| War of the Second Coalition | |||||||||
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| Part of theFrench Revolutionary Wars and theCoalition Wars | |||||||||
 Click an image to load the appropriate article. Left to right, top to bottom: Battles ofthe Pyramids,the Nile,Zurich,Marengo,Hohenlinden,the Haitian Revolution | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
Second Coalition:
Co-belligerent:  United States (Quasi-War until 1800)[i] |
Co-belligerent:  Mysore (Fourth Anglo-Mysore War until 1799)[k] | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
John Adams |
Tipu Sultan † | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
 65,000 killed, wounded, or captured (not counting disease)[6] |  75,000 killed in combat~139,000 died of disease 140,000 captured[4] | ||||||||
TheWar of the Second Coalition (French:Guerre de la Deuxième Coalition) (1798–1802) was the second war betweenrevolutionaryFrance and a coalition of European monarchies, led byBritain,Austria andRussia, and including theOttoman Empire,Portugal,Naples and various German monarchies.Prussia did not join the coalition, whileSpain supported France.
The overall goal of Britain and Russia was to stop the expansion of the French Republic and to restore the monarchy in France, while Austria – weakened and in deep financial debt from theWar of the First Coalition – sought primarily to recover and strengthen its position.[7] The first half of the war saw the Coalition to drive the French back in Italy, Germany, and Holland, but they were not able to threaten an invasion of France, nor defeat the French decisively in battle. The second half of the war saw Napoleon and Moreau inflict major defeats, defeating most of the Coalition, which resulted in the status quo from the previous war being upheld.
Largely due to the differences in strategy among the three major allied powers, the Second Coalition failed to overthrow the revolutionary government, and French territorial gains since 1793 were confirmed.[7] In the Franco–AustrianTreaty of Lunéville in February 1801, France held all of its previous gains and obtained new lands inTuscany, in Italy. Austria was grantedVenetia and the formerVenetian Dalmatia. Most other allies also signed separate peace treaties with the French Republic in 1801. Britain and France signed theTreaty of Amiens in March 1802, followed by theOttomans in June 1802, which brought an interval of peace in Europe that lasted several months until Britain declared war on France in May 1803, initiating theNapoleonic Wars.
On 20 April 1792, theFrench Legislative Assembly declared war on Austria. In theWar of the First Coalition (1792–97), France fought against most of the states with which it shared a border, as well as Great Britain, Portugal and Prussia. The Coalition forces achieved several victories at the outset of the war, but were ultimately repulsed from French territory and then lost significant territories to the French, who began to set upclient republics in their occupied territories.Napoleon Bonaparte's efforts in the northernItalian campaigns of the French Revolutionary Wars pushed Austrian forces back and resulted in the negotiation of theTreaty of Leoben (18 April 1797) and theTreaty of Campo Formio (October 1797),[8] leaving Britain to fight on alone against France, Spain and the Netherlands.
From October 1797 until March 1799, France and Austria, the signatories of the Treaty of Campo Formio, avoided armed conflict but remained skeptical of each other, and several diplomatic incidents undermined the agreement. The French demanded additional territory not mentioned in the Treaty. The Habsburgs were reluctant to hand over designated territories, much less additional ones. TheCongress at Rastatt proved inept at orchestrating the transfer of territories to compensate the German princes for their losses. Republicans in theSwiss Cantons, supported by theFrench Revolutionary Army, overthrew the central government inBern and established theHelvetic Republic.[9]
Other factors contributed to the rising tensions. In the summer of 1798, Napoleon led anexpedition to Egypt and Syria. On his way toEgypt, he had stopped at the heavily fortified port city ofValletta, thecapital city ofHospitaller Malta. Grand MasterFerdinand von Hompesch zu Bolheim, who ruled the island, allowed only two ships at a time in the harbour, in accordance with the island's neutrality. Napoleon immediately ordered the bombardment of Valletta, and on 11 June 1798, GeneralLouis Baraguey d'Hilliers directed alanding of several thousand French troops at strategic locations around the island. The French Knights of the order deserted, and the remaining Knights failed to mount a successful resistance. Napoleon forcibly removed the other Knights from their possessions, angering EmperorPaul I of Russia, who was the honorary head of the Order. Moreover, theFrench Directory was convinced that the Austrians were conniving to start another war. Indeed, the weaker the French Republic seemed, the more seriously the Austrians, Neapolitans, Russians and British actually discussed this possibility.[10]Napoleon's army got trapped in Egypt, and after he returned to France (October 1799), it eventually surrendered (September 1801).
Military strategists in Paris recognized the strategic significance of the Upper Rhine Valley, the southwestern German regions, and Switzerland for the defense of the Republic. The control of the Swiss passes was crucial as they provided a key route to northern Italy. Therefore, the army that maintained control over these passes could swiftly deploy troops between the northern and southern theaters of operations.[11]
Toward this end, in early November 1798, MarshalJean-Baptiste Jourdan arrived inHüningen to take command of the French forces there, called the Army of Observation because its function was toobserve the security of the French border on the Rhine. Once there, he assessed the forces' quality and disposition and identified needed supplies and manpower. He found the army woefully inadequate for its assignment. TheArmy of the Danube and its two flanking armies, theArmy of Helvetia and theArmy of Mayence, or Mainz, were equally short of manpower, supplies, ammunition, and training; most resources were already directed to the Army in Northern Italy, the Army of Britain, and the Egyptian expedition. Jourdan assiduously documented these shortages, pointing out in lengthy correspondence to the Directory the consequences of an undermanned and undersupplied army; his petitions seemed to have little effect on the Directory, which sent neither significant additional manpower nor supplies.[12]
Jourdan's orders were to take the army into Germany and secure strategic positions, particularly on the southwest roads throughStockach andSchaffhausen, at the westernmost border ofLake Constance. Similarly, as commander of the Army of Helvetia (Switzerland),André Masséna would acquire strategic positions in Switzerland, in particular the St.Gotthard Pass, the passes aboveFeldkirch, particularly Maienfeld (St. Luciensteig), and hold the central plateau in and aroundZürich andWinterthur. These positions would prevent the Allies of the Second Coalition from moving troops back and forth between the northern Italian and German theatres, but would allow French access to these strategic passes. Ultimately, this positioning would allow the French to control all western roads leading to and from Vienna. Finally, the army of Mayence