View source for War of the First Coalition

{{Short description|1792–1797 battles between French revolutionaries and neighbouring monarchies}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict          = War of the First Coalition
| partof            = the [[French Revolutionary Wars]] and the [[Coalition Wars]]
| image             = <div style="display:inline-block;">
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File:War of the first coalition.jpg|320px|War of the first coalition
rect    0    0  999  749 [[Battle of Valmy]]
rect 1000    0 1999  749 [[Siege of Toulon (1793)]]
rect    0  750  999 1499 [[Battle of Fleurus (1794)]]
rect 1000  750 1999 1499 [[Invasion of France (1795)]]
rect    0 1500  999 2249 [[Battle of Arcole]]
rect 1000 1500 1999 2249 [[Siege of Mantua (1796–1797)]]
desc bottom-left
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| caption           = Click an image to load the appropriate article.<br/>Left to right, top to bottom:<br/>Battles of [[Battle of Valmy|Valmy]], [[Siege of Toulon (1793)|Toulon]], [[Battle of Fleurus (1794)|Fleurus]], [[Invasion of France (1795)|Quiberon]], [[Battle of Arcole|Arcole]] and [[Siege of Mantua (1796–1797)|Mantua]]
| date              = 20 April 1792&nbsp;– 17 October 1797
| place             = France, Central Europe, Italy, the [[Low Countries]], Spain, West Indies
| territory         = * French annexation of the [[Austrian Netherlands]], the [[Left Bank of the Rhine]], [[Savoy]], and other smaller territories
* [[Santo Domingo]] to France
* French [[sister republic]]s established
* End of millennial [[Republic of Venice|Venetian]] independence
| result            = French victory; [[Treaty of The Hague (1795)|Treaty of The Hague]], [[Treaty of Paris (1796)|Treaty of Paris]], [[Peace of Basel|Peaces of Basel]], [[Treaty of Tolentino]], [[Treaty of Campo Formio]]
| combatant1        = '''First Coalition'''{{ubl
 | {{flagicon|Dutch Republic}} [[Dutch Republic]]
 | (until 1795)<ref>Left the war after signing the [[Treaty of The Hague (1795)]] with France.</ref>
 |  {{flagicon|Kingdom of France}} [[Armée des Émigrés|French Royalists]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Wars-of-the-Vendee|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240119203759/https://www.britannica.com/event/Wars-of-the-Vendee|title=Wars of the Vendee |archive-date=19 January 2024}}</ref>
 | {{flagcountry|Kingdom of Great Britain}}<ref>Including the [[Army of Condé]]</ref>
 | {{flag|Holy Roman Empire}} (until 1797)<ref>Nominally the [[Holy Roman Empire]], under [[House of Habsburg|Austrian rule]], also encompassed many other Italian states, such as the [[File:Ducado de Modena (antes de 1830).svg|20px|border]] [[Duchy of Modena]] and the [[File:Flag of Massa and Carrara.png|20px|border]] [[Duchy of Massa]]. Left the war after signing the [[Treaty of Campo Formio]] with France.</ref>
 | {{flagcountry|Kingdom of Portugal|1750}}
 | {{flagcountry|Kingdom of Prussia|1750}} (until 1795)<ref name="peaceofbasel">Left the war after signing the [[Peace of Basel]] with France.</ref>
 | {{flagdeco|Kingdom of Sardinia|1785}} [[Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861)|Sardinia]] (until 1796)<ref>Left the war after signing the [[Treaty of Paris (1796)|Treaty of Paris]] with France.</ref>
 | {{flagicon|ESP|1785}} [[Spanish Empire|Spain]] (until 1795)<ref name="peaceofbasel"/>
 | {{flagcountry|Kingdom of Naples|1738}} (until 1796) 
}}
| combatant2        = {{ubl
 | {{flagicon|Kingdom of the French}} [[Kingdom of France (1791–92)|Kingdom of France]] (until 1792)
 | {{flagicon|French First Republic}} [[French First Republic|French Republic]] (from 1792)
}}
'''French satellites'''<ref>Including the [[Polish Legions (Napoleonic period)|Polish Legions]] formed in French-allied Italy in 1797, following the abolition of the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]] after the [[Third Partition of Poland|Third Partition]] in 1795.</ref>{{plainlist}}
* {{flag|Batavian Republic}} (from 1795)<ref>The [[French Revolutionary Army]] and [[Batavian Revolution|Dutch revolutionaries]] overthrew the Dutch Republic and established the Batavian Republic as a puppet state in its place.</ref>
