Army of Sambre-et-Meuse

The Sambre and Meuse army was the most famous of the French revolutionary armies and was named after the River Meuse and its largest left tributary, the Sambre. It was formed on June 29, 1794 by merging the Ardennes army with the right wing of the Army of the North and the left wing of the Moselle army. On September 29, 1797, merged with the Rhine and Moselle Germany army to army.

Battles and struggles

The reason for the formation of the army was the Battle of Fleurus on 26 June 1794 in the later collapsed troops won a decisive victory over Austria. As a result of Fleurus soon broke the positions of the Allies together in Flanders and the French armies überannten in winter 1794/95, the Austrian Netherlands and the Dutch Republic. Here, the Sambre and Meuse Army distinguished itself in the storming of Tournai, Oostende, Brussels, Maastricht and Aachen. With the second battle of Aldenhoven on October 2, 1794, the last Austrian bastion was recovered and achieved the conquest of the left side of the Rhine. Located on the Rhine in Koblenz, residence of the Electors of Trier, was surrendered without a fight on 24 October 1794 General Marceau, which in fact meant the end of the Trier Kurstaats. The imperial troops withdrew to the fortress Ehrenbreitstein, but eventually had to capitulate on 27 January 1799, the French. On December 14, 1794, the Sambre and Meuse Army laid siege to the Prussian -occupied fortress of Mainz.

After participating in the conquest of the Netherlands and the conquest of Luxembourg in June 1795, the Army fought in the Middle Rhine, the Hunsrück and the Middle. On September 6, 1795, the army crossed the Rhine near Dusseldorf for the first time and moved between the Rhine and laid down in the Treaty of Basle, to the east line of demarcation extending to the river Main in Frankfurt (Main) before. In Frankfurt-Höchst, there was a defeat against the Allied Prussians and Austrians and the army withdrew in the Bergische Land.

On May 30, 1796 left wing and the center crossed again under the command of General Jourdan at Dusseldorf and the Rhine in Neuwied. The actual meaning of the thrust of the Sambre and Meuse Army was under Archduke Carl of Austria deduct the Austrian forces from the Upper Rhine to enable the Rhine-Moselle army under General Moreau the upper crossing of the Rhine between Mannheim and Strasbourg. In their advance they defeated the Austrians at Siegburg and old churches, but suffered a defeat at Wetzlar and retreated back across the Rhine.

On June 28, 1796, the army went back across the Rhine - the Rhine-Moselle army was successfully advanced into southern Germany - and came to Nuremberg. In Amberg, the Austrians were able to beat the Sambre - and -Meuse army. Losses during the retreat at Würzburg and at the Lahn, the French forced to give up the right bank conquests.

Under new high command of General Hoche they went again over the Rhine and won a major victory last on 18 April 1797 in the Battle of Neuwied on Austrian troops under General Franz Freiherr von Werneck. With further combat successes they penetrated to Frankfurt, but had to cancel their campaign because of the armistice and preliminary peace of Leoben.

In the late summer of 1797 a new invasion of the English and Irish coast was planned in Paris. General Hoche was instructed for an invading army to lead 10,000 men of the Sambre and Meuse Army to the West Coast. The march was within the periphery of Paris broken, which meant a violation of the constitution in force and led to protests among the population and the conservative Oppopsition. It has been suggested that the presence of troops in Paris in support of the anti-royalist coup of 18 Fructidor (4 September 1797) was initiated by the conspiratorial Board Member Barras. The plans of invasion to England were postponed and the troops were placed back to the Rhine. It was the last action of the revolutionary army as an independent force.

Troop strength in 1796

French Sambre and Meuse Army under the command of General Jean- Baptiste Jourdan top

  • Infantry: 87 Battalions = 65,000 men
  • Cavalry: 95 squadrons = 11,000 horses or teams

Troops up:

  • Right wing under General Marceau the occupation of the armistice line of St. Wendel to Niederdiebach (now Rheindiebach ) Division Marceau ............... 12 battalions, 11 squadrons
  • Division Poncet .................. 12 battalions, 8 squadrons
  • Division Bernadotte ............ 12 battalions, 8 squadrons
  • Center Upper General Jourdan on the Rhine, from Niederdiebach to the mouth of the Moselle Division Championnet ......... 12 battalions, 8 squadrons
  • Division Grenier .................. 12 battalions, 12 squadrons
  • Division Bonnard .................. 3 battalions, 4 squadrons
  • Left Wing General Kléber in Dusseldorf Division Lefebvre ................ 12 battalions, 8 squadrons
  • Division Colaud ................... 12 battalions, 12 squadrons
  • Cavalry Reserve Division at the lower Mosel ..... 24 squadrons

Commanding Generals

  • 2 July to 20 December 1794 Jean -Baptiste Jourdan
  • December 21, 1794 - February 28, 1795: Jacques Maurice Hatry
  • March 1, 1795 - January 21, 1796: Jean -Baptiste Jourdan
  • 22 January to 28 February 1796 Jean -Baptiste Kléber
  • 29 February to 30 July 1796 Jean -Baptiste Jourdan
  • 31 July-7 August 1796 Jean -Baptiste Kléber
  • 8 August to 23 September 1796 Jean -Baptiste Jourdan
  • 23 September to 23 January 1797 Pierre Riel de Beurnonville
  • 24 January to 31 January 1797 Jean -Etienne Championnet
  • 1 February to 25 February 1797 Jean -Victor Moreau
  • 26 February to 30 July 1797 Lazare Hoche
  • 31 July to 3 August 1797 François Joseph Lefebvre
  • 4 August to 18 September 1797 Lazare Hoche
  • September 19, 1797 - October 20, 1797: François Joseph Lefebvre
Meuse (river) Battle of Fleurus (1794) Left Bank of the Rhine Demarcation line Bergisches Land Battle of Amberg Franz von Werneck Paul Grenier Adolphe Thiers
703687
de