France Military
In 1783 a French foreign office report stated that if France continued down its long line of defeat after defeat, it would soon become “a power of secondary rank limited to Continental Europe”. Indeed, France in the years before the revolution could be considered a failure in war and all things having to do with the military. In 1763 The Seven Years’ War ended, depriving France of much of its colonial holdings in Canada and India. On the continent, the war saw an inferior Prussian army of 22,000 defeat a French army of 34,000. France’s support of the American Revolution beginning in 1778 ended in success for the Americans, but in bankruptcy for the French. Every French initiative during the conflict ended in failure. In 1779 a British fleet of 30 ships turned back a French fleet twice that size bound for an invasion of England. Attacks on the island of Jersey in 1779 and 1781, as well as an attempted siege if Gibraltar in 1783, likewise ended in failure. Why was the most populous, culturally influential, and richest nation in Europe losing battle after battle? Perhaps a more interesting question would be how did this nation in decline rise to conquer all of continental Europe a few decades later? Yet
They acted as “skirmishers” who stayed out in front of their army while it was marching forward, and stayed behind when it was in retreat. More importantly, this meant that artillery could now keep up with the more mobile, faster moving armies. In a century that counted only sixteen years when the European continent was completely at peace, there were great changes taking place throughout the militaries of the great powers in the 18th century, including France’s. This made a large army more manageable. This made it possible to slim down the barrels, because the concussion caused by the powder was less. On the battlefield this translated in to many French armies with incompetent leaders. Along with glory on the battlefield came money, status, recognition, and command. Bibliography Adelman, Jonathan R. A court noble could expect to become a general officer by age 39, a provincial noble by age 58, regardless of their talent. This lightly armed, more mobile soldier, highly trained in the use of his only weapon, the rifle, amassed an impressive record in battle and soon became standard to any army. Revolution, Armies, and War, A Political History. Soldiers were only kept in line with harsh discipline. Frenchmen for the first time believed that the reason their leaders were fighting was the same reason why they were.
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