* [[Sister republic]]s<ref>Various conquered Italian states, including the [[Cisalpine Republic]] from 1797</ref>
'''French naval allies'''
* {{flagicon|ESP|1785}} [[Spanish Empire|Spain]] (from 1796, naval only)<ref>Re-entered the war against Britain as an ally of France after signing the [[Second Treaty of San Ildefonso]].</ref>
{{endplainlist}}
| commander1        = {{plainlist}}
* {{flagicon|Holy Roman Empire}} [[Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor|Francis II]]
* {{flagicon|Kingdom of Great Britain}} [[George III]]
* {{flagicon|Kingdom of Great Britain}} [[William Pitt the Younger|William Pitt]]
* {{flagicon|ESP|1785}} [[Charles IV of Spain|Charles IV]]<br/>(until 1795)
* {{flagicon|Kingdom of Naples|1738}} [[Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies|Ferdinand IV]]
* {{flagicon|Kingdom of Prussia|1750}} [[Frederick William II of Prussia|Frederick William II]]
* {{flagicon|Kingdom of Prussia|1750}} [[Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick|Duke of Brunswick]]
{{endplainlist}}
| commander2        = {{plainlist}}
* {{flagicon image|Flag of France (1790–1794).svg|23px}} [[Louis XVI]]{{Executed|Execution of Louis XVI}}
* {{flagicon|First French Republic}} [[Jacques Pierre Brissot]] {{Executed}}
* {{flagicon|First French Republic}} [[Maximilien Robespierre]] {{Executed|Fall of Maximilien Robespierre}}
* {{flagicon|First French Republic}} [[Napoleon Bonaparte]]
* {{flagicon|First French Republic}} [[Paul Barras]]<br/>(from 1795)
{{endplainlist}}
| strength1         = 
| strength2         = {{flagicon|First French Republic}} '''1794:'''
*1,169,000<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lynn |first=John A. |title=The Military Revolution Debate |chapter=Recalculating French Army Growth During the Grand Siede, 1610–1715 |date=2018 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-429-49626-4 |editor-last=Rogers |editor-first=Clifford J. |edition=2 |volume=18 |pages=117–148 |language=en |doi=10.4324/9780429496264-6}} Only counting frontline army troops, not naval personnel, militiamen, or reserves; the National Guard alone was supposed to provide a reserve of 1,200,000 men in 1789.</ref>
| casualties1       = {{flagicon|Habsburg Monarchy}} 94,000 soldiers killed in combat<ref name="victimario historico">{{Cite web |title=Victimario Histórico Militar Capítulo IV Guerras de la Revolución Francesa (1789 a 1815) |url=http://remilitari.com/guias/victimario5.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20150430181943/http://remilitari.com/guias/victimario5.htm |archive-date=2015-04-30 |access-date=2020-04-02}}</ref><br/>~282,000 died of disease<br/>220,000 captured<br/>100,000 wounded<ref name="clodfelter 2017">{{Cite book |last=Clodfelter |first=Micheal |title=Warfare and armed conflicts: a statistical encyclopedia of casualty and other figures, 1492–2015 |date=2017 |publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers |isbn=978-1-4766-2585-0 |edition=4th |location=Jefferson, North Carolina |pages=100}}</ref>
| casualties2       = {{flagicon|First French Republic}} 100,000 soldiers killed in combat<br/>~300,000 died of disease<br/>150,000 captured<ref name="clodfelter 2017"/><ref name="victimario historico"/>
| notes             = 
}}
{{Campaignbox First Coalition}}
{{Campaignbox French Revolutionary Wars}}
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The '''War of the First Coalition''' ({{langx|fr|Guerre de la première coalition}}) was a set of wars that several European powers fought between 1792 and 1797, initially against the [[Constitutional Cabinet of Louis XVI|constitutional Kingdom of France]] and then the [[French First Republic|French Republic]] that succeeded it.{{sfn|Holland|1911|loc=Battle of Valmy}} They were only loosely allied and fought without much apparent coordination or agreement; each power had its eye on a different part of France it wanted to appropriate after a French defeat, which never occurred.<ref name=Shus-7>{{in lang|nl}} Shusterman, Noah (2015). ''De Franse Revolutie (The French Revolution)''. Veen Media, Amsterdam. (Translation of: ''The French Revolution. Faith, Desire, and Politics''. Routledge, London/New York, 2014.) Chapter 7, pp. 271–312: The federalist revolts, the Vendée and the beginning of the Terror (summer–fall 1793).</ref>

