while aFrench offensive in November drove theSpanish back across the frontier over theeastern Pyrenees. The French offensive onthe Rhine, concentrated in the VosgesMountains, had meanwhile forced Austrianand Prussian troops to the eastern side.

Further afield, a British expedition to seizeFrench West Indian possessions was dogged bytropical disease and the arrival of enemyreinforcements. Admiral Sir John Jervis tookMartinique, St Lucia, and Guadeloupe in April,but the French managed to recover them all.The Royal Navy did manage to fight onemajor action, known as the Glorious First ofJune, between Lord Howe, with 26 ships-of-

The fighting 35

1. St. Domingo/Hispaniola British attackSt Domingo, 1793; Spanish invade fromHispaniola, 1794; Spanish cede Hispaniola to France,1795; after a long struggle, ex-slaves under nativeleader L'Ouverture force out British and French in1798 and unite island as Haiti, 1801.

2. British Honduras Failed Spanish attack, 1798.3. Curasao Captured by British, 1800.4. Puerto Rico Failed British attack, 1797.5. Dutch Possessions Captured by British, 1801.6. Guadeloupe Captured by British, 1794: recaptured

same year by French, with help from former slaves.7. Martinique Captured by British, 1794; French fail to

recapture, 1795.

8. St. Lucia Captured by British, 1794.French-supported uprising drives British out, 1795;retaken, 1796. 9. St.Vincent French-supporteduprisings drive British out, 1795; retaken, 1796.

10.Grenada French-supported uprisings drive Britishout. 1795; retaken, 1796.

11 .Tobago Captured by British, 1793.12.Trinidad Captured by British, 1797.13.Surinam Captured by British, 1799.14.Demerara, Essequibo and Berbice. Captured by

British, 1796.

the-line, and Admiral Villaret de Joyeuse, with30 vessels. Villaret managed to protect a vitalconvoy of grain bound for France from theUnited States, but lost seven ships and3,500 seamen in the process; the costlystruggle fought over several days culminatedon 1 June. After the action the Frenchreturned to Brest, tactically defeated, but werenonetheless able to claim a strategic victorysince the convoy arrived safely. Britain wasable to blockade all French ports, but found itimpossible to eradicate all trade, much less tomake an impact on the campaigns on land.

In July 1794 a coup brought downRobespierre's government, and with his fallcame an end to the Terror and theestablishment of a new government knownas the Directory. A number of factors explainits rise to power: Robespierre's moremoderate Jacobin colleagues began to suspectthat they would be the next victims of his

Operations in the West Indies


Andre Massena. One of Bonaparte's most competentgenerals, he fought well in Italy in 1794-95 andlater distinguished himself in Bonaparte's Italiancampaigns of 1796-97, particularly at Montenotte,Dego, Mondovi, Codogno, Lodi and Rivoli. Massenanot only held the Swiss front in 1799 but also drovethe Allies back across the Rhine. As C-in-C of theArmy of Italy in 1800 he was forced into Genoa,which he surrendered just before Marengo.(Ann Ronan Picture Library)

dictatorship at a time when extrememethods of political control were growingunnecessary; counter-revolutionarymovements within France had been crushed;Fleurus had ended the immediate threat tothe nation's security; the economic crisisfueled by the weak revolutionary currency,the assignat, was abating; and, finally, foodwas available in greater quantities.

Carnot managed to retain his post at thewar ministry; his continued exertionsincreased the size, morale, and efficiency ofthe revolutionary armies, just as the alliedarmies were declining. Moreover, during theautumn, French successes ensured at leasttemporary security from allied invasion. ByAugust, Jourdan had pushed the Austriansback to the Rhine, while in Holland Pichegruin turn had forced back the Duke of Yorkpast Nijmegen. By the beginning of 1795,Holland fell to French control and Pichegruhad even managed to capture the Dutch fleetin port. In a bizarre and unique feat in

military history, cavalry crossed the frozenTexel and took possession of the ice-boundships on 30 January 1795.

The results of the campaign on this frontwere far-reaching. By the opening months of1795, France had control of Belgium,Holland, and the left bank of the Rhine,leaving the Allies with nothing but thefortresses of Luxembourg and Mainz.Holland became a satellite friendly to France,known as the Batavian Republic. For the firsttime during the Revolutionary Wars Francecould consider invading England, a threatwhich would naturally cause considerableconcern in London and divert importantBritish military and naval resources awayfrom offensive operations and into homedefense over the next 10 years.

During the spring of 1795, after a Frenchinvasion across the Pyrenees and afternumerous failures on other fronts, the alliancebegan to crumble. Tuscany withdrew herunofficial support for the coalition and Prussiapondered formal withdrawal. At thenegotiations held at Basle, Prussian diplomatswere left in no doubt of French determinationto carry on the war. 'Do you wish to wage aperpetual war with Europe?' asked one Frenchdelegate. 'We shall trace with a sure hand thenatural limits of the Republic. We shall makesure of the rivers which, after watering severalof our departments, take their course towardthe sea, and limit the countries now subject toour arms.' Prussia signed a separate peace on5 April, quickly followed by Saxony,Hesse-Cassel, and Hanover. France alsoconcluded treaties with the new BatavianRepublic in May and with Spain in July. Far tothe east, the third and final partition of Polandtook place on 24 October, so demonstratingthe true interests of Prussia, Austria, andRussia, and their lack of unified commitmentto challenge France. Meanwhile, on the Rhinethe autumn campaign had no decisive resultwhile in northern Italy the French GeneralSchérer defeated the Austrians andPiedmontese at Loano in fierce fightingbetween 23 and 25 November.

Four major naval actions took place in 1795.In the Mediterranean Admiral Hotham fought

The fighting 37

French infantry at the opening of the Italian campaign,1796. The generally poor state of their appearance wasnot confined to this theater In Germany one observernoted:'The greater part of their infantry was withoutuniforms, shoes, money, and apparently lacking allorganization, if one were to judge by appearances alone.But each man had his musket, his cartridge box, andcockade of [their] national colours, and all were braveand energetic.' It rested with Bonaparte to instill theselast virtues into his new command.

two inconclusive actions: on 13-14 March inthe Gulf of Genoa, and at Hyères on 13 July,against Admiral Martin's fleet based at Toulon.Cornwallis narrowly escaped capture at thehands of a larger French force off Belle Isle on17 June, while Admiral Bridport capturedseveral enemy vessels in a minor encounteroff Île de Groix on the 23rd. Throughout thistime the Royal Navy continued to implementits slow but effective strategy, particularly inthe Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Caribbean,of preying on the French merchant marineand the Republic's vast force of privateers.Much further afield, in southern Africa, aBritish expeditionary force of 1,800 soldiersand sailors conveyed by Admiral Elphinstonelanded near Cape Town in August and tookpossession of the Dutch colony there on14 September.

The new government, the Directory, hadin the meantime taken power in Paris on22 August. Six weeks later NapoleonBonaparte, now a general, was called to thestreets of Paris to protect the governmentfrom a pro-monarchy uprising which took

place on 5 October. Deploying his cannon,he swept the demonstrators off the streetswith his famous 'whiff of grapeshot'. TheRepublic faced renewed uprisings in theVendee at the end of the year, but the rebelswere finally defeated in November. By thefollowing spring General Hoche had endedvirtually all resistance with the same policyof brutal repression as before. TheRevolution, it seemed, was here to stay.

The Campaigns of 1796-97For the campaign of 1796 the Directoryreplaced Pichegru with General Jean VictorMoreau. In June, he and Jourdan openedoffensives on the Rhine. The AustrianCommander-in-Chief, Archduke Charles,stopped Jourdan's drive, but Moreaumanaged to cross the Austrian rear, forcingCharles to retire across the Danube. This inturn caused the lesser German states ofWürttemburg and Baden, among others, todefect from the coalition. At Amberg on24 August and at Würzburg on 3 September,Charles managed to repel Jourdan's newoffensive, but Moreau's success at Schliengenon 23 October ended the year's fighting onthe Rhine front with no decisive result.

The critical front was not on the Rhine, butin Italy, where in March the ambitious andenergetic Bonaparte was appointed Comm-ander-in-Chief of the republican forces there.Having already made a name for himself atToulon and Paris, the new commander of theArmy of Italy was only 26; he was short, stocky,with shoulder-length, lanky hair, and woulddress in a simple blue uniform. One observerrecalled his forbidding appearance thus:

His gloomy looks made you think of a manyou would not like to meet in a forest after dark.His worn uniform looked so pitiful that I couldnot believe in the beginning that I was talking toa general. But I soon discovered that he was avery intelligent or at least an unusual man ...He sometimes talked a lot and became lively ...and then sank into sinister silence ...

General Andre Massena, on first seeingBonaparte arrive in Italy, found that 'his


short stature and sickly-looking face did notmake a favorable impression on us.' SpeakingFrench with the Italian accent he still retainedfrom his Corsican upbringing, Bonaparteclutched a picture of his new and beautifulwife, Josephine, which he showed toeveryone.

The young general was not impressed bythe motley forces he was sent to command.Ill-fed, ill-clothed, undisciplined, and onlyabout 45,000 strong, they looked more arabble than an army, but he was determinedto fashion them into a fighting force. In anattempt to inspire his men with grand rhetoriche declared: 'Soldiers! You are badly clad andbadly fed. The government owes you muchand can give you nothing ... I wish to leadyou into the most fertile plains in the world.Rich provinces, large towns will be in yourpower. It is up to you to conquer them.' Theodds were at the time very much againstthem; but neither they nor their opponentsknew that this new commander was both astrategist and a tactician of exceptional caliber.

Facing Bonaparte but separated from oneanother by a considerable distance were25,000 Piedmontese under Baron Colli and35,000 Austrians under General Beaulieu.Bonaparte took advantage of this division to

The Battle of Rivoli, 14 January 1797. In one of his greatestvictories of the Revolutionary Wars, Bonaparte not onlyfoiled Alvintzi's attempts to envelop his flanks, but he boldlycounterattacked, driving the Austrians from the field andrelentlessly pursuing them. Three days later Bonaparteannounced that 'The Emperor's fifth army has been entirelydestroyed. We have taken 23.000 prisoners,.. Their flagswere embroidered by the hands of the Empress.' (Printafter H.E.F. Philippoteaux. Ann Ronan Picture Library)

confront each in turn before the Allies couldconcentrate. Moving north, he struck theAustrian right flank at Montenotte on12 April, inflicting 2,500 casualties and thusseparating them and the Piedmontese evenfurther. A few days later Bonaparte followedup his success by attacking again, this timedriving the Austrians out of Dego with theloss of 4,000 prisoners. The Austrians retookit the next day but then Bonaparte oustedthem yet again, forcing Beaulieu to retire onAcqui, to the northeast. Now it was the turnof the Piedmontese, whom Bonaparteconfronted at Mondovi on 21 April. Afterattempting to hold back determined Frenchassaults, Colli's men were finally ejectedfrom the town, with the French close ontheir heels. Two days later Colli agreed to anarmistice and by 28 April Piedmont hadeffectively been knocked out of the war.

The fighting 39

Bonaparte now proceeded towards the Po,which he crossed at Piacenza on 7-8 May,taking the Austrians by surprise andthreatening their line of communicationswith the great fortress-city of Mantua.Leaving Milan and Pavia behind him as heretreated eastwards, Beaulieu fought an epicaction at Lodi, where his rearguardattempted to stop the French from crossing abridge over the Adda. Bonaparte personallyled a bayonet assault across the bridge,driving off the defenders and in the processmaking himself a hero among the Frenchrank and file. With the Austrians retreatingtowards the Tyrol, Bonaparte made atriumphal entry into Milan on 15 May. Heaccepted the Austrian surrender of thecitadel itself at the end of June. On 21 MayPiedmont concluded a peace with France, bywhich the latter received Nice and Savoy andthe right to occupy Piedmont's fortresses.Bonaparte's achievements thus far werenothing short of magnificent: in under threeweeks he had bested two armies in turn andhad ejected the Austrians from all ofLombardy, with the exception of Mantua. Tohis soldiers he issued yet another of his epicproclamations:

Soldiers, in fifteen days you have gained sixvictories, taken twenty-one flags, fifty-five cannonand several strongholds ... You haw won battleswithout cannons, crossed rivers without bridges,you have made forced inarches without shoes,bivouacked without brandy and often withoutbread. Only soldiers of liberty were capable ofundergoing all that you have undergone.

And for Bonaparte personally, the victory atLodi boosted his self-confidence andconvinced him that he was set on the roadto glory. After Lodi, he would remark laterduring his exile on St Helena, 'the first sparkof high ambition was kindled.'

But there was still much to do. On30 May Bonaparte crossed the Mincio Riverwith 28,000 men and penetrated Beaulieu'sdefenses, manned by 19,000 men, atBorghetto. Beaulieu retreated in haste acrossthe Adige, making for the Tyrol, leaving only

Mantua, with its garrison of 13,000Austrians, free of French control. Bonaparteduly invested the place on 4 June, while newHabsburg forces were rapidly being rushed tothe theater of operations from the Tyrol.Under General Quasdanovich came 18,000troops making for French communicationsaround Brescia. General Würmser,meanwhile, was moving through the valleyof the Adige with 24,000 men, in order torelieve Mantua, and a further 5,000 troopswere advancing through the Brenta Valley.

Bonaparte had to act quickly anddecisively. He withdrew his troops from thesiege operations against Mantua andconcentrated all available forces, about47,000 in total, against Quasdanovich nearLake Garda. This left Würmser free toreinforce Mantua, but Bonaparte was makinga calculated risk: he could always resume thesiege later once his opponents in the fieldhad been vanquished. Quasdanovichfoolishly divided his forces into threecolumns and before he could join forces withWürmser, Bonaparte struck at Lonato on3 August, capturing one and defeating theother two columns in detail. Now free to takeon Würmser, Bonaparte employed his wholeforce at Castiglione on 5 August, assaultingboth Austrian flanks and their rear in amagnificent victory which forced Würmser toretreat across the Mincio and make for thesafety of the Tyrol. Once again Bonaparte hademployed a masterful strategy, firstinterposing himself between separate enemycontingents before concentrating against, anddefeating, each in turn.

Resuming his siege of Mantua and movingon Trent, Bonaparte caught up with Würmserafter a series of forced marches in whichFrench troops covered 30 miles (50 km) inunder two days. At Bassano, on 8 September,Bonaparte assailed both enemy flanks andcaptured an entire Austrian division beforeWürmser managed to extricate himself. Onreaching Mantua with the remnants of hisforce, Würmser penetrated the siege lines andentered the beleaguered city, bringing thegarrison up to 28,000. The Austrians nowsought to relieve the city for the third time,


sending General Davidovich with 16,000 mendown the Adige, while General Alvintzi, with27,000 men, proceeded with a plan of joiningDavidovich at Verona. Detaching forces tokeep Davidovich in check, Bonaparte sent18,000 men against Alvintzi's advance guardat Caldiero on 12 November. While theFrench withdrew in the face of superiornumbers, their determination made Alvintzithink twice about proceeding toward Mantua.

Bonaparte continued to hammerrelentlessly at the Austrians, striking againonly three days later. Having gone aroundAlvintzi to the south, he crossed the Adige,turned north and attacked at Arcola on the15th, attempting a repeat of his previous featat Lodi by leading his infantry across thebridge over the Alpone. Yet he did notsucceed: repeated assaults were repulsed withheavy losses. On the third day of the battle,however, a combination of factors finallybrought him victory. Augereau effected acrossing over a trestle bridge, Massena againattacked across the main bridge, while at thesame time behind the Austrian rear a smallforce of French cavalry blew trumpets andfeigned an attack. Alarmed at the possibilityof enemy encirclement, the Austrians fledand the wearied French yet again carried theday; this was largely to the credit ofBonaparte's able subordinates.

The year's campaigning had taken a heavytoll on both sides. During the winter of1796-97 the French and Austrians conductednegotiations for peace. The French sufferedfrom a lack of resources while the Austrianschafed at continued setbacks in the field.These talks ultimately failed, largely becauseAustria believed that she could still achievesuccess with yet another offensive in northernItaly. It ended in complete disaster. At thetwo-day Battle of Rivoli on 14-15 January1797, the French, whose forces fluctuated insize between 10,000 and 20,000 men, won adecisive victory against about equal numbers.The French took about 11,000 prisoners andinflicted 3,000 casualties at the cost of about5,000 of their own. In the aftermath of Rivoli,Mantua, desperately clinging on against adetermined French siege, now stood as

Austria's last bastion of defense of her Italianpossessions. With his supplies reaching acritical stage, Würmser offered to negotiateconditions for surrender. The victor, however,was in no mood to offer terms and brushedaside an envoy's claims that Würmser was stillwell supplied and prepared to hold out ifnecessary. On 1 February Bonaparte scoffed atthe charade: 'If he [Würmser] had only afortnight's provisions and spoke ofsurrendering, he would not deserve anhonorable capitulation. Since he sends you, itis because he is reduced to extremity ... If hedelays a fortnight, a month, two months, hewill still have the same conditions ...' The citysurrendered the following day.

French victory at Rivoli, the surrender ofMantua, and the subsequent invasion ofAustria itself left the Habsburgs unable tooffer further resistance. Bonaparte wrote tothe Austrian Commander-in-Chief, ArchdukeCharles, hoping to provide him with anhonorable means of coming to terms: 'Hasthis war not lasted six years? Have we notkilled men enough, and inflicted uponhumanity woes enough?' On 17 April, at lastaware of their hopeless situation, theHabsburgs agreed to preliminary terms ofpeace at Leoben. The extent of their militaryimpotence was clear; when the Austriansoffered to recognize the French Republic,Bonaparte, with the supreme arrogance of theall-conquering hero, offered a stinging reply:'The Republic does not require to berecognized, it is the sun at noonday; so muchthe worse for those who will not see it.'

Exactly six months after agreement wasreached at Leoben, more definitivearrangements were made at Campo Formio.The terms were harsher, however, andprompted the Austrians to threaten to renewthe fighting. 'Well, the truce is then broken,and the war declared,' Bonaparte replied, 'butremember that before the end of autumn Ishall have crushed your monarchy like thisporcelain.' The following day, 17 October1797, the Austrians signed the treaty,whose principal terms required them toacknowledge French control of Belgium andrecognize the Cisalpine Republic, a satellite

The fighting 41

state established in northern Italy constructedfrom Milan, Modena, the western third of theVenetian Republic, and the northern quarterof the Papal States. In turn, Austria receivedthe Venetian Republic, except for the IonianIslands, including Corfu, which went toFrance. Campo Formio did more than seeFrance victorious over the First Coalition; itput France in firm possession of the left bankof the Rhine - a position last achieved nearly1,000 years before under the reigns ofCharlemagne and his immediate successors.

