French Revolutionary Wars

The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of sweeping military conflicts. They lasted from 1792 until 1802. They happened because of the French Revolution. They fought against Great Britain, Austria and several other monarchies that were extremely popular at the time.

How it all Started

On Apr. 20, 1792, France started a war with Austria. They lacked discipline, and many noble officers had emigrated. The Austrian and Prussian forces under Charles William Ferdinand, duke of Brunswick, quickly crossed the frontier and began to march on Paris.

The duke issued a manifesto threatening to raze Paris shall the royal family be harmed. This manifesto angered the French and contributed to the suspension of the king. The comte de Rochambeau, commanding the northern sector, and the marquis de Lafayette, commanding the center, resigned. Their able successors, the generals Dumouriez and Kellermann, turned the tide when they repulsed the invaders at Valmy. Dumouriez advanced on the Austrian Netherlands (Belgium), and he seized it after the battle of Jemappes, while Custine captured Mainz and advanced on Frankfurt.

It Finally Ended

The treaty of Amiens in March 1802 between Britain and France ended the ‘War of the Second Coalition’. But continued French expansion in southern Europe, together with support for Britain’s enemies in India, brought a renewed declaration of war from Britain by May 1803, followed by another abortive French-backed rebellion in Ireland in July. The Indian threat was ended by Wellesley’s defeat of the Mahratta Confederacy at Assaye in September 1803, leading to a negotiated peace in India by 1806.

I believe that this war shaped this country because without it they may feel threatened by other countries and be much more unpredictable. We also may not be able to rely on them now. Looking back on this war ten years later i completely believe that this war and all the bloodshed was worth it.

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