“Do you hear in the fields
The howling of those fearsome soldiers?
They are coming into your midst
To slit the throats of your sons and consorts.
To arms, citizens!
Form up your battalions!
Let’s march, let’s march!
May impure blood soak our fields’ furrows!”
– English translation of “La Marseillaise” (1792), originally written in French during the French Revolution – now used as the national anthem of France
The French Revolution sucked much of Europe into a decade of bitter warfare
In 1789, a French mob stormed the Bastille on the 14th of July. This is the most famous date of the French Revolution, with its anniversary today celebrated in France as “Bastille Day.” This is actually the national holiday of France today, much as “Independence Day” is the national holiday of the United States. But there’s more to the story than this domestic revolution, although that is a critically important part of it. The French Revolution also sucked much of Europe into a decade of bitter warfare. The later years of the French Revolution were thus set against the backdrop of warfare. That is, there was an overlap between the later “French Revolution” and the early “French Revolutionary Wars.” This post will cover the often-forgotten conflicts that were associated with the French Revolution. I have saved my coverage of the Napoleonic Wars for another post, even though these two topics are intimately connected. Thus, I will instead be focusing here on the “French Revolutionary Wars,” which lasted for ten years in all. In so many ways, they were a great European cataclysm.
Storming of the Bastille, 1789
The French Revolution begins in 1789, and the French Revolutionary Wars begin in 1792
As mentioned above, the French Revolution began with the storming of the Bastille in 1789. I have covered its causes in another post, so I will have to omit them from this post. Instead, let me note some related events from overseas, which were in France’s distant Caribbean colony of Haiti. That is, the “Haitian Revolution” began in 1791, before the “French Revolutionary Wars” had even started. The French Revolution was already having effects far beyond the European continent. The “Haitian Revolution” would not end until 1804, after the “French Revolutionary Wars” had ended in Europe. (But I’m getting ahead of myself here.) In 1792, other European powers were worried about this chaos in France. Specifically, they were worried that the upheaval would spread beyond France’s borders into other nations, possibly leading to mob violence and even “regicide” (or “king-killing”). The British, in particular, were worried about these possibilities. Thus, the “War of the First Coalition” began on the 20th of April 1792. Thus began the “French Revolutionary Wars” as a whole. Among other things, the opening years of this “War of the First Coalition” saw an ongoing “Flanders campaign,” in places like the Netherlands and Belgium. Thus, it is sometimes called the “Low Countries theatre” of the war. The early years of this “War of the First Coalition” also saw the War in the Vendée, another theatre of this same conflict.
Storming of the Tuileries, 1792
The executions of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, and the 1792 birth of France
The reign of King Louis the Sixteenth ended on 21 September 1792. The “Kingdom of France” (once under the Capetian rulers) actually goes back to the year 987, and the “Kingdom of the Franks” actually goes back to the “Treaty of Verdun” back in 843. Nonetheless, many would date the birth of France to the creation of this “First French Republic” on 22 September 1792. This was the day after King Louis the Sixteenth and Marie Antoinette had left office. King Louis the Sixteenth was executed in January 1793, and his wife Marie Antoinette was executed in October 1793 – nine months after her husband’s death. The Revolution had many leaders, such as Maximilien Robespierre. But many of the Revolution’s leaders were themselves executed by the guillotine in the coming years. For example, Robespierre was himself executed in 1794. There was a “Peace of Basel” in 1795, but the “War of the First Coalition” continued after that. In 1796, the young Napoleon Bonaparte married Joséphine de Beauharnais. This would later become important in the Napoleonic Wars. The “War of the First Coalition” ended in 1797, when there was a Treaty of Campo Formio. However, the larger “French Revolutionary Wars” raged on between the Wars of the First and Second Coalitions, particularly the war with Britain. Among other things, this period between the two coalitions saw the beginning of several important events in the wars. These events included the French campaign in distant Egypt and Syria, France’s “Quasi-War” with the likewise-distant United States, the French invasion of nearby Switzerland, and (in Britain) the Irish Rebellion of 1798. Many of these conflicts continued well into the Second Coalition.
