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The name "First Coalition" ( 1793 - 1797) designates the first major concerted effort of multiple European powers to contain revolutionary France.After the stated aim of the National Convention to export revolution, the guillotining of Louis XVI of France (January 1793) and the French opening of the Scheldt, a military coalition formed comprising:
These powers initiated a series of invasions of France by land and sea, with Prussia and Austria attacking from the Austrian Netherlands and the RhineAt 1,320 km (820 miles), the Rhine River ( German Rhein French Rhin Dutch Rijn is one of the longest rivers in Europe. Its name is derived from the Celtic word renos (meaning "raging flow"). Together with the Danube it formed most of the northern frontier, and Great Britain supporting revolts in provincial France and laying siege to Toulon. France sufferred reverses ( battle of NeerwindenThe Battle of Neerwinden (18 March 1793) took place near the village of Neerwinden in present-day Belgium between the Austrians under Prince Josias of Coburg and the French under General Dumouriez. One should not confuse this battle with the Battle of Nee ( 18 March 1793) and internal revolts (the revolt in the VendéeDuring the French Revolution, the 1793- 1796 uprising in the Vendee, variously known as the Uprising Insurrection Revolt or Wars in the Vendee was the largest internal counter-revolution to the new Republic. The region was stratified along class lines bef), and responded with extreme measures: the Committee of Public SafetyThe Committee of Public Safety ( French: Comite de Salut Public , set up by the National Convention on April 6, 1793, formed the de facto executive government of France during the Reign of Terror ( 1793 1794) of the French Revolution. Under war conditions formed ( 6 April 1793) and the levée en masse drafted all potential soldiers aged 18 to 25 (August 1793). The new French armies counter-attacked, repulsed the invaders, and moved beyond France. French arms established the Batavian Republic as a satellite state (May 1795) and gained the Prussian Rhineland by the first Treaty of Basel . Spain made a separate peace with France (second Treaty of Basel) and the French Directory carried out plans to conquer more of Germany and northern Italy (1795).
North of the Alps Archduke Charles of Austria redressed the situation in 1796, but Napoleon Bonaparte carried all before him against Sardinia and Austria in Italy (1796 - 1797), culminating in the peace of Leoben and the Treaty of Campo Formio (October 1797). The First Coalition collapsed, leaving only England in the field (or rather, on the water) fighting against France.
See also
French Revolutionary Wars