If France was victorious on land, at leastfor the moment her plans to invade Britainhad been frustrated when a Spanish fleet,bound for Brest in order to unite with theFrench, was discovered and engaged byAdmiral Jervis off Cape St Vincent on14 February 1797. With only 15 ships to theSpaniards' 27, Jervis sailed between the twoenemy divisions before closing for the attack.Nelson, perceiving that the Spanish wouldotherwise unite their forces before Jervis'smaneuvers could stop them, broke from theline and blocked the progress of the Spanish

Battle of St Vincent 14 February 1797. Although theSpanish, with 27 ships-of-the-line carrying 2,308 guns,heavily outnumbered the British, with 15 ships carrying1,232 guns, the crews of the former were largelylandsmen and soldiers with little or no training inseamanship or gunnery. Jervis's victory, which includedthe capture of four vessels, was almost inevitable,yet it might have been far more complete had hepursued four other vessels disabled in the fight(Ann Ronan Picture Library)

van, in the process of which his ship becameentangled with the rigging of the 80-gun SanNicolas. Seizing the moment, Nelson boardedand took her; he then used her deck to boardthe 112-gun San Josef, which stood alongside.He related the final result after the battle:

... if was not long before I was on thequarter-deck, when the Spanish captain, with abended knee, presented me his sword, and toldme the admiral was dying with his woundsbelow. I gave him my hand, and desired him tocall to his officers and ship's company that theship had surrendered, which he did; and on thequarterdeck of a Spanish first-rate, extravagantas the story may seem, did I receive the swordsof the vanquished Spaniards ...

All was not well in the Royal Navy,however, for between April and June seriousmutinies occurred aboard the fleets at Spitheadand the Nore, largely the result ofdiscontentment over bad food, low pay,infrequent leave, and the cruel conduct ofsome of the captains. The mutiny at Spitheadended on 15 May with the friendlyintervention of Lord Howe and Parliament'srapid passage of a new bill promising reforms.The mutiny at the Nore, which occurred on12 May and ended on 15 June, was moreviolent and revolutionary in nature. Yet oncethe government discovered that the ringleaderdid not enjoy the total support of the crews, itoffered a pardon to most of the men, fatallyundermining the leadership behind the


Nelson, sword in hand, boarding the San Josef at theBattle of Cape St. Vincent A good impression of the sortof fierce close-quarter fighting which ensued when rivalcrews met face-to-face. Amongst the British party maybe seen soldiers of the 69th Foot, whom Nelson praisedfor the 'alacrity which will ever do them credit(Painting by George Jones, National Maritime Museum)

rebellion. A large number of arrests and morethan two dozen executions followed.

The War of the SecondCoalition, 1798-1802

The Campaigns in Egypt and Syria,1798-1801The collapse of the First Coalition did notaffect the ongoing Anglo-French conflict,which continued to be fought at sea and inthe West Indies. Fighting was not restrictedto the high seas for long, for with theinvasion of Britain postponed indefinitely,France now looked elsewhere to strike at herancient foe. She looked very far afield,indeed: Egypt. Egypt was a self-governingprovince of the Ottoman Empire, withwhom France was at peace, but itsannexation could offer an overland route to

India, Britain's most valuable colony. Theconquest of Egypt would not only addadditional laurels to those won by Bonapartein Italy, but also would offer potential wealthto France by way of trade.

On 19 May 1798 the Army of Egypt sailedfrom Toulon, encouraged in Bonaparte'scustomary fashion: 'Soldiers! The eyes ofEurope are upon you. You have greatdestinies to fulfil ... you will do more thanyou have yet done for the prosperity of your

OPPOSITE Campo Formio marked nothing less than aradical shift in the European balance of power After onlyfive years of fighting France now received formal Hapsburgrecognition of her annexation of Belgium, as well as of hercontrol over the left bank of the Rhine. Since 1792 Francehad also conquered Holland and northern Italy, thusestablishing her 'natural' frontiers: the Rhine, the Pyreneesand the Alps. A myriad of client and dependent statesserved as buffer zones, which included Switzerland. IfCampo Formio owed much to the military successes ofthe early revolutionary armies, it owed much more toBonaparte's achievements during the campaigns of1796-97. These not only established his militaryreputation, but signaled the period of his political rise, forby 1797 he had forced his government to grant him thepower to conclude treaties. Major geographical changessince 1792 were not confined to the west: in the east.Poland had vanished with the partitions of 1793 and 1795.

Europe in 1797

Th

e fig

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Bonaparte in Egypt, 1798. In characteristic style heproclaimed himself the liberator of the oppressed.'Peoples of Egypt' he declared, 'you will be told that Ihave come to destroy your religion; do not believe it!Answer that I have come to restore your rights andpunish the usurpers, and that, more than the Mamelukes.I respect God, his Prophet and the Koran.' (Engravingafter the painting by Gros. Anne S. K. Brown MilitaryCollection. Brown University Library)

country, the welfare of mankind and yourown glory.' The fleet carried 35,000 menaboard 400 transports, escorted by fourfrigates and 13 ships-of-the-line commandedby Admiral Brueys. The expedition alsoincluded a contingent of scientists, artists,and writers who were to study the country'stopography, relics, geography, and history.Difficulties quickly arose. 'Even for officersand civilians, things were becoming a littlerough,' Baron Denon wrote, recallingconditions aboard the fleet. There washardly any livestock left to supply their tablewith fresh meat. There was no more fuel toheat our fetid water. The useful animals weredisappearing while those which were eatingus multiplied a hundred-fold.'

With France and Turkey at peace and thedestination of the expedition a secret, the

Ottoman Empire was in no position to defenda possession which, in any event, was scarcelyunder its own control. A force from the RoyalNavy was sent to intercept the French. TheFirst Lord of the Admiralty wrote to AdmiralJervis, the victor of Cape St Vincent,explaining the importance of appointing theright man to command the force:

When you are apprized that the appearanceof a British Squadron in the Mediterranean is acondition on which the fate of Europe may atthis moment be stated to depend, you will not besurprised that we are disposed to strain everynerve, and incur considerable hazard ineffecting it.

The task was entrusted to Vice-AdmiralHoratio Nelson who, beginning in May,cruised the Mediterranean with 14 ships-of-the-line and seven frigates in search of theToulon fleet and Bonaparte's army. In themeantime, on 12 June French forces tookpossession of Malta, which was ruled by theKnights of St John, an ancient order datingback to the Crusades.

Having successfully eluded Nelson's fleet,and with Malta secure behind him,Bonaparte landed near Marabout on 1 July.He immediately seized Alexandria andadvanced on Cairo by land and river. Theheat began to take its toll and on reachingthe Nile the soldiers made a wild dash for itand flung themselves in, sometimes fullydressed and equipped. Some bathed forhours and many others, so desperate toquench their thirst, drank so much waterthat they died in the process. 'The soldiersare accusing the generals of the incrediblesufferings through which they have goneever since they left the ships,' one soldierrecalled. 'They are crying, they keep askingwhat wrongs they have done to be sent intothe desert to perish in this way.'

The 25,000 French met serious oppositionon 21 July in the shape of 21,000 Mamelukesand Turkish infantry who materialized out ofthe desert and engaged them in a clash ofmodern versus ancient warriors known as theBattle of the Pyramids. A mass of exotically

The fighting 45

dressed horsemen faced the great squares ofFrench infantry, deployed in a mutuallysupporting checkered formation. Desvernoisremembered the scene in all its splendor:

... before us were the beautiful Arabianhorses, richly harnessed, neighing, snorting,prancing ... their martial riders covered withsplendid arms, inlaid with precious metals andstones. They wore very colourful costumes, egretfeathers on the turbans, some wore gilded helmets.They were armed with spears, sabres, lances,battle axes and daggers and each wore three pairsof pistols. Their sight, in its novelty and richness,left a vivid impression on our soldiers. From nowon, their thoughts dwelt on booty.

The great tide of horsemen chargedrepeatedly, only to be shot down bydisciplined volleys just as they reached thewaiting French infantry. 'The number ofbodies around our square grew rapidly,'remembered Vertray, 'the clothes of thewounded and dead Mamelukes burnt liketinder.' After losing a quarter of their force,the Mamelukes rode off, unable to stopBonaparte's inexorable advance.

The following day the French enteredCairo, but they had hardly settled in whenNelson arrived in Aboukir Bay on 1 August

and discovered the French fleet lying atanchor. Nelson soon realized that he couldmaneuver some of his ships to the landwardside of the French vessels, whose decks werecrowded with stocks of supplies in theexpectation that any attack would beconfined to seaward. Action began in thelate afternoon with an attack on Bruey's vanand center, which was slowly pulverized byconverging fire. By early evening Bruey hadalready received two wounds and at about8 pm, while leaving the poop for the quarterdeck, was struck again. The round shotnearly cut him in two, but he refused to betaken below, exclaiming that a Frenchadmiral must die on his quarter deck. He wasnot the only French officer to die heroically.The captain of the Tonnant, Dupetit Thouars,had both legs and an arm shot off. Heordered his men to place him in a tub of

The French flagship L'Orient explodes during the Battleof the Nile. In the age of sail fire posed the greatestthreat to vessels constructed principally of wood, ropeand canvas and carrying large amounts of gunpowderNevertheless, ships were remarkably resilient anddestruction by conflagration or explosion was unusual,as was sinking. Vessels stricken by excessive damage tohull or rigging or by losses to their crews usually limpedaway or surrendered. (Painting by George Arnald.National Maritime Museum)


bran, from which he continued to commandhis ship until he died.

Around 9 pm, well after sunset, a firebroke out aboard the French flagship,L'Orient, which soon spread out of controlbefore finally reaching the magazine.Captain Berry, commanding the Vanguard,watched the inevitable result with wonder:

The cannonading was partially kept up toleeward of the centre till about ten o'clock, whenL'Orient blew up with a most tremendousexplosion. An awful pause and deathlike silencefor about three minutes ensued, when the wreckof the masts, yards, etc. which had been carriedto a vast height, fell down into the water, and onboard the surrounding ships.

The battle had far-reaching effects. By theearly hours of the following morning theFrench fleet had been annihilated.

The Battle of the Pyramids, 21 July 1798. Bonaparte andhis staff, together with dragoons and supply-laden camels,take shelter inside a divisional square. Note the 'colours'or flags borne by the various 'demi-brigades' orregiments. Although flags and standards often identifiedan army's respective units by the addition of paintedor embroidered devices, their principal purpose wasto instil ésprit de corps and bolster morale. (Painting byGeneral Lejeune. Ann Ronan Picture Library)

Bonaparte's army was left stranded in Egyptwithout a regular source of supplies orreinforcements from Europe. The Royal Navyhad re-established its presence in theMediterranean. More importantly, Nelson'svictory contributed to the formation of anew, second coalition by encouraging theparticipation of Russia, who viewed theFrench occupation of Malta and Egypt as athreat to her naval and commercial interestsin the Mediterranean.

Seeking further glory and hoping to bringthe Ottoman government to terms,Bonaparte meanwhile planned to shiftoperations to Syria. His campaign waspostponed by an uprising in Cairo, and thenecessity of leaving sufficient troops in Egyptto maintain order, together with dwindlingnumbers through disease, left him only13,000 men and 52 guns with which toconduct the new campaign. The advancebegan on 10 February 1799. Moving alongthe coast, he took El Arish on the 19th andGaza, in the then Turkish province of Syria,about a fortnight later. Yet even greaterresistance was offered by the Turks at Jaffa,where they put up a spirited fight for threedays before capitulating on 7 March, leaving2,500 Ottoman prisoners in French hands.Nearly half of these were found to be on

The fighting 47

The French fleet lay anchored in Aboukir Bay.1. 6.30: Goliath passes lead French vessel and anchors

opposite Conquérant; other vessels follow on landwardside, including Audacious, which pierces the line.

2. Nelson, aboard Vanguard, together with other ships,engages French to seaward: all British ships anchor andfighting commences.

3. 6.45: Sunset: leading five ships of French van strugglingagainst eight British vessels: French center resists moresteadily, but rear remains unengaged.

4. 9.30: Peuple Sovereign drifts off, crippled: Leanderreplaces her to rake Franklin and L'Orient.

5. 10.00: L'Orient, ablaze since 8.00, explodes.6. 11.15: Franklin and. after 12.00, Tonnant, surrender: van

out of action by midnight.7. Before dawn: ships of French rear cut their cables and

drift south: British ships opposite French van follow inorder to engage fresh opponents.

8. Firing continues through the night until about 6 am;surviving French vessels run themselves aground.

The Battle of the Nile


Mamelukes and a Bedouin foot soldier The Mamelukeswere a fearless and fearsome elite cavalry force datingback to the 13th century. Heavily armed with pistols,carbine and lance, a warrior galloped at the enemy withhis reigns in his teeth, discharged his firearms and threwhis lance before finally slashing with his scimitar. Althoughbrilliant horsemen, the Mamelukes possessed nounderstanding of modern cavalry tactics apart from thecharge. (Engraving by Walsh, National Army Museum)

parole, having been previously captured inEgypt. Bonaparte reacted swiftly andruthlessly. Unable to support these prisonersin the midst of a campaign beset by plague,lack of supplies, and exhaustion, andangered by Turkish violations of the rules ofwar, he summarily ordered their execution.

Having left behind hundreds of his sicktroops in Jaffa, where the plague had

devastated the garrison, Bonaparte pushedon for Acre, nearly 160 miles (250 km)further north. Meanwhile, the sick listsmounted. 'The eye disease is truly a horribleplague,' complained Desaix. 'It has deprivedme of 1,400 men. In my last marches, I havedragged with me about a hundred of thesewretches who were totally blind.' At last, inmid-March, they reached the city and laidsiege to the place, easily seeing off at MountTabor on 16 April an Ottoman army that hadbeen sent to the relief of Acre. The siegebecame a costly failure and Bonaparte couldgo no further. When intelligence reachedhim that a Turkish force, under British navalescort, was destined from Rhodes to Egypt,he raised the siege and began the long, hardretreat back to Cairo with only about

The fighting 49

7,000 men - half his original force.Bourrienne recalled this ghastly affair: 'I sawwith my own eyes officers who had limbsamputated being thrown out of their litters[by their attendants] ... amputated men,wounded men, plague-stricken men, beingabandoned in the fields.'

When Bonaparte finally reached Cairo inearly June he found 20,000 Turks underMustafa Pasha waiting to disembark fromBritish ships. Rather than marching on thecapital Mustafa took the fortress at Aboukiron 15 July and prepared defensive works inexpectation of French attack. Bonaparte dulyappeared 10 days later and, defeating theTurks on open ground, accepted thesurrender of the fortress on 2 August.

While negotiating the release of Turkishprisoners into British protection, Bonapartelearned of the first French defeats on theContinent at the hands of the forces of theSecond Coalition. It was time to returnhome. Immediately abandoning the Army ofEgypt to its fate under Kléber, he made forFrance by frigate on 24 August. He eludedRoyal Navy patrols and landed at Fréjus on9 October, hailed as a victor, his reputationnot only intact but enhanced.

Kléber had been ordered to continue theoccupation and resist Turkish and British

General Abercromby; wounded at Alexandria, 21 March1801. Having landed at Aboukir Bay a fortnight earlier inthe face of determined French resistance, Abercrombyadvanced on Alexandria where he was attacked byMenou on the night of the 20th-21 st. After confusedand savage fighting lasting until dawn the Frenchwithdrew, having suffered 3,000 casualties to the British1,400. Abercromby died a few days later of a gunshotwound to his thigh. (Ann Ronan Picture Library)

efforts to dislodge him, but he recognized hisvulnerability and soon opened negotiations.He received generous terms: by theConvention of El Arish, agreed on21 January 1800, the Turks granted himleave to evacuate his troops back to Franceon British warships. But Kléber was to bebitterly disappointed: Admiral Sir SidneySmith, who had signed the agreement, hadhad no authorization from the Britishgovernment to conclude such terms, andwhen London refused to ratify theconvention Kléber went on the offensive inthe hopes of improving his negotiatingposition. On 20 March, he defeated the Turksat Heliopolis, thus preserving Cairo inFrench hands, but this did not alter theunpleasant fact that he and his dwindlingarmy still remained marooned in Egypt.

It was, however, to be Kléber's last success,for a religious fanatic assassinated him with a


Turkish infantry and cavalry. Ottoman forces whichopposed the French were generally of dubious qualityand proved no match against a modern, well-disciplinedEuropean force. The Janissaries, originally composed ofboys drawn from the Ottoman provinces in the Balkans,were exceptional, having been specially trained to fightsince childhood. Turkish troops were raised by localpashas who had to meet specific quotas and arm andequip their men at personal expense. (Engraving byWalsh. Ann Ronan Picture Library)

knife on 14 June, after which commanddevolved on General Menou, who, alone ofthe French generals, had converted to theMuslim faith during the campaign. Britishefforts to drive the French from Egypt wereintensified when General Ralph Abercromby,with 15,000 men, made an amphibiouslanding near Alexandria in March 1801. There,on the 21st, the French were driven back andAbercromby was killed. By the end of August,Menou was obliged to capitulate onremarkably similar terms to those reached atEl Arish, with French troops to return homeaboard British vessels. Looking back on thecampaign, General Marmont summed it upaccurately: 'All chances were against, not asingle one was in our favour. With a lightheart we walked into almost certain doom.

OPPOSITE1. France Technically speaking, the new coalition began

with the Anglo-Russian alliance in December 1798, butFrance was still at war with Britain and had alreadyopened hostilities with Turkey by invading Egypt in June.

2. Britain Against France since February 1793.3. Austria Against France, June 1799-February 1801.4. Russia Against France. December 1798-1801; troops

withdrawn. 1799.5. Ottoman Empire June 1798-1802.6. Batavian Republic French ally since 1795.7. Naples Against France November 1798-March 1801.8. Spain French ally since 1796. Invaded Portugal. 1801.9. Portugal Against France since 1793 until 1801.10. Small German states of the Holy Roman

Empire Nearly all neutral, except Bavaria, acting underpressure from Austria. 1799-1801 and brieflyWurttemberg and Hesse-Darmstadt.

11. Northern and Central Italian States All Frenchpuppet régimes except neutral Parma and hostile Tuscany.

12. Malta Opposed French occupation, June1798-September 1800.

13.Switzerland French puppet state from 1798.

Archduke Charles of Austria. Brother of the EmperorFrancis, he contributed to victory at Neerwinden but laterfailed at Wattignies and Fleurus. He nevertheless possesseda sound grasp of tactics and organization and won victoriesduring the Rhine campaign in 1796. During operations inItaly in 1797 he managed to save his army where otherAustrian commanders failed, making him the only seniorgeneral to retain a respectable reputation at war's end. In1799. he stopped the French offensive over the Rhine andpushed Massena back from Zurich during operations inSwitzerland. (Ann Ronan Picture Library)

Belligerent pow

ers in the second coalition

The

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51


One must admit, it was an insane gamble, andeven its success would not have justified it.'

