War of the First Coalition facts for kids
The War of the First Coalition was a series of wars fought by several European countries against France. It lasted from 1792 to 1797. At first, these countries fought against the King of France, Louis XVI. Later, they fought against the French Republic that took over. The countries in the Coalition were not very organized. Each country hoped to gain something from France if it lost, but France ended up winning.
Relations between the French revolutionaries and the kings and queens of nearby countries became very tense. This happened after the Declaration of Pillnitz in August 1791. Eight months later, France declared war on Austria on April 20, 1792. Prussia, which was allied with Austria, declared war on France in June 1792. In July 1792, an army led by the Duke of Brunswick, mostly made of Prussian soldiers, invaded France. When they captured Verdun on September 2, 1792, it led to violent events in Paris. France fought back and won the Battle of Valmy on September 20. Two days later, the French government announced the creation of the French Republic.
After this, the Coalition countries tried to invade France several times by land and sea. Prussia and Austria attacked from the Austrian Netherlands and the Rhine river. Great Britain supported rebellions inside France and attacked Toulon in October 1793. France faced some defeats and internal problems. In response, the French government took very strict actions. They formed the Committee of Public Safety in April 1793. They also started the levée en masse in August 1793. This was a new rule that drafted all young men aged 18 to 25 into the army. The new French armies fought back, pushed the invaders out, and even moved beyond France's borders.
The French set up the Batavian Republic in May 1795. This was a "sister republic", meaning it was a country controlled by France. Prussia then recognized France's control of the Left Bank of the Rhine river in the first Peace of Basel. With the Treaty of Campo Formio, Austria gave the Austrian Netherlands to France. Northern Italy was also turned into several French-controlled republics. Spain made a separate peace agreement with France. The French Directory (the new French government) took over more parts of the Holy Roman Empire.
North of the Alps, Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen improved the situation for the Coalition in 1796. But Napoleon Bonaparte won many victories against Sardinia and Austria in northern Italy from 1796 to 1797. These victories led to the Peace of Leoben and the Treaty of Campo Formio in October 1797. The First Coalition fell apart, and only Britain was left fighting against France.
Quick facts for kids War of the First Coalition |
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| Part of the French Revolutionary Wars and the Coalition Wars | |||||||||
 Click an image to load the appropriate article. Left to right, top to bottom: Battles of Valmy, Toulon, Fleurus, Quiberon, Arcole and Mantua |
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First Coalition:
 Papal States (until 1797) Parma (until 1796) Portugal Prussia (until 1795) Sardinia (until 1796) Spain (until 1795) Naples (until 1796)Other Italian states |
French satellites:
French naval allies:
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 94,000 soldiers killed in combat~282,000 died of disease 220,000 captured 100,000 wounded |
 100,000 soldiers killed in combat~300,000 died of disease 150,000 captured |
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Contents
How the War Started
Revolution in France
The French Revolution began in 1789. Other kings and queens in Europe watched with worry. They thought about getting involved to help King Louis XVI or to take advantage of the chaos. The Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold II, was the brother of the French Queen Marie Antoinette. He was initially calm about the Revolution. But he grew more concerned as the Revolution became more extreme. He still hoped to avoid a war.
On August 27, 1791, Leopold and King Frederick William II of Prussia made the Declaration of Pillnitz. They said they were worried about Louis XVI and his family. They threatened serious consequences if anything bad happened to them. Leopold hoped this statement would help him avoid taking real action. However, the revolutionary leaders in Paris saw it as a serious threat.
Besides political differences, there were arguments over land in Alsace. French leaders were also worried about French nobles who had left France and were stirring up trouble in other countries. These nobles were called émigrés. They were especially active in the Austrian Netherlands and German states. Finally, France declared war on Austria on April 20, 1792. The French government voted for war after hearing a long list of complaints from the foreign minister, Charles François Dumouriez. He hoped a war might make the King more popular and powerful again.
Key Events of 1792
Invasion of the Austrian Netherlands
General Dumouriez planned to invade the Austrian Netherlands. He expected the local people to rise up against Austrian rule. However, the French army was very disorganized because of the Revolution. They didn't have enough soldiers for the invasion. French soldiers often ran away at the first sign of battle. Many deserted, and some even killed their own general, Théobald Dillon.
While the French government worked hard to get new troops, an army from the Coalition gathered. This army was led by the Duke of Brunswick and met at Koblenz in Germany. The invasion began in July 1792. On July 25, the Duke issued a statement called the Brunswick Manifesto. It was written by King Louis XVI's brothers. It said that the Duke planned to bring the King back to full power. It also threatened to kill anyone who opposed him. This made the French revolutionaries even more determined to fight. It also led to a crowd storming the Tuileries Palace and overthrowing the King.
Prussian Army's Progress
Brunswick's army, mostly skilled Prussian soldiers, entered France on August 19. They easily took the forts of Longwy and Verdun. But at the Battle of Valmy on September 20, 1792, they faced Dumouriez and Kellermann. The French artillery (cannons) fought very well. The battle was a draw, but it gave the French revolutionaries valuable time. It also greatly boosted French morale. The Prussians realized the war would be longer and more costly than they thought. They decided to retreat from France to protect their army.
Fighting in Italy and Germany
Meanwhile, the French were successful in other areas. They took over the Duchy of Savoy and the County of Nice in Italy. General Custine invaded Germany. He captured Speyer, Worms, and Mainz along the Rhine river. He even reached Frankfurt. Dumouriez attacked again in the Austrian Netherlands. He won a big victory over the Austrians at Jemappes on November 6, 1792. By the start of winter, France controlled the entire country.
