Austria's Invasion Of France: Did It Happen?

The French Revolutionary Wars, which lasted from 1792 to 1802, were a series of sweeping military conflicts that resulted from the French Revolution. They pitted the French First Republic against several monarchies, including Austria. In April 1792, France declared war on the Habsburg Monarchy of Austria, with the Kingdom of Prussia joining the Austrian side a few weeks later. This marked the beginning of the War of the First Coalition, which was the first attempt by the European monarchies to defeat the French First Republic. The war was not confined to Europe, as the fighting gradually assumed a global dimension. During this time, Austria and France fought five wars, with Austria losing all but the last.

The War of the First Coalition (1792-1797)

The French Revolution entered a calm stage in 1790 and early 1791 as the National Assembly diligently worked on its new constitution. However, this situation changed when, on the night of 20-21 June 1791, King Louis XVI fled Paris. After two years of pretending to support the Revolution, the king showed his true colours by leaving a letter denouncing the movement before attempting to escape to the Austrian Netherlands. The attempt, known as the Flight to Varennes, failed, and the king was escorted back to Paris. The event shook the nation to its core, as the king had proven he could not be trusted.

In August 1791, the monarchs of Austria and Prussia jointly issued the Declaration of Pillnitz, which threatened France with military invasion should any harm come to the royal Bourbon family. This declaration, unsupported by any other monarchs, was intended only to intimidate the revolutionaries, but it had the opposite effect. The French had long feared foreign intervention to crush their revolution, and many viewed Pillnitz as proof that this was indeed the intention of the old regimes.

In late 1791, a faction called the Girondins rose to power in the French Legislative Assembly. Led by the firebrand Jacques-Pierre Brissot, the Girondins called for war as the only means to preserve the revolution and expand it into the corners of Europe. This was widely supported, even by the king himself, who secretly hoped to use the war to restore himself to his full powers. The Assembly began raising three volunteer armies. There was pushback from an anti-war faction in the Jacobin Club led by Maximilien Robespierre, who cautioned that the war would only result in dictatorship and the end of the Revolution.

The Girondins directed France's anger toward Austria, a traditional rival who represented everything wrong with Ancien Régime monarchies. Relations between the two nations deteriorated until 20 April 1792, when the Legislative Assembly voted overwhelmingly to declare war. Prussia, meanwhile, joined the war on Austria's side in June and began preparing an invasion force near Koblenz. Under the command of Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick, the army commenced its invasion of France the next month.

On 25 July 1792, the invading army issued the Brunswick Manifesto, which declared its intent to restore Louis XVI to his full powers and threatened death to anyone who dared resist. This motivated the revolutionary army and government to oppose the Prussian invaders by any means necessary, and led almost immediately to the overthrow of the King by a crowd that stormed the Tuileries Palace. Brunswick's army, composed mostly of Prussian veterans, crossed into French territory on 19 August and easily took the fortresses of Longwy and Verdun. But at the Battle of Valmy on 20 September 1792, they were halted by French generals Dumouriez and Kellermann. 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 longer and more costly campaign than predicted, decided against the cost and risk of continued fighting and retreated from France to preserve their army.

The so-called 'miracle at Valmy' portended good fortunes for the French on all fronts. In the north, General Dumouriez invaded Belgium, defeated the Austrians at the Battle of Jemappes, and soon controlled the whole country.

The War of the Second Coalition (1798-1802)

The Second Coalition was formed several months after the War of the First Coalition, which ended in 1797. In May 1798, Naples allied itself with Austria, and in November, with Russia. Britain and Austria failed to persuade Prussia to join the coalition, and they were also unable to formalise an alliance due to a lack of agreement on a loan convention. Russia allied itself with the Ottoman Empire and Great Britain in December, and by the end of the month, the Kingdom of Naples had signed alliances with both Russia and Great Britain.

