French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of Second Hundred Years' War the aftermath of the French Revolution | |||||||
Click an image to load the appropriate article. Left to right, top to bottom: battles of Toulon, Arcole, the Pyramids, Marengo, Trafalgar, Austerlitz, Berlin, Wagram, Leipzig, Paris, Waterloo | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
|
| ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
| |||||||
The French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, [5] sometimes called the Great French War, were a series of conflicts between the French and several European monarchies between 1792 and 1815. They encompass first the French Revolutionary Wars against the newly declared French Republic and from 1803 onwards the Napoleonic Wars against First Consul and later Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. [6] [7] They include the Coalition Wars as a subset: seven wars waged by various military alliances of great European powers, known as Coalitions, against Revolutionary France – later the First French Empire – and its allies between 1792 and 1815:
Although the Coalition Wars are the most prominent subset of conflicts of this era, some French Revolutionary Wars such as the French invasion of Switzerland (1798), and some Napoleonic Wars such as the French invasion of Russia (June – December 1812) and the Peninsular War (October 1807 – April 1814), are not counted amongst the "Coalition Wars" proper.
One of the first usages of the term "Coalition Wars" can be found in the 1803 Tribunat report, titled Résultats des guerres, des négociations et des traités qui ont préced́é et suivi la coalition contre la France ("Results of the Wars, Negotiations and Treaties that preceded and followed the Coalition against France"). About the situation in April 1793, when General Dumouriez had just been defeated at Neerwinden and defected to Austria, causing despair in France, it states: "Les événements de cette époque sont les plus pénibles à décrire de tous ceux qui ont signalé les guerres de la coalition." ("The events of that time are the most painful to describe of all those that marked the wars of the coalition." [emphasis added]). [8]
In January 1805, the Salzburger Intelligenzblatt was one of the first to number the Coalition Wars when it discussed "Das Staatsinteresse von Baiern bei dem dritten Koalitions-Kriege" ("The national interest of Bavaria in the Third Coalition War"). [9] Although the Third Coalition had been formed by that time, war had not yet broken out; [lower-alpha 2] the Austrian newspaper discussed why the neighbouring Electorate of Bavaria was likely to side with the French Empire rather than the Austrian-led Coalition. On 30 September 1805, a few days after the launch of the Ulm campaign, Emperor Napoleon addressed his troops in Strasbourg, starting his speech with the words: "Soldats, la guerre de la troisième coalition est commencée." ("Soldiers, the war of the third coalition has begun.") [10]
The term is distinct from "French Revolutionary Wars", which covers any war involving Revolutionary France between 1792 and 1799, when Napoleon seized power with the Coup of 18 Brumaire (9 November 1799), which is usually considered the end of the French Revolution. Since the War of the Second Coalition (1798–1802) had already begun when Napoleon seized power, the war as a whole may [7] or may not be counted amongst the French Revolutionary Wars, which therefore may end in 1799, 1801 (Treaty of Lunéville), or 1802 (Treaty of Amiens).
It also differs from "Napoleonic Wars", which is variously defined as covering any war involving France ruled by Napoleon between 1799 and 1815 (which includes the War of the Second Coalition, 1798–1802), or not commencing until the War of the Third Coalition (1803/05, depending on periodisation). In the latter case, historians do not term the War of the Second Coalition "Napoleonic", since Napoleon did not initiate it himself, but merely "inherited" it from the Revolutionary French Directory which he overthrew during the war.
Because it only pertains to wars involving any of the Coalition parties, not all wars counted amongst the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars are considered "Coalition Wars". For example, the French invasion of Switzerland (1798, between the First and Second Coalition), the Stecklikrieg (1802, between the Second and Third Coalition), the Peninsular War (1807–1814) and the French invasion of Russia (1812, between the Fifth and Sixth Coalition) were not assigned to the "Coalition Wars".
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (February 2023) |
The main European powers who forged the various anti-French Coalitions were Great Britain, Russia, Austria, and Prussia, although except for Great Britain not all of them were involved in every Coalition. Smaller powers that occasionally joined the Coalitions include Spain, Naples, Piedmont–Sardinia, the Dutch Republic, the Ottoman Empire, Portugal, Sweden, Denmark–Norway, and various German and Italian states. The First until Fifth Coalitions fell apart when one or more parties were defeated by France and were forced to leave the alliance, and sometimes became French allies; the Sixth and Seventh were dissolved after Napoleon was defeated in 1814 and 1815 and a new balance of power was established between the parties at the Congress of Vienna.
