War of the Second Coalition
Encyclopedia
The "Second Coalition" (1798–1802) was the second attempt by European monarch
s, led by the Habsburg Monarchy
of Austria
and the Russian Empire
, to contain or eliminate Revolutionary
France
. They formed a new alliance and attempted to roll back France's previous military conquests. Austria and Russia raised fresh armies for campaigns in Germany and Italy in 1799.
In the summer of 1798, Napoleon Bonaparte led an expedition to Egypt. Meanwhile, during his absence from Europe, the outbreak of violence in Switzerland
drew French support against the old Swiss Confederation. When revolutionaries overthrew the Canton governments in Bern, a French army moved into Switzerland, ostensibly to support the Swiss Republicans. In northern Italy, Russian general Aleksandr Suvorov won a string of victories
, driving the French under Moreau
out of the Po Valley
, and forcing them back on the French Alps
and the coast around Genoa
. However, the Russian armies in the Helvetic Republic
(Switzerland) were defeated by French commander André Masséna
, and Suvorov eventually withdrew; ultimately the Russians left the Coalition when Great Britain
insisted on the right to search all vessels it stopped at sea. In Germany, Archduke Charles of Austria drove the French under Jean-Baptiste Jourdan
back across the Rhine and won several victories in Switzerland. Jourdan was replaced by Massena, who then combined the Armies of the Danube and Helvetia.
, viewed the revolution in France as an event between the French king and his subjects, and not something in which they should interfere. As the rhetoric grew more strident, the monarchies started to view events with distrust. Leopold
, who had succeeded Joseph as Emperor in 1790, saw the situation surrounding his sister, Marie Antoinette
, and her children, with greater and greater alarm. As the revolution grew more and more radical, he still sought to avoid war, but in the late summer, he, in consultation with French émigré nobles and Frederick William II of Prussia
, issued the Declaration of Pilnitz, in which they declared the interest of the monarchs of Europe as one with the interests of Louis and his family. They threatened vague, but serious, consequences if anything should happen to the royal family.
By 1792, the French republican position had become increasingly difficult. Compounding internal economic and social problems, French émigrés agitated abroad for support of a counter-revolution in France that would restore an absolute monarchy. Chief among them were the Prince of Condé
(cousin of Louis XVI), Condé's son, the Duke of Bourbon
, and Condé's grandson, the Duke d'Enghien
. From their base in Koblenz
, immediately over the French border, they sought direct support for military intervention from the royal houses of Europe, and themselves raised a small army
. The ascension of young and uncompromising Francis
as Holy Roman Emperor-elect on the death of his father in July 1792 also contributed to their unease.
, Kaiserslautern
, Neerwinden
, Mainz
, Amberg and Wurzburg
, the efforts of Napoleon Bonaparte in northern Italy pushed Austrian forces back and resulted in the negotiation of the Peace of Leoben (17 April 1797) and the subsequent Treaty of Campo Formio
(October 1797).
proved inept at orchestrating the transfer of territories to compensate the German princes for their losses. Ferdinand of Naples
refused to pay tribute to France, followed by the Neapolitan rebellion and the subsequent establishment of the Parthenopaean Republic
. Republicans in the Swiss cantons, supported by the French army, overthrew the central government in Bern and established the Helvetic Republic
.
Other factors contributed to the rising tensions. On his way to Egypt, Napoleon had stopped at the heavily fortified port city of Valetta. The governor of Malta
would only allow two ships at a time into the harbor, in accordance with the island's neutrality. Bonaparte immediately ordered the bombardment of Valetta and on 11 June, General Louis Baraguey d'Hilliers
directed a landing of several thousand French troops at strategic locations around the island. The French Knights of the order deserted, and the remaining Knights failed to mount a successful resistance. Bonaparte forcibly removed the Hospitallers
from their possessions, angering Paul, Tsar of Russia
, who was the honorary head of the Order. The French Directory
, furthermore, was convinced that the Austrians were conniving to start another war. Indeed, the weaker the French Republic seemed, the more seriously the Austrians, the Neapolitans, the Russians and the British actually discussed this possibility.
