Misplaced Pages

#955044

57-450: Despite experiencing early disastrous defeats, the revolutionary armies successfully expelled foreign forces from French soil and then overran many neighboring countries, establishing client republics . Leading generals included Napoleon Bonaparte , Jean-Baptiste Jourdan , André Masséna , Jean Victor Marie Moreau and Étienne Macdonald . As a general description of French military forces during this period, it should not be confused with

114-686: A "draft". Currently, many countries require registration for some form of mandatory service, although that requirement may be selectively enforced or exist only in law and not in practice. Usually the requirement applies to younger male citizens, though it may extend to women and non-citizen residents as well. In times of war, the requirements, such as age, may be broadened when additional troops are thought to be needed. At different times and places, some individuals have been able to avoid conscription by having another person take their place. Modern draft laws may provide temporary or permanent exemptions from service or allow some other non-combatant service, as in

171-547: A debacle when it was found that the hastily trained Revolutionary forces were badly disorganized and disobedient: on one occasion, troops murdered their general to avoid a battle; on another, troops insisted on putting their commander's orders to a vote. The Revolutionary forces retreated from the Austrian Netherlands in disarray. In August 1792, a large Austro-Prussian army commanded by the Duke of Brunswick crossed

228-457: A distinct and honourable activity." In modern times, soldiers have volunteered for armed service, especially in time of war, out of a sense of patriotic duty to their homeland or to advance a social, political, or ideological cause, while improved levels of remuneration or training might be more of an incentive in times of economic hardship. Soldiers might also enlist for personal reasons, such as following family or social expectations, or for

285-486: A hodgepodge of different units, and as such did not have a uniform appearance. Veterans in their white uniforms and tarleton helmets from the ancien regime period served alongside national guardsmen in their blue jackets with white turnbacks piped red and fédérés dressed in civilian clothes with only the red phrygian cap and the tricolour cockade to identify them as soldiers. Poor supplies meant that uniforms which had worn out were replaced with civilian clothes, and so

342-535: A means of controlling occupied lands as client regimes through a mix of French and local power. Soldier A soldier is a person who serves as part of an army . A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person , a non-commissioned officer , a warrant officer , or an officer . Soldiers may be involved directly in armed hostilities, such as members of infantry , artillery , or armored units, or as personnel serving in support roles that rarely see actual combat. The word soldier derives from

399-562: A prominent mathematician , physicist , and delegate to the Convention, was promoted to the Committee of Public Safety. Displaying an exceptional talent for organization and for enforcing discipline, Carnot set about rearranging the disheveled Revolutionary Armies. Realizing that no amount of reforming and discipline was going to offset the massive numerical superiority enjoyed by France's enemies, Carnot ordered (24 February 1793 decree of

456-616: A study of 18th century soldiers' written records about their time in service, historian Ilya Berkovich suggests "three primary 'levers' of motivation ... 'coercive', 'remunerative', and 'normative' incentives." Berkovich argues that historians' assumptions that fear of coercive force kept unwilling conscripts in check and controlled rates of desertion have been overstated and that any pay or other remuneration for service as provided then would have been an insufficient incentive. Instead, " old-regime common soldiers should be viewed primarily as willing participants who saw themselves as engaged in

513-605: A vital role in their success. The cannon continued to have a dominating role on the battlefield throughout the Napoleonic Wars . The cavalry was seriously affected by the Revolution. The majority of officers had been of aristocratic birth and had fled France during the final stages of the monarchy or to avoid the subsequent Terror. Many French cavalrymen joined the émigré army of the Prince du Condé. Two entire regiments,

570-403: A whole or to any rank." The length of time that an individual is required to serve as a soldier has varied with country and historical period, whether that individual has been drafted or has voluntarily enlisted. Such service, depending on the army's need for staffing or the individual's fitness and eligibility, may involve fulfillment of a contractual obligation. That obligation might extend for

627-470: Is the "amalgamation" ( amalgame ) strategy organized by military strategist Lazare Carnot , later Napoleon 's Minister of War . He assigned, to the same regiment (but in different battalions), both young volunteers enthusiastic at the thought of dying for liberty and old veterans from the former royal army . The transformation of the Army was most apparent in the officer corps. Before the revolution, 90% of