Operations in Europe, 1799-1801While Bonaparte was occupied in Egypt in1798, the Great Powers were engaged indiplomatic efforts to raise a new coalition.Austria wanted revenge on the French for theterms of Campo Formio. While Britain was stillat war with France there remained a frameworkaround which to build resistance against Franceonce again. The new alliance contained Britain,Russia, Austria, Naples, Portugal, and a host oflesser German states. This was an impressivearray of power, but the coalition's plans did notrecognize the strategic importance ofSwitzerland as an avenue of invasion intoFrance, relying instead on separate offensives inunconnected regions including Italy, southernGermany, and Holland.

Field Marshal Alexander Suvorov. Russia's most ablesenior commander, he achieved victories during thecampaign of 1799 at Cassano, the Trebbia. and Novilargely through the use of unimaginative yet determinedbayonet attacks, a tactic he had successfully employed inthe wars against the Turks. In his book. How to Win,Suvorov instructed his men to 'Fire sparingly, but fireaccurately. Thrust home forcefully with the bayonet.A bullet can go astray, but the bayonet doesn't.'(Roger-Viollet)

The Directory, like the alliedgovernments, had its own ambitious plansfor the coming campaign. These involvedoffensive operations in Naples underMacdonald, in northern Italy conducted bySchérer, and in Switzerland led by Massena,and Jourdan, together with Bernadotte, onthe east side of the Rhine. General Brune,with 25,000 men, was to defend Hollandagainst expected Anglo-Russian amphibiousoperations. Every French army wasconsiderably understrength and nonepossessed the high level of morale socharacteristic of the Army of Italy underBonaparte in 1796-97. Under these adversecircumstances, and with Bonaparte far off inEgypt, France faced a challenge that wouldprove difficult to overcome.

The campaign opened when French forcesattacked and quickly occupied the mainlandpossessions of the Kingdom of Naples in early1799, establishing another satellite stateknown as the Parthenopean Republic. On themain Italian front, Schérer failed to captureVerona before the Austrian troops could unitewith the Russians, who were marching westunder Field Marshal Alexander Suvorov, aveteran of the various wars fought againstPoland and Turkey since the 1760s. In themiddle of April General Moreau replaced

The fighting 53

Schérer, while at about the same time Suvorovarrived and began a campaign which drovethe French toward Genoa and beat anotherarmy under Macdonald at the River Trebbia.Along the Rhine, Jourdan got no further thanStockach by the end of March and by thesummer fighting focused on Switzerland, withthe Austrians led by their able Commander-in-Chief, Archduke Charles. Massena had by thenmade initial progress in Switzerland, but hewas obliged to give ground when Jourdan wasdriven back. Nevertheless, in June he was ableto stop Charles's advance near Zurich.

In the summer of 1799, the French militarysituation was bleak. More Russians wereheaded west and the Allies enjoyed asubstantial overall numerical superiority.General Gouvian Saint Cyr, the commander ofthe French army in Rome, complained that

the greatest enemies... were neither theAustrians, nor the Russians, nor the bands ofPiedmontese brigands. It was the scarcity ofmoney, of provisions, of clothing ... and often ofammunition. Never had an army been soforsaken by the government, and never had onesuffered more privations.

Both August offensives - at Novi in Italyand at Mannheim on the Rhine - failed, andit seemed that at least one allied army would

Flushed with victory, the elite Consular Guard - theforerunners of Napoleon's Imperial Guard - pursue thebroken Austrian rearguard at Marengo. 'We drove themdown to the bridge over the Bormida, using our sabresall the way,' wrote Eugène de Beauharnais, Bonaparte'sstepson, and a captain in the Chasseurs à cheval. Themêlée lasted for ten minutes and I was lucky to suffernothing worse than two sabre cuts on my shabraque[saddle blanket].' (Roger-Viollet)

break through into France itself. In short, bythe summer of 1799 the Directory had lostmost of northern Italy, and with the defeatand death of Joubert at Novi on 15 Augustall of Bonaparte's gains in 1796-97 had beenreversed.

It is ironic that the changes in alliedstrategy instigated by Austria andimplemented in early September saved Francefrom almost certain ruin. The Russianpresence near the Rhine and northern Italybegan to concern Austria, who wished torestrict her partner's influence in regionswhere she felt Habsburg interests wereparamount. Because Archduke Charles hadbeen shifted from Switzerland to the Rhine,Suvorov and his new reinforcements had nooption but to remain near Zurich to faceMassena, who had recently been strengthenedby the arrival of his own reinforcements.

Meanwhile, an Austrian army underGeneral Michael Melas was to move against


Marengo, 14 June 1800. Unexpectedly opposed by superiornumbers. Bonaparte struggled as Melas enveloped his rightflank, pressed his center to the point of collapse and drovethe French back for several miles. Convinced that the daywas won. Melas then marched off while Bonaparte ralliedhis men and summoned reinforcements. With moralerestored and fresh troops at hand, Bonapartecounterattacked, striking the front of the Austrian advanceguard and hitting the flank of the main body, causing a rout.Half the Austrian force became casualties or prisoners. (TheArt Archive/Musee de Versailles/Dagli Orti)

Provence from northern Italy, and an Anglo-Russian expedition was preparing to land inNorth Holland. In late August Suvorov wasordered to threaten Massena's right flank, butthe Russians' problems with supply and thenecessity of fighting their way into positiongave Massena time to defeat allied forces for asecond time at Zurich on 25-26 September.Finally, in October, the tide turned against theAllies: Switzerland was cleared of Austrian andRussian troops and, after a series of defeatsculminating at Bergen, the Anglo-Russian forcein North Holland was ignominiously obligedto evacuate.

Severely disappointed by these setbacksand jealous of Britain's capture andoccupation of Malta, Tsar Paul left thecoalition in December. By this timeBonaparte had arrived back in France andhad seized power (the coup of Brumaire) inParis on 9-10 November, establishing a newgovernment known as the Consulate, withhimself as its principal, or First, Consul.

French and Allied diplomats conductedpeace negotiations during the winter of1799-1800, but no agreement wasforthcoming and the belligerents preparedto renew fighting in the spring.

Two Austrian armies gave immediateconcern to the French. On the Rhine, FieldMarshal Paul Kray had 140,000 men; innorthern Italy, Melas commanded over100,000. Bonaparte instituted a host of newarmy reforms, organizing his forces into corps,levying new troops, and establishing a ReserveArmy of 50,000 men, based at Dijon.Although it appears that he intended to carryhis army into Germany when the springcampaign season began, this plan dependedon the support of Moreau who, asCommander-in-Chief on the Rhine, couldmarch through Switzerland and threaten Krayfrom the rear. Moreau demurred, however,preferring instead to confront the Austrians ina more orthodox offensive against their front.Bonaparte's revised plan was to strike theAustrians in Italy, beginning at the end ofMarch, but this scheme also had to be shelvedwhen the Austrians, under Melas, opened theirown Italian offensive in early April.

Melas's campaign opened successfully untilhe foolishly halted, thinking that Genoa wasabout to fall to his forces, instead ofproceeding directly into France itself.Grasping this unexpected opportunity,Bonaparte pushed the Reserve Army throughthe Great St Bernhard Pass and over the Alps.

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Bonaparte crossing the Alps. May 1800. Tens of thousands of soldiers of the Army of Reserve braved the bittercold, snowfall and the risk of avalanche in an attempt to reach Italy before the Austrians could take Genoa.Moving through the Great St Bernard and several other passes. French troops descended into the Lombardplain. On learning of Bonaparte's arrival in Italy, Melas proceeded from Nice and shortly after gave battle atMarengo on 14 June. (Painting by Jacques-Louis David, Roger-Viollet)


It was an effort of epic proportions,reminiscent of Hannibal's exploit 20 centuriesbefore. One senior French officer recalled: 'Wewere all proceeding along the goat paths, menand horses, one by one. The artillery wasdismounted, also the guns, and put intohollowed-out tree trunks which were drawnon ropes ... After we reached the summit, wesat down on the snow and slid downward.'This remarkable achievement enabledBonaparte to position himself across theenemy rear and the decisive encounter tookplace at Marengo on 14 June. The day did notbegin well for Bonaparte. 'Yes, the battle islost,' General Desaix declared defiantly, 'but itis only three o'clock. There is still time to winanother one.' And indeed there was.

While the Austrians ineptly pursued theretreating French, Bonaparte reorganized histroops. When reinforcements arrived, helaunched a determined counterattack againstthe enemy's disorganized columns. WhenKellermann charged with his cavalry againstan exposed flank the Austrians disintegratedinto a rout, and what might have been aserious French defeat was converted into oneof Bonaparte's most famous victories. The costwas, nevertheless, high: the French suffered7,000 casualties to the Austrians' 6,000, butBonaparte took 8,000 prisoners and 40 guns.

Two days after Marengo, Bonaparte andMelas arranged a truce with Bonaparteclearly holding the upper hand. 'Sir,' hedeclared to Melas's envoy,

my conditions are irrevocable ... Your position isas well known to me as to yourself. You are inAlessandria, encumbered with the dead, thewounded and the sick, and destitute ofprovisions; you have lost the elite of your army.You are surrounded on all sides. I could exacteverything, but I only demand of you what thesituation of affairs imperatively requires ...

Appreciating their dire situation, theAustrians surrendered all fortresses west ofthe Mincio and south of the Po, but it wasby no means a definitive end to the war.Bonaparte therefore appealed directly to theEmperor Francis:

OH the battlefield of Marengo, surrounded bythe sufferers and in the midst of 15,000 deadbodies, I implore your Majesty to hear the cry ofhumanity, and not to allow the offspring of twobrave and powerful nations to slaughter oneanother for the sake of interests of which theyknow nothing.

The truce held, but Austria refused to ruleout further recourse to arms.

British diplomacy now decided the issue.When Pitt extended further subsidies tosupport Habsburg resistance, hostilitiesresumed in late November. While Bonaparteremained in Paris in order to managepolitical matters, he ordered Moreau to movedirectly on Vienna, supported by Brunealong the Adige and Macdonald in the Alps.The final land battle of the RevolutionaryWars was about to be played out.

At sea, Britain faced a new threat from anunlikely source. Angered by Britain's maritimedominance, Tsar Paul, together with Denmark,Sweden, and Prussia, agreed in December 1800to establish the League of Armed Neutrality.The League would cooperate to prevent Britishwarships from searching or seizing commercialvessels with cargoes the Royal Navy classifiedas contraband goods. This posed a directchallenge to Britain's Maritime Code andthreatened her important Baltic trade. InMarch 1801, the new government underHenry Addington swiftly dispatched AdmiralSir Hyde Parker, with 26 ships-of-the-line, tothe Baltic to negotiate with Denmark andSweden in the hopes of detaching them fromtheir obligations to the League. The last greatnaval encounter of the war was soon to befought by Parker's celebrated second-in-command, the hero of the Nile, HoratioNelson.

Orthodox Warfare

How did the armies of the FrenchRevolutionary Wars fight and were theydifferent from their predecessors? In simpleterms, all European armies, except the French,fought according to carefully established

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patterns set earlier in the century which theycontinued to follow in the 1790s. Eighteenth-century armies were the property of theirautocratic rulers. They were paid professionals- clothed, disciplined, and trained by the stateand as such employed at the discretion of themonarch when and where occasion demandedit. European armies were instalments of royalpower: what the king did with his army washis business at a time when the concept of the'nation' had yet to emerge.

Armies were divided into three arms:infantry, cavalry, and artillery. The bulk ofarmies consisted of the infantry, which for thewhole of the 18th century had fought withsmoothbore, flintlock muskets, which could befitted with a socket bayonet. Thus armed, thefoot soldier could, after following a strictsequence of evolutions, deliver one or tworounds a minute while deployed in carefullydressed ranks, three men deep. Linear tacticswere the order of the day and little emphasiswas placed on complex maneuvers, thoughinfantry were trained to deploy in column andsquare as circumstances required. Skirmishingand light infantry tactics, which had beendeveloped in the Seven Years' War and theconflicts in North America, became moreevident on European battlefields after 1800.

Infantry tactics demanded a high level oftraining and discipline, as it was no easymatter to maintain control over largebodies of men who were not only expectedto deploy from column to line, but tomaintain impeccable formation, receive andgive fire, and advance with the bayonet.This system not only discouraged individualinitiative, it deliberately reduced theinfantryman to an automaton whose solefunction was to execute the orders of hisNCOs and officers without question andwith maximum efficiency. Cavalry largelyplayed the role of shock troops, chargingwith saber or lance against an enemyweakened beforehand by musket andartillery fire. Until the French RevolutionaryWars artillery was used ratherunimaginatively; having placed his gunsalong the line as he saw fit, a commanderseldom attempted to maneuver them in the

course of the fighting in order to coordinatehis efforts with those of the other two arms.

Such armies were excessively expensive tofeed, equip, and train, and so commanderswere loathe to sacrifice them to the dangersof battle unless absolutely obliged to do so.Saxon military doctrine in the mid-18thcentury stated this plainly: 'A battle is atonce the most important and mostdangerous operation of war ... A greatgeneral shows his mastery by attaining theobject of his campaign by sagacious and suremaneuvers, without incurring any risk.' It isnot surprising that 18th-century warfare wasthus characterized by its focus on siegeoperations. Fortresses that surrenderedspared both sides the massive casualties thatresulted from pitched battles where longlines of infantry blazed away at each otherwith less than 100 yards between them.

All 18th-century armies relied heavily ontheir supply trains and fixed magazines.Hundreds of wagons and supply vehiclesfollowed the armies, together with thousandsof officers' attendants, camp followers, andother noncombatant service personnel,making the progress of armies slow andcumbersome. Supply and communicationdepended on securing fortresses andmagazines, which in turn limited thegeographical scope of operations and dictatedthe speed at which they could be conducted.

Revolutionary Warfare

The new form of warfare introduced duringthe 1790s called all of this into question. Thefact that the armies of the ancien regimefailed to adapt to the changes goes far inexplaining their consistent failures. What,then, had changed? There were no greattechnological innovations at this time, soimproved weaponry is not the explanation.Apart from limited use of semaphore and theobservation balloon, nothing substantiallynew emerged in this period. First, there wasthe intangible element of motivation: 'Youcan hope for victory not just because of thenumbers and the discipline of our soldiers;


you will win it only through the progress therepublican spirit will make in the armedforces.' So declared the revolutionary leaderSt Just in February 1793. But was it this spiritthat ultimately led to victory? To an extentthat is impossible to measure, it was.Motivation cannot, of course, be quantified,but there is no denying that many men wentoff to the front with the courage of theirconvictions that the cause of the Revolutionwas just and honorable and therefore worthyof supreme effort on the battlefield.

Naturally the authorities encouraged thisfeeling in every way, distributing thousandsof propaganda leaflets to the troops, andencouraging them with patriotic speechesabout their duty to the people as well as tothe nation. Singing and music played a part.Captain Vernay remembered an incident onthe eve of the Battle of the Pyramids:

At sunrise, military music suddenly burstupon us. The supreme commander had orderedthe Marseillaise to be played, knowing its effecton the soldiers. This marvelous song incites thesoldiers' courage, inflames their patriotism andmakes them realize that the time for complaintshas passed and that their job is to be victorious.

Yet motivation alone cannot explain Frenchsuccess, for although the elan of French troops

remained fairly consistent, French armies weredefeated from time to time.

Numerical superiority certainly played anessential - and perhaps the most essential -role in French success. An examination ofthe numbers employed by both sides in thegreat battles of the war, particularly in thecrucial early period, reveals that only whenthe French enjoyed a clear numericaladvantage were they victorious. After theintroduction of the levee en masse in August1793, French numerical superiority was moreor less assured on at least one front andoften on others as well. Deficient recordsmake it impossible to determine exactly howlarge the armies of republican France were,but it is a fact that the levee en masse createdthe largest fighting force ever seen inEuropean history up to that time. For theopening of the decisive campaign of 1794France probably fielded about 800,000 men -

A Représentant en Mission addressing French troops.During the Terror (1793-94), political commissarsmonitored the loyalty of soldiers at the front andinculcated in them the virtues of the Revolution throughmusic, reading material, and speeches. Wielding absolutepower and employing a network of spies, they couldorder the arrest and even death of anyone theysuspected of disloyalty or even sloth. 1 know neitherGenerals nor special powers,' one declared. 'I alonecommand here and I shall be obeyed.' (Roger-Viollet)

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a truly staggering figure when one comparesthis to the armies of her opponents, whonumbered only slightly over half as many.

Contrary to popular belief, the militarydoctrines and philosophies that underpinnedthe new forms of warfare unleashed by theFrench Revolutionary Wars were not newand cannot, therefore, be calledrevolutionary. Nevertheless, it was theFrench who made the best and mostimaginative use of these principles and theiradversaries were fatally slow to catch on.Even as the French Revolution was alteringforever the political face of France - andsoon much of Europe - a process of militaryrevolution was already under way. The twomovements coincided and it was the Frenchwho reaped the benefits, partly fromnecessity and partly from the fact that somany of these new ideas originated in theminds of French military theorists of theancien regime. This was partly a consequenceof the military disasters of the Seven Years'

French artillery in action, 1792. As the artillery containedthe smallest proportion of aristocrats in the early yearsof the Revolution this arm suffered least from the massexodus and resignation of former royal army officers andmen which so weakened the infantry and, to a muchgreater extent, the cavalry. Indeed, the regular artillery ofthe old army was responsible for the victory at Valmyand the consequent preservation of revolutionaryFrance. (Print after H. Lecomte, Roger- Viollet)

War, where French martial decline wasshockingly exposed for all to see.

The collapse of discipline and consistentlypoor battlefield performances inspired mensuch as the Comte de Gribeauval (1715-89)to institute fundamental reforms in severalimportant ways. Gribeauval, an experiencedartillery officer, brought significantimprovements to this arm of service bystandardizing the caliber of field pieces, byintroducing the idea of interchangeableparts, and by enhancing the accuracy of fireand improving mobility in the field. TheFrench ultimately became masters of the use


of artillery and a great part of their successmust be attributed to the influence ofNapoleon Bonaparte, who was himselftrained as a gunner. Hereafter warfare wouldnever be the same, and over time artillerywould gradually hold a formidable place onevery European battlefield.

