Chapitre 79: Chapter 79: Declaration of War (Part 2)
Emperor Leopold's actions were seen by the French, or at least most of them, as acts of fear towards France. This sudden show of confidence among the French had a significant impact. It cast both Robespierre, who opposed the war, and Lafayette, who advocated caution, in the light of cowardice.
After voluntarily withdrawing from the parliamentary elections, Robespierre's reputation took a hit. For someone without much personal power, the loss of reputation weighed heavily. After such a loss, Robespierre had little room for change and had to rely heavily on the support of the common people.
Similarly, Lafayette suffered significant damage. As a general, his power and prestige largely depended on his victories. Now, he was perceived as lacking courage, which was almost intolerable for a general. Consequently, Lafayette's influence was greatly reduced. The Paris Commune, controlled by the Republicans, took the opportunity to infiltrate the National Guard, which theoretically was under the jurisdiction of the Paris municipal government. This wasn't an issue when the Commune was in the hands of the loyalists, but the situation had changed.
With both anti-war figures weakened, the pace of war naturally accelerated.
On the other hand, Emperor Leopold did not remain idle. He engaged in bilateral negotiations with Prussia, seeking to form an alliance against France. The Prussians, aware of the Emperor's predicament, took advantage of the situation, and both sides continued to negotiate. However, the French's appetite for war was increasing.
To curb France's adventurous impulses, just after the New Year, Emperor Leopold issued another proclamation. He threatened France, claiming that if France didn't behave, they would be crushed. He also insisted that France must guarantee the king's legal status and remove the extreme Republicans from the assembly.
Naturally, this declaration had the opposite effect. In response, the French Assembly immediately proposed the formation of three armies for a war against Austria. The king and queen, who were eager for war, wouldn't veto such a decision, especially since it meant they could finally get rid of Lafayette, whom they loathed.
With Lafayette's status, he was naturally appointed as the commander of one of the three armies. A year ago, he would have undoubtedly been made the overall commander of the French forces. However, now he was only assigned to lead one of the three armies, which would march to the borders of France and Belgium. The crucial position of overall commander went to a newcomer, Dumouriez.
Dumouriez had earned merit in the Seven Years' War, earning a promotion to colonel. Later, he entered the diplomatic service and engaged in various diplomatic activities. In 1790, he joined the "Society of the Friends of the Constitution," and was a close friend of Mirabeau. Mirabeau had even recommended him to the king in their correspondence, praising his loyalty and courage, suggesting he could replace Lafayette.
On the night of the split in the "Society of the Friends of the Constitution," he stood firmly against Lafayette. But he did not side with Robespierre, and soon he became a close friend of Brissot.
So, at this moment, Dumouriez had support from almost all sides. He suddenly became a pivotal figure in the French political landscape.
Seeing that the French were getting serious, Emperor Leopold quickly made concessions to Prussia, and both countries reached an alliance to protect the Rhine region. According to this alliance, both nations would send fifty thousand troops each to resist a potential French invasion.
However, Emperor Leopold still hoped to avoid war with France, as the risks were enormous. He was trying to resolve the situation through diplomacy and hadn't yet issued a mobilization order.
It's said that the emperor asked his close advisors, "Have the French ever suffered in wars against Catholic countries?"
However, the emperor had never been in the best of health, and suddenly fell ill from all these efforts. Soon, he passed away, and his son succeeded him as Emperor Francis II. The new emperor had been quite dissatisfied with his father's hesitancy. Upon ascending the throne, he promptly issued a mobilization order.
Though the mobilization order was issued, it would take time for the armies to be truly mobilized. As soon as the French received news of Austria's mobilization, they passed a resolution to declare war on Austria.
This resolution was long-awaited by the king and queen, and they signed it without hesitation. On March 16th, Louis XVI addressed the Assembly and officially declared war on Austria.
At this point, Prussia hadn't had a chance to mobilize, and Austria was the only nation directly facing France. To protect themselves, Austria moved the fifty thousand troops initially designated for attacking France to Belgium to guard against a French invasion, and began mobilizing additional troops for an offensive into France.