Relations between the French revolutionaries and neighbouring monarchies had deteriorated following the [[Declaration of Pillnitz]] in August 1791. Eight months later, [[Louis XVI and the Legislative Assembly|following a vote of the revolutionary-led Legislative Assembly]], France declared war on [[Habsburg monarchy|Austria]] on 20 April 1792; [[Prussia]], having allied with Austria in February, declared war on France in June 1792. In July 1792, an army under the [[Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick|Duke of Brunswick]] and composed mostly of Prussians joined the Austrian side and invaded France. The [[Battle of Verdun (1792)|capture of Verdun]] (2 September 1792) triggered the [[September massacres]] in Paris. France counterattacked with the [[Battle of Valmy|victory at Valmy]] (20 September) and two days later the [[National Convention]], which had replaced the [[Legislative Assembly (France)|Legislative Assembly]], proclaimed the French Republic.

Subsequently, these powers made several invasions of France by land and sea, in association with Prussia and Austria attacking from the [[Austrian Netherlands]] and the [[Rhine]], and [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]] supporting revolts in provincial France and laying [[Siege of Toulon#Background|siege to Toulon in October 1793]]. France suffered reverses ([[Battle of Neerwinden (1793)|Battle of Neerwinden]], 18 March 1793) and internal strife ([[War in the Vendée]]) and responded with [[Draco (lawgiver)|draconian]] measures. The [[Committee of Public Safety]] was formed (6 April 1793) and the ''[[levée en masse]]'' drafted all potential soldiers aged 18 to 25 (August 1793). The new French armies counterattacked, repelled the invaders, and advanced beyond France.

The French established the [[Batavian Republic]] as a [[sister republic]] (May 1795) and gained Prussian recognition of French control of the [[Left Bank of the Rhine]] by the first [[Peace of Basel]]. With the [[Treaty of Campo Formio]], Austria ceded the Austrian Netherlands to France and Northern Italy was turned into several French sister republics. Spain made a separate peace accord with France (Second Treaty of Basel) and the [[French Directory]] annexed more of the [[Holy Roman Empire]].

North of the [[Alps]], [[Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen]] defeated the invading armies during the Rhine campaign, but [[Napoleon Bonaparte]] succeeded against [[Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861)|Sardinia]] and Austria in northern Italy (1796–1797) near the [[Po Valley]], culminating in the [[Peace of Leoben]] and the Treaty of Campo Formio (October 1797). The First Coalition collapsed, leaving only Britain in the field fighting against France.

==Background==
===Revolution in France===
{{main|French Revolution}}

As early as 1791, other monarchies in Europe were watching the developments in France with alarm, and considered intervening, either in support of [[Louis XVI]] or to take advantage of the chaos in France. The key figure, [[Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor]], brother of the French Queen [[Marie Antoinette]], had initially looked on the [[French Revolution|Revolution]] calmly. He became increasingly concerned as the Revolution grew more radical, although he still hoped to avoid war.