The preliminary military action of the Second Coalition occurred on November 29, 1798, when General Karl Mack, an Austrian serving Naples, occupied Rome, wishing to restore Papal authority with the Neapolitan army. The poorly equipped and led Neapolitan army was defeated outside Rome and pushed back, and Naples was occupied by France on January 23, 1799.

In Europe, the allies mounted several invasions, including campaigns in Italy and Switzerland and an Anglo-Russian invasion of the Netherlands. The allies were less successful in Holland, where the British and Russians retreated after a defeat at Castricum, and in Switzerland, where an Austro-Russian army was routed at the Second Battle of Zurich. These reverses, as well as British insistence on searching shipping in the Baltic Sea, led to Russia's withdrawal from the Coalition.

Napoleon invaded Syria from Egypt but retreated after a failed siege of Acre. Alerted to the political and military crisis in France, he returned and used his popularity and army support to mount a coup that made him First Consul, the head of the French government. Napoleon sent Moreau to campaign in Germany, and went himself to raise a new army at Dijon and march through Switzerland to attack the Austrian armies in Italy from behind. Moreau invaded Bavaria and won a great battle against Austria at Hohenlinden, forcing the Austrians to sue for peace.

In May 1800, Napoleon led his troops across the Alps through the Great St. Bernard Pass into Italy in a military campaign against the Austrians. He conducted the Siege of Fort Bard against the Sardinian and Austrian armies for two weeks, after which he was able to cross the Alps and enter Italy. He narrowly defeated the Austrians at the Battle of Marengo, forcing them to evacuate Piedmont, Liguria and Lombardy.

The Austrians signed the Armistice of Treviso on January 16, 1801, ending the war in northern Italy. On February 9, they signed the Treaty of Lunéville for the entire Holy Roman Empire, accepting the terms of the previous Treaty of Campo Formio. In Egypt, the Ottomans and British invaded and compelled the French to surrender after the fall of Cairo and Alexandria.

Britain continued the war at sea, and in December 1801, France dispatched the Saint-Domingue expedition to recapture the former colony of Saint-Domingue (now Haiti). On March 25, 1802, Britain and France signed the Treaty of Amiens, ending British involvement in the war. The Treaty of Paris of June 25, 1802, ended the war between France and the Ottoman Empire, the last remaining member of the Second Coalition.

Napoleon's Italian Campaign

The campaign opened with the Montenotte campaign on April 10, 1796, where Bonaparte descended from the Alps into Italy and achieved a rapid series of victories that decisively knocked Piedmont-Sardinia out of the First Coalition. Napoleon then chased the Austrian army across Lombardy, culminating in the French victory at Lodi on May 10, 1796. After putting down revolts in Pavia and Milan, Napoleon's focus shifted in June 1796 to the long and difficult siege of Mantua, which saw the French blockade the city and defeat four relief efforts by Austrian armies from August 1796 to January 1797. As he besieged Mantua, Napoleon also directed the French forces in a series of invasions of the states of Central and Northern Italy, such as Modena and Reggio, Genoa, and the Papal States.

Napoleon's campaign saw the French achieve a series of decisive victories, allowing them to establish domination over much of Northern and Central Italy. His victories led to great personal prestige and widespread popularity in France. Throughout the campaign, he independently exercised authority over conquered territories and established a series of sister republics under French domination. Although he often conflicted with or disregarded the directives of the French Directory, his victories across Italy and his march into Austria concluded the war victoriously for the First French Republic. On October 17, 1797, he personally signed the Treaty of Campo Formio, sanctioning the defeat of the Holy Roman Empire and the First Coalition and confirming the predominance of French influence in Italy.

The Austrian View

The French Revolution of 1789 was initially viewed with a mixture of scorn, excitement, and fear by European monarchs. The Austrian King Leopold II, brother of Marie Antoinette, was more progressive than his fellow princes and admired the Enlightenment and its concepts of constitutional government and natural rights. He was sympathetic to the French Revolution, believing it could prolong his brother-in-law King Louis XVI's reign. Leopold spent his first months on the throne batting away pleas from French émigrés and trying to avoid military entanglement in France.