Prussia immediately protested Austria's diversion of troops and declared that they wouldn't mobilize for war until Austria's fifty thousand troops arrived. After negotiations with Austria, Prussia lowered its demands and began military mobilization on May 4th. However, they wouldn't be ready until at least July. In this era, armies lacked the ability for "quick-start," "campus attack," and "rapid response."
On the other hand, Austria wanted to bring Sweden into the war as well. However, this time, it seemed that God favored France, as the King of Sweden was assassinated, plunging Sweden into chaos and halting any interference in French affairs.
All these events effectively gave the French three months to prepare militarily. However, during these three months, the French achieved very little of significance.
The French field army had significant shortages and low morale, while the National Guard faced different issues. It was composed of local militias who were reluctant to leave their hometowns to fight.
Now that France planned to launch a preemptive attack, the National Guard was less relevant. This left the French field army, with a total of over sixty thousand troops, to begin their invasion of Belgium. Although they outnumbered the Austrian garrison, the French forces were disorganized. They pinned their hopes for victory on the Belgians launching an uprising against the feudal system. As for the revolutionary elements in Belgium, they hoped to rely on the French army to defeat the Austrians and then incite their rebellion.
Everyone relied on each other, but the outcome was tragic. On April 29th, the French and Austrian armies met. As soon as they made contact, the French realized that the Belgian support they had expected had disappeared. The French noticed that the Austrian defenses were strong, leading them to believe that an attack was futile. The commanding officer ordered a retreat, but due to the confusion, it turned into a rout. The Austrians were left dumbfounded as the numerically superior French army suddenly disintegrated. The French troops were in disarray, littering the battlefield with weapons and the white fleur-de-lis flags of the Kingdom of France. The commander, also died mysteriously in the chaos.
When news arrived, General Charles Dumouriez immediately led his forces in retreat. Karl, another French general, retreated even earlier. Lafayette, with his exposed flank, had no choice but to withdraw as well.
This defeat was a humiliation for France, and the reputations of the commanders at the front were utterly destroyed. Lafayette, who was once remembered as a hero of the American Revolution, was now ridiculed as a coward who ran back like a shot rabbit without even seeing the Austrians.
In reality, Karl had retreated earlier than Lafayette, but Lafayette received more attention due to his greater fame.
To salvage the situation, the French government resorted to frantic money printing, resulting in staggering inflation. This inflation made life even more challenging for the urban citizens. By the way, Clavière took advantage of this opportunity to reuse the same tricks, and they miraculously succeeded again. It seemed that human memory was not fundamentally different from that of fish. Of course, Joseph and Carnot took the opportunity to catch a free ride on the train again.
Robespierre knew that his chance had come. Along with his friends, Danton (who returned after Brissot came to power and canceled the pursuit of him), and Marat, they began to create public opinion, claiming that the French army's defeat on the frontlines was the result of internal saboteurs, royalists, and enemies conspiring. They directly accused the king of being their leader and demanded his trial, transforming France into a republic.
Lafayette realized that the situation had become extremely dangerous and decided to make a desperate attempt. He dispatched an envoy to negotiate a truce with the Austrian commander, hoping to return to Paris with his troops and launch a military coup to rescue the king and save constitutional monarchy. However, one of Emperor Leopold's orders to the Austrian generals was to stall Lafayette. They knew that Lafayette was the last person the French king would trust, so his truce request was naturally ignored.
Lafayette abandoned his troops and secretly returned to Paris, attempting to mobilize the National Guard in the affluent western part of the city for a coup. However, the king opposed his actions, and without the palace's cooperation, he had no way to employ this military force. In the end, he had to leave disappointed.
At the same time, Dumouriez, knowing that the revolution was imminent, resigned from his position as Minister of War, left Paris, and personally took command of the northern frontlines. However, upon his departure, he made an unusual request:
"I want Joseph Bonaparte and his brother Napoleon Bonaparte, the former commanders of the Red Army, to join me in the north as my aides."
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