amalgamation of the regulars with the volunteers, and who fused the two
elements together by dividing the army into demi-brigades made up of
one battalion of regulars and four of volunteers. The result of these
measures appeared before long in the formation of a magnificent army,
which for numbers, discipline and the spirit of its troops, was a match
for the united forces of Europe.
The campaign of 1793, which at one time threatened France with serious
danger, ended in complete success. The valuable victories of Houchard
and of Jourdan on the North-Eastern frontier in September and October,
drove the Allies back upon Belgium. The equally notable successes of
Hoche and Pichegru, which followed in Alsace, drove the victorious
Austrians and Prussians again across the Rhine. The brave insurgents
of La Vendée found themselves at last opposed by a powerful army under
a general of high ability, and were defeated by Kléber at Chollet in
October, and subsequently routed at Le Mans. By the end of the year
France had ten armies for service in the field and an effective force
of some six hundred thousand men. On the North-East, four armies,
those of the Rhine, of the Moselle, of the Ardennes, and of the North,
stretched from Strasbourg to the sea. Further to the South, the army of
the Alps occupied Savoy, and the army of Italy, which had just reduced
Toulon, waited for a new commander to launch it on an illustrious
career. In the West, two more armies held the Pyrenees, and a third
watched the insurgents of La Vendée; while on the Northern coast, the
army of Normandy, not yet organised into a definite force, guarded the
sea-board and dreamed vainly of invading England.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account