SECTION 10

#1732764959956

684-652: Is the term "red caps" to refer to military policemen personnel in the British Army because of the colour of their headgear. Infantry are sometimes called "grunts" in the United States Army (as the well as in the U.S. Marine Corps ) or "squaddies" (in the British Army). U.S. Army artillery crews, or "gunners," are sometimes referred to as "redlegs", from the service branch colour for artillery . U.S. soldiers are often called " G.I.s " (short for

741-520: The Ancien régime , the system of named regiments was abandoned. Instead, the new army was formed into a series of numbered demi-brigades . Consisting of two or three battalions , these formations were designated demi-brigades in an attempt to avoid the feudal connotations of the term Regiment . In mid-1793, the Revolutionary Army officially comprised 196 infantry demi-brigades . After

798-664: The Bonaparte family . The French Revolution was a period of social and political upheaval in France from 1789 until 1799. The Republicans who overthrew the monarchy were driven by ideas of popular sovereignty , rule of law , and representative democracy . The Republicans borrowed ideas and values from Whiggism and Enlightenment philosophers. The French Republic supported the spread of republican principles in Europe. According to Paul D. Van Wie most of these sister republics became

855-890: The Byzantine Empire . In most armies, the word "soldier" has a general meaning that refers to all members of any army, distinct from more specialized military occupations that require different areas of knowledge and skill sets. "Soldiers" may be referred to by titles, names, nicknames , or acronyms that reflect an individual's military occupation specialty arm, service, or branch of military employment, their type of unit, or operational employment or technical use such as: trooper , tanker (a member of tank crew), commando , dragoon , infantryman , guardsman , artilleryman , paratrooper , grenadier , ranger , sniper , engineer , sapper , craftsman , signaller , medic , rifleman , or gunner , among other terms. Some of these designations or their etymological origins have existed in

912-653: The French First Republic or by local revolutionaries during the French Revolutionary Wars . These republics, though nominally independent, relied heavily on France for protection , making them more akin to autonomous territories rather than independent states. This became particularly evident after the declaration of the French Empire , when several states were annexed, and the remaining turned into monarchies ruled by members of

969-676: The Hussards du Saxe and the 15éme Cavalerie (Royal Allemande) defected to the Austrians. Lacking not only trained officers, but also mounts and equipment, the Revolutionary Cavalry became the worst equipped arm of the Revolutionary Army. By mid-1793, the paper organisation of the Revolutionary Army included twenty six heavy cavalry regiments, two regiments of carabiniers, twenty dragoon regiments, eighteen regiments of chasseurs à cheval and ten hussar regiments. In reality, it

1026-618: The Middle English word soudeour , from Old French soudeer or soudeour , meaning mercenary, from soudee , meaning shilling 's worth or wage, from sou or soud , shilling. The word is also related to the Medieval Latin soldarius , meaning soldier (literally, "one having pay"). These words ultimately derive from the Late Latin word solidus , referring to an ancient Roman coin used in

1083-599: The Reign of Terror . The few remaining officers from the old guard were promoted swiftly; this meant that the majority of the Revolutionary officers were far younger than their Monarchist counterparts. The high-ranking aristocratic officers who remained, among them Marquis de la Fayette , Comte de Rochambeau and Count Nicolas Luckner , were soon accused of having monarchist sympathies and either executed or forced into exile. Revolutionary fervour, along with calls to save

1140-689: The "revolutionary armies" ( armées révolutionnaires ) which were paramilitary forces set up during the Terror . Following the proclamation of the French Empire in 1804 the Revolutionary Army became the Imperial Army . As the Ancien Régime gave way to a constitutional monarchy , and then to a republic, 1789–92, the entire structure of France was transformed to fall into line with the Revolutionary principles of " Liberty, Equality and Fraternity ". Reactionary Europe stood opposed, especially after

1197-404: The Army for family, institutional, and occupational reasons, and many value the opportunity to become a military professional. They value their relationships with other soldiers, enjoy their social lives, and are satisfied with Army life." However, the authors cautioned that the survey sample consisted of only 81 soldiers and that "the findings of this study cannot be generalized to the U.S. Army as

SECTION 20

#1732764959956

1254-553: The Austrian troops at Charleroi . In 1792, the French Revolutionary Army had eight field armies : In 1793, the field armies of the French Revolutionary Army underwent a restructuring: Several field armies were also formed for specific tasks: French client republic A sister republic ( French : république sœur , pronounced [ʁepyblik sœʁ] ) was a republic established by