Key Events of 1793
On January 21, the French government executed King Louis XVI. This event united all European governments against the Revolution. This included Spain, Naples, and the Netherlands. France declared war against Britain and the Netherlands on February 1, 1793. Soon after, they declared war on Spain. During 1793, the Holy Roman Empire, the kings of Portugal and Naples, and the Grand Duke of Tuscany also declared war on France. This is how the First Coalition was formed.
New Soldiers for France
France started a new way to get soldiers. They drafted hundreds of thousands of men. This was called levée en masse (mass conscription). It meant that France could use more of its people for the army than other countries. They stayed on the attack so their large armies could take supplies from enemy lands. The Girondin group in the French government sent Citizen Genet to the United States. He was supposed to convince them to join France in the war. But the new American nation refused. The Washington administration declared neutrality in 1793. They threatened to take legal action against any American who helped either side.
After winning the Battle of Neerwinden in March, the Austrians lost two battles. These were the battles of Wattignies and Wissembourg. British ground forces were defeated at the Battle of Hondschoote in September.
Key Events of 1794
In 1794, the French revolutionary armies became even more successful. They won a major victory against the Coalition forces at the Battle of Fleurus. This victory gave France control of all the Austrian Netherlands and the Rhineland. The British navy was still strong at sea. However, they could not effectively support any land operations after France took over the Belgian areas. The Prussians were slowly pushed out of the eastern provinces. By the end of the year, they had stopped fighting in the war. Against Spain, the French successfully moved into Catalonia and Navarre in the War of the Pyrenees.
Fighting in the West Indies
The fighting also spread to the French colonies in the West Indies. A British fleet took over Martinique, St. Lucia, and Guadeloupe. However, a French fleet arrived later that year and took back Guadeloupe from the British.
Key Events of 1795
French Takeover of the Low Countries
France took control of the Low Countries in a surprise winter attack. They then set up the Batavian Republic as a country they controlled. Even before the end of 1794, Prussia stopped fighting. On April 5, 1795, King Frederick William II signed the Peace of Basel with France. This treaty recognized France's control of the left bank of the Rhine river. The new Dutch government, controlled by France, made peace by giving up Dutch land south of that river. A peace treaty between France and Spain followed in July. The Grand Duke of Tuscany had also made peace in February. The Coalition was falling apart, and France itself would be safe from invasion for many years.
Battle of Quiberon
Britain tried to help the rebels in the Vendée region of France. They landed French Royalist troops at Quiberon, but this effort failed. Also, attempts to overthrow the government in Paris by force were stopped by the army led by Napoleon Bonaparte. This led to the creation of the Directory, a new government for France.
Battle of Mainz
On the Rhine border, General Charles Pichegru was secretly talking with the exiled Royalists. He betrayed his army, which led to the French having to leave Mannheim. It also caused the siege of Mainz by Jourdan to fail.
Key Events of 1796
The French planned a big attack on three fronts. Generals Jourdan and Jean Victor Marie Moreau were on the Rhine. The newly promoted Napoleon Bonaparte was in Italy. The three armies were supposed to meet in Tyrol and then march on Vienna, the capital of Austria.
Rhine Campaign
In the Rhine campaign of 1796, Jourdan and Moreau crossed the Rhine river and moved into Germany. Jourdan advanced as far as Amberg in late August. Moreau reached Bavaria and the edge of Tyrol by September. However, Jourdan was defeated by Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen. Both French armies were forced to retreat back across the Rhine.
Invasion of Italy
Napoleon, on the other hand, was very successful in a bold invasion of Italy. In the Montenotte Campaign, he separated the armies of Sardinia and Austria. He defeated each one separately. Then he forced Sardinia to sign a peace treaty. After this, his army captured Milan and began the Siege of Mantua. Bonaparte defeated several Austrian armies sent against him while continuing the siege. These armies were led by Johann Peter Beaulieu, Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser, and József Alvinczi.
End of the Vendée War
The rebellion in the Vendée region of France was also stopped in 1796 by Louis Lazare Hoche. Hoche later tried to land a large invasion force in Munster to help the United Irishmen, but this attempt was not successful.
Key Events of 1797
On February 2, Napoleon finally captured Mantua. The Austrians surrendered 18,000 men. Archduke Charles of Austria could not stop Napoleon from invading the Tyrol region. The Austrian government asked for peace in April. At the same time, there was a new French invasion of Germany led by Moreau and Hoche.
Invasion of Great Britain
On February 22, a French invasion force landed near Fishguard in Wales. It was made up of 1,400 soldiers from the La Legion Noire (The Black Legion). They were led by Irish American Colonel William Tate. They were met by a quickly gathered group of about 500 British reservists, militia, and sailors. This group was led by John Campbell, 1st Baron Cawdor. After short fights with local people and Lord Cawdor's forces on February 23, Tate was forced to surrender on February 24. This was the only battle fought on British soil during the Revolutionary Wars.
Peace with Austria
Austria signed the Treaty of Campo Formio in October. This treaty gave Belgium to France. It also recognized French control of the Rhineland and much of Italy. The old Republic of Venice was divided between Austria and France. This ended the War of the First Coalition. However, Great Britain and France remained at war with each other.
See also