While Gribeauval undertook reform of theartillery arm, the great French foreignminister and later minister for war, Choiseul,persuaded Marshal de Broglie, thencommanding forces in Germany in 1759, toadopt new forms of troop formationsdesigned to provide greater speed andmobility. By dividing his army into smallerunits, or 'divisions', and by providing eachdivision with its own complement of lightinfantry acting as a screen for the formedunits, Broglie permitted divisionalcommanders in the field a degree ofinitiative and flexibility hitherto unknown.At the same time the division renderedcolumns of troops more manageable andeasier to deploy into line on the approach ofthe enemy. Divisions could also moverelatively independently of one another and,being sufficiently numerous in troops of allthree arms, were capable of fighting anadversary on its own for a limited time oruntil another division appeared to assist it.

The French and, above all, Bonaparte,used these new techniques to excellent effectduring the Revolutionary Wars, particularlyfrom 1796, when the divisional system wasintroduced throughout the French army.Although the permanent use of army corpswas not introduced until 1804, Moreau wasthe first to adopt this formation in thecampaign of 1800 when, on finding controland administration of the 11 divisions of theArmy of the Rhine rather cumbersome, heorganized them into four corps.

After Choiseul, Saint German introducedfurther reforms that raised the standard ofprofessionalism in the officer corps andimproved discipline. In the late 1780s, theComte de Guibert trimmed the army of itsenormously inefficient and expensive officercorps, particularly top-heavy with generals.Thus, by the eve of the Revolutionary Wars,

the far-reaching innovations and reforms ofthe previous generation had become firmlyfixed and it only remained for them to betested in the next contest. When that nextcontest came in the form of theRevolutionary Wars, the French, unlike theiradversaries, introduced radical changes intheir leadership. Within the officer corps, theTerror saw to it - by nothing less than theliberal use of the guillotine - that the armywas purged of suspected royalists, 'traitors',and those supposedly lacking the will toattack the enemy. Speaking of the generals of1793, one Convention delegate declared that

the majority of the leaders were, if not ready tobetray the Republic, at least but little disposed tomake the great sacrifices for that form ofgovernment. Few generals had sprung from theranks of the people, and there was no doubt that acertain number of them regretted [the end of] theconstitutional monarchy under which they thoughtthemselves destined to the highest offices ...

Charges were made in an atmosphere offrenzied excitement in Paris and many aloyal and well-meaning general lost his headto the madness that swept the capital in thewake of defeat. On his condemnation as atraitor in July 1793, General Custine couldonly declare, hopeless yet defiant: 'I have nomore defenders; they have disappeared. Myconscience charges nothing against me. I diecalm and innocent.' It is a chilling fact thatmore French generals met their deaths bythis means than were killed in combat.Whereas 80 generals fell in action during the1790s, 84 died at the hands of therevolutionaries in 1793-94 alone.

Although the French were the clear leadersin military reform, other armies, includingthose of Austria, Britain, and Russia, madevarious reforms of their own in the generationpreceding the French Revolutionary Wars. TheAustrians had introduced the use of lighttroops during their mid-century wars withPrussia. The infantry, often dressed in green asa rudimentary form of camouflage, screenedthe front of infantry columns and sniped atthe enemy, often from cover. Light cavalry was

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used for reconnaissance, raids, and for foraysagainst enemy flanks and supply lines. TheBritish, too, introduced new light infantryformations, such as the 60th Foot, based ontheir unfortunate experiences in the woods ofNorth America. Later, during the FrenchRevolutionary Wars themselves, Sir JohnMoore (of later Peninsular War fame), wouldmake great strides in light infantry training.Yet it was the French who made maximum useof such troops, screening their formed bodieswith skirmishers to their front - nimble, quick,independently minded soldiers who harassedthe enemy with individually aimed fire whichenabled friendly columns and lines to advanceunder at least a limited form of cover. Precisely

French infantry (left) routing Hungarian infantry atThionville, October 1792. Reliance on the bayonetwas a fundamental military precept of the earlyrevolutionary armies. As General Hoche put it,'no manoeuvring, nothing elaborate, just coldsteel, passion and patriotism.' (After H. Lecomte,Roger-Viollet)

at a time when other armies were deployingmany fewer light troops - in more linearformations and in more limited roles - theFrench were expanding both their role andnumbers and employing light troops as anintegral part of their ordinary line regiments.

Yet it was the French who mademaximum use of an existing infantryformation - the column. Soldiers deployed incolumn were densely packed, ensuring betterdiscipline, more unit cohesion, and betterprotection from cavalry than when formedin line. Whereas the line consisted of mendeployed side by side in companies onlythree ranks deep, the column generallymaintained a front of just one or twocompanies. The remainder was positionedimmediately behind, giving a depth of12 ranks to a battalion of eight companieswith a two-company front. The greatMarshal de Saxe, victor of Fontenoy in 1745,had experimented with this formation foruse in assault, but it was the French


revolutionaries who brought it into themainstream of battlefield tactics. The columnwas the most effective means of harnessingthe power of the large numbers of rawrecruits that the levee en masse produced.Even if there had been time available to trainsuch men to fight in carefully deployedlines, the natural independence of the new'free' citizen militated against the oldmethods of strict and often brutal disciplinenecessary to achieve such precision.

By thus arranging men in depth,revolutionary generals could utilize theshock power of massed infantry as neverbefore. A column could be deployed andmaneuvered with greater flexibility than anypreviously used formation, while at the sametime it brought force of numbers to bearagainst the narrow depth of an enemy line.Columns could march, redeploy for attack,change into line or square and detachskirmishers with relative ease - preciselywhat was needed in armies composed ofuntrained conscripts with no experience offiring a musket or marching in step. Theindependence of skirmishing suited some ofthe men defending freedom, but for the bulkof them, herded together in great massesthat relied on the power of the bayonet, the

attack column was the ideal formation.Many a republican general could attribute atleast part of his victory to his reliance on,and regular employment of, this formation.

Thus, over time, the French armies learnedto employ flexible tactics according to theterrain and circumstances of the battlefield.While their weapons were no better thantheir adversaries', they made excellent use ofattacking columns - making a virtue ofnecessity by employing their enormousnumbers in the form of great phalanxes ofbayonets pushed forward against an enemywhose thin lines consistently broke under theweight of sheer numbers.

Crucially, the French were far lessencumbered by the enormous supply trains oftheir ancien regime counterparts. 'The Romansare supposed to have marched twenty-fourmiles in a day,' Bonaparte proudly observed in1797. 'Our half-brigades, however, aremarching thirty miles, and during the rest

A British baggage-wagon, bearing not only the personaleffects of the soldiers, but their wives and children aswell. Such vehicles and noncombatants considerablyencumbered allied armies on the march, giving theFrench, who traveled lighter and depended moreheavily on the land, a distinct advantage in mobility.(Print after W. H. Pyne)

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periods they fight.' While the armies of theAllies trundled along, their movementsseverely restricted by dependence on their vastcolumns of supply wagons, the French reliedon the resources around them. As Carl vonClauswitz, the great military theorist, wouldlater observe in his classic work On War:

The French Revolutionary leaders cared littlefor depots and even less for devising a complicatedmechanism that would keep all sections of thetransport system running like clockwork. Theysent their soldiers into the field and drove theirgenerals into battle - feeding, reinforcing andstimulating their armies by having them procure,steal, and loot everything they needed.

Often troops were billeted on the localpopulation, who had no choice but to feedthem. Bonaparte in particular devoted agreat deal of attention to logistical planning,supplementing the practice of living off theland by providing adequate stocks of foodand supplies at advanced depots.

Finally, Bonaparte brought not only dashand charisma to his leadership qualities, butalso a firm grasp of simple strategic principles.'With few exceptions, the most numerous

French light cavalry in action. These troopers carried acurved saber used for slashing while their heaviercounterparts wielded a straight, broader sword used forthrusting. With a few exceptions French cavalry during theRevolutionary Wars performed indifferently, but wouldcome into its own under the Empire (1804-14). (Edimedia)

army can be sure of victory,' he observed in1797. 'Therefore, the art of war consists ofbeing superior wherever you want to attack. Ifyour army is smaller than that of your enemy,do not allow him the time to unite his forces.'He understood that victory lay in strikingone's opponent at its critically weak pointwith superior forces. If that meant drawingforces away from other objectives, so be it. Thevictorious commander could return tosecondary tasks having first confronted andbeaten the enemy's main army.

Weapons, Equipment,and Uniforms

Soldiers of the 18th century were elaboratelyuniformed and equipped, making battle notsimply a contest of arms, but an impressivespectacle of color and sartorial extravagance.At the start of the wars the French armies


Austrian infantryman in the uniform worn during the Warof the First Coalition. German regiments wore whitetunics with collars and cuffs of distinguishing regimentalcolors. Hungarian units wore the same tunic but withdistinctive sky-blue trousers. Note also the canteen andshort sword worn on the left hip and ammunition pouchon the right. (Print after R. von Ottenfeld)

wore a mixture of styles: the old regular unitscontinued to wear the white of the ancienregime with colored facings and an old-fashioned helmet; newly raised units worethe dark blue of the Garde National and thebicorn hat. In 1793, all French infantry beganto wear blue coats with red facings and whitelapels, though shortage of supplies preventedtotal uniformity. To describe the variedappearances of the armies of this period isimpossible, but, like France, most European

armies had long since adopted a basic colorscheme to clothe their infantry, with somevariations in the cavalry and artillery: scarletfor Britain; white for Austria; dark green forRussia; and dark blue for Prussia.

Brightly colored uniforms would appear onthe face of it entirely ill-suited to battle, yetthey attracted recruits and, above all, served animportant tactical purpose: on fields coveredby the thick smoke produced by firearms andcannon using black powder, colorful uniformsserved not only to distinguish one friendlyregiment from another but, more importantly,friend from foe. They served also to maintainhigh morale and to impress the opposingforces with tall helmets and otherwise ornateheaddress. In this regard armies were clothedattractively if often impractically, sacrificingcomfort and function for sheer decoration.This was most apparent among senior officerswho, other than the British, frequently woreuniforms of exceptional decoration, completewith silver or gold lace and plumed hats. Thisnaturally made them easy targets formarksmen and many a general was unsaddledwhile leading his troops in full finery.

On campaign a soldier's uniform's naturalwear and the shortage of replacementmaterials inevitably altered his appearance.Few troops on campaign resembled those onthe parade ground back home. Indeed, inbattle, the distinctions in uniform sometimesbecame confused by the common practice ofwearing cloth or oilskin covers over helmetswhich, together with greatcoats and otheritems of campaign dress, rendered themdifficult to identify at a distance. Mostinfantry wore their hair in a powdered pigtail,known as a 'queue', whose original purposewas to prevent long hair from impeding aman's vision. This was usually greased withcandle wax, tightly twisted and tied withleather. The men were generally clean-shaven,though officers often sported moustaches. Thestate of hygiene was poor and lice abounded.

The infantryman, whatever hisnationality, carried a considerable burden oncampaign, generally consisting of a goat orcalfskin leather knapsack, a leather cartridge-box, a bayonet or short saber, a canteen,

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British 'Brown Bess' musket (top) and French Charlevillemusket (bottom). Muskets fired a simple lead ballweighing approximately an ounce which had to berammed down the barrel after its charge in an elaborateprocedure which required extensive drill to performefficiently. To compensate for the weapon's pooraccuracy, infantry were deployed shoulder to shoulder inorder to concentrate their fire at opponents whose facescould often be clearly seen.

rolled greatcoat or blanket, and often a mess-tin and haversack. All this had to be firmlyheld in place by cross-belts and straps,balanced so as to allow the soldier to carryhis 60-odd pounds - including his musket,ammunition, and rations - over greatdistances on the march. The infantryman'sblanket or greatcoat was often rolled andworn diagonally across his body to protectagainst the slash of a cavalry saber or thethrust of a bayonet. If he had a particulartrade, such as a cobbler or smith, he mightalso carry the tools of that trade. Europeansof the time were, of course, somewhatsmaller than they are today, and even whenone considers that the Russians were knownfor their large stature, the weight carried by-soldiers of this period was considerable.

Boots were a fundamentally importantpart of a soldier's kit. The cliche that armiesmarch on their stomachs should not allow usto forget that, whatever the importance ofprovisions, without proper footwear thesoldier endured great hardship. Indeed, heoften carried a spare pair of shoes or boots inhis knapsack. There were, nevertheless,frequent cases in the early years of Frenchinfantry marching barefooted, which slowedthe rate of march and caused not a little

discomfort to the wretched soldier. Needlessto say a man soon learned what personaleffects he could do without. Officers were notexpected to carry such impedimenta: theirequipment, apart from arms, was usuallyconveyed by wagon. The rate at whichequipment was replaced naturally varied witheach army and its location, but soldiersproved resourceful and could make up forsome of their deficiencies by robbing thedead after a battle and by purchasing itemsfrom camp-followers or the local populace.

All nations organized their cavalryaccording to its specific function. Heavycavalry required large, powerful horses for theimportant task of the mounted charge. Thelight cavalry employed smaller, quickermounts for scouting, reconnaissance, andother duties, in addition to combat. Losses oncampaign could be replaced by locallyacquired remounts either purchased,requisitioned, or captured. The cavalry troopercarried his own equipment and that for thecare of his horse, such as grooming brushesand nose-bags, packed in a valise behind thesaddle. In addition to his saber, which hungat his side in a scabbard, the cavalrymanusually carried a pistol or carbine.

Units of heavy cavalry in several armieswore a cuirass, a metal plate that protectedthe breast and sometimes the back as well.Body armor could not stop a musket ball,except at extreme range, but it could offerprotection against saber cuts and thrusts andadded an element of romantic appeal withits associations with the bygone days ofchivalry. Helmets were usually made ofleather, but even metal headgear seldom


offered protection against the determinedstroke of the saber. Horses, of course,required fodder, a fact that posed difficultiesfor the commissariat departments of everyarmy. Daily consumption amounted to atleast 10 pounds of hay, oats, barley, or othergrain, but on campaign horses were oftenobliged to forage on whatever was availablein the fields and forests.

As previously mentioned, the smooth-bore musket served as the infantryman'sbasic weapon, together with a socketbayonet, while the cavalry relied chiefly onthe saber. The injuries these caused wereoften horrific and if the victim did notsuccumb to a gunshot or sword wound, hewas very likely to die from infection. Medicalknowledge was rudimentary at best, therewas little concept of hygiene, and there wereno anesthetics beyond alcohol. Bullets wereeither extracted with instruments or thesurgeon's fingers; if there was damage to alimb, amputation was inevitable. Theaccount of a British soldier of the NapoleonicWars only a few years later provides aglimpse of this dreadful, though sometimesindispensable, procedure:

They [the surgeons] were stripped to theirshirts and bloody. Curiosity led me forward; anumber of doors, placed on barrels, served astemporary tables, and on these lay the differentsubjects upon whom the surgeons wereoperating; to the right and left were arms andlegs, flung here and there, without distinction,and the ground was dyed with blood ... Dr. Bellwas going to take off the thigh of a soldier ofthe 50th, and he requested 1 would hold downthe man for him ... The operation ... was themost shocking sight I ever witnessed; it lastednearly half an hour, but his life was saved ...Outside of this place was an immense pit toreceive the dead from the general hospital,which was close by. Twelve or fifteen bodieswere flung in at a time, and covered with alayer of earth, and so on, in succession, untilthe pit was filled. Flocks of vultures alreadybegan to hover over this spot.

The weapons, equipment and personaleffects of the dead sometimes fell to thecivilian looters who often scoured the fieldafter the action, or into the hands ofcomrades or enemy soldiers, depending onwho held possession of the field.

Portrait of a sailor

A midshipman in the RoyalNavy: William Henry Dillon

William Henry Dillon was born in August1780, the illegitimate son of a middle-classfamily of Irish descent. His mother died inhis infancy and his father, not wishingWilliam to join a profession, sent him intothe navy in 1790 at the age of 10. WhenBritain entered the French RevolutionaryWars in 1793 he already had three years'experience at sea, having served aboard HMSSaturn, a 74-gun ship-of-the-line. He was stillonly 13, but a midshipman nonetheless,now aboard the frigate Thetis.

Dillon's wartime experiences wereexceptionally wide. He served on convoy andblockade duty; he was involved in the searchof neutral vessels for war contraband; hevisited practically every West Indian islandunder British, and many others under enemy,control. He witnessed mutinous behavior,punishments aboard ship, and men growingsick from tropical disease. He fought in twomajor and many minor naval engagements,was wounded in battle, was injured severaltimes in the ordinary course of duty, and fellill from fatigue and disease. He had first-handexperience of capturing enemy ships and, likeall his contemporaries, eagerly sought theprize-money that these represented.

Dillon's memories of his campaigns mayhave gained a little luster with the benefit ofhindsight, but in general they provide afascinating insight into life at sea during theFrench Revolutionary Wars. Among thecountless anecdotes that fill his memoirs Dillonvividly recalls the rite of passage through whichall seaman crossing the 'Equinoctial line', orEquator, underwent. There was the obligatoryappearance of Neptune and his 'myrmidons',who put the uninitiated through a series ofunpleasant dunkings, the whole episodeenlivened with music and drink. The accountDillon gives of a seaman's life aboard ship is ofa hard, often monotonous existence and, apart

Sir William Henry Dillon (1780-1857) at the age of 72.one year before he reached the rank of Vice-Admiral ofthe Red. He spent six decades on active service in theRoyal Navy, in the course of which time he produced awealth of letters which eventually became the basis forhis memoirs. (Lithograph by Bauginet, NationalMaritime Museum)

from the strenuous task of working therigging and navigation, men passed countlesshours with nothing to see on the horizonand the prospect of weeks at sea with onlysuch entertainment as they could devise forthemselves: cards, singing, dancing,carving, drinking.

The rigors of long years at sea often tooktheir toll on a man's health. In the first yearof the war Dillon lived for several months onsalt meat without so much as a piece of fruit.T was obliged to be very careful in my diet,as symptoms of the scurvy had begun toshow itself in my legs,' he recalled manyyears later. Living conditions on board wereat best basic and sometimes barely tolerable.For some months black ants infested his


ship, attacking anything edible before theyfinally sprouted wings and disappearedwithout a trace. The cockroaches, lice, rats,and other vermin remained on board.

Some months later Dillon was transferredto the Defence, a 74-gun ship-of-the-line,under Captain Gambier, who received Dillonwell and promised him that 'if you attend toyour duty, you will find a friend in me.'Patronage was all-important in the navy, andthroughout his career Dillon always kept thisin mind. In September 1793, the Defencejoined the Channel Fleet under Lord Howe,the navy's most distinguished admiral, whohad made his reputation in the War ofAmerican Independence. Discipline, hardwork, attention to duty, and a strict code ofmorality were the order of the day aboardthe Defence, whose seamen privately referredto their captain as 'Preaching Jemmy'. Dillonrecalled how Gambier

evinced a determination to enforce his religiousprinciples on board the ship under his command.He had prayers in his cabin twice a day,morning and evening. I was obliged to attendevery morning ... As I had no Bible, he obligedme to provide myself with one, and he did notfail to examine as well my book of prayers, atthe same time asking many questions uponreligious subjects.