1311-526: The English language for centuries, while others are relatively recent, reflecting changes in technology, increased division of labor , or other factors. In the United States Army, a soldier's military job is designated as a Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) , which includes a very wide array of MOS Branches and sub-specialties. One example of a nickname for a soldier in a specific occupation

1368-587: The French king was executed . The signing of the Declaration of Pillnitz between Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor and King Frederick William II of Prussia and the subsequent French declaration of war meant that from its formation, the Republic of France was at war, and it required a potent military force to ensure its survival. As a result, one of the first major elements of the French state to be restructured

1425-476: The Revolutionary Armies were operating along the guidelines set down in the 1791 Reglement , a set of regulations created during the years before the Revolution. The 1791 Reglement laid down several complex tactical maneuvers, maneuvers which demanded well trained soldiers , officers and NCOs to perform correctly. The Revolutionary Army was lacking in all three of these areas, and as a result

1482-541: The Revolutionary Army lacked any semblance of uniformity, with the exception of the tricolour cockade which was worn by all soldiers. As the war progressed, several demi-brigades were issued specific coloured uniform jackets, and the Revolutionary Armée d'Orient which arrived in Egypt in 1798 was uniformed in purple, pink, green, red, orange and blue jackets. Along with the problem of uniforms, many men of

1539-603: The Revolutionary Army lacked weapons and ammunition. Any weapons captured from the enemy were immediately absorbed into the ranks. After the Battle of Montenotte in 1796, 1,000 French soldiers who had been sent into battle unarmed were afterwards equipped with captured Austrian muskets. As a result, uniformity was also lacking in weapons. Besides the regular demi-brigades , light infantry demi-brigades also existed. These formations were formed from soldiers who had shown skill in marksmanship, and were used for skirmishing in front of

1596-668: The Soviet Union " for their actions in the army or as partisan fighters. In the United Kingdom, women served in the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) and later in the Women's Royal Army Corps (WRAC). Soon after its entry into the war, the U.S. formed the Women's Army Corps , whose female soldiers were often referred to as "WACs." These sex-segregated branches were disbanded in the last decades of

1653-574: The U.S. Army, career soldiers who have served for at least 20 years are eligible to draw on a retirement pension . The size of the pension as a percentage of the soldier's salary usually increases with the length of time served on active duty. Since the earliest recorded history, soldiers and warfare have been depicted in countless works, including songs, folk tales, stories, memoirs, biographies, novels and other narrative fiction, drama, films, and more recently television and video, comic books, graphic novels, and games. Often these portrayals have emphasized

1710-423: The best in Europe thanks to the technical improvements of Jean Baptiste Vaquette de Gribeauval . The Battle of Valmy ensured that the Revolutionary armies were respected and no longer underestimated by their enemies. For the next ten years, these armies not only defended the fledgling First French Republic , but, under the command of Generals such as Moreau , Jourdan , Kléber , Desaix and Bonaparte , expanded

1767-662: The borders of the French republic. While the Cannonade of Valmy had saved the Republic from imminent destruction and caused its enemies to take pause, the guillotining of Louis XVI in January 1793 and the National Convention 's proclamation that it would ' export the revolution ' hardened the resolve of France's enemies to destroy the Republic and reinstate a monarchy. In early 1793, the First Coalition

French Revolutionary Army - Misplaced Pages Continue

1824-598: The case of conscientious objectors . In the United States, males aged 18-25 are required to register with the Selective Service System , which has responsibility for overseeing the draft. However, no draft has occurred since 1973, and the U.S. military has been able to maintain staffing through voluntary enlistment. Soldiers in war may have various motivations for voluntarily enlisting and remaining in an army or other armed forces branch. In

1881-648: The duration of an armed conflict or may be limited to a set number of years in active duty and/or inactive duty. As of 2023, service in the U.S. Army is for a Military Service Obligation of 2 to 6 years of active duty with a remaining term in the Individual Ready Reserve . Individuals may also enlist for part-time duty in the Army Reserve or National Guard . Depending on need or fitness to serve, soldiers usually may reenlist for another term, possibly receiving monetary or other incentives. In

1938-452: The early efforts to conform to the 1791 Reglement were met with disaster. The untrained troops could not perform the complex maneuvers required, unit cohesion was lost and defeat was ensured. Realizing that the army was not capable of conforming with the 1791 Reglement , commanders began experimenting with formations which required less training to perform. Many eminent French military thinkers had been clamoring for change decades before. In

