Armée des Alpes
Encyclopedia
The Army of the Alps
(Armée des Alpes) was one of the French Revolutionary armies. It existed from 1792-97 and from July to August 1799, and the name was also used on and off right up until 1939 for France's army on its border with Italy.
into the armée des Alpes and armée des Pyrénées
, and on 1 November the following year it was itself divided into the armée de Savoie and armée d'Italie by a conseil exécutif decree.
Following the decrees of 27-29 November 1793 which brought Savoy
back into the France under the name of "the département of Le Mont-Blanc", the armée de Savoie was renamed the armée des Alpes, before having a camp before Lyon split off from it between 8 August and 29 October 1793. The 1793 Armée des Alpes was finally suppressed by a decree of 21 August 1797 (21 fructidor year V), put into effect on 13 September, with its men and theatre transferred to the armée d'Italie
Armée de Savoie
Armée des Alpes
fortifications of the Maginot Line
. The army's commander was General René Olry
, headquartered at Valence
. The army surrendered to German forces at the end of June 1940 in accordance with the terms of the Second Armistice at Compiègne, having repelled Italian forces in the Italian invasion of France
.
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
(Armée des Alpes) was one of the French Revolutionary armies. It existed from 1792-97 and from July to August 1799, and the name was also used on and off right up until 1939 for France's army on its border with Italy.
1792-7
The Armée des Alpes was created by a decree of the French Convention on 1 October 1792 which divided the armée du MidiArmée du Midi
The Army of Le Midi was a unit of the French army, stationed in the Le Midi region and created by royal decree of Louis XVI on 13 April 1792. It existed under this name for less than five months, and was split by a decree of the National Convention dated 1 October 1792 into the armée des Alpes...
into the armée des Alpes and armée des Pyrénées
Armée des Pyrénées
One of the French Revolutionary armies, the Army of the Pyrenees was created by a decree of the National Convention dated 1 October 1792 and formed out of the right wing of the Armée du Midi...
, and on 1 November the following year it was itself divided into the armée de Savoie and armée d'Italie by a conseil exécutif decree.
Following the decrees of 27-29 November 1793 which brought Savoy
Duchy of Savoy
From 1416 to 1847, the House of Savoy ruled the eponymous Duchy of Savoy . The Duchy was a state in the northern part of the Italian Peninsula, with some territories that are now in France. It was a continuation of the County of Savoy...
back into the France under the name of "the département of Le Mont-Blanc", the armée de Savoie was renamed the armée des Alpes, before having a camp before Lyon split off from it between 8 August and 29 October 1793. The 1793 Armée des Alpes was finally suppressed by a decree of 21 August 1797 (21 fructidor year V), put into effect on 13 September, with its men and theatre transferred to the armée d'Italie
1799
Created on 27 July 1799, this incarnation of the Armée des Alpes only lasted until 29 August 1799, when it was merged into the armée d'Italie.Generals
Armée des Alpes- 8 October - 6 November 1792 : général de Montesquiou-Fézensac
Armée de Savoie
- 7 - 13 November 1792 : général de Montesquiou-Fézensac
- 13 November - 4 December, temporarily : général d'Ornac
Armée des Alpes
- 5 - 24 December 1792, temporarily : général d'Ornac
- 25 December 1792 au 5 May 1793 : général KellermannFrançois Christophe KellermannFrançois Christophe Kellermann or de Kellermann, 1st Duc de Valmy was a French military commander, later the Général d'Armée, and a Marshal of France...
- 6 May - 1 June 1793, temporarily : général d'Ornac
- 2 June - 18 October 1793 : général KellermannFrançois Christophe KellermannFrançois Christophe Kellermann or de Kellermann, 1st Duc de Valmy was a French military commander, later the Général d'Armée, and a Marshal of France...