Toward this end, in the early November 1798, Jourdan arrived in Hüningen to take command of the French forces there, the so-called Army of Observation because its function was to observe the security of the French border on the Rhine. Once there, he assessed the quality and disposition of the forces and identified needed supplies and manpower. He found the army woefully inadequate for its assignment. The Army of the Danube
, and its two flanking armies, the Army of Helvetia
and the Army of Mayence
, or Mainz, were equally short of manpower, supplies, ammunition, and training; most resources were already directed to the Army in Northern Italy, and Army of Britain, and the Egyptian expedition. Jourdan documented assiduously these shortages, pointing out in lengthy correspondence to the Directory the consequences of an under-manned and under-supplied army; his petitions seemed to have little effect on the Directory, which sent neither significant additional manpower nor supplies.
Jourdan's orders were to take the army into Germany and secure strategic positions, particularly on the south-west roads through Stockach
and Schaffhausen
, at the western-most border of Lake Constance
. Similarly, as commander of the Army of Helvetia (Switzerland), Andre Massena
would acquire strategic positions in Switzerland, in particular the St. Gotthard Pass, the passes above Feldkirch
, particularly Maienfeld (St. Luciensteig), and hold the central plateau in and around Zürich
and Winterthur
. These positions would prevent the Allies of the Second Coalition from moving troops back and forth between the northern Italian and German theaters, but would allow French access to these strategic passes. Ultimately, this positioning would allow the French to control all western roads leading to and from Vienna. Finally, the army of Mayence would sweep through the north, blocking further access to and from Vienna from any of the northern Provinces, or from Britain.
, leaving his army behind. He reorganized the French armies and command for the next year's campaign.
In 1800, Napoleon took personal command of the army in Italy, and eventually won a victory at the Battle of Marengo against the Austrian general Michael Melas, driving the Austrians back toward the Alps.
In Germany, General Moreau defeated Archduke Johann
at the Battle of Hohenlinden, forcing him to sign an armistice.
In February 1801 the Austrians signed the Treaty of Lunéville
, accepting French control
up to the Rhine and the French client republic
s in Italy and the Netherlands
.
On April 2, 1801, the British navy defeated the Danish fleet at the Battle of Copenhagen.
The Treaty of Amiens
between France and Britain began the longest break in the war between the two during the French Revolutionary
and Napoleonic
periods.
French Revolutionary Wars
:
Monarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
s, led by the Habsburg Monarchy
Habsburg Monarchy
The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The Imperial capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when it was moved to Prague...
of Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, to contain or eliminate Revolutionary
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...
France
French First Republic
The French First Republic was founded on 22 September 1792, by the newly established National Convention. The First Republic lasted until the declaration of the First French Empire in 1804 under Napoleon I...
. They formed a new alliance and attempted to roll back France's previous military conquests. Austria and Russia raised fresh armies for campaigns in Germany and Italy in 1799.
In the summer of 1798, Napoleon Bonaparte led an expedition to Egypt. Meanwhile, during his absence from Europe, the outbreak of violence in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
drew French support against the old Swiss Confederation. When revolutionaries overthrew the Canton governments in Bern, a French army moved into Switzerland, ostensibly to support the Swiss Republicans. In northern Italy, Russian general Aleksandr Suvorov won a string of victories
Suvorov's Italian and Swiss expedition
The Italian and Swiss expeditions of 1799 and 1800 were undertaken by the Russian commander Alexander Suvorov against French forces in Piedmont and Switzerland as part of the Italian campaigns of the French Revolutionary Wars in general and the War of the Second Coalition in particular.-Italian...
, driving the French under Moreau
Jean Victor Marie Moreau
Jean 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...
out of the Po Valley
Po River
The Po |Ligurian]]: Bodincus or Bodencus) is a river that flows either or – considering the length of the Maira, a right bank tributary – eastward across northern Italy, from a spring seeping from a stony hillside at Pian del Re, a flat place at the head of the Val Po under the northwest face...