1995-557: The frontier and began its march on Paris with the declared intention of restoring full power to Louis XVI. Several Revolutionary armies were easily defeated by the professional Austrian , Hessian , Brunswick and Prussian troops. The immediate result of this was the storming of the Tuileries Palace by an armed Parisian mob and the overthrow of the king. Successive Revolutionary forces failed to halt Brunswick's advance, and by mid-September it appeared that Paris would fall to

2052-575: The initial dismal performance of the Fédéré volunteer battalions, Carnot ordered that each demi-brigade was to consist of one regular (ex-Royal Army) and two fédéré battalions. These new formations, intended to combine the discipline and training of the old army with the enthusiasm of the new volunteers, were proven successful at Valmy in September 1792. In 1794, the new demi-brigade was universally adopted. The Revolutionary Army had been formed from

2109-422: The invading monarchists. The Convention ordered the remaining armies to be combined under the command of Dumouriez and François Christophe Kellermann . At the Battle of Valmy on 20 September 1792, the Revolutionary forces defeated Brunswick's advance guard, causing the invading army to begin a retreat all the way to the border. Much of the credit for the victory is owed to the French artillery , widely viewed as

2166-423: The main force. As with the line demi-brigades , the light demi-brigades lacked uniformity in either weapons or equipment. Supporting the skirmishers was the French artillery . The artillery had suffered least from the exodus of aristocratic officers during the early days of the Revolution, as it was commanded mostly by men drawn from the middle class. The man who would shape the era, Napoleon Bonaparte , himself

2223-435: The national Convention) each département to provide a quota of new recruits, a number totaling around 300,000. By mid-1793, the Revolutionary Army had increased around 645,000 men. On 23 August 1793, at Carnot's insistence, the Convention issued the following proclamation ordering a levée en masse All unmarried able bodied men aged between 18 and 25 were to report immediately for military service. Those married, as well as

2280-417: The new regime, resulted in a large influx of enthusiastic, yet untrained and undisciplined, volunteers. These were the first sans-culottes , so called because they wore peasants' trousers rather than the knee-breeches used by the other armies of the time. France's desperate military situation meant that these men were quickly inducted into the army. One reason for the success of the French Revolutionary Army

2337-541: The officers had been aristocrats, compared to only 3% in 1794. Revolutionary fervor was high, and was closely monitored by the Committee of Public Safety , which assigned Representatives on Mission to keep watch on the army generals. Indeed, during the war, some generals deserted, and others were removed or executed. The government demanded that soldiers be loyal to the government in Paris, not to their generals. Officially,

French Revolutionary Army - Misplaced Pages Continue

2394-607: The order and discipline provided by military training, as well as for the friendship and connection with their fellow soldiers afforded by close contact in a common enterprise. In 2018, the RAND Corporation published the results of a study of contemporary American soldiers in Life as a Private: A Study of the Motivations and Experiences of Junior Enlisted Personnel in the U.S. Army . The study found that "soldiers join

2451-529: The period following the humiliating performance of the French Army during the Seven Years' War , they began to experiment with new ideas. Guibert wrote his epic Essai général de Tactique , Bourcet focused on staff procedures and mountain warfare , and Mesnil-Durand spent his time advocating l'ordre profond , tactics of maneuvering and fighting in heavy columnar formations , placing emphasis on

2508-559: The possible effects of such service on the institution of legal slavery . Some Black soldiers, both freemen and men who had escaped from slavery, served in Union forces, until 1863, when the Emancipation Proclamation opened the door for the formation of Black units. After the war, Black soldiers continued to serve, but in segregated units, often subjected to physical and verbal racist abuse. The term " Buffalo Soldiers "

2565-510: The remaining men, women and children, were to focus their efforts on arming and supplying the army. This increased the size of the Revolutionary Armies dramatically, providing the armies in the field with the manpower to hold off the enemy attacks. Carnot was hailed by the government as the Organizer of Victory . By September 1794, the Revolutionary Army had 1,500,000 men under arms. Carnot's levée en masse had provided so much manpower that it

2622-448: The shock of cold steel over firepower. In the 1770s, some commanders, among them the brilliant duc de Broglie performed exercises testing these tactics. It was finally decided to launch a series of experiments to try out the new tactics, and comparing them to the standard Fredrickian linear formation known as l'ordre mince which was universally popular throughout Europe. De Broglie decided that l'ordre profond worked best when it