Of the 25 ships-of-the-line in Howe's fleetin the spring of 1794, the Defence was thefirst vessel involved in the first major navalengagement of the wars known as the Battleof the Glorious First of June. Dillon, stillonly 14 at the time, commanded three of thelower deck guns. Initial contact with theFrench was made on 29 May and onreceiving the signal to chase the crew greweager for the opportunity to come to gripswith the enemy: 'No one thought ofanything else than to exert himself to hisutmost ability in overcoming the enemy,'Dillon recalled. 'Death or Victory wasevidently the prevailing feeling.' Shots sooncame flying over the quarter deck, killingone man and wounding nine. The captainwas nearly hit, but after recovering his

Naval punishment. Captains in the Royal Navy frequentlymade use of flogging in answer to drunkenness,insubordination, or laziness. The offender was secured byhis wrists and thighs to a grating and given a specifiednumber of lashes ranging from a dozen to several hundred.The cat-o'-nine-tails, wielded by a boatswain's mate, quicklyreduced a seaman's bare back to a bloody pulp. (Print byGeorge Cruikshank, Ann Ronan Picture Library)

composure after a shot whistled past him hecalmly removed a piece of biscuit from hispocket and began to eat it. 'He had evidentlybeen shook by the wind of the shot. He hadon a cocked hat, and kept walking the deck,cheering up the seamen with the greatestcoolness.' But as casualties mounted, so toodid damage to the ship, and just as thewounded were being taken below and thefirst fatalities thrown overboard, 'a volley ofshot assailed the Poop, cut away the mainbrace, and made sad havoc there.'

Dillon witnessed with shock the death of aseaman in action. 'It was a most trying scene.A splinter struck him in the crown of thehead, and when he fell the blood and brainscame out, flowing over the deck.' But this wasjust the beginning; two days later the mainaction took place. At dawn the rival fleets wereshrouded in heavy mist, but as the sungradually broke through, visibility was restoredand the great, floating engines of war, theircanvas sails billowing in the wind, offered animpressive spectacle to the opposing crews.'The weather became fine, and we enjoyed

Portrait of a sailor 69

The lower deck relaxing in harbor As men were liable todesert if given shore leave, some captains turned a blindeye to Admiralty regulations and allowed women tocome aboard. Dillon's captain took a stricter view: Thefirst act was to ascertain whether all women on boardwere married. All their certificates were demanded ...those that had not contrived to manufacture a few. Thismeasure created a very unpleasant feeling amongst thetars.' (National Maritime Museum)

one of the most splendid sights ever witnessed- the two Fleets close to each other in line ofbattle, only waiting for the signal tocommence the work of destruction

Howe's ships slowly closed on the French,and when the enemy was 10 miles off toleeward Dillon was roused from a briefslumber and summoned to his station on thelower deck. Up went the colors and the gunports; his crews rammed home powder andshot, ran out the guns and impatientlyawaited the signal to issue the firstbroadside. 'We retained our fire till in the actof passing under the Frenchman's stern,then, throwing all our topsails aback, luffedup [put the bow to windward] and poured ina most destructive broadside. We heard mostdistinctly our shot striking the hull of theenemy. The carved work over his stern wasshattered to pieces.'

As the battle raged with increasingferocity the toll began to mount. Dillonwitnessed one of the crew killed by a shotthat cut his head in two. At 10.30 themizzen mast came down and the Defencebegan to drift to leeward. An hour later themain mast collapsed across the starboard sideof the poop deck with a tremendous crash,and all the while, on the lower deck, whereDillon continued to shout commands abovethe din of roaring cannon, smoke billowedeverywhere from the fire of the guns, makingit almost impossible to see. The crews keptup the pace of fire so rapidly that the gunsbegan to overheat and on recoiling theynearly struck the upper deck beams.The risk of the guns bursting became so greatthat Dillon ordered the crews to use lesspowder and lengthen the intervalsbetween discharges.

Naval ordnance. In addition to the standard projectile -round shot - guns fired several versions of chain shot,which when leaving the barrel expanded in order to shredsails and cut and tangle rigging. Heated shot were used toset ships on fire, while grapeshot proved ideal foranti-personnel purposes, especially repelling boardersor sweeping the enemy's decks. Except at very close rangeonly round shot possessed the power to penetrate thethick planking of a ship's hull. (Angus Konstam)

round shotbar shotexpandingchain shot


Battle of the Glorious First of June, 1794. While Dillonwas involved in his own drama aboard the Defence, at thesame time an event of an altogether different nature wastaking place aboard the Tremendous, another 74. where aMrs. McKenzie was giving birth in the midst of thefighting. Fifty-four years later Daniel Tremendous McKenziewas awarded the Naval General Service Medal, with aclasp inscribed '1st June 1794'. He is almost certainly theonly man ever to have received a decoration for servicesrendered as a new-born. (Roger-Viollet)

After over an hour and a half of furiousactivity the men were growing weary. Oftenstripped to the waist, wide-eyed withexcitement or terror, barefoot and covered inblack powder, blood, and sweat, gun crewsmust have looked dreadful. Keeping these poorwretches at the guns and working them tomaximum efficiency was the responsibility ofthe officers, one of whom, on sensing signs offatigue, drew his sword and, brandishing it inthe air, threatened to 'cut the first man downthat did not do his duty.' On being satisfiedwith their replies he returned his weapon to itsscabbard and the men resumed their fire.

Immediately afterward Dillon and twoother men were blown down from the windof a shot. 'I thought myself killed, as Ibecame senseless, being jammed betweenthese men.' Dillon was lucky to survive, butthe others were dead; no sooner was he backon his feet with the help of his men thanthere came a call to repel boarders. Yet battleis a constantly fluid experience, an ever-changing drama full of the unexpected, andin the end the enemy vessel passed the

Defence, the immediate threat subsided, andthe order was cancelled. The French, at last,had been beaten and were making off. At acost of 1,100 men Howe had captured sixenemy vessels and inflicted 3,500 casualties.

When the fighting had ended Dillon musthave been a pitiful sight. His clothes weresoaked through from water that had burstthrough a port during the action, his shoeswere covered in blood, and his face and handssmeared with burnt powder. Fourteen of themen under his command had been eitherkilled or wounded and one gun had beendisabled. After shaking hands with the men tocongratulate them on their survival, he wentto the quarter deck, which he found coveredin musket shot from enemy marksmen. Belowdeck, the surgeon reported the ship's losses:91 killed and wounded, a heavy toll. Dillonconcluded, mournfully: 'The number of menthrown overboard that were killed, withoutceremony, and the sad wrecks around ustaught those who, like myself, had not beforewitnessed similar scenes that War was thegreatest scourge of mankind.'

Later in the year, aboard the Prince George,Dillon went to the West Indies. This was nota popular destination. The othermidshipmen 'were talking of nothing elsebut the yellow fever. Indeed, death staredthem in the face.' But Dillon stayed on,anxious to 'see the world', gain experience,and, above all, to achieve promotionthrough active service. He sensibly preparedhis will, well aware that the West Indianclimate and insect-borne diseases accountedfor thousands of lives every year.

Dillon went on to take part in numerouslanding operations, as well as in the siegeand capture of St Lucia in 1796, after whichhe was promoted to acting lieutenant. AtAntigua he watched as sickness spreadamong the ships' crews. 'Violent vomitingattacked our seamen, the witnessing ofwhich was truly distressing, as they broughtup large worms.' He himself fell ill, probablywith sunstroke, which left him 'in a state ofstupefaction' for four days. He was fortunateto recover, for various diseases, especiallyyellow fever, ravaged British ships in climates

Portrait of a sailor 71

too harsh for the delicate dispositions ofEuropeans. There were compensations,however, and in the course of his years inthe West Indies Dillon assisted in the captureof numerous prizes - mostly merchantmenand privateers - which over the years earnedfor him a respectable share of prize money.On one occasion he won about £20, whileon another - with the capture of a valuablemerchant vessel - he earned several hundredpounds. Considering his pay was only about£2 a month, this was equal to many years'ordinary income, and some fortunate men -particularly the captain and other officers,who received a disproportionately high share- could retire on such proceeds.

In 1798, while stationed in Irish watersaboard an armed cutter, he was able to take asmall part against the rebellion there,storming a rebel fort with cutlass in hand andlater apprehending one of the principal rebelleaders. He returned to the Jamaica Station inApril 1799 and served again throughout theWest Indies for the remainder of the war,taking more prizes, including a 12-gun brigwhose French crew had mutinied and takentheir captain prisoner. When the captainattempted to blow up the ship by taking acandle to the magazine Dillon claims to haveseized him and saved the ship - and himself.

Shortly after the end of the war he went to

London to see his father, who had scarcelyseen his son in 12 years. Now 22, deeplytanned, and wearing plain clothes, Dillon wasat first unrecognizable. His homecoming wasa joyous one. 'The war was over,' he wrote inhis memoirs. 'I had had twelve years of toiland anxiety.' But he could not know that thepeace was to be very brief and the countrywould soon need him back at sea. He spentthe remainder of his career on active service,including several years as a prisoner of theFrench and, after the Napoleonic Wars,commanding ships in several South Americannavies. He was knighted and retired a vice-admiral. While Dillon's experiences cannot besaid to typify those of an ordinary sailoraboard ship - as such men were almost alwaysilliterate and first-hand accounts are rare -Dillon's junior rank nevertheless placed himin close contact with ordinary ratings and hismemoirs certainly give us a fascinating insightinto what life must have been like.

Naval close combat. Ships locked together by tangledrigging or by deliberate grappling usually led to desperatehand-to-hand encounters between their crews. Boardingparties and defenders could choose from a wide varietyof edged weapons including pikes, cutlasses, swords, dirks,and axes. Firearms, such as pistols, blunderbusses, andmuskets were of more limited use, there being no time toreload them in the heat of a melee. Nevertheless, even afterdischarge they could still be wielded as clubs. (Roger-Viollet)

The world around war

The impact of conflict

War had an immediate and direct impact onFrench civilians and on the populationsoccupied by the armies of republican France.At home, the levée en masse called on allcitizens - men, women, and children - tocontribute to the war effort. Their labor,skills, and resources - money, homes,animals, and so on - were to be requisitionedby local and national authorities as required.Thus, the decree declared:

The public buildings shall be turned intobarracks, the public squares into munitionsfactories, the earthen floors shall be treated withlye to extract saltpetre [essential to the productionof gunpowder]. All firearms of suitable calibreshall be turned over to the troops ... All saddlehorses shall be seized for the cavalry; all drafthorses not employed in cultivation will draw theartillery and supply wagons.

Yet if French cities and farms suffered fromthe loss of large numbers of their men to thearmy, the implications for those living intowns and villages over the border wereperhaps even more painful. The fact thatFrench armies were no longer fettered by adependence on great supply trains anddepots like their pedestrian adversaries meantthat they were required to forage on occupiedland. Government officials in Paris had,moreover, every reason to keep the armies ofthe Republic off French soil and at a safedistance from political intrigue in Paris.

The French conveniently came to justifyoccupation as 'liberation', a term whichquickly lost its appeal to the poor inhabitantswho grimly suffered the consequences.Cambon, the French Minister of Finance, saidof Holland in February 1793: 'War causesmisfortunes to the nations for the moment,but they are well recompensed by theestablishment of liberty and equality ...

You will give to the Batavians of the poorestclass the means of dancing round the tree ofliberty.' Fine words, but in reality it couldmean anything between heavy taxation,requisitioning, and outright pillaging.

Indeed, however enlightened therevolutionary ideas instilled in the minds ofthe typical republican soldier may havebeen, he was by no means always welldisposed to the civilians into whose midst hewas sent. When senior officers demandedrequisitions from the local populace itnaturally fell to the ordinary soldiers toperform the distasteful task of actuallycollecting crops, livestock, food, or whateverelse the army required. This, needless to say,hardly endeared the soldiers to the localpopulation. Words such as 'liberation' and'liberty' rang rather hollow in the ears of theGerman, Belgian, and Italian peasants whosaw their crops and livestock carried off withlittle or no compensation, their homessometimes looted, and their pockets taxed toincrease the power of the occupier. If thewars earlier in the century had not beenentirely 'limited' by the stricter standards ofconduct they had imposed on Europeanarmies, at least they had inflicted far lesssuffering on civilians than would those ofthe Revolutionary Wars.

Bonaparte was rather better than mostrevolutionary generals at compensatingfarmers for their crops and keeping his menunder restraint, but in the end the army hadto be fed; his grandiose proclamations to thepeoples whose lands he was soon to despoilprobably soothed few who paid any notice.'Peoples of Italy!' he declared in April 1796,'The French army is coming to break yourchains; the French people are the friend ofall peoples. So, come to receive it! Believe us,we have no grudge except against the tyrantswho oppress you.'

The world around war 73

Invading armies, whether they remainedon foreign soil for long or not, sometimesposed even greater threats to the inhabitants,including rape, atrocities, and retributionmeted out against civilians who violated thelaws of war by offering armed resistance. Onreaching the shores of Egypt in 1798Bonaparte warned his troops againstdepredation:

The people of the countries where we aregoing treat their women differently ... but in allcountries, the man who rapes a woman is amonster. Looting enriches but a few. Itdishonours us, it destroys our resources and itturns the people we want to befriend intoour enemies.

Yet even when troops conductedthemselves with a degree of self-restraint, thenastiest aspects of war occasionally arose. Forthose campaigning in Egypt - far from homeand against an enemy of whose culture thecommon soldier had little understanding -atrocity and counter-atrocity were probablyinevitable. No more horrendous example ofthis can be found than the fall of Jaffa inMarch 1799, when a dreadful retributionawaited its inhabitants - soldiers and civiliansalike. 'The soldiers' fury was at its height,'Bonaparte reported. 'Everybody was put to thesword. Being sacked, the town experienced allthe horrors of a city taken by storm.'

The French were not alone in bringing warto civilians. In the summer of 1794 Austriantroops issued an ominous warning to theresidents of a village on the Luxembourgborder, declaring that they would no longerignore the wanton destruction caused bytheir enemies. 'Remember,' they said, 'that sofar we, though victorious, have always sparedthe peaceful dwellings of the inhabitants of acountry we are trying to liberate from thehateful slavery into which it was thrown bythe regicidal Convention.' But hereafter, theycontinued, the French would pay for thedamage done by their troops:

We swear that we, tired of the atrocities yoursoldiers commit every day, will no longer restrain

ourselves; every time and as many times as thesevillains burn down just one of our villages, weshall burn to the ground ten others in your country.

Inevitably the impact of war was greateston inhabitants of those countries on whoseland the battles were actually fought. Incountries such as Britain, apart from thosefamilies who gave up a son or husband forforeign service, life carried on largely asbefore in a nation mercifully protected bygeography and generously provided for by athriving economy.

The economic impact of the RevolutionaryWars was felt in a number of ways in Britain.Some events were merely coincidental. Just asseveral military developments coincided withthe conflict, so too did economicdevelopments such as the mechanization ofcotton spinning, the early development of thefactory system, and the rapid expansion ofcanal-building. The wars also coincided with aperiod of considerable acceleration inpopulation growth. While the wars mightreasonably have led to a severe interruption ofBritish trade, in fact the Royal Navy'ssupremacy on the seas ensured that, thoughtrade with the Continent was disrupted bymilitary operations, the French never managedto sever Britain's trading links with Europe,even after the occupation of Belgium andHolland in 1795 and Spain's defection to theFrench in 1796. The dark days of Napoleon'scontinental blockade were still to come.

Although the volume of British exportsdropped between 1792 and 1797, it increasedsubstantially again from 1798 to 1802, suchthat the overall rate of growth in the decadeof war was only one percent lower than thatof the preceding decade of peace. Inre-exports - that is, the re-exportation ofgoods produced in the colonies or in foreigncountries - the rate of growth wassubstantial, doubling in volume what it hadbeen during the decade of peace. The volumeof imports, on the other hand, grew onlymarginally. The 1790s were for the most partyears of prosperity for Britain's trade.

Nevertheless, the picture was not entirelyrosy for ordinary people, for the war years saw


Bedlam Furnace in Shropshire. Many factors contributedto making Britain the birthplace of industrialization,including good climate, technological innovation -particularly the steam engine, with which James Watt firstpowered machinery in 1781 - the availability of goodports through which raw materials and manufacturedgoods could pass and large domestic reserves of coaland iron. By 1797, Britain was exporting her surplus ofiron and was far outstripping the rest of Europe in coalproduction. (TheTate Britain)

a gradual rise in inflation with a particularlynegative impact on agricultural prices. Pricesin general, but especially for food, fluctuatedmarkedly during the war, partly due to cropfailures resulting from poor weather. In 1800,for instance, prices were 40 percent higherthan those only two years before. Food riotswere not infrequent in these years, yet,despite rising prices and the rapid rate ofpopulation growth, imports could almostalways make good the shortage of food - notthe least of many benefits derived fromsupremacy at sea and exclusive access tosmall, but nevertheless fertile, colonies.

War for the British people was certainlynever the all-absorbing experience that itbecame for the French, and even the risingdemands for men to satisfy the needs of thearmed forces did not place undue strain onthe economy. The increased demands formen caused no serious general labor shortage,though some areas suffered temporarily fromthe loss of farmworkers and unskilled laborers- the main source of manpower for the army

and navy. Naturally the government placedmore orders for food, horses, fodder, textiles,leather, and iron - but the needs of war werestrictly limited and the nation and theempire could and did supply all suchcommodities without hardship to ordinarypeople. The middle class had even less reasonfor complaint. In Jane Austen's large personalcorrespondence of the time, the war isconspicuous by its absence. Although theRoyal Navy does feature in her writings,scarcely a single reference to the conflict orits impact on her family's sheltered middle-class existence is made. While she remarks onthe activities of the militia and a fewmembers of the regular forces, one wouldotherwise assume that Britain was at peace.