, and forcing them back on the French Alps
French Alps
The French Alps are those portions of the Alps mountain range which stand within France, located in the Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions....
and the coast around Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
. However, the Russian armies in the Helvetic Republic
Helvetic Republic
In Swiss history, the Helvetic Republic represented an early attempt to impose a central authority over Switzerland, which until then consisted mainly of self-governing cantons united by a loose military alliance, and conquered territories such as Vaud...
(Switzerland) were defeated by French commander André Masséna
André Masséna
André Masséna 1st Duc de Rivoli, 1st Prince d'Essling was a French military commander during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars....
, and Suvorov eventually withdrew; ultimately the Russians left the Coalition when Great Britain
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
insisted on the right to search all vessels it stopped at sea. In Germany, Archduke Charles of Austria drove the French under Jean-Baptiste Jourdan
Jean-Baptiste Jourdan
Jean-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...
back across the Rhine and won several victories in Switzerland. Jourdan was replaced by Massena, who then combined the Armies of the Danube and Helvetia.
Background
Initially, such rulers of Europe as Joseph II, Holy Roman EmperorJoseph II, Holy Roman Emperor
Joseph II was Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 to 1790 and ruler of the Habsburg lands from 1780 to 1790. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Francis I...
, viewed the revolution in France as an event between the French king and his subjects, and not something in which they should interfere. As the rhetoric grew more strident, the monarchies started to view events with distrust. Leopold
Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor
Leopold II , born Peter Leopold Joseph Anton Joachim Pius Gotthard, was Holy Roman Emperor and King of Hungary and Bohemia from 1790 to 1792, Archduke of Austria and Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1765 to 1790. He was a son of Emperor Francis I and his wife, Empress Maria Theresa...
, who had succeeded Joseph as Emperor in 1790, saw the situation surrounding his sister, Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette ; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was an Archduchess of Austria and the Queen of France and of Navarre. She was the fifteenth and penultimate child of Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I....
, and her children, with greater and greater alarm. As the revolution grew more and more radical, he still sought to avoid war, but in the late summer, he, in consultation with French émigré nobles and Frederick William II of Prussia
Frederick William II of Prussia
Frederick William II was the King of Prussia, reigning from 1786 until his death. He was in personal union the Prince-Elector of Brandenburg and the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel.-Early life:...
, issued the Declaration of Pilnitz, in which they declared the interest of the monarchs of Europe as one with the interests of Louis and his family. They threatened vague, but serious, consequences if anything should happen to the royal family.
By 1792, the French republican position had become increasingly difficult. Compounding internal economic and social problems, French émigrés agitated abroad for support of a counter-revolution in France that would restore an absolute monarchy. Chief among them were the Prince of Condé
Louis Joseph de Bourbon, prince de Condé
Louis Joseph de Bourbon was Prince of Condé from 1740 to his death. A member of the House of Bourbon, he held the prestigious rank of Prince du Sang.-Biography:...
(cousin of Louis XVI), Condé's son, the Duke of Bourbon
Louis Henry II, Prince of Condé
Louis Henri de Bourbon was the Prince of Condé from 1818 to his death.-Life:He was the only son of Louis Joseph, Prince of Condé and his wife, Charlotte de Rohan....
, and Condé's grandson, the Duke d'Enghien
Louis-Antoine-Henri de Bourbon-Condé, duc d'Enghien
Louis Antoine de Bourbon, was a relative of the Bourbon monarchs of France...
. From their base in Koblenz
Koblenz
Koblenz is a German city situated on both banks of the Rhine at its confluence with the Moselle, where the Deutsches Eck and its monument are situated.As Koblenz was one of the military posts established by Drusus about 8 BC, the...
, immediately over the French border, they sought direct support for military intervention from the royal houses of Europe, and themselves raised a small army
Army of Condé
The Army of Condé was a French field army during the French Revolutionary Wars. One of several émigré field armies, it was the only one to survive the War of the First Coalition; others had been formed by the Comte d'Artois and Mirabeau-Tonneau...
. The ascension of young and uncompromising Francis
Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor
Francis II was the last Holy Roman Emperor, ruling from 1792 until 6 August 1806, when he dissolved the Empire after the disastrous defeat of the Third Coalition by Napoleon at the Battle of Austerlitz...
as Holy Roman Emperor-elect on the death of his father in July 1792 also contributed to their unease.