The burning of Granville, 1793
The domestic French Revolution ends when Napoleon Bonaparte comes to power in 1799
It might help to give a few brief comments on Napoleon Bonaparte himself, since he would later become important to the story of the French Revolution. That is, in his early career as a soldier, Napoleon took part in the 1793 Siege of Toulon. He also took part in the “Battle of 13 Vendémiaire” in 1795, and in the First Italian Campaign. He also took part in the aforementioned French expedition to distant Egypt and Syria. The other great phase of the “French Revolutionary Wars” was the “War of the Second Coalition,” which began in 1798. Domestically in France, the “French Revolution” itself finally ended (somewhat badly for the French) with the 1799 coup d’état. This brought Napoleon Bonaparte into power. This is sometimes called the “coup of 18 Brumaire,” because that was its date in the French calendar of that era. Many historians refer to this period in French history simply as “the Consulate.” But the “War of the Second Coalition” raged on – and, with it, the “French Revolutionary Wars” as a whole. Ironically, the wars that bear Napoleon’s name had not yet begun in this era, even though he was now officially the ruler of France. By most historical reckonings, the “War of the Second Coalition” would be better placed in the “French Revolutionary Wars” than in the “Napoleonic Wars” (those named after Napoleon). Nonetheless, I should acknowledge that there is still ongoing controversy about this classification today. Regardless of the classification, these wars continued into the year 1800, and into the nineteenth century more generally.
Battle of the Nile – Egypt, 1798
The French Revolutionary Wars end in 1802, but are soon followed by the Napoleonic Wars
There was a “Treaty of Lunéville” in 1801, but the “War of the Second Coalition” continued on after that. It only ended when the British and French signed the “Treaty of Amiens” on 25 March 1802. The “French Revolutionary Wars” as a whole then ended two days later, on 27 March 1802. Thus, the “French Revolutionary Wars” had lasted for ten years in all – a decade of bitter warfare, as mentioned earlier. The “French Revolutionary Wars” had also seen naval fighting in the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean, and even the Indian Ocean. And, as mentioned earlier, the French campaigns in Egypt and Syria had involved some fighting in the Middle East, even though the war is most famous for its fighting in Europe. There was even some fighting in distant India. The “Treaty of Amiens” was almost more like a truce than a peace treaty. Thus, the “Napoleonic Wars” began soon after in 1803. Sadly, these “Napoleonic Wars” would not end until the 1815 Battle of Waterloo, some twelve years later. Thus, Europe had then been at war, on and off, for more than twenty years. The death toll of the “French Revolutionary Wars” had easily been in the hundreds of thousands. By contrast, the death toll of the upcoming “Napoleonic Wars” would be in the millions, which was almost unheard-of in this era. Both rounds of these wars were thus a cataclysm for Europe, which drew in most of the European nations of that time. You could thus argue that these two conflicts were really just the same war, with only a brief truce in between.
First Battle of Algeciras – Near to Gibraltar, 1801
Conclusion: The “French Revolutionary Wars” were a great European cataclysm
Thus, the French Revolution was important for more than just France. It sucked much of Europe into a decade of near-constant warfare – or more than two decades, if you join these conflicts with the upcoming “Napoleonic Wars.” The “French Revolutionary Wars” tend to be little more than a historical footnote, in the larger (domestic) story of the “French Revolution.” They are also somewhat lesser-known than the subsequent “Napoleonic Wars,” even though these two topics are intimately connected with each other. But they were nonetheless important for continental Europe, and for the larger world as a whole. I have covered the Napoleonic Wars in another post, if you want to hear the rest of the story there.
Footnote to this blog post:
As mentioned earlier, the French national anthem is one of the products of this time. It was written in 1792, and was originally titled “Chant de guerre pour l'Armée du Rhin” (“War Song for the Army of the Rhine”). It is now simply entitled “La Marseillaise.” The French National Convention adopted it as the First Republic’s anthem three years later, in 1795. It has been used as the French national anthem ever since.
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