War of the First Coalition

The War of the First Coalition (French: Guerre de la première coalition) was a set of wars between a coalition of several European powers and France fought between 1792 and 1797. The coalition was only loosely allied and fought without much coordination; each power wanted to annex a different part of France should they defeat the French, something which never occurred. Relations between the French revolutionaries and neighbouring monarchies had deteriorated following the Declaration of Pillnitz in August 1791. Eight months later, following a vote by the revolutionary-led Legislative Assembly, France declared war on Austria on 20 April 1792; Prussia, having allied with Austria in February, declared war on France in June 1792. In July 1792, an army under the Duke of Brunswick and composed mostly of Prussians joined the Austrian side and invaded France. The capture of Verdun (2 September 1792) triggered the September massacres in Paris. France counterattacked with victory at Valmy (20 September) and two days later the National Convention, which had replaced the Legislative Assembly, proclaimed the French Republic. Subsequently, the coalition invaded France by land and sea, in association with Prussia and Austria attacking from the Austrian Netherlands and the Rhine, and Great Britain supporting revolts in provincial France and laying siege to Toulon in October 1793. France suffered reversals (Battle of Neerwinden, 18 March 1793) and internal strife (War in the Vendée) and responded with draconian measures. The Committee of Public Safety was formed (6 April 1793) and the levée en masse drafted all men aged 18 to 25 in the army (August 1793). The new French armies counterattacked, repelled the invaders, and advanced beyond France. The French established the Batavian Republic as a sister republic (May 1795) in place of the defeated Dutch Republic and gained Prussian recognition of French control of the Left Bank of the Rhine by the first Peace of Basel. With the Treaty of Campo Formio, Austria ceded the Austrian Netherlands to France and Northern Italy was turned into several French sister republics. Spain made a separate peace accord with France (Second Treaty of Basel) and the French Directory annexed more of the Holy Roman Empire. North of the Alps, Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen defeated the invading armies during the Rhine campaign, but Napoleon Bonaparte succeeded against Sardinia and Austria in northern Italy (1796–1797) near the Po Valley, culminating in the Peace of Leoben and the Treaty of Campo Formio (October 1797). The First Coalition collapsed, leaving only Britain in the field fighting against France.

Infobox

Date

20 April 1792 – 17 October 1797

Location

France, Central Europe, Italy, the Low Countries, Spain, West Indies

Result

French victory; Treaty of The Hague, Treaty of Paris, Peaces of Basel, Treaty of Tolentino, Treaty of Campo Formio

Territorialchanges

French annexation of the Austrian Netherlands, the Left Bank of the Rhine, Savoy, and other smaller territories Santo Domingo to France French sister republics established End of millennial Venetian independence

Tables

· External links

Preceded bySiege of Namur (1792)

French Revolution: Revolutionary campaignsWar of the First Coalition

Succeeded byWar in the Vendée

References

Nominally the Holy Roman Empire, under Austrian rule, also encompassed many other Italian states, such as the Duchy of
Left the war after signing the Peace of Basel with France.
Left the war after signing the Treaty of Paris with France.
Including the Army of Condé. Britain was in personal union with the Electorate of Hanover which was also part of the Hol
Left the war after signing the Treaty of The Hague (1795) with France.
Including the Polish Legions formed in French-allied Italy in 1797, following the abolition of the Polish–Lithuanian Com
The French Revolutionary Army and Dutch revolutionaries overthrew the Dutch Republic and established the Batavian Republ
Various conquered Italian states, including the Cisalpine Republic from 1797
Re-entered the war against Britain as an ally of France after signing the Second Treaty of San Ildefonso.
initially against the constitutional Kingdom of France and then the French Republic that succeeded it
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