War of the First Coalition
On 20 April 1792, the French National Convention declared war on Austria. In this War of the First Coalition (1792–98), France ranged itself against most of the European states sharing land or water borders with her, plus Portugal and the Ottoman Empire. Although the Coalition forces achieved several victories at VerdunBattle of Verdun (1792)
The Battle of Verdun was fought on August 20, 1792 between French Revolutionary forces and a Prussian army. The Prussians were victorious. This therefore opened the path to Paris....
, Kaiserslautern
Battle of Kaiserslautern
The Battle of Kaiserslautern was a battle of the War of the First Coalition , fought near the German city of Kaiserslautern...
, Neerwinden
Battle of Neerwinden (1793)
The Battle of Neerwinden took place on near the village of Neerwinden in present-day Belgium between the Austrians under Prince Josias of Coburg and the French under General Dumouriez...
, Mainz
Battle of Mainz
The Battle of Mainz was fought on 29 October 1795 during the French Revolutionary Wars, between France and Austria. The battle was fought near the city of Mainz now in western Germany and ended in an Austrian victory.-People involved:...
, Amberg and Wurzburg
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...
, the efforts of Napoleon Bonaparte in northern Italy pushed Austrian forces back and resulted in the negotiation of the Peace of Leoben (17 April 1797) and the subsequent Treaty of Campo Formio
Treaty of Campo Formio
The Treaty of Campo Formio was signed on 18 October 1797 by Napoleon Bonaparte and Count Philipp von Cobenzl as representatives of revolutionary France and the Austrian monarchy...
(October 1797).
Peace interrupted
From October 1797 until March 1799, the signatories of the Treaty of Campo Formio avoided armed conflict. Despite their agreement at Campo Formio, two primary combatants, France and Austria, remained suspicious of each other and several diplomatic incidents undermined the agreement. The French demanded additional territory not mentioned in the Treaty. The Habsburgs were reluctant to hand over designated territories, much less additional ones. The Congress at RastattSecond Congress of Rastatt
The Second Congress of Rastatt, which was opened in December 1797, was intended to rearrange the map of Germany by providing compensation for those princes whose lands on the left bank of the Rhine had been seized by France....
proved inept at orchestrating the transfer of territories to compensate the German princes for their losses. Ferdinand of Naples
Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies
Ferdinand I reigned variously over Naples, Sicily, and the Two Sicilies from 1759 until his death. He was the third son of King Charles III of Spain by his wife Maria Amalia of Saxony. On 10 August 1759, Charles succeeded his elder brother, Ferdinand VI, as King Charles III of Spain...
refused to pay tribute to France, followed by the Neapolitan rebellion and the subsequent establishment of the Parthenopaean Republic
Parthenopaean Republic
The Parthenopean Republic was a French-supported republic in the territory of the Kingdom of Naples, formed during the French Revolutionary Wars after King Ferdinand IV fled before advancing French troops...
. Republicans in the Swiss cantons, supported by the French army, overthrew the central government in Bern and established the Helvetic Republic
Helvetic Republic
In Swiss history, the Helvetic Republic represented an early attempt to impose a central authority over Switzerland, which until then consisted mainly of self-governing cantons united by a loose military alliance, and conquered territories such as Vaud...
.
Other factors contributed to the rising tensions. On his way to Egypt, Napoleon had stopped at the heavily fortified port city of Valetta. The governor of Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
would only allow two ships at a time into the harbor, in accordance with the island's neutrality. Bonaparte immediately ordered the bombardment of Valetta and on 11 June, General Louis Baraguey d'Hilliers
Louis Baraguey d'Hilliers
thumbLouis Baraguey d'Hilliers was a French Army general who fought in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was the father of Achille Baraguey d'Hilliers, a Marshal of France.-French Revolution:...
directed a landing of several thousand French troops at strategic locations around the island. The French Knights of the order deserted, and the remaining Knights failed to mount a successful resistance. Bonaparte forcibly removed the Hospitallers
Knights Hospitaller
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...
from their possessions, angering Paul, Tsar of Russia
Paul I of Russia
Paul I was the Emperor of Russia between 1796 and 1801. He also was the 72nd Prince and Grand Master of the Order of Malta .-Childhood:...