Oddly, the wars did not radically increasethe pace of industrialization as might beexpected. Rather, they increased theprominence of agriculture. This resulted in arise in enclosures during the 1790s so thatmore arable land could come undercultivation to feed the needs not merely of arising population but also of a growingmilitary establishment whose enlisted menate better than their social counterparts incivilian life. Agricultural production alsoincreased because labor shortages stimulatedimprovements in farm machinery, such asthe threshing machine. But the simple factremained that, unlike the highly destructive,industrially dependent conflicts of the20th century, war in the 1790s required


considerably less in the way of manufacturedgoods. What Britain's relatively small armyneeded most was food, fodder, and horses,rather than factory-produced material.Nevertheless, iron production rose to keeppace with orders for firearms and swords, thewoolen industry was stimulated by thedemand for uniforms, and the leather tradeexpanded to meet the need for shoes, horseequipment, soldiers' packs, and the like. Yetthese needs never approached those ofcontinental powers and their vast militaryrequirements. Britain needed ships and theirfittings above all else. These commoditieswere labor intensive and expensive but notheavily dependent on large-scaleindustrial production.

A cartoon published in 1796 depicting Pitt, supported byhis ministers while crushing the Opposition underfoot,demonstrating his ability and determination to carry onthe war against France. His right pocket holds documentsindicating the large numbers of seamen, volunteers, andregular forces at the nation's disposal, while his leftpocket bulges with money. A testament to Britain'sfinancial power was its loan of £ 1,620,000 to Austria in1797. (Peter Newark's Historical Sources)

Overall, the British economy grew quicklyduring the 1790s, enabling Pitt to institutethe first income tax in 1798. Not only couldthe economy sustain an increasingly heavytax burden, it also produced enoughresources to continue a high rate ofindustrialization even where this was notessential to the war effort. Although wagesfell in real terms by anything from 4 to15 percent from their prewar levels, thestandard of living remained relatively good,in spite of a rising population and highertaxes. Greater national revenue in turntranslated itself into a tangible asset for war,for it enabled the government to finance theFirst and Second Coalitions in the form ofmassive subsidies and loans. If Britain couldnot herself field large armies, at least shecould pay for those of her allies. In additionto money, Britain was a major supplier ofarms. To Portugal alone in the course of fiveyears she sent over 30,000 muskets,11,000 carbines, 3,000 pistols, 14,000swords, 900,000 pounds of gunpowder,500 tons of saltpeter, 20 cannon, and£200,000 in credit. Subsidies and loans toher allies between 1793 and 1802 amountedto a staggering £15,000,000. The man in thestreet might grumble at the higher duties hepaid on consumer goods in order to fund thewar, but by and large he was in a position toafford them.

On the whole, then, the British economyweathered the Revolutionary Wars ratherwell and the standard of living remained, bycontemporary continental standards, high.Great improvements in agriculture kept thecountry fed; in spite of some temporaryslumps, industrial production amplysupplied military and naval needs; progressin technology was not materially hindered;banks had sufficient funds to lend toinvestors and the government alike; andstability in overseas trade enabled thegovernment to levy an increasing array ofconsumption taxes on both domestic andimported goods without serious strain onordinary people.

The extent to which the FrenchRevolutionary Wars may have hindered


scientific and cultural developments inEurope is, of course, impossible to measure,but the records of the 1790s show no lack ofcultural or scientific activity. On thecontrary, the period was quite active in thefields of technology, medicine, exploration,art, literature, and music. Thomas Paine'sRights of Man, published in 1792, stands outamong a number of important politicalworks produced at the time. Paine continuedwith his Age of Reason in 1794-95, whileMary Wollstonecraft produced an earlyfeminist work in her Vindication of the Rightsof Women (1792). Thomas Malthus publishedhis now famous Essay on the Principle ofPopulation in 1798, while in France, JeanCambacérès produced a seminal legal work,the Projet de Code Civil (1796), which laid thefoundation for the Napoleonic Codeintroduced in 1801.

Although most of the sweeping social andpolitical reforms instituted by the Frenchcame about in the early years of theRevolution before the war commenced,others followed, such as importantlegislation that introduced compulsoryeducation for children turning six. In Britain,scholarship on a higher plane reflected therevived interest in the classical world soprevalent in the art, fashion, andarchitecture of the 1790s. In 1793, RichardPorson, the newly appointed Professor ofGreek at Cambridge, in conjunction withThomas Gaisford, brought new energy toclassical studies, reflected in the publicationof Stuart and Revett's Antiquities of Athens in1794.

In the field of architecture and art,neo-classicism was at its height, as reflectedin the building of the White House inWashington, begun in 1792 under JamesHoban, and in London, where John Soanestarted work on the Bank of England in1795. In painting, France, Spain, and Britainall produced famous artists. David led theway in producing grand neo-classical scenesand images of the Revolution, such as hisfamous painting of Marat lying dead in hisbath (1793). Six years later came his Rape ofthe Sabine Women, followed by one of his

The cotton gin. Whitney's machine ended the laboriousand expensive task of separating the seeds from rawcotton fibre in preparation for spinning. In the time it hadpreviously taken a slave to remove the seeds from twopounds of cotton, the gin could raise output to astaggering 400 pounds. Cotton production in theAmerican South expanded rapidly and led toincreased numbers of spinning mills in Britain.(Ann Ronan Picture Library)

most famous works, Napoleon Crossing theAlps, finished in 1801. The many arttreasures of France - as well as those lootedfrom abroad - found their home in the newLouvre, which opened in 1793, a powerfulmonument to national confidence. Althoughthey did not find their way to the BritishMuseum until many years later, the ElginMarbles arrived in London from Athens in1801, Lord Elgin having removed them fromthe Parthenon. Goya also came to the fore,painting the Duchess of Alba in 1795 andPortrait of a Woman in 1800. In Britain,Turner painted Millbank, Moonlight in 1797and Calais Pier in 1801.

In literature, philosophy, and music theGermans - including Goethe, Schiller, andKant - were particularly productive. InBritain the Romantic movement wasparticularly influential and its focus on theimportance and inspiration of thecountryside at a time when the country wasmoving toward industrialization isparticularly interesting. Wordsworth andColeridge published their Lyrical Ballads in


1798. Coleridge finished his Kubla Khan in1797 (though it was not published until1816), and Southey finished Thalaba theDestroyer in 1801. A number of importantcultural and scientific institutions wereopened at this time, including the EcolePolytechnique in Paris in 1795, as well as theInstitut National, which facilitated the studyof natural science, moral and politicalsciences, and the arts. In music, the 1790swere a time of great productivity for Haydn,who composed many works in rapidsuccession, including The Creation in 1798and The Seasons in 1801. Beethoven wrotehis Pathétique Sonata in C Minor in 1799,and in the following year his First Symphonyin C Major and his Piano Concerto No. 3 inC. In 1801, he finished his Piano ConcertosNos. 1 and 2, as well as six string quartets.The following year he wrote his 'Moonlight'Sonata and Second Symphony.

Various forms of technology emerged inthe 1790s. Semaphore, invented by Claude

Robert Fulton's submarine. In late 1797. the Americaninventor approached the French government for fundsto build a machine for destroying ships at anchor usingan explosive device which could be hooked to theunderside of the target The 18-foot Nautilus, with a crewof three, was completed in 1800, but by then theconservative-minded Bonaparte had taken power andrefused to sanction its use. Fulton subsequentlyapproached the Admiralty in London, which alsodeclined his contraption. (Ann Ronan Picture Library)

Chappé in 1793, had an immediate militaryapplication, allowing French troops at thefront to communicate rapidly with theirheadquarters and the British Admiralty toorder ships to sea rapidly. In the same year,Eli Whitney, an American, invented hisfamous cotton gin, enabling the southernstates to export a rapidly increasing quantityof raw cotton. Whitney went on to producemuskets with interchangeable parts in 1800,while another American launched the firstsubmarine - the Nautilus - at Rouen in thesame year. Medical advances includedEdward Jenner's first use of vaccinationagainst smallpox in 1796, while in 1800, theRoyal College of Surgeons opened inLondon. Predictably, the wars interruptedthe normal course of exploration, thoughthe British continued limited expeditions,including those conducted by Mungo Park,who explored the course of the River Nigerin 1795 and published his Travels in theInterior of Africa four years later. In 1802,Truter and Somerville exploredBechuanaland, nearly reaching Lake Ngami,while far to the east George Bass proved thatTasmania was an island, and Flinderscircumnavigated Australia and mapped thecoastline. While the Revolutionary Wars canbe said to have dominated the decade, thisbrief review should serve to illustrate that lifedid go on and cultural movements quiteseparate from the war were developing.

Portrait of a civilian

Emma Hamilton:British Ambassadress at Naples

Emma Hamilton, who was later to becomeenshrined in the popular imaginationthrough her connection with Nelson, beganlife in 1765 as Emily Lyon, a blacksmith'sdaughter from Cheshire. She first worked asa nursery-maid and on going to London insearch of work became a domestic in thehousehold of a composer. At the age of 14she moved to a house in Arlington Streetowned by a brothel-keeper known as MrsKelly, and appears to have become themistress of a naval officer. It was also aboutthis time that Emma worked in a dubiousestablishment where couples unable toconceive children could make use of the'Grand celestial Bed' provided to overcomethe deficiencies of infertility. At about theage of 16 she moved to the Sussexcountryside and became the mistress of agentleman of comfortable, though notextravagant, means named Charles Greville,who took her back to London and discreetlyestablished her in Edgware Row. WhenGreville found for himself a rich heiress hepalmed poor Emma off on his uncle, SirWilliam Hamilton, the Minister in Naples,and a recent widower.

Emma, together with her mother, went toNaples in 1786 and made her home at thesplendid Palazzo Sessa which, being SirWilliam's home, doubled as the BritishEmbassy and offered a spectacular view ofthe ever-smoking and hissing Vesuvius.Although Emma longed to return to Greville,she soon found in Sir William a devotedadmirer and a companion of undoubtedsocial respectability. They were married whileon leave in London in 1791, yet long beforethis Emma had become recognized in Naplesfor her exceptional beauty and charmingmanner. She soon acquired a reputation as asuperb hostess and regularly dazzled agrowing number of guests to Sir William's

Lady Hamilton. Emma enjoyed a charmed life at Naples,not least because of the affection she received from herhusband, Sir William, to whom she was herself quitedevoted. 1 am, as women generally are,' she wrote in1794, 'ten thousand times fonder of him than I was... no .quarrelling, nor crossness, nor laziness ... everybody thatsees us are edified by our example of conjugal anddomestick felicity' (Ann Ronan Picture Library)

parties with a singing voice which 'touchedeveryone's heart and whose beauty outshonethat of the Venus of Medici,' as one admirerput it. She soon learned Italian, in whichlanguage she sang arias with remarkableprecision and strength of feeling, to the greatdelight of Neapolitan high society.

Portrait of a civilian 79

Yet nothing surpassed Emma'sextraordinary talent for her own form ofclassical drama which she styled her'Attitudes'. On his visit to Naples Goethedescribed her captivating presence: With 'abeautiful face and a perfect figure,' he wroteat the time, Emma wore

a Greek costume made for her which becomes herextremely. Dressed in this, she lets down her hairand, with a few shawls, gives so much variety toher poses, gestures, expressions, etc., that thespectator can hardly believe his eyes. He sees whatthousands of artists would have liked to expressrealized before him in movements and surprisingtransformations - standing, kneeling, sitting,reclining, serious, sad, playfül, ecstatic, contrite,alluring, threatening, anxious, one pose followsanother without a break. She knows how toarrange the folds of her veil to match each mood,and has a hundred ways of turning it into a headdress ... This much is certain: as a performanceit's like nothing you ever saw before in your life.

The stream of British visitors to Napleswas constant, particularly in the winter. Atone dinner, given to 52 guests at the PalazzoSessa, Lady Palmerston noted that Emma'sabilities more than compensated for herhumble origins. She was also the particularfavorite of the Neapolitan queen, MariaCarolina, the sister of the Austrian emperor.Even when Britain and Naples formed analliance in July 1793, the outbreak of war didnot stem the tide of British visitors, many ofwhom Emma presented at court, lodged atthe Hamilton's country house at Caserta,and, of course, entertained in grand style.

The most immediate effect of the war onher life was the fact that the Anglo-Neapolitan alliance drew the Queen closer toher, and the British Ambassadress soonbecame a vital confidante of her 'dear dearQueen'. At the end of the year Naples'commitment to the Allies was now soughtand the captain of the Agamemnon, HoratioNelson, called at the Neapolitan capital onofficial business. Writing to his wife inadmiration of the charming Ambassadress,he described her as 'a young woman of

amiable manners ... who does honor to thestation to which she is raised.' It was theirfirst meeting, and they were not to meetagain for another five years.

By 1795, Emma had reached a remarkablestage in life; from humble origins, no securefinancial means, and no prospect of socialadvancement she had married an aristocratwhose profession and residence brought histalented and beautiful young wife intocontact with all those on the Grand Tour ofthe Continent who wanted to visit a cityknown for high culture and an unrivaledclimate. She was also the darling of theNeapolitan court.

Natural beauty and talent had served herwell. Surrounded by friends and admirers,she had become the subject of numerousdrawings and paintings by Romney andGainsborough and had impressed those bestplaced to judge with her singing and hergraceful 'Attitudes', often performed to thedrama of candlelight. She had taken greatpains to educate herself, as the Britishviceroy of Corsica noted: '... besidesconsiderable natural understanding, she hasacquired, since her marriage, someknowledge of history and of the arts, andone wonders at the application and painsshe has taken to make herself what she is.'Over time, Neapolitan court politicsabsorbed her interest and with increasingfrequency the Queen passed to Emmainformation useful to her husband, makingher a conduit for Neapolitan documentsbound for the Foreign Office in London.

The French occupation of Rome inFebruary 1798 cast an ominous shadow overthe Kingdom of Naples. Sir Horatio Nelsonwas to come to its aid. His star had by thenrisen with his exploits the previous year atthe Battle of Cape St Vincent. But that wassimply the start; his subsequent spectacularvictory at the Nile sent Emma intoparoxysms: 'How shall I begin,' ran a letterto Nelson full of overwhelming flattery, andbordering on hero-worship.

What shall I say to you? 'tis impossible I canwrite, for since last Monday I am deletions with


joy, and assure you I have a fevour caused byagitation and pleasure. God, what a victory!Never, never has there been anything half soglorious, so compleat ... I wou'd not like to dietill I see and embrace the Victor of the Mile ...

She and Sir William were rowed out to theconquering hero when he arrived at Naplesin the Vanguard. 'Up flew her ladyship,'Nelson wrote to his wife, 'and exclaiming:"Oh God is it possible?" fell into my armsmore dead than alive.'

Nelson was soon ensconced at theHamilton's request in the upper rooms of thePalazzo Sessa and before long he was writingto his wife, describing Emma as 'one of thevery best women in this world, she is anhonour to her sex.' Quite when the affairbetween Nelson and Emma began is notknown, but it may very well have begunwhen, soon after his arrival, a feverish Nelsoncollapsed from the fatigue of the precedingcampaign and was nursed by Emma.

Meanwhile, the military situation grewgrim. After a disastrous campaign furthernorth, the Neapolitan army had signed anarmistice with the French, who, triumphantin northern and central Italy, were nowpoised to occupy Naples as well. The royalfamily and the Hamiltons took refuge onSicily, and it was not long before Nelsonhoped to hatch a scheme to retake themainland capital. Indeed, there were rumorsthat Nelson, dressed as a midshipman, andEmma, attired in masculine clothes, wouldwalk along the marina and visit the taverns,listening to gossip and assessing the level ofsupport for the royalist cause. Throughoutthe first half of 1799, Nelson continued tolive with the Hamiltons, now in Palermo atthe Palazzo Palagonia, an impressivebuilding of 50 rooms. Emma, meanwhile,continued to preside over the dinnersprovided by the exiled British Embassy. Intime Nelson's relationship with Emma beganto raise eyebrows among British observers,civilian and naval alike. Lock, the Charged'affaires, noted with dismay 'theunbounded power her ladyship possessesover ... Lord Nelson ... The extravagant love

of the latter has made him the laughingstock of the whole fleet

In mid-June 1799, Emma and Sir Williamleft Palermo in secret for Naples, hoping tosupport the return of Bourbon rule. TheFrench army had departed, having installedan unpopular republican government thatwas now succumbing to forces loyal to KingFerdinand. When the Hamiltons entered theBay of Naples on 24 June the city had fallento the fury of a royalist counter-revolutionbut was in such chaos that landing wasconsidered unsafe. For six weeks theyremained aboard HMS Foudroyant, while onshore a bitter retribution was under way forthose suspected of republican sympathies orcomplicity with the former government. Thewave of arrests in turn produced a flood ofpetitions, pleading protection, for Emma'sconsideration, for many of the accused wereher friends. The whole episode wasdistressing, for the Hamiltons stood to losecountless friends whom Nelson hadderisively called, rightly or wrongly, 'rebels,Jacobins and fools.' Some were reprieved, butmost met a cruel and ignominious end whenthe King and Queen returned in August.

By the autumn of 1799, Emma andNelson's infatuation for one another wasplain for all to see and Lady Elgin, for one,found Emma's attachment to Nelsondownright indecent, adding:

I must acknowledge she is pleasant, makes upamazingly ... She looked very handsome atdinner, quite in an undress; my Father would say,'There is a fine Woman for you, good flesh andblood." She is indeed a Whapper! and I think hermanner very vulgar. It is really humiliating to seeLord Nelson, he seems quite dying and yet as ifhe had no other thought than her.

Sir William, meanwhile, nearly 70 and infailing health, had received permission fromthe Foreign Office to retire, and in April 1800,he, Emma, and Nelson left together for thejourney home. By this time Emma's infidelitywas an open secret, but Sir William did notappear to disapprove; indeed, he and Nelsonremained close friends throughout. They

Portrait of a civilian 81

One of the many 'Attitudes' performed by Emma. Heavywith classical allusions, such poses appealed to those ofthe cultured classes who steeped themselves in the studyof ancient literature, sculpture, architecture, andphilosophy. In Emma's day. Greek and Romanarchaeological finds were of particular interest toscholars like her husband, who amassed a large collectionof vases which he sent to Britain in 1798. (Roger-Viollet)

cruised to Syracuse and Malta, in the course ofwhich journey Emma conceived a child byNelson. They eventually landed at Leghorn,on the Italian coast, and proceeded by land,narrowly escaping capture by the French nearAncona before continuing by ship to Trieste.

On entering Austrian territory they wereentertained by aristocrats and rich merchants,all by virtue of Nelson's presence. Cheeredand applauded wherever they went, especiallyin Vienna, where they stayed for six weeks,the Hamiltons and Nelson attended aconstant stream of operas, concerts, dinners,and receptions, with Emma's affection for

Nelson always evident. The BritishAmbassadress at Vienna observed that Nelson

is devoted to Emma; he thinks her quite anangel, and talks of her as such to her face andbehind her back, and she leads him about like akeeper with a bear. She must sit by him atdinner to cut his meat; and he carries herpocket handkerchief.