However, Leopold's stance changed after Louis XVI's ill-fated attempt to flee Paris in July 1791. Leopold instigated the Padua Circular, an open letter calling for a European military coalition to invade France, halt the revolution, and reinstall the monarchy. This was followed by the Declaration of Pillnitz, a joint statement with King Frederick William II of Prussia, expressing concern about the fate of Louis XVI and serving as a warning to the French revolutionaries.

The French government, now acting without the king, interpreted this declaration as a threat to its sovereignty and responded with a series of provocations. Austria, in turn, refused to back down on its perceived threat of using force and stationed significant troops on its French border. In April 1792, France declared war on Austria and Prussia, with both countries responding with a coordinated invasion.

The War of the First Coalition (1792-1797) was the first attempt by the European monarchies to defeat the French First Republic. Prussia joined the Austrian side, and a number of other European states, including Britain, Spain, Portugal, and the Dutch Republic, also joined the anti-French coalition. The early engagements of the war were disastrous for the French due to poor discipline and unrest in their army, caused in part by the revolution.

The Austrian-Prussian invasion of France began in late April 1792, with the capture of the fortresses of Longwy and Verdun. However, this advance was halted at the Battle of Valmy in September 1792, marking a turning point in French military fortunes. The Allied army was forced to retreat from French territory, and the revolution appeared to have been saved.

Despite this setback, Austria continued its efforts in the War of the First Coalition. Napoleon Bonaparte, who joined the war as the leader of the French army in 1796, played a major role in crushing the royalist rebellion in Toulon and securing the valuable French harbor. In 1797, Napoleon successfully invaded Italy, contributing to Austria's decision to sign the Treaty of Campo Formio, ceding Belgium to France and recognizing French control of the Rhineland and much of Italy.

The War of the Second Coalition (1798-1802) followed, with Austria, Britain, Russia, and several other powers forming a coalition against revolutionary France. Napoleon's focus shifted to Egypt, seeking to capture it and threaten British India. While Napoleon achieved initial successes, he ultimately failed to stop British dominance in Egypt. The Austrians, meanwhile, suffered significant defeats at the hands of the French at the battles of Marengo and Hohenlinden in 1800, leading to the Treaty of Lunéville in 1801.

Austria continued to view Napoleon as a threat to monarchical Europe, and the war with France resumed in 1805. However, Napoleon's brilliant strategic moves, including the capture of Ulm and the famous Battle of Austerlitz, resulted in Austrian defeats and the Treaty of Pressburg in December 1805.

In the following years, Austrian foreign policy was directed by Johann Philipp, Graf (count) von Stadion, who believed that large armies were necessary to defeat Napoleon. He proposed raising large armies supplemented by trained reserves and militia, appealing to nationalism and patriotism to inspire his troops. Despite these efforts, the French occupied Vienna in May 1809, and the Austrians suffered further defeats at the battles of Aspern, Wagram, and Schönbrunn.

From 1809 onwards, Austrian foreign policy was steered by Klemens, Graf von Metternich, who sought accommodation with Napoleon, including arranging the marriage of Marie-Louise to Napoleon. Metternich believed that the key to Austria's security was not a return to the pre-revolutionary status quo but rather the creation of a balance of power among the great European states. He played a crucial role in the Congress of Vienna, which concluded the quarter-century-long war and established the Concert of Europe.

The French View

The French Revolution of 1789 was initially viewed with a mixture of scorn, excitement, and fear by the crowned rulers of Europe. Some considered it a localised insurrection that would eventually burn out, while others watched more cautiously, concerned that it might spark similar uprisings in other kingdoms. The most pivotal figure outside France was Leopold II, the brother of Marie Antoinette and the newly crowned ruler of the Holy Roman Empire. Leopold was more progressive than his fellow princes, admiring the Enlightenment and its concepts of constitutional government and natural rights. He was initially sympathetic to the French Revolution, believing that the formation of a constitutional monarchy in France might prolong his brother-in-law King Louis XVI's reign.