, who was the honorary head of the Order. The French Directory
French Directory
The Directory was a body of five Directors that held executive power in France following the Convention and preceding the Consulate...
, furthermore, was convinced that the Austrians were conniving to start another war. Indeed, the weaker the French Republic seemed, the more seriously the Austrians, the Neapolitans, the Russians and the British actually discussed this possibility.
Preliminaries to war against Austria
Military planners in Paris understood that the northern Rhine Valley, the south-western German territories, and Switzerland were strategically important for the defense of the Republic. The Swiss passes commanded access to northern Italy; consequently, the army that held those passes could move troops to and from northern and southern theaters quickly.Toward this end, in the early November 1798, Jourdan arrived in Hüningen to take command of the French forces there, the so-called Army of Observation because its function was to observe the security of the French border on the Rhine. Once there, he assessed the quality and disposition of the forces and identified needed supplies and manpower. He found the army woefully inadequate for its assignment. The Army of the Danube
Army of the Danube
The Army of the Danube was a field army of the French Directory in the 1799 southwestern campaign in the Upper Danube valley. It was formed on 2 March 1799 by the simple expedient of renaming the Army of Observation, which had been observing Austrian movements on the border between First...
, and its two flanking armies, the Army of Helvetia
Army of Helvetia
The Army of Helvetia, or , was a unit of the French Revolutionary Army. It was formed on 8 March 1798 from the remnants of the first unit to be known as the armée du Rhin...
and the Army of Mayence
Army of Mainz
The Army of Mainz was a French Revolutionary Army set up on 9 December 1797 by splitting the Armée d'Allemagne into the Armée de Mayence and the Armée du Rhin...
, or Mainz, were equally short of manpower, supplies, ammunition, and training; most resources were already directed to the Army in Northern Italy, and Army of Britain, and the Egyptian expedition. Jourdan documented assiduously these shortages, pointing out in lengthy correspondence to the Directory the consequences of an under-manned and under-supplied army; his petitions seemed to have little effect on the Directory, which sent neither significant additional manpower nor supplies.
Jourdan's orders were to take the army into Germany and secure strategic positions, particularly on the south-west roads through Stockach
Stockach
Stockach is a town in the district of Konstanz, in southern Baden-Württemberg, Germany.-Location:It is situated in the Hegau region, about 5 km northwest of Lake Constance, 13 km north of Radolfzell and 25 km northwest of Konstanz....
and Schaffhausen
Schaffhausen
Schaffhausen is a city in northern Switzerland and the capital of the canton of the same name; it has an estimated population of 34,587 ....
, at the western-most border of Lake Constance
Lake Constance
Lake Constance is a lake on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps, and consists of three bodies of water: the Obersee , the Untersee , and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein.The lake is situated in Germany, Switzerland and Austria near the Alps...
. Similarly, as commander of the Army of Helvetia (Switzerland), Andre Massena
André Masséna
André Masséna 1st Duc de Rivoli, 1st Prince d'Essling was a French military commander during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars....
would acquire strategic positions in Switzerland, in particular the St. Gotthard Pass, the passes above Feldkirch
Feldkirch, Vorarlberg
- Schools :* Bundesgymnasium und Bundesrealgymnasium Feldkirch * Bundeshandelsakademie und Bundeshandelsschule Feldkirch* Bundesoberstufenrealgymnasium und Bundesrealgymnasium Schillerstrasse...
, particularly Maienfeld (St. Luciensteig), and hold the central plateau in and around Zürich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
and Winterthur
Winterthur
Winterthur is a city in the canton of Zurich in northern Switzerland. It has the country's sixth largest population with an estimate of more than 100,000 people. In the local dialect and by its inhabitants, it is usually abbreviated to Winti...
. These positions would prevent the Allies of the Second Coalition from moving troops back and forth between the northern Italian and German theaters, but would allow French access to these strategic passes. Ultimately, this positioning would allow the French to control all western roads leading to and from Vienna. Finally, the army of Mayence would sweep through the north, blocking further access to and from Vienna from any of the northern Provinces, or from Britain.
