When was the war of the Second Coalition

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, which was bankrupt after its expenditures in support of the American War of Independence. They failed to overthrow the revolutionary regime and French territorial gains since 1793 were confirmed. The Allies formed a new alliance and attempted to roll back France's previous military conquests. The Coalition did very well in 1799, but Russia pulled out. Napoleon

Lejeune - Bataille de Marengo

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Influence

The French Revolution transformed nearly all aspects of French and European life. The powerful sociopolitical forces unleashed by a people seeking liberté, égalité, and fraternité made certain that even warfare was not spared this upheaval. 18th-century armies—with their rigid protocols, static operational strategy, unenthusiastic soldiers, and aristocratic officer classes—underwent massive remodeling as the French monarchy and nobility gave way to liberal assemblies obsessed with external threats. The fundamental shifts in warfare that occurred during the period have prompted scholars to identify the era as the beginning of "modern war".

In 1791 the Legislative Assembly passed the "Drill-Book" legislation, implementing a series of infantry doctrines created by French theorists because of their defeat by the Prussians in the Seven Years' War. The new developments hoped to exploit the intrinsic bravery of the French soldier, made even more powerful by the explosive nationalist forces of the Revolution. The changes also placed a faith on the ordinary soldier that would be completely unacceptable in earlier times; French troops were expected to harass the enemy and remain loyal enough to not desert, a benefit other Ancien Régime armies did not have.

The armies of the Revolution at Jemappes in 1792. With chaos internally and enemies on the borders, the French were in a period of uncertainty during the early years of the Revolutionary Wars. By 1797, however, France dominated much of Western Europe, conquering the Rhineland, the Netherlands, and the Italian peninsula while erecting a series of sister republics and puppet states stretching from Spain to the German heartland

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Following the declaration of war in 1792, an imposing array of enemies converging on French borders prompted the government in Paris to adopt radical measures. 23 August 1793, would become a historic day in military history; on that date the National Convention called a levée en masse, or mass conscription, for the first time in human history. By summer of the following year, conscription made some 500,000 men available for service and the French began to deal blows to their European enemies.

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Armies during the Revolution became noticeably larger than their Holy Roman counterparts, and combined with the new enthusiasm of the troops, the tactical and strategic opportunities became profound. By 1797 the French had defeated the First Coalition, occupied the Low Countries, the west bank of the Rhine, and Northern Italy, objectives which had defied the Valois and Bourbon dynasties for centuries. Unsatisfied with the results, many European powers formed a Second Coalition, but by 1801 this too had been decisively beaten. Another key aspect of French success was the changes wrought in the officer classes. Traditionally, European armies left major command positions to those who could be trusted, namely, the aristocracy. The hectic nature of the French Revolution, however, tore apart France's old army, meaning new men were required to become officers and commanders.

In addition to opening a flood of tactical and strategic opportunities, the Revolutionary Wars also laid the foundation for modern military theory. Later authors that wrote about "nations in arms" drew inspiration from the French Revolution, in which dire circumstances seemingly mobilized the entire French nation for war and incorporated nationalism into the fabric of military history. Although the reality of war in the France of 1795 would be different from that in the France of 1915, conceptions and mentalities of war evolved significantly. Clausewitz correctly analyzed the Revolutionary and Napoleonic eras to give posterity a thorough and complete theory of war that emphasized struggles between nations occurring everywhere, from the battlefield to the legislative assemblies, and to the very way that people think. War now emerged as a vast panorama of physical and psychological forces heading for victory or defeat.

• Outline War of the Second Coalition (1798–1802)
  

  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, which was bankrupt after its expenditures in support of the American War of Independence. View Historic Battle »

  Background: France ranged itself against most of the European states sharing land or water borders with her, plus Portugal and the Ottoman Empire.

  Peace interrupted: The French demanded additional territory not mentioned in the Treaty. The Habsburgs were reluctant to hand over designated territories, much less additional ones.

  Preliminaries to war: Military planners in Paris understood that the northern Rhine Valley, the south-western German territories, and Switzerland were strategically important for the defense of the Republic.

  Campaigns of 1798: The major continental powers in the First coalition had made peace with France, leaving France dominant in Europe with only a slow naval war with Great Britain to worry about.

  Campaigns of 1799: Britain and Austria organized a new coalition against France in 1798, including for the first time the Russian Empire, although no action occurred until 1799 except against the kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

  Campaigns of 1800: 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.

  Campaigns of 1801: Britain continued the war at sea. A coalition of non-combatants including Prussia, Russia, Denmark, and Sweden joined to protect neutral shipping from Britain's blockade, resulting in Nelson's surprise attack on the Danish fleet in harbor at the Battle of Copenhagen.

  1802: In 1802, the British and French signed the Treaty of Amiens, ending the war. Thus began the longest period of peace during the period 1792–1815.

Over the summer of 1799 further blows were made to French military confidence when Britain and Russia conducted an invasion of the Batavian Republic (the Netherlands). On the 27th of August British troops successfully landed at Callantsoog, with the Royal Navy having inflicted heavy damage on the Dutch fleet, thus prompting their commander Daendels to abandon the fortresses at Den Helder, and unwittingly providing the allies with a fortified base.

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The successful landing created a sense of optimism, and encouraged the Prince of Orange to ally himself with the British forces in the hope of creating local support. However, his call to arms was met with indifference or outright hostility, and did not benefit the allied cause. On the 13th September Russian troops led by General von Fersen arrived, increasing the size of the coalition forces to over 35,000 men. However, although the allies were now numerically greater than the French, many of their troops were now exhausted, and so it provided a limited practical advantage. On the 19th of September the coalition forces attacked, with the Russians successfully capturing the town of Belsen. However, the Russians were now truly exhausted, and suffered significant losses as a result of a French counter attack.

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Two weeks later on the 2nd of October the British won another victory at the Battle of Alkmaar, forcing the French to flee from the city, abandoning it. It was to be the last coalition victory of the campaign, with the Battle of Castricum on the 6th of October permanently reversing the allied fortunes. It had become increasingly difficult to provide the army with supplies, and so by the 6th of October the allied forces were severely diminished in number. The Duke of York ordered an advance, but it was broken by the French counter-attack, forcing the coalition forces to retreat in disorder. The outcome of the battle was a complete withdrawal of all British and Russian forces from the Batavian Republic following severe casualties totalling around 2500 men, as well as the abandonment of two field hospitals. Both sides agreed to an armistice, and by the 19th of November all troops had been removed from the Batavian Republic.