However, Leopold's stance changed in the summer of 1791, after Louis XVI's ill-fated attempt to flee Paris left the French king in a precarious position. In July 1791, Leopold instigated the Padua Circular, an open letter to the leaders of Prussia, England, Spain, Russia, Sweden, and other nations. This letter called for a European military coalition to invade France, halt the revolution, and reinstall the monarchy. This was followed by the Declaration of Pillnitz, a joint statement by Leopold and King Frederick William II of Prussia, which served as both a rallying cry to European princes and a warning to the French revolutionaries.

Despite these actions, Leopold still had no desire for war with France, and neither did his European allies. The Declaration of Pillnitz did not garner much attention in France, at least not until the rise of the pro-war Girondinist faction. The Girondins wanted to militarise the revolution, provide it with direction and impetus, distract from domestic economic problems, and consolidate their own power. A war with Austria, they hoped, would ignite French patriotism and reinvigorate revolutionary sentiment, as well as test the loyalty of the king.

In March 1792, Leopold II died suddenly, and the Austrian throne passed to his 24-year-old son, Francis II. Seizing the moment, the Girondin ministry began preparing and agitating for war. On April 20, 1792, Louis XVI attended a session of the Legislative Assembly and sat through speeches calling for a preemptive war. The king then formally declared war against Austria and Francis II, the nephew of his wife.

The first months of the war were disastrous for France due to poor discipline and unrest in the army, partly due to the revolution. The French revolutionaries suffered humiliating defeats but managed to stem the tide in September 1792, defeating the Austrians and Prussians at Valmy and forcing them to retreat from French territory.

The War of the First Coalition (1792-1797) was the first attempt by the European monarchies to defeat the French First Republic. Prussia joined the Austrian side a few weeks after France declared war on Austria, and a number of other European states, including Britain, joined the First Coalition over the course of the war. Napoleon Bonaparte entered the war as the leader of the French army in 1796 and played a major role in crushing the royalist rebellion at the Siege of Toulon, expelling an English fleet, and securing the valuable French harbour.

Napoleon's daring invasion of Italy contributed to Austria's decision to sign the Treaty of Campo Formio, ceding Belgium to France and recognising French control of the Rhineland and much of Italy. This ended the War of the First Coalition, although Great Britain and France remained at war.

The War of the Second Coalition (1798-1802) was the second war on revolutionary France by the European monarchies, led by Britain, Austria, and Russia and including the Ottoman Empire, Portugal, and Naples. Their goal was to contain the spread of chaos from France. Despite initial victories by the Allies in Europe, the war turned in France's favour with the French victory at Zurich in September 1799, which caused Russia to drop out of the war. Napoleon's forces then annihilated a series of Egyptian and Ottoman armies, further enhancing his popularity back in France.

Napoleon returned to Paris in the autumn of 1799 and reorganised the French army, launching a new assault against the Austrians in Italy during the spring of 1800. This brought a decisive French victory at the Battle of Marengo in June 1800, after which the Austrians withdrew from the peninsula once again. Another crushing French triumph at Hohenlinden in Bavaria forced the Austrians to seek peace for a second time, leading to the Treaty of Lunéville in 1801. With Austria and Russia out of the war, Britain found itself increasingly isolated and agreed to the Treaty of Amiens with Napoleon's government in 1802, concluding the Revolutionary Wars.

However, lingering tensions remained, and the Napoleonic Wars began over a year later with the formation of the Third Coalition. The French Revolution had transformed nearly all aspects of French and European life, and the powerful sociopolitical forces unleashed by a people seeking liberty, equality, and fraternity ensured that warfare was not spared this upheaval. The French military was in the ascendant, and Lazare Carnot, a scientist and prominent member of the Committee of Public Safety, organised the fourteen armies of the Republic, earning the nickname the Organizer of Victory.

Frequently asked questions