2679-518: The status or changes in status of soldiers for reasons of gender , race , or other social factors. With certain exceptions, service as a soldier, especially in the infantry, had generally been restricted to males throughout world history. By World War II, women were actively deployed in Allied forces in different ways. Some notable female soldiers in the Soviet Union were honored as " Heroes of

2736-486: The term "Government Issue"). Such terms may be associated with particular wars or historical eras. "G.I." came into common use during World War II and after, but prior to and during World War I especially, American soldiers were called " Doughboys ," while British infantry troops were often referred to as "Tommies " (short for the archetypal soldier "Tommy Atkins") and French infantry were called "Poilus " ("hairy ones"). Some formal or informal designations may reflect

2793-517: The twentieth century and women soldiers were integrated into the standing branches of the military, although their ability to serve in armed combat was often restricted. Race has historically been an issue restricting the ability of some people to serve in the U.S. Army. Until the American Civil War , Black soldiers fought in integrated and sometimes separate units, but at other times were not allowed to serve, largely due to fears about

2850-472: Was an artilleryman. The various technical improvements of Général Jean Baptiste Vaquette de Gribeauval in the years preceding the Revolution, and the subsequent efforts of Baron du Teil and his brother Chevalier Jean du Teil meant that the French artillery was the finest in Europe. The Revolutionary Artillery was responsible for several of the Republic's early victories; for example at Valmy , on 13 Vendémiaire , and at Lodi . The revolutionary cannon played

2907-742: Was applied to some units fighting in the 19th century Indian Wars in the American West. Eventually, the phrase was applied more generally to segregated Black units, who often distinguished themselves in armed conflict and other service. In 1948, President Harry S. Truman issued an executive order for the end of segregation in the United States Armed Forces . Throughout history, individuals have often been compelled by force or law to serve in armies and other armed forces in times of war or other times. Modern forms of such compulsion are generally referred to as " conscription " or

SECTION 50

#1732764959956

2964-421: Was finally disbanded after Waterloo. The French Aerostatic Corps ( compagnie d'aérostiers ) was the first French air force , founded in 1794 to use balloons , primarily for reconnaissance . The first military use of the balloon occurred on 2 June 1794, when it was used for reconnaissance during an enemy bombardment. On 22 June, the corps received orders to move the balloon to the plain of Fleurus , in front of

3021-467: Was formed, not only from Prussia and Austria, but also Sardinia , Naples , the Dutch Republic , Spain and Great Britain . The Republic was under attack on several fronts, and in the fiercely Catholic region of La Vendée an armed revolt had broken out. The Revolutionary army was greatly overstretched, and it seemed that the fall of the republic was imminent. In early 1793 Lazare Carnot ,

3078-399: Was not necessary to repeat it again until 1797. Seeing the failure of the 1791 Reglement , several early revolutionary commanders followed de Broglie's example and experimented with the pre-revolutionary ideas, gradually adapting them until they discovered a system that worked. The final standard used by the early Revolutionary Armies consisted of the following: Following the dissolution of

3135-532: Was seldom that any of these regiments reached even half strength. However, unlike the infantry, where all battalions of the old Royal Army were merged with freshly raised volunteers to form new demi-brigades , the cavalry retained their regimental identities throughout the revolutionary and Napoleonic periods. As one example, the Regiment de Chasseurs d'Alsace (raised in 1651) was renamed the 1er Regiment de Chasseurs in 1791 but otherwise remained unchanged until it

3192-545: Was supported by artillery and large numbers of skirmishers. Despite these exercises, l'ordre mince had strong and powerful supporters in the French Royal Army, and it was this formation which went into the 1791 Reglement as the standard. The French struck first, with an invasion of the Austrian Netherlands proposed by foreign minister Charles François Dumouriez . This invasion soon turned into

3249-590: Was the army. Almost all of the officers of the French Royal Army had been drawn from the aristocracy. During the period preceding the final overthrow of the Monarchy, large numbers of officers left their regiments and emigrated. Between 15 September and 1 December 1791 alone, 2,160 officers of the royal army fled France eventually to join the émigré army of Louis Joseph, Prince of Condé . Of those who stayed, many were either imprisoned or killed during

#955044