On 27 August 1791, Leopold and King [[Frederick William II of Prussia]], in consultation with ''[[émigré]]'' French nobles, issued the [[Declaration of Pillnitz]], which declared the concern of the monarchs of Europe for the well-being of Louis and his family, and threatened vague but severe consequences if anything should befall them. Although Leopold saw the Pillnitz Declaration as a way of taking action that would enable him to avoid actually doing anything about France, at least for the moment, Paris saw the Declaration as a serious threat and the revolutionary leaders denounced it.{{sfn|Holland|1911|loc=The king and the nonjurors}}

In addition to the ideological differences between the French revolutionaries and the European monarchics, disputes continued over the status of Imperial estates in [[Alsace]],{{sfn|Holland|1911|loc=The king and the nonjurors}} and the French authorities became concerned about the agitation of ''émigré'' nobles abroad, especially in the [[Austrian Netherlands]] and in the minor states of Germany. In the end, France declared war on Austria first, with the Assembly voting for war on 20 April 1792, after the presentation of a long list of grievances by the newly appointed foreign minister [[Charles François Dumouriez]], who sought a war which might restore some popularity and authority to the King.{{sfn|Holland|1911|loc=War declared against Austria}}

==1792==
{{See also|Campaigns of 1792 of the French Revolutionary Wars}}

===Invasion of the Austrian Netherlands===
{{Further|Low Countries theatre of the War of the First Coalition#1792 campaign}}
Dumouriez prepared an invasion of the Austrian Netherlands, where he expected the local population to rise against Austrian rule. However, the revolution had thoroughly disorganized the French army, which had insufficient forces for the invasion. Its soldiers fled at the first sign of battle, deserting ''en masse'', in one case murdering General [[Théobald Dillon]].{{sfn|Holland|1911|loc=War declared against Austria}} The French soldiers were insulted, hissed, even assaulted. The situation of the "Flanders Campaign" was alarming.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Howe |first=Patricia Chastain |title=Foreign Policy and the French Revolution |date=2008 |chapter=Endgame, March–December 1793 |language=en |location=New York |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan US |pages=171–186 |doi=10.1057/9780230616882_11 |isbn=978-1-349-37213-3}}</ref>

While the revolutionary government frantically raised fresh troops and reorganized its armies, an allied army under [[Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick]] assembled at [[Koblenz]] on the [[Rhine]]. The invasion commenced in July 1792. The Duke then issued a [[Brunswick Manifesto|declaration]] on 25 July 1792, which had been written by the brothers of Louis XVI, that declared his [Brunswick's] intent to restore the King of France to his full powers, and to treat any person or town who opposed him as rebels to be condemned to death by martial law.{{sfn|Holland|1911|loc=War declared against Austria}} This motivated the revolutionary army and government to oppose the Prussian invaders by any means necessary,{{sfn|Holland|1911|loc=War declared against Austria}} and led almost immediately to the overthrow of the King by a crowd which [[10 August (French Revolution)|stormed]] the [[Tuileries Palace]].{{sfn|Holland|1911|loc=Rising of the 10th of August}}

===Prussian progress===
[[File:Léon Cogniet - La Garde nationale de Paris.jpg|thumb|''[[The National Guard of Paris Departs for the Army]]'' by [[Léon Cogniet]]]]
Brunswick's army, composed mostly of Prussian veterans, crossed into French territory on 19 August and easily took the fortresses of [[Longwy]] and [[Battle of Verdun (1792)|Verdun]].{{sfn|Holland|1911|loc=The revolutionary Commune of Paris}} But at the [[Battle of Valmy]] on 20 September 1792 they came to a stalemate against Dumouriez and [[François Christophe Kellermann|Kellermann]] in which the highly professional French [[artillery]] distinguished itself. Although the battle was a tactical draw, it bought time for the revolutionaries and gave a great boost to French morale. Furthermore, the Prussians, facing a campaign longer and more costly than predicted, decided against the cost and risk of continued fighting and determined to retreat from France to preserve their army.{{sfn|Holland|1911|loc=Battle of Valmy}}

===Fronts in Italy and Germany===
Meanwhile, the French had been successful on several other fronts, occupying the [[Duchy of Savoy]] and the [[County of Nice]] until the Massif de l'Authion, while General [[Adam Philippe, Comte de Custine|Custine]] invaded Germany, capturing [[Speyer]], [[Worms, Germany|Worms]] and [[Mainz]] along the Rhine, and reaching as far as [[Frankfurt]]. Dumouriez went on the offensive in the Austrian Netherlands once again, winning a great victory over the Austrians at [[Battle of Jemappes|Jemappes]] on 6 November 1792, and occupying the entire country by the beginning of winter.{{sfn|Holland|1911|loc=Battle of Valmy}}