Members | First (1792–1797) | Second (1798–1802) | Third (1803–1806) | Fourth (1806–1807) | Fifth (1809) | Sixth (1813–1814) | Seventh (1815) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Great Britain [lower-alpha 1] | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Holy Roman Empire (to 1806) | Yes | Yes | |||||
Baden (from 1806) [lower-alpha 3] | Yes (from Oct 1813) | ||||||
Bavaria (from 1806) [lower-alpha 3] | Yes (from Oct 1813) | Yes | |||||
Nassau (from 1806) [lower-alpha 3] | Yes | ||||||
Saxony (from 1806) [lower-alpha 3] | Yes (until Dec 1806) | Yes (from Oct 1813) | |||||
Württemberg (from 1806) [lower-alpha 3] | Yes (from Oct 1813) | ||||||
Black Brunswickers (from 1809) [lower-alpha 3] | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||||
Hanover (from 1814) [lower-alpha 3] | Yes | ||||||
Austrian Empire (from 1804) | Yes (1805) | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||
Prussia | Yes (until 1795) | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||
Sardinia | Yes (until 1796) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
Portugal | Yes | Yes (until 1801) | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
Spain | Yes (until 1795) | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||
Ottoman Empire | Yes (until 1801) | ||||||
Russia | Yes (until 1799) | Yes (1805) | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
Tuscany (to 1801 and from 1815) | Yes (until 1801) | Yes | |||||
Hospitaller Malta | Yes (1798) | ||||||
Naples | Yes | Yes (until 1801) | Yes (from 1805) | ||||
Sicily | Yes (from 1806) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
Netherlands [lower-alpha 4] | Yes (until 1795) | Yes | Yes | ||||
Sweden | Yes (from 1805) | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||
Switzerland | Yes |
Archduke Charles Louis John Joseph Laurentius of Austria, Duke of Teschen was an Austrian field-marshal, the third son of Emperor Leopold II and his wife, Maria Luisa of Spain. He was also the younger brother of Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor. He was epileptic, but achieved respect both as a commander and as a reformer of the Austrian army. He was considered one of Napoleon's more formidable opponents and one of the greatest generals of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of conflicts fought between the First French Empire under Napoleon Bonaparte (1804–1815) and a fluctuating array of European coalitions. The wars originated in political forces arising from the French Revolution (1789–1799) and from the French Revolutionary Wars (1792–1802) and produced a period of French domination over Continental Europe. The wars are categorised as seven conflicts, five named after the coalitions that fought Napoleon, plus two named for their respective theatres: the War of the Third Coalition, War of the Fourth Coalition, War of the Fifth Coalition, War of the Sixth Coalition, War of the Seventh Coalition, the Peninsular War, and the French invasion of Russia.
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted France against Great Britain, Austria, Prussia, Russia, and several other countries. The wars are divided into two periods: the War of the First Coalition (1792–1797) and the War of the Second Coalition (1798–1802). Initially confined to Europe, the fighting gradually assumed a global dimension. After a decade of constant warfare and aggressive diplomacy, France had conquered territories in the Italian Peninsula, the Low Countries, and the Rhineland due to its very large and powerful military, which had been totally mobilized for war against most of Europe with mass conscription of the vast French population. French success in these conflicts ensured military occupation and the spread of revolutionary principles over much of Europe.
The Napoleonic era is a period in the history of France and Europe. It is generally classified as including the fourth and final stage of the French Revolution, the first being the National Assembly, the second being the Legislative Assembly, and the third being the Directory. The Napoleonic era begins roughly with Napoleon Bonaparte's coup d'état, overthrowing the Directory, establishing the French Consulate, and ends during the Hundred Days and his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo. The Congress of Vienna soon set out to restore Europe to pre-French Revolution days. Napoleon brought political stability to a land torn by revolution and war. He made peace with the Roman Catholic Church and reversed the most radical religious policies of the Convention. In 1804 Napoleon promulgated the Civil Code, a revised body of civil law, which also helped stabilize French society. The Civil Code affirmed the political and legal equality of all adult men and established a merit-based society in which individuals advanced in education and employment because of talent rather than birth or social standing. The Civil Code confirmed many of the moderate revolutionary policies of the National Assembly but retracted measures passed by the more radical Convention. The code restored patriarchal authority in the family, for example, by making women and children subservient to male heads of households.
The War of the Second Coalition was the second war targeting revolutionary France by many European monarchies, led by Britain, Austria, and Russia and including the Ottoman Empire, Portugal, Naples and various German monarchies. Prussia did not join the coalition, while Spain supported France.
Johann I Joseph was Prince of Liechtenstein between 1805 and 1806 and again from 1814 until 1836. He was the last Liechtenstein prince to rule under the Holy Roman Empire between 1805 and 1806 and as regent of Liechtenstein from 1806 until 1814. He was the fourth son of Franz Joseph I, Prince of Liechtenstein.
These are lists of battles of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (1792–1815).
The Second Hundred Years' War is a periodization or historical era term used by some historians to describe the series of military conflicts around the globe between Great Britain and France that occurred from about 1689 to 1815, including several separate wars such as the Nine Years' War, the War of the Spanish Succession, the War of the Austrian Succession, the Seven Years' War, the American Revolutionary War and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. The Second Hundred Years' War is named after the Hundred Years' War, which occurred in the 14th and 15th century. The term appears to have been coined by J. R. Seeley in his influential work The Expansion of England (1883).
The Army of Italy was a field army of the French Army stationed on the Italian border and used for operations in Italy itself. It is best known for its role during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars.
The First French Empire, officially the French Republic, then the French Empire after 1809 and also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. It lasted from 18 May 1804 to 3 May 1814 and again briefly from 20 March 1815 to 7 July 1815, when Napoleon was exiled to St. Helena.
Friedrich Karl Wilhelm, Fürst (prince) zu Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen was a general in the military service of the House of Habsburg during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was born in Ingelfingen, in southwest Germany, on 16 February 1752.
The 4th Hussar Regiment is a hussar regiment in the French Army, raised and embodied in 1783 and still in existence.
Johann Nepomuk von Nostitz-Rieneck commanded a cavalry division in the army of the Austrian Empire during the Napoleonic Wars.
Between 1793 and 1815, under the rule of King George III, the Kingdom of Great Britain was the most constant of France's enemies. Through its command of the sea, financial subsidies to allies on the European mainland, and active military intervention in the Peninsular War, Britain played a significant role in Napoleon's downfall.
Antoine Étienne de Tousard was a French general and military engineer during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He was also the last military engineer of the Order of Saint John. He is the brother of Louis de Tousard.
The Treaty of Potsdam was a treaty signed during the War of the Third Coalition on 3 November 1805 between Alexander I of the Russian Empire and Frederick William III of Prussia. It required Prussia to mediate negotiations between Napoleon's French Empire and Russia, and if the negotiations failed, join the Third Coalition.
The Russo-Ottoman alliance was a defensive alliance between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire, directed against France between 1799 and 1806, during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.