Please explain how the French army during the French Revolution was different than other armies previously.

Question

If you could also please answer where they fought during the early 1790s, that would be so helpful, thanks!

Answer 1

Hi Leah!

In the century before the French Revolution, most wars were fought by small, highly trained, professional armies. There wasn't that much bloodshed, and the majority of the population also wasn't very engaged in these wars, because they weren't involved in fighting them.

The French revolutionary army, in contrast, was truly a national army. Many poorly prepared but enthusiastic recruits signed up in the early days of the war, motivated by revolutionary patriotism. And in 1793, faced with the threat of invasion from Prussia, Austria, and other European countries, French revolutionary administrators instituted the levée en masse, a new kind of conscription that drafted every unmarried man between the ages of 18 and 25 to fight for their country. The levée en masse changed how warfare was understood--it was now the duty of every citizen of a country to defend their country, and so the creation of the levée en masse helped to further strengthen French national identity. It also meant that wars were being fought by larger, more ideologically engaged armies.

As far as your other question, I believe the first few battles the French army fought were in the Austrian Netherlands, where they suffered several defeats. It took a while for the relatively untrained French recruits to turn into an effective military force, but with the Battle of Valmy in 1792, the French won their first major victory and managed to repel the Austrian and Prussian invaders from French soil.

Hope this helps!

Kate