==1793==
{{See also|Campaigns of 1793 of the French Revolutionary Wars}}
[[File:Les coalises evacuent Toulon en decembre 1793.jpg|thumb|The British evacuation of [[Toulon]] in December 1793]]
On 21 January the revolutionary government [[Execution of Louis XVI|executed Louis XVI]] after a trial.{{sfn|Holland|1911|loc=Trial and execution of Louis XVI}} This united all European governments, including [[Spain]], [[Kingdom of Naples|Naples & Sicily]], and the [[Dutch Republic|Netherlands]] against the Revolution. France declared war against Britain and the Netherlands on 1 February 1793 and soon afterwards against Spain. In the course of the year 1793 the Holy Roman Empire ([[Reichskrieg#1793|on 23 March]]), the kings of [[Kingdom of Portugal|Portugal]] and Naples, and the [[Grand Duchy of Tuscany|Grand Duke of Tuscany]] declared war against France. Thus the First Coalition was formed.{{sfn|Holland|1911|loc=Battle of Valmy}}

===Introduction of conscription===
France introduced a new levy of hundreds of thousands of men, beginning a French policy of using ''[[levée en masse]]'' (mass conscription) to deploy more of its manpower than the other states could,{{sfn|Holland|1911|loc=Battle of Valmy}} and remaining on the offensive so that these mass armies could commandeer war material from the territory of their enemies. The [[Girondins|Girondin]] faction of the French government sent [[Edmond-Charles Genêt|Citizen Genet]] to the [[United States]] to encourage them to enter the war on France's side. The newly formed nation refused, and the [[Presidency of George Washington|Washington administration]]'s 1793 [[Proclamation of Neutrality]] threatened legal action against any citizen providing assistance to any side in the conflict.

After a victory in the [[Battle of Neerwinden (1793)|Battle of Neerwinden]] in March, the Austrians suffered twin defeats at the battles of [[Battle of Wattignies|Wattignies]] and [[Second Battle of Wissembourg (1793)|Wissembourg]].{{sfn|Holland|1911|loc=The Revolutionary War. Republican successes.}} British land forces were defeated at the [[Battle of Hondschoote]] in September.{{sfn|Holland|1911|loc=The Revolutionary War. Republican successes.}}

==1794==
{{See also|Campaigns of 1794 of the French Revolutionary Wars}}
[[File:Loutherbourg-La Victoire de Lord Howe.jpg|thumb|''Lord Howe's action or The [[Glorious First of June]]''. Oil painting by [[Philip James de Loutherbourg]] (1795), [[National Maritime Museum]].]]

===Battle of Fleurus===
{{Further|Low Countries theatre of the War of the First Coalition#Battle of Fleurus}}
1794 brought increased success to the revolutionary armies. A major victory against combined coalition forces at the [[Battle of Fleurus (1794)|Battle of Fleurus]] gained all of the Austrian Netherlands and the [[Rhineland]] for France.{{sfn|Holland|1911|loc=The Revolutionary War. Republican successes.}} Although the British navy maintained its supremacy at sea, it was unable to support effectively any land operations after the fall of the Belgian provinces.{{sfn|Holland|1911|loc=Progress of the war.}} The Prussians were slowly driven out of the eastern provinces{{sfn|Holland|1911|loc=The Revolutionary War. Republican successes.}} and by the end of the year they had retired from any active part in the war.{{sfn|Holland|1911|loc=Progress of the war.}} Against Spain, the French made successful incursions into both [[Catalonia]] and [[Navarre]]{{sfn|Holland|1911|loc=Progress of the war.}} in the [[War of the Pyrenees]].

