Army of Sambre-et-Meuse
Encyclopedia
The Army of Sambre-et-Meuse
is the best known of the armies of the French Revolution
. It was formed on 29 June 1794 by combining three forces: the Army of the Ardennes
, the left wing of the Army of Moselle, and the right wing of the Army of the North. It had a brief but celebrated existence. On 29 September 1797, the Army of Sambre-et-Meuse merged with the Army of Rhin-et-Moselle
to become the Army of Germany
.
on 16 June 1794. The merging of the forces into the Army of Sambre-et-Meuse was made official soon afterwards. Shortly after Fleurus, the Allied position in Flanders collapsed and the French armies overran both the Austrian Netherlands and the Dutch Republic
in the winter of 1794-1795.
After the storming of Tournai
and Ostend
, the Convention
declared that the army had merited honors. The Sambre-et-Meuse won more honors after the storming of Brussels
, Maastricht
, and Aix-la-Chapelle (Aachen). The army participated in the conquest of Holland and the Siege of Luxembourg
.
In 1795, the Sambre-et-Meuse fought on the middle Rhine. The army crossed the Rhine in 1796 to invade Germany but met defeat at the battles of Amberg and Würzburg
during the summer. The army won a final victory over the Austrians at the Battle of Neuwied
on 18 April 1797.
Sambre-et-Meuse
Sambre-et-Meuse was the name of a département of the First French Empire in present Belgium. It was named after the rivers Sambre and Meuse. Its capital was Namur....
is the best known of the armies of the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
. It was formed on 29 June 1794 by combining three forces: the Army of the Ardennes
Army of the Ardennes
The Army of the Ardennes was a French Revolutionary Army formed in 1792 by splitting off the right wing of the Army of the North, commanded from July to August that year by La Fayette...
, the left wing of the Army of Moselle, and the right wing of the Army of the North. It had a brief but celebrated existence. On 29 September 1797, the Army of Sambre-et-Meuse merged with the Army of Rhin-et-Moselle
Army of Rhin-et-Moselle
The Army of Rhin-et-Moselle was one of the field units of the French Revolutionary Army. It was formed on 20 April 1795 by merging the armée du Rhin and the armée de la Moselle. On 29 September 1797 it was merged with the armée de Sambre-et-Meuse to form the Armée d'Allemagne....
to become the Army of Germany
Armée d'Allemagne (1797)
The Army of Germany was one of the French Revolutionary armies, formed by a decree of the French Directory dated 29 September 1797 by merging the armée de Sambre-et-Meuse and the armée de Rhin-et-Moselle and commanded from the decree until 6 October by général Saint-Cyr under général Hoche...
.
Battles
The various elements of the army won a key victory at the Battle of FleurusBattle of Fleurus
There have been three battles fought near the town of Fleurus in Belgium:*The Battle of Fleurus in the Thirty Years' War.*The Battle of Fleurus in the Nine Years' War.*The Battle of Fleurus in the French Revolutionary Wars....
on 16 June 1794. The merging of the forces into the Army of Sambre-et-Meuse was made official soon afterwards. Shortly after Fleurus, the Allied position in Flanders collapsed and the French armies overran both the Austrian Netherlands and the Dutch Republic
Dutch Republic
The Dutch Republic — officially known as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands , the Republic of the United Netherlands, or the Republic of the Seven United Provinces — was a republic in Europe existing from 1581 to 1795, preceding the Batavian Republic and ultimately...
in the winter of 1794-1795.
After the storming of Tournai
Tournai
Tournai is a Walloon city and municipality of Belgium located 85 kilometres southwest of Brussels, on the river Scheldt, in the province of Hainaut....
and Ostend
Ostend
Ostend is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke , Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the largest on the Belgian coast....
, the Convention
National Convention
During the French Revolution, the National Convention or Convention, in France, comprised the constitutional and legislative assembly which sat from 20 September 1792 to 26 October 1795 . It held executive power in France during the first years of the French First Republic...
declared that the army had merited honors. The Sambre-et-Meuse won more honors after the storming of Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, Maastricht
Maastricht
Maastricht is situated on both sides of the Meuse river in the south-eastern part of the Netherlands, on the Belgian border and near the German border...
, and Aix-la-Chapelle (Aachen). The army participated in the conquest of Holland and the Siege of Luxembourg
Siege of Luxembourg (1794-1795)
The siege of Luxembourg was a siege by France of the Habsburg-held fortress of Luxembourg City that lasted from 1794 until 7 June 1795, during the French Revolutionary Wars...
.
In 1795, the Sambre-et-Meuse fought on the middle Rhine. The army crossed the Rhine in 1796 to invade Germany but met defeat at the battles of Amberg and Würzburg
Battle of Würzburg
The Battle of Würzburg was fought on 3 September 1796 between an army of Habsburg Austria led by Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen and an army of the First French Republic led by Jean-Baptiste Jourdan. The French attacked the archduke's forces, but they were resisted until the arrival of...
during the summer. The army won a final victory over the Austrians at the Battle of Neuwied
Battle of Neuwied (1797)
The Battle of Neuwied was fought on April 18, 1797. It resulted in the victory of French under General Louis Lazare Hoche against Austrians under General Franz von Werneck...
on 18 April 1797.
Commanders in Chief
- Jean-Baptiste JourdanJean-Baptiste JourdanJean-Baptiste Jourdan, 1st Comte Jourdan , enlisted as a private in the French royal army and rose to command armies during the French Revolutionary Wars. Emperor Napoleon I of France named him a Marshal of France in 1804 and he also fought in the Napoleonic Wars. After 1815, he became reconciled...
: 2 July 1794 - 23 September 1796- Jacques Maurice HatryJacques Maurice HatryJacques Maurice Hatry was a French general.A colonel on the outbreak of the French Revolution, he rose to général de division in 1794 and fought with distinction in the armée du Nord, des armée des Ardennes and Armée de la Moselle at the Battle of Fleurus and blockade of Luxembourg Jacques Maurice...
: 21 December 1794 - 28 February 1795 - Jean-Baptiste Kléber: 22 January - 28 February 1796 and 31 July - 7 August 1796
- Jacques Maurice Hatry
- Pierre de Ruel, marquis de BeurnonvillePierre de Ruel, marquis de BeurnonvillePierre de Ruel, marquis de Beurnonville was a French general during the French Revolutionary Wars and later a marshal of France.-Biography:Bournonville was born at Champignol-lez-Mondeville, Aube....
: 23 September 1796 - 23 January 1797 - Jean Etienne Vachier Championnet: 24 - 31 January 1797
- Jean Victor Marie MoreauJean Victor Marie MoreauJean Victor Marie Moreau was a French general who helped Napoleon Bonaparte to power, but later became a rival and was banished to the United States.- Early life :Moreau was born at Morlaix in Brittany...
: 1 - 25 February 1797 - Lazare HocheLazare HocheLouis Lazare Hoche was a French soldier who rose to be general of the Revolutionary army.Born of poor parents near Versailles, he enlisted at sixteen as a private soldier in the Gardes Françaises...
: 26 February - 18 September 1797- François Joseph LefebvreFrançois Joseph LefebvreFrançois Joseph Lefebvre, First Duc de Dantzig was a French military commander during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and one of the original eighteen Marshals of the Empire created by Napoleon....
: 31 July - 3 August 1797 and 19 September - 20 October 1797
- François Joseph Lefebvre