Austro-Russian alliance
Disruption in France
By the end of 1799, Napoleon had returned from EgyptEgypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, leaving his army behind. He reorganized the French armies and command for the next year's campaign.
In 1800, Napoleon took personal command of the army in Italy, and eventually won a victory at the Battle of Marengo against the Austrian general Michael Melas, driving the Austrians back toward the Alps.
In Germany, General Moreau defeated Archduke Johann
Archduke Johann of Austria
Archduke John of Austria was a member of the Habsburg dynasty, an Austrian field marshal and German Imperial regent .-Biography:...
at the Battle of Hohenlinden, forcing him to sign an armistice.
In February 1801 the Austrians signed the Treaty of Lunéville
Treaty of Lunéville
The Treaty of Lunéville was signed on 9 February 1801 between the French Republic and the Holy Roman Emperor Francis II, negotiating both on behalf of his own domains and of the Holy Roman Empire...
, accepting French control
Suzerainty
Suzerainty occurs where a region or people is a tributary to a more powerful entity which controls its foreign affairs while allowing the tributary vassal state some limited domestic autonomy. The dominant entity in the suzerainty relationship, or the more powerful entity itself, is called a...
up to the Rhine and the French client republic
French client republic
During its occupation of neighboring parts of Europe during the French Revolutionary Wars, France established republican regimes in these territories...
s in Italy and the Netherlands
Batavian Republic
The Batavian Republic was the successor of the Republic of the United Netherlands. It was proclaimed on January 19, 1795, and ended on June 5, 1806, with the accession of Louis Bonaparte to the throne of the Kingdom of Holland....
.
On April 2, 1801, the British navy defeated the Danish fleet at the Battle of Copenhagen.
The Treaty of Amiens
Treaty of Amiens
The Treaty of Amiens temporarily ended hostilities between the French Republic and the United Kingdom during the French Revolutionary Wars. It was signed in the city of Amiens on 25 March 1802 , by Joseph Bonaparte and the Marquess Cornwallis as a "Definitive Treaty of Peace"...
between France and Britain began the longest break in the war between the two during the French Revolutionary
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
and Napoleonic
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
periods.
See also
- War of the First Coalition
- War of the Third Coalition
- Quasi-WarQuasi-WarThe Quasi-War was an undeclared war fought mostly at sea between the United States and French Republic from 1798 to 1800. In the United States, the conflict was sometimes also referred to as the Franco-American War, the Pirate Wars, or the Half-War.-Background:The Kingdom of France had been a...
French Revolutionary Wars
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
:
- Campaigns of 1797French Revolutionary Wars: Campaigns of 1797The French Revolutionary Wars continued from 1796, with France fighting the First Coalition.On 14 February, British admiral Jervis met and defeated a Spanish fleet off Portugal at the Battle of Cape St. Vincent. This prevented the Spanish fleet from rendezvousing with the French, removing a threat...
- Campaigns of 1798French Revolutionary Wars: Campaigns of 17981798 was a relatively quiet period in the French Revolutionary Wars. The major continental powers in the First coalition had made peace with France, leaving France dominant in Europe with only a slow naval war with Great Britain to worry about...
- Campaigns of 1799French Revolutionary Wars: Campaigns of 1799By 1799, the French Revolutionary Wars had resumed after a period of relative peace in 1798. The Second Coalition had organized against France, with Great Britain allying with Russia, Austria, the Ottoman Empire, and several of the minor German and Italian states...
- Campaigns of 1800French Revolutionary Wars: Campaigns of 1800The French Revolutionary Wars continued from 1799 with the French fighting the forces of the Second Coalition. Napoleon Bonaparte had returned from Egypt and taken control of the French government...
- Campaigns of 1801French Revolutionary Wars: Campaigns of 1801The French Revolutionary Wars continued in 1801 with the French bringing the war against the Second Coalition to a close.By 9 February, the Austrians had signed the Treaty of Lunéville, ending the war on the continent...