===Actions in the West Indies===
Action extended into the French colonies in the [[West Indies]]. A British fleet occupied [[Martinique]], [[St. Lucia]], and [[Guadeloupe]], although a French fleet arrived later in the year and recovered the latter by ousting the invaders.{{sfn|Hannay|1911|p=204}}

==1795==
{{See also|Campaigns of 1795 of the French Revolutionary Wars}}

===French capture of the Low Countries===
{{main|Low Countries theatre of the War of the First Coalition#Fall of the Dutch Republic}}
After seizing the [[Low Countries]] in a surprise winter attack, France established the [[Batavian Republic]] as a [[puppet state]]. Even before the close of 1794 Prussia retired from any active part in the war, and on 5 April 1795 King Frederick William II concluded with France the [[Peace of Basel]], which recognized France's occupation of the left bank of the [[Rhine]]. The new French-dominated Dutch government bought peace by surrendering Dutch territory to the south of that river. A treaty of peace between France and Spain followed in July. The grand duke of Tuscany had been admitted to terms in February. The coalition thus fell into ruin and France proper would be free from invasion for many years.<ref>One of more of the preceding sentences text from a publication now in the [[public domain]]: {{harvnb|Holland|1911|loc=Progress of the war}}</ref>

===Battle of Quiberon===
Britain attempted to reinforce the rebels in the [[Vendée]] by landing French Royalist troops at [[Invasion of France (1795)|Quiberon]], but failed,{{sfn|Holland|1911|loc=Progress of the war}} and [[13 Vendémiaire|attempts to overthrow the government in Paris by force]] were foiled by the military garrison led by [[Napoleon Bonaparte]], leading to the establishment of the [[French Directory|Directory]].{{sfn|Holland|1911|loc=Insurrection of 13 Vendémiaire}}{{sfn|Holland|1911|loc=Character of the Directory}}

===Battle of Mainz===
{{main|Battle of Mainz}}
On the Rhine frontier, General [[Charles Pichegru|Pichegru]], negotiating with the exiled [[House of Bourbon|Royalist]]s, betrayed his army and forced the evacuation of [[Mannheim]] and the failure of the [[Battle of Mainz|siege of Mainz]] by [[Jean-Baptiste Jourdan|Jourdan]].{{sfn|Hannay|1911|p=182}}

==1796==
{{See also|Campaigns of 1796 in the French Revolutionary Wars|Italian Campaign of 1796–1797}}
[[File:Strategic Situation of Europe 1796.jpg|thumb|Strategic situation in Europe in 1796]]
The French prepared a great advance on three fronts, with Jourdan and [[Jean Victor Marie Moreau]] on the Rhine and the newly promoted [[Napoleon Bonaparte]] in Italy. The three armies were to link up in [[County of Tyrol|Tyrol]] and march on [[Vienna]].

===Rhine campaign===
In the [[Rhine campaign of 1796]], Jourdan and Moreau crossed the Rhine river and advanced into Germany. Jourdan advanced as far as [[Amberg]] in late August while Moreau reached [[Electorate of Bavaria|Bavaria]] and the edge of Tyrol by September. However Jourdan was defeated by [[Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen]] and both armies were forced to retreat back across the Rhine.{{sfn|Hannay|1911|p=182}}{{sfn|Holland|1911|loc=Military triumphs under the Directory. Bonaparte}}

===Invasion of Italy===
Napoleon, on the other hand, was successful in a daring invasion of Italy. In the [[Montenotte Campaign]], he separated the armies of [[Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861)|Sardinia]] and [[Habsburg monarchy|Austria]], defeating each one in turn, and then forced a [[Treaty of Paris (1796)|peace on Sardinia]]. Following this, his army captured [[Milan]] and started the [[Siege of Mantua (1796–97)|Siege of Mantua]]. Bonaparte defeated successive Austrian armies sent against him under [[Johann Peter Beaulieu]], [[Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser]] and [[József Alvinczi]] while continuing the siege.{{sfn|Holland|1911|loc=Military triumphs under the Directory. Bonaparte}}{{sfn|Hannay|1911|p=182}}

===End of the War of the Vendée===
The [[War in the Vendée|rebellion in the Vendée]] was also crushed in 1796 by [[Louis Lazare Hoche]].{{sfn|Holland|1911|loc=Military triumphs under the Directory. Bonaparte}} Hoche's subsequent attempt to land a large invasion force in [[Munster]] to aid the [[United Irishmen]] was unsuccessful.{{sfn|Hannay|1911|p=204}}