Emma sang magnificently with Haydnbefore continuing on to Prague and Dresden,where still more of their hosts could see thetransparent way Emma and Nelson carriedon. The British minister at Dresden notedthat 'it is plain that Lord Nelson thinks ofnothing but Lady Hamilton, who is totallyoccupied by the same object ... LadyHamilton takes possession of him, and he isa willing captive, the most submissive anddevoted I have seen.' Finally, after fivemonths, their tour of the Continent came toan end and they embarked at Hamburg atthe end of October 1800.

Emma was by then seven monthspregnant and her daughter, Horatia, wasborn the following January. By that timeNelson was back at sea, and though he lefthis wife in 1801 they never divorced. SirWilliam Hamilton died in 1803. LadyHamilton and Nelson maintained their affairuntil Nelson's heroic death at Trafalgar.Devoted to the end, one of Nelson's finalstatements to Captain Hardy aboard theVictory was 'Take care of my dear LadyHamilton.' Still legally married, and with hispaternity of Horatia a close secret, Nelsoncould do nothing financially for Emma apartfrom leaving a request in his will thatParliament provide 'ample provision tomaintain her rank in life.' It did not honorNelson's wishes, for the nation was notprepared to support his mistress, howevergenerously it would honor his wife and hismemory. In time Emma squandered themoney left to her by Sir William, went intoserious debt, and took refuge from hercreditors in France, where she died inpoverty in 1814. Horatia married an Englishcurate in 1822 and died in 1881.

How the war ended

Hohenlinden and Copenhagen

Although the Battle of Marengo was amagnificent military achievement and avictory that would forever be close toBonaparte's heart, it did not quite toll thedeath knell of the Second Coalition. AfterMarengo, Austrian and French negotiatorshad opened talks for peace, but when thesefailed and the truce ended on 13 November,hostilities resumed on the Rhine front.There, the new, inexperienced AustrianCommander-in-Chief, Archduke John, led arespectable force of 120,000 men, but moralewas low and the French could oppose themwith Moreau's 180,000 troops, based aroundMunich. Poor weather and administrative

The Battle of Copenhagen, 2 April 1801. Formed in lineahead, Nelson's fleet (center) engages Danish vessels,floating batteries and land defenses. Three hours into theaction he sent an ultimatum ashore which led to aceasefire: 'If the firing is continued on the part of DenmarkLord Nelson will be obliged to set on fire all the floatingbatteries he has taken without having the power of savingthe brave Danes who have defended them.' (Painting byNicholas Pocock, National Maritime Museum)

problems meant that John only began hisadvance at the River Inn on November 29,and while he managed to begin a wideflanking movement around his opponent'snorthern flank, Moreau was in turnthreatening John's left, in the direction ofVienna. This obliged the Austrians toproceed east against Munich, thusthreatening Moreau's base whilesimultaneously protecting Vienna. As a resultof these maneuvers the two armies metabout 20 miles east of the Bavarian capital,in the depths of the Hohenlinden Forest,where the last great land battle of theRevolutionary Wars now took place.

On 2 December the Austrians probed butfailed to penetrate the defenses Moreau hadestablished on both sides of the main roadthat led into the city. On the following day,however, John attacked in considerable force,exerting great pressure on Ney in the center,while on the French right, GeneralRichepanse took matters into his own handsand assailed the Austrian left wing, driving it

How the war ended 83

Jean Victor Moreau. One of the foremost French generalsof the Revolutionary Wars, Moreau held senior posts onthe Rhine in 1795-96 where his exceptional abilitiesbrought him into public prominence. As Commander-in-Chief in Italy in 1799 he was defeated at Cassano beforebeing transferred back to the Rhine front, where heachieved victory at Hochstadt a few days after Marengo.His triumph at Hohenlinden six months later knockedAustria out of the war (Roger-Viollet)

back across rough terrain and inflictingserious losses in the process. With his assaulton the French center a failure and his left indisarray, John was obliged to fall back in thedirection of Vienna, and what might havebeen an orderly retreat soon disintegratedinto a rout. The battle and subsequentwithdrawal cost him 18,000 men, andthough he tried to halt the French pursuit atSalzburg he was unable to stop Moreau'svictorious forces, about 7,000 of whom hadfallen in the fighting. While Moreau's staffurged him to follow up his success andadvance on the Austrian capital itself, hehimself knew the game was up. 'Without anydoubt, it would be a fine thing to enterVienna,' he said in reply to their entreaties.'But it is a much finer thing to dictate peace.'

The Austrians, meanwhile, reviewed theirsituation with dismay. The Emperor Francis

re-appointed Archduke Charles asCommander-in-Chief on 17 December, buteven that great general could not workmiracles. The army, disorganized and indesperate need of fresh troops, simply couldnot face another battle. Worse still, not onlywas Moreau poised for a drive on Vienna,but Macdonald had advanced throughSwitzerland and was already in the Tyrol,while Brune was moving north from Italy.Threatened from three sides and with noway of opposing this determined offensive,the Emperor authorized Charles to negotiatean armistice, which the two sides dulyconcluded at Steyr on Christmas Day.

The continental war was over and with it,by definition, went the Second Coalition.When the Austrian Foreign Minister, BaronThugut, prepared instructions for theimperial envoy who was to conclude aseparate peace with France, he painfullysummed up the total defeat of his country:

I have written with trembling hands theunfortunate instructions that I have the honourof submitting ... and which I regard as theepitaph of the Monarchy and of the glory ofAustria; but His Majesty has ordered itabsolutely, and one cannot contest his right todispose of the heritage of his ancestors as he seesfit!

But if France had now cowed allcontinental resistance, Britain continued hernaval war and in the spring of 1801,prepared to take on the fleets of Denmark,Sweden, and Russia - the powers forming theLeague of Armed Neutrality. When the Danesrefused to comply with British demands,Nelson, on 2 April, attacked the anchorageat Copenhagen - 20 ships-of-the-line,supported by floating batteries and harborforts. The fighting was exceptionally severeand when Parker wrongly concluded thatNelson faced imminent defeat he issued thesignal to disengage. Nelson, being Nelson,ignored it. 'Now, damn me if I do,' hedeclared when asked if he saw the order,maintaining aloft his own signal for closeaction. He paced the deck greatly annoyed,


shifting the stump of his right arm. Turningto the captain of his flagship, Nelson madethat declaration now famous to posterity -'You know, Foley, I have only one eye - Ihave a right to be blind sometimes' - andthen placing a telescope up to his blind eyehe announced dismissively, 'I really do notsee the signal.' As Nelson declined to repeatParker's signal the savage exchange ofbroadsides continued unabated.

As round shot whistled through the air,Captain Edward Riou, commanding the38-gun frigate Amazon, sat perched on a guncarriage, encouraging his men. Then a rakingshot fired from one of the Danish fortswounded him in the head with a splinterand killed his clerk beside him. Another shotstruck a party of Marines, upon which Rioucried out, 'Come then, my boys, let us die alltogether!' Almost immediately another shotcut him in two. Riou, along with about 1,000of his compatriots, were killed - togetherwith about an equal number of Danes - butby the end of the day Nelson had nearlydestroyed the entire Danish fleet and theremnant was given up after negotiations.

With the destruction of the Danish fleet,the death of Tsar Paul, and the collapse of theLeague of Armed Neutrality, the Anglo-Frenchconflict could only end, by default, as a draw.At sea Britain had established undisputedcommand of the waves and conqueredvirtually the entire French colonial empire,yet was powerless to compensate for thecontinental advantages reaped by therevolutionary armies in the Low Countries,Germany, Switzerland, and Italy.

France was wearied by the wars spawnedby revolution and fueled by her own success,and now desired peace. She labored under anumber of disadvantages of her own. So longas Britain remained supreme at sea, Bonapartewas unable to re-establish a New Worldempire. By virtue of distance, the recentaccession of the vast Louisiana territory fromSpain could not be exploited, nor couldFrance hope to recover Haiti from the nativerebels who had liberated it, with Britishassistance, in 1801. With her overseas tradeseverely curtailed by British blockade and fleet

action, France found she could no longer reapthe benefits which war on the Continent hadprovided since 1792. Finally, the death of TsarPaul, Francophile though neutral, as well asBritish successes in Egypt in 1801, signaledthe end of any prospect of Franco-Russiancooperation against Turkey or Britain.

In Britain calls for peace were even morepressing. By 1801, she found herself shorn ofcontinental allies as a result of Austria'sseparate peace and Russia's earlier defectionfrom the Second Coalition. The Europeanstates had, in fact, begun to turn againstBritain's maritime policies of blockade andthe search and seizure of neutral vessels.They would no longer tolerate her practice ofexhorting the Continent to arms, accruing toherself the advantages of colonialacquisitions and overseas markets withoutthe losses attendant upon direct operationsagainst France. In short, while thecontinental powers stood to lose vaststretches of territory to France, Britainremained relatively secure from attack. Onlya few enemy colonies still resisted capture,while many of the most important ports ofthe Continent remained closed to Britishtrade in any event and others, still open,such as those of Portugal, were on the vergeof seizure by hostile Spain. Finally, thedemands of merchants from London,Lancashire, Liverpool, and elsewhere - a classof men growing in political as well asfinancial power - could not be ignored inWhitehall, where ministers at least privatelyacknowledged their desire to reopen losttrade links with France, Britain's greatestprewar market.

Thus, with Britain mistress of the seas andFrance supreme on land, both sides regardedfurther recourse to arms as futile. Protractednegotiations at Amiens ended the stalemate;a preliminary peace was signed on 1 October1801 and, after much talk but fewmodifications, the final treaty was agreed on25 March 1802, thus bringing an uneasytermination to a decade of uninterruptedwar. There was general rejoicing in bothcountries, but that jubilation was to beshort-lived, particularly in Britain.

Conclusion and consequences

France triumphant

At the end of hostilities, with France andBritain dominant in entirely different realms,precisely how did this historicallyunprecedented state of affairs translate inpolitical terms? The political results of theFrench Revolutionary Wars may be traced inthe two principal treaties by which thatconflict came to an end.

The Treaty of Lunéville, concluded on9 February 1801 between France and Austria,demonstrates the greatly enhanced status ofFrance. For a start, Austria was effectivelybarred from most of Italy: 'The interests ofEurope will not permit the Emperor to crossthe Adige,' Bonaparte told the Corps Legislatif,adding, 'Austria ought not to expect from itsdefeats that which it would not have obtainedby victories.' By its terms Austria confirmedher previous commitment at Campo Formioto French annexation of Belgium and herrecognition of the satellite states created as aresult of conquest: the Batavian (Dutch),Helvetic (Swiss), Cisalpine (northern Italian -chiefly Lombardy), and Ligurian (Genoese)Republics. Yet for his pains the EmperorFrancis did not go entirely unrewarded. Hekept Venice and its territories along theAdriatic and, although he had lost histraditional influence over Tuscany, his brother,Archduke Ferdinand, made small territorialgains in the form of the ecclesiastical states ofSalzburg, Passau, and Berchtesgaden.

The greatest changes took place inGermany, where Austria recognized theFrench claim to the whole of the left bank ofthe Rhine, including all former Prussianterritories. Furthermore, Francis agreed thatsecular princes who thus lost territory shouldbe compensated with lands belonging to theecclesiastical states. In agreeing to theseterms Francis - who was, it should beremembered, not only Emperor of Austriabut also the Holy Roman Emperor - was

laying the basis for the final dissolution ofthat 1,000-year-old institution. Indeed,Lunéville set the stage for the subsequentradical re-drawing of much of westernGermany in 1803, by which large numbersof small states were absorbed by larger,secular rulers, making Germany moreconsolidated, more Protestant, and thereforemore closely connected with Prussia. Thiswas decisive for the future of Germany as awhole, for it lent Prussia far greaterprominence in German affairs than everbefore, ultimately ensuring that when thecause of unification arose in the years afterWaterloo it would be Prussia and not Austriawho would lead the movement.

OVERLEAF1.Austrian Netherlands (Belgium) Invaded. 1792;

annexed. 1795; formally recognized by Austria. 1797.

2. Holland Invaded, 1794. Batavian Republic established.1795.

3. Switzerland 'Rauracian Republic' annexed 1792;invaded. 1798: Helvetic Republic established.

4. Nice and Savoy Invaded 1792; annexed 1793 and796. respectively.

5. Piedmont Invaded. 1796; Piedmontese Republicestablished 1799.

6. Cisalpine Republic Established 1797 includingex-Modenese and ex-Venetian territory, plus Swissdistrict of Valtelline,

7. Ligurian Republic Established 1797 in place of Genoa,occupied since 1792.

8. Papal States Occupied, 1797; Roman Republicproclaimed. 1798; Papal rule restored. 1800: Concordatwith France. 1801.

9.Tuscany Brief French occupations, 1799. 1800:transformed into Kingdom of Etruria, 1801 as Spanishpossession,

10.Venetian Republic France divides territory between

Cisalpine Republic and Austria, 1797.11.Kingdom of Naples Mainland territories occupied.

January 1799; Parthenopean Republic established:French withdraw, July.

12. Parma Occupied 1797-99.13.Left bank of the Rhine Scene of fighting, 1792-97;

largely under French control by 1795; annexed. 1797.14. Ionian Islands Annexed from Venetian Republic, 1797,


Colonial conquests restored byBritain at AmiensRestored to Holland

Dutch Virgin IslandsSt Eustatius St MartinSt BartholomewCuracao Surinam Demerara,Essequibo, and BerbiceCochin and NegapatamCape Colony

Restored to SpainMinorca

Restored to FranceMartinique St Lucia Tobago

Colonial conquests retained by Britain atAmiensCeylon (from Holland)Trinidad (from Spain)

French conquests

Europe in 1802

Conclusion and co

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qu

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PREVIOUS PAGEFew geographical changes had occurred on theContinent in the five years since Campo Formio andneither Lunéville nor Amiens did much to change this.After her defeat of the Second Coalition France naturallyretained the extraordinary gains she had made in thefirst half of the Revolutionary Wars, but apart from thecession of Parma by the puppet Cisalpine Republic,Lunéville was little more than a reconfirmation ofCampo Formio. Amiens had even less impact on theContinent for the obvious reason that Britain was.notwithstanding Hanover, not a continental power Sheformally accepted French control over Belgium, the westbank of the Rhine and northwest Italy, and in returnFrance promised to respect the independence ofSwitzerland, the Papal States and Naples. Yet none ofthese concessions altered the map of Europe. Thesituation in the colonial world, however; had changed -as in Europe in favor of France and her allies.

The Treaty of Amiens, concluded betweenFrance and Britain on 25 March 1802,brought a formal end to the FrenchRevolutionary Wars and heaped yet furtheradvantages upon France. This agreement wasnothing if not flawed, and probably numbersamong the most controversial treaties everconcluded by a British government. Indeed,its weaknesses were apparent even before itssignature, and together with later Frenchprovocation it laid the seeds for the renewalof war only 14 months later. 'The provisions,'wrote one British contemporary, 'were amockery upon us, and not capable of beingcarried into effect. Nothing surely can beworse than loose stipulations in a treaty ofpeace, or such as are difficult to execute.' Thisexpression of alarm was more than justified,for the terms were scandalously favorable toFrance. The key elements of the treatystipulated that all French and Dutch overseascolonies, including the Cape of Good Hope,were to be restored by Britain. France wasalso to receive Elba, while Minorca and Maltawere to be restored to Spain and the Knightsof St John, respectively. France, for her part,agreed to evacuate the Kingdom of Naplesand the Roman States, as well as Egypt(where her troops had, in any event, alreadybeen decisively defeated), which was thenrestored to Turkey.

Britain's extensive cessions caused alarmand despondency, particularly to Pitt, who

had only recently left office, and hissupporters. With evidence seeming daily toconfirm the aggressive tendencies of France,those sacrifices were being keenly felt. Thesurrender of strategic points around theglobe prompted stinging criticism from anumber of politicians. Henry Dundas, theformer Secretary of State for War, wrote:

To have [retro]ceded to France, Martinique,Malta, Minorca, the Cape, the Dutch settlementsboth in the East and West Indies and evenCochin, and to have obtained nothing in returnbut the name of peace, is such an act ofweakness and humiliation as nothing in myopinion can justify.

Britain was in no position to demandextensive indemnities from France, Dundascontinued, 'but I hoped we would obtainsecurity for what we got.' Amiens offered hervirtually no security, only a short-lived andcostly truce.

Trouble arose almost immediately, asTalleyrand, the French Foreign Minister,astutely observed: 'Hardly was the Peace ofAmiens concluded, when moderationcommenced to abandon Bonaparte; thispeace had not yet received its completeexecution before he was sowing the seeds ofnew wars ...' The surrender of the Cape waslamentable enough, Dundas complained,recognizing that the Cape was the key to thesouthern route to India, but 'we have doneeven worse by giving up Malta, for we haveabandoned Egypt to a future danger fromFrance and we have abandoned the proudpre-eminence we had obtained in theMediterranean.' Malta, with its superb portof Valetta, served as the Royal Navy's vitalstrategic base in the central Mediterranean;its loss therefore threatened the security ofthe whole Mediterranean coastline.

In addition to the fatal weaknessesinherent in Amiens, the fact that Britain wasnot a signatory to the Treaty of Lunévillealso had far-reaching consequences, mostnotably the great potential offered to Francefor territorial acquisitions on the Continentwithout the legal interference of Britain.

Conclusion and consequences 89

France was not required to evacuate Dutchterritory or recognize the Batavian Republic'sindependence. Therefore the Cape of GoodHope, once again a Dutch possession, laysubject to French influence. Thus, Lunévilleguaranteed independence to the Frenchsatellite states of the Helvetic, Cisalpine, andLigurian Republics, though of course sinceBritain had no part in the treaty there wasno sanction to prevent France from ignoringthe sovereignty of these peoples.Consequently, with Austria cowed andexhausted by her defeat in numerousdisastrous campaigns stretching back to1792, the terms of Lunéville could berespected or violated at the First Consul's willwithout reference to Britain. It is hardlysurprising, then, that contemporary Britishopinion regarded France as the majorbeneficiary of Amiens. Lord Grenville, theformer Foreign Secretary, was aghast:

I consider the present treaty ... merelywith reference to the question of terms, as itaffects our security at home and abroad; thebalance of strength, particularly of naval andcolonial strength, between us and above all, thegeneral credit and dignity of our nationalcharacter. In all these points it appears to memost miserably defective; but ...it is most of allso in the last point...

Yet the military situation seemed toministers to leave little option but to makean accommodation with France.

Amiens soon came to be regarded as atruce rather than a conclusive pacification.George Iü was reported to have said of it,'Do you know what I call the peace - anexperimental peace, for it is nothing else ...It was unavoidable. I was abandoned byeverybody, allies and all.' Talleyrand'sassessment of the situation seems, therefore,most astute: 'It can be said without the leastexaggeration that at the time of the Peace ofAmiens France enjoyed abroad such power,such glory, and such influence, that the mostambitious spirit could hardly desire more forhis country.' But the ambitions of the FirstConsul were higher than his foreign minister

or indeed anyone could have expected.France failed to follow the spirit of theTreaties of Lunéville and Amiens, continuingto look to her own territorial aggrandizementat the expense of the future peace of Europe.With hindsight it is easy to identify theshortcomings of these treaties and find inthem the seeds of the Napoleonic Wars.

It is impossible to assess with any accuracythe losses sustained by each side in the wars,but battlefield losses alone accounted formany tens of thousands of French andAustrians, not to mention other nationals. Wealso know that, until the end of the 19thcentury, sickness, disease, and fatigue alwaysaccounted for several times as many deaths aslosses in combat. It is known that France alonelost several hundred thousand men. Britishmilitary and naval losses exceeded 100,000.Most were victims of dysentery, yellow fever,and other tropical diseases in the West Indies.There, perhaps 80,000 men died or wereinvalided out of the service between 1794 and1796. Over 40 percent of the troops stationedin the Windward and Leeward Islands died ofillness in 1796 alone.

Such losses might have been avoided hadthe Great Powers combined forces from thestart and appreciated the enormous political,social, and military threat whichrevolutionary France posed as a catalyst forupheaval elsewhere and as a renegade powerwilling and, as events soon proved, able tosmash the existing balance of power inEurope. In addition to the distractionscaused by the two final partitions of Polandin 1793 and 1795, the Allies had squanderedthe opportunity of defeating revolutionaryFrance by failing to combine their forces inone great coalition - a mistake they wouldcontinue to repeat until 1813 when, at last,all Europe opposed an enemy fatallyweakened by years of campaigning,highlighted by disaster in Russia and Spain.At the beginning of the wars the forces ofthe various German states of the HolyRoman Empire alone, had they been put inthe field, would have exceeded 600,000 men.Yet even without these, the combined mightof Austria, Prussia, and Russia, operating on

Major actions at sea (1793-1801) and strength of forces 1790

90 E

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tial H

istories • The F

rench Revolutionary W

ars

Conclusion and consequences 91

OPPOSITE1. Glorious First of June, 1 June 1794 -The first

major naval encounter proves an important moraleboast for Britain, but Howe fails to stop a vital grainconvoy from reaching France.

2. Belle Ile, 17 June 1795 - Outnumbered Cornwallisskillfully escapes from a superior French force.

3. Ile de Groîx, 23 June 1795 - Bridport defeats

Villaret off lle de Groix.4.The Gulf of Genoa, 13-14 March 17955. Hyéres, 13 July 1795 - Hotham fights indecisive

actions off Genoa and Toulon.6. St Vincent, 14 February 1797 - Jervis, aided by

Nelson's exceptional boldness, decisively defeats theSpanish and prevents them from combining with theFrench for an invasion of Britain.

7. Camperdown, 11 October 1797 - Duncan, with16 ships, fights a bitter contest against 15 Dutch,capturing nine of them.

8.The Nile, 1 August 1798 - Nelson, with 14 sail.

utterly defeats Brueys, leaving the French stranded inEgypt and restoring British control of theMediterranean.

9. Donegal, 12 October 1798 -Warren defeats asquadron carrying French troops off Ireland.

10.Copenhagen, 2 April 1801 Nelson, with. 12 ships, destroys the Danish fleet at anchor ending

the League of Armed Neutrality.11-12. Algeciras I and II, 6, 12-13 July 1801

Saumarez. initially checked, defeats a superiorFranco-Spanish force.

several mutually supporting fronts, wouldcertainly have put paid to the Revolutionlong before the levee en masse took suchdecisive effect and before the emergence ofthe man who was to shape the destiny ofFrance - and much of the Continent as well- until 1815. Instead, the Allies foughtpiecemeal, dividing their armies andefforts to challenge their opponents atdifferent points with insufficient force andpredictable results.

What did the French Revolutionary Warsaccomplish and what was their legacy? Farand away the most significant result was thepreservation and consolidation of theRevolution itself. None of the products andachievements of this, the most importantpolitical and social movement in modernhistory, would have survived had Francesuffered early defeat. Constitutionalgovernment, a limited franchise,secularization of the state, wholesale socialand judicial reforms, the elimination of

aristocratic and clerical privileges, and theabolition of feudalism, all stemmed from theFrench Revolution. In urban areas it grantednew political power to the middle class,while in the countryside it transferred vasttracts of church, crown and aristocratic landto the peasantry. All of these changes owedtheir existence to the Republic's success inthe field.

Yet the impact of the Revolution washardly limited to France; indeed, itfundamentally changed Europe. In spite ofJacobin radicalism, many Europeans plainlyrecognized that the Revolution symbolizedpopular sovereignty and equality before thelaw. It was the first time, moreover, that anentire people became identified with theNation. Above all, the success of the armiesof the Revolution meant that liberalism andnationalism - the two central features of the19th century - would not only survive, butflourish.

When we assess the French RevolutionaryWars we must try to avoid swallowing wholeall the stereotypes and mythologiesassociated with it. Strictly speaking, theFrench Revolution was not the birthplace ofnationalism. Even in the absolute monarchyof Frederick the Great, Prussians werebeginning to fight not merely on behalf oftheir king, but on behalf of a nation which,while not embracing a pan-Germanphilosophy, at the very least viewed theFrench as hereditary enemies. Here, throughthe upheaval of war, were the beginnings ofnational identity, a process rapidlyaccelerated by, but not strictly invented by,the French Revolution and the wars whichsprang from it.

Nor can it be said that revolutionarywarfare began with the French RevolutionaryWars - at least not in the main. It is certainthat they sped the process of change alreadyunderway. Building on existing militarythought, French military commandersemployed revolutionary tactics against theirhidebound royal counterparts withremarkable success. The origins ofrevolutionary warfare are, however, to befound in the innovations and reforms


resulting from the experience of battle bothin Europe and in North America in thedecades which immediately preceded thegeneral European war to which the FrenchRevolution gave rise. However ably thegenerals of the Revolution wielded theseprinciples, it may not be said that theycreated them. Napoleon Bonaparte provedexceptional, of course, and his strategicgenius helps us divine the break between thewars of maneuver and the wars of decisiveencounters.

War, as Clausewitz later wrote in On War,was now about destroying the enemy'sarmed forces through direct confrontationon the battlefield, having first placed oneselfin the most advantageous position.Hereafter, war meant seeking directconfrontation between contending forcesrather than deliberately avoiding it, thushoping to achieve a decisive result.Combatants in the field also grew tonumbers previously unheard of in Europeanhistory, for the principle of the 'Nation inArms' meant that those countries who choseto embrace this idea could hereafter wieldforces of unprecedented size. The age ofmodern warfare had dawned.

If the French Revolutionary Wars createdthe greatest general, they also produced thegreatest admiral. In the annals of navalwarfare Nelson stands alone. To be fair, whileNapoleon ranks first among great militarycommanders, he at least has had someillustrious company over the centuries. By theend of the French Revolutionary Wars Nelsonwas nearly broken in health and bore for allto see the scars of years of arduous duty at seaand the wounds of close combat. He had wontwo brilliant victories at the Nile and atCopenhagen, and it only remained for him tocomplete the trinity with his last and greatesttriumph at Trafalgar in 1805 - so decisive avictory that Britannia truly did rule the wavesfor the next 100 years.

On land, as well, the FrenchRevolutionary Wars produced battles of greatsignificance, both politically and tactically.Valmy, being little more than an exchange ofcannon fire, hardly even qualifies as a battle,

but from a political point of view it wasimmensely important: it saved the newlyborn Republic, signed the death warrant ofLouis XVI and Marie Antoinette (with thegreat political implications this had forAnglo-French relations), enabled France toconquer Belgium and the Rhineland, andtransformed what everyone imagined wouldbe a short war into an epic worldwidestruggle which lasted for over two decades.Then there was Fleurus in 1794, whicheffectively ensured that France would retaincontrol of the Low Countries - which indeedit did for the next 20 years. At Castiglionein 1796, Bonaparte's tactical abilities resultedin a spectacular double envelopment,while throughout the campaigns of 1796-97he continuously demonstrated the decisiveresults to be achieved by dividing hisenemy's forces before defeating them indetail. Later, at Marengo in 1800, Bonaparterefused to accept initial defeat and tookadvantage of the Austrians' slow pursuitoperations to reorganize his forces, receivereinforcements, and deliver, afterconcentrating his artillery fire, an effectivelyconceived and executed counterattack.

The French Revolutionary Wars not onlyproduced in Napoleon Bonaparte history'sgreatest military commander; on the basis ofhis military successes and his extraordinarypersonal charisma, the wars also thrust himinto the political limelight, enabling him tooccupy the same role as his monarchical rivals- supreme leader of the army as well as of thestate - even if that state was still a republic inname. Thus, paradoxically, a conflict meant tospread republicanism and liberty in fact leftFrance under dictatorial rule born of a coup.That dictatorship, having been forged on thebattlefields of Italy and Egypt, had bydefinition no basis in political legitimacy.Napoleon would not be satisfied until he wasnot just First Consul but also Emperor ofFrance. Thus, only through further victoriescould a self-appointed emperor hope tosustain himself in power - and therein lay thebasis for the early renewal of hostilities in a yetgreater and more destructive contest of arms,the Napoleonic Wars.

Further reading

Barthorp, M., Napoleon's Egyptian Campaigns,1798-1801 (London, Osprey 1978).

Bertaud, J., The Army of the French Revolution(Princeton, Princeton University Pressrepr. 1988).

Blanning, T.C.W., The Origins of the FrenchRevolutionary Wars (London, Longmanrepr. 1997).

-The French Revolutionary Wars (London,Arnold, 1976).

Chandler, D., The Campaigns of Napoleon(New York, MacMillan,1966).

Clausewitz, Carl von, On War (ed. and trans.M. Howard and P. Paret, Princeton,Princeton University Press, 1983).

Dillon, W.H., Dillon's Narrative, I (London,Navy Records Society, 1953).

Duffy, C, Eagles across the Alps (Chicago, TheEmperor's Press, 1998).

Elting, J.R., Swords around a Throne (London,Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1988).

Glover, M., Warfare in the Age of Bonaparte(London, Cassell, 1980)

Griffith, P., Art of War of Revolutionary France,1789-1802 (London, Greenhill Books,1999).

Haythornthwaite, P., Napoleon's Campaigns inItaly (London, Osprey, 1993).

-Uniforms of the French Revolutionary Wars(London, Arms and Armour, repr. 1999).

-Weapons and Equipment of the NapoleonicWars (London, Arms and Armour 1998).

Hollins, D., Marengo 1800 (Oxford, Osprey,2000).

Howard, Michael, War in European History(Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1984).

Marcus, G.J., The Age of Nelson (New York,Viking Press, 1971).

Nosworthy, B., Battle Tactics of Napoleon andhis Enemies (London, Constable, 1995).

Phipps, R.W., The Armies of the First FrenchRepublic (London, Oxford University Press,repr. 1999).

Rodger, A.B., The War of the Second Coalition(Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1964).

Rothenburg, G., Napoleon's Great Adversary:Archduke Charles and the Austrian Army(Bloomington, Indiana University Press,repr. 1995).

-The Art of Warfare in the Age of Napoleon(Bloomington, Indiana University Press,1978).

Index

Figures in bold refer to illustrations

Abercromby, General Ralph 49, 50Aboukir Bay 45, 47Alps 54-56Alvintzi, General 40Amiens, Treaty of 11, 88-89Anglo-Russian alliance 11, 46, 52Arcola, Battle of 10, 40arms 61, 64-65, 69, 75artillery 57, 59, 60Artois, Comte d' 20, 22arts and literature 74, 76-77Austen, jane 74Austria 14, 31, 37, 51, 82-84

military strength 17Austrian Succession, War of the 12, 13, 14-15Austro-Prussian alliance 10, 27

Basle, Treaty of 10Bassano, Battle of 11, 39Bastille, storming of the 10, 15Beaulieu, General 38Bedlam Furnace 74Bonaparte, Napoleon 32, 34, 37-40, 42, 52-56, 55,

63, 72-73, 85, 92Egypt campaign 44, 46-49

Bridport, Admiral 37Brissot, Jacques-Pierre 21, 24Broglie, Marshal de 60'Brown Bess' musket 65Brunswick, Duke of 26, 33Brunswick Manifesto 25-26

Campo Formio, Treaty of 11, 40, 41, 52, 85Cape St Vincent, Battle of 11, 41Carnot, Lazare 8, 29-30, 32, 33, 32, 36Cassano 11, 53Castiglione, Battle of 10, 39, 92Catherine of Russia (Catherine the Great) 12-13,

18, 19, 21cavalry 57, 63, 65-66Charles IV of Spain 19Charles, Archduke, Austrian Commander-in-Chief

37-38, 40, 50, 52, 53, 83Colli, Baron 38combat, naval 68-70, 71Committee of Public Safety 28conquests, French 86Constituent Assembly 20Consular Guard 53Consulate 54Copenhagen, Battle of 82Cossacks 18Custine, General 27, 28-29, 60

Davidovich, General 40Desaix, General 56

Dillon, Sir William Henry 67-71see also Royal Navy-

Directory 37, 52, 53Dumouriez, Charles Francois 24, 26-27, 28

Egypt 42-49El Arish, Convention of 49Elphinstone, Admiral 37equipment 62, 65Europe 52-56

in 1792 6, 23in 1797 43in 1802 97

First Coalition, War of the 25-42belligerent powers 31Campaign of 1792 25-28Campaign of 1793 28-33Campaigns of 1794-95 33-37Campaign of 1796-97 37-42

Fleurus, Battle of 10, 34, 92France 6, 31, 51Francis II, Emperor of Austria 14, 14Fraternity, Edict of 27Frederick William ü of Prussia (Frederick the Great)

12, 17, 19, 21French Guards 16Fulton, Robert

submarine 77

Garde Nationale see National GuardGenoa 11, 54George III of England 13, 13Girondins 21Glorious First of June, Battle of the 10, 35, 68, 70Great Britain 9, 13, 19, 29, 30, 31, 35, 51

industrialization 74-75military strength 17see also Royal Navy

Gribeauval, Comte de 59-60Guadet 21-22Gustavus III of Sweden 21

Hamilton, Emma 78-81Hoche, General 33Hohenlinden, Battle of 11, 82-84Holy Roman Empire 8, 27-28, 31, 51Hondschoote, Battle of 10, 30, 32Hood, Admiral Lord 29, 32Hotham, Admiral 36Houchard, General 30, 32Howe, Lord 34, 41, 68

infantry 57, 64-65Austrian 64French 37, 61Turkish 50

Italy 38-40

Index 95

Jemappes 10, 27Jervis, Admiral Sir John 34, 41, 44John, Archduke, Austrian Commander-in-Chief 82Joseph ü of Austria 14, 20Jourdan, Jean-Baptiste 32, 34, 36, 37, 52

Kellermann, General Francois 26, 32Kléber, Jean Baptiste 33, 34, 49-50Koblenz 22

Lafayette, General 25League of Armed Neutrality 56, 83-84Legislative Assembly 21Leoben 41Leopold 20-21levée en masse 10, 29-30, 33, 58, 62, 72Lodi, Battle of 10, 39losses 39, 40, 56, 89Louis XIV of France 13, 14Louis XVI of France 15-16, 20, 22, 25-26

execution 29Luckner, General 25Lunéville, Treaty de 11, 85, 88-89

Macdonald 52, 56Mamelukes 44-45, 48Mannheim 53Mantua 39, 40Marengo, Battle of 9, 11, 53, 54, 56, 82, 92Marie Antoinette, Queen of France 20Martin, Admiral 37Marseillaise 58Marseilles 30Massena, General André 36, 37, 40, 52, 53, 54Mauberge 32Melas, General Michael 53-54Menou, General 50Miranda, General Francisco de 28Montesquieu, Ann Philippe, Marquis de 25, 26Moreau, General Jean Victor 37-38, 52-53, 54, 82-83

Napoleonic Code 76National Assembly 16, 22, 24, 25, 27, 28National Convention 27, 28National Guard 16, 18, 26, 64naval battles 1793-1801 90Neerwinden, Battle of 10, 28Nelson, Horatio 9, 33, 34, 41, 42, 44, 45, 56, 78,

79-81, 83-84, 92Nile, Battle of the 45-46, 47Nore mutiny 42Novi, Battle of 11, 53

Paris 16, 24, 25, 26Treaty of 15

Parker, Admiral Sir Hyde 56Paul I, Tsar of Russia 13, 18, 54, 56Pichegru, Jean-Charles 34, 36, 37Pillnitz, Declaration of 10, 21, 22Pitt, William, the Younger 13, 19, 30, 75Poland, First Partition of 12, 19Prussia 8, 9, 12, 17, 31, 37punishment, naval 68

Pyramids, Battle of the 44-45, 46-47, 58

Quasdanovich, General 39Quesnoy 29

Représantant en Mission 58Reserve Army 54-56Riou, Captain Edward 84Rivoli, Battle of 11, 38, 40Robespierre, Maximilien 29, 35Rochambeau, General 25Royal Navy 13, 36, 37, 41, 44, 56, 73, 74, 83-84

see also Dillon, Sir William Henry; Great BritainRussia 12-13, 17-18, 36, 51

Saint Cyr, General Gouvian 53Sambre and Meuse, Army of the 34San Ildefonso, Treaty of 10Savoy 32Saxe, Marshal de 61-62Saxe-Coburg, Prince of 28-29science and technology 77Second Coalition, War of the 13, 17

belligerent powers 51Egypt and Syria campaigns 1798-1801 42-52Europe operations 1799-1801 52

semaphore 77Seven Years' War 13, 17Schérer, Barthélemy 52Smith, Admiral Sir Sydney 49social reform 76St Vincent see Cape St Vincent, Battle ofSuvorov, Field Marshal Alexander 52, 53

tactics see warfare'Tennis Court Oath' 16Terror, Reign of 28-29, 35Third Estate 16Toulon 42

Siege of 10, 32Tournai, Battle of 10, 34Trebbia, Battle of the 11, 53

uniforms 63-65

Valenciennes 25Valmy 10, 26, 27, 92Varennes 20Vienna 24, 82-83Villaret de Joyeuse, Admiral 35

warfare 56-63Wattignies, Battle of 32weapons see armsWest Indies 35Whitney, Eli

cotton gin 76, 77Würmser, General 39-40Würzburg, Battle of 10, 37-38

York, Duke of 30, 34, 36

Zürich 11, 53, 54

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