, along with overall command of the armée d'Italie. Kellermann, to whom the ReprésentantsReprésentant en missionDuring the French Revolution, a représentant en mission was an extraordinary envoy of the Legislative Assembly...
were ordered not to immediately communicate the decree by which he was deprived of this command, continued to command on the frontier until 18 October, when he was arrested and taken to Paris.- 2 June - 2 November : the général d'Ornac, second in command of the armée des Alpes
- Camp devant Lyon:
- 8 - 18 August, Kellermann was at the siege of LyonSiege of LyonThe Siege and capture of Lyon occurred on 9 August to 9 October 1793 when French Republican forces laid siege and captured the city of Lyon, which had revolted against the French government.- References :...
- 19 - 21 août, he visited the frontier and général Dumuy was in command before LyonLyonLyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
- 22 - 31 August, Kellermann was in command before LyonLyonLyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
- 1 September, he went to put himself at the head of the troops guarding the frontier, leaving the besieging division under the command of général Coustard Saint-Lo
- 8 - 18 August, Kellermann was at the siege of Lyon
- 25 September - 28 October 1793 :général Doppet, in command before Lyon
- 29 October - 17 November, provisionally : général Dours
- 18 November - 22 December 1793 : général CarteauxJean François CarteauxJean Baptiste François Carteaux was a French painter who became a General in the French Revolutionary Army...
- 23 décembre 1793 - 20 January 1794, provisionally : général Pellapra
- 22 décembre 1793 (date of nomination) - 14 October 1794 : général A. Dumas, (father of the novelist Alexandre Dumas)
- 15 October - 30 November 1794, provisionally : général Petitguillaume
- 1 December 1794 - 7 October 1795 : général MoulinJean-François-Auguste MoulinJean-François-Auguste Moulin was a member of the French Directory. He had a long career as a military officer serving France in the Royal Army of King Louis XVI, the Garde Nationale of the French Revolution, and the Grande Armée of Napoleon Bonaparte.-Early life and military career:Moulin was...
, from 5 April subordinate to général KellermannFrançois Christophe KellermannFrançois Christophe Kellermann or de Kellermann, 1st Duc de Valmy was a French military commander, later the Général d'Armée, and a Marshal of France... - 5 April 1795 - 13 September 1797 : général KellermannFrançois Christophe KellermannFrançois Christophe Kellermann or de Kellermann, 1st Duc de Valmy was a French military commander, later the Général d'Armée, and a Marshal of France...
, commander in chief of the armée des Alpes and the armée d'Italie until 28 September 1795. He visited all the encampments of the armée des Alpes from 5 to 15 April 1795, then left for the headquarters of the armée d'Italie at NiceNiceNice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
.
20th Century
In the mid-twentieth century, the Army of the Alps defended France's southeastern frontier with Italy, manning the Alpine LineAlpine Line
The Alpine Line or Little Maginot Line was the component of the Maginot Line that defended the southeastern portion of France...
fortifications of the Maginot Line
Maginot Line
The Maginot Line , named after the French Minister of War André Maginot, was a line of concrete fortifications, tank obstacles, artillery casemates, machine gun posts, and other defences, which France constructed along its borders with Germany and Italy, in light of its experience in World War I,...
. The army's commander was General René Olry
René Olry
René-Henri OlryCLH was a French general and commander of the Army of the Alps during the Battle of France of World War II.-Early life:Olry was born on 28 June 1880 in Lille in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France....
, headquartered at Valence
Valence, Drôme
Valence is a commune in southeastern France, the capital of the Drôme department, situated on the left bank of the Rhône, south of Lyon on the railway to Marseilles.Its inhabitants are called Valentinois...
. The army surrendered to German forces at the end of June 1940 in accordance with the terms of the Second Armistice at Compiègne, having repelled Italian forces in the Italian invasion of France
Italian invasion of France
The Italian invasion of France in June 1940 was a small-scale invasion that started near the end of the Battle of France during World War II. The goal of the Italian offensive was to take control of the Alps mountain range and the region around Nice, and to win the colonies in North Africa...
.
Sources
- C. Clerget : Tableaux des armées françaises pendant les guerres de la Révolution (Librairie militaire 1905) ;