==1797==
{{See also|Campaigns of 1797 in the French Revolutionary Wars|Italian Campaign of 1796–1797}}

===Battle of Mantua===
[[File:Napoleon at the Battle of Rivoli.jpg|thumb|Napoleon at the [[Battle of Rivoli]], 14 January 1797. Oil painting by [[Henri Félix Emmanuel Philippoteaux]] (1844), [[Palace of Versailles]].]]
On 2 February Napoleon finally captured [[Mantua]],{{sfn|Hannay|1911|p=193}} with the Austrians surrendering 18,000 men. Archduke Charles of Austria was unable to stop Napoleon from invading the Tyrol, and the Austrian government sued for peace in April. At the same time, there was a new French invasion of Germany under Moreau and Hoche.{{sfn|Hannay|1911|p=193}}

===Invasion of Great Britain===
On 22 February, a French invasion force consisting of 1,400 troops from the ''[[La Legion Noire]]'' (The Black Legion) under the command of [[Irish American]] Colonel [[William Tate (soldier)|William Tate]] [[Battle of Fishguard|landed near Fishguard]] in [[Wales]]. They were met by a quickly assembled group of around 500 British [[military reserve force|reservists]], [[militia]] and sailors under the command of [[John Campbell, 1st Baron Cawdor]]. After brief clashes with the local civilian population and Lord Cawdor's forces on 23 February, Tate was forced into an [[unconditional surrender]] by 24 February. This would be the only battle fought on British soil during the Revolutionary Wars.

===Austrian peace===
Austria signed the [[Treaty of Campo Formio]] in October,{{sfn|Hannay|1911|p=193}} ceding Belgium to France and recognizing French control of the Rhineland and much of Italy.{{sfn|Holland|1911|loc=Military triumphs under the Directory. Bonaparte}} The ancient [[Republic of Venice]] was partitioned between Austria and France. This ended the War of the First Coalition, although Great Britain and France remained at war.

==See also==
* [[List of battles of the War of the First Coalition]]
* [[War of the Second Coalition]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* {{Cite EB1911 |first=David |last=Hannay |wstitle=French Revolutionary Wars}}
* {{Cite EB1911 |first=Arthur William |last=Holland |wstitle=French Revolution, The}}

==Further reading==
* {{Cite book |last=Clausewitz |first=Carl von |author-link=Carl von Clausewitz |title=Napoleon's 1796 Italian campaign |last2=Murray |first2=Nicholas |last3=Pringle |first3=Christopher |last4=Showalter |first4=Dennis E. |date=2018 |publisher=University Press of Kansas |isbn=978-0-7006-2676-2 |location=Lawrence, Kansas}}
* {{Cite book |last=Fremont-Barnes |first=Gregory |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n5mE6gUHlEQC |title=The French Revolutionary Wars |date=2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-97741-2 |language=en}}
* {{Cite book |title=Fleet battle and blockade: the French Revolutionary War, 1793–1797 |date=1996 |publisher=Chatham |isbn=978-1-86176-018-0 |editor-last=Gardiner |editor-first=Robert |series=Chatham pictorial histories |location=London}}
* {{Cite book |last=Lefebvre |first=Georges |author-link=Georges Lefebvre |title=The French Revolution |volume=2: From 1793 to 1799 |location=New York |date=1964 |publisher=Columbia University Press |language=en |translator-first=John Hall |translator-last=Stewart |translator-first2=James |translator-last2=Friguglietti}}
* {{Cite book |last=Ross |first=Steven T. |author-link=Steven T. Ross |title=Quest for Victory: French Military Strategy, 1792–1799 |date=1973 |publisher=A.S. Barnes |isbn=978-0-498-07490-5 |language=en}}

==External links==
* {{Commons-inline}}

{{Sequence
| prev = [[Siege of Namur (1792)]]
| list = French Revolution: Revolutionary campaigns
| curr = War of the First Coalition
| next = [[War in the Vendée]]
}}
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{{French Revolution}}
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[[Category:War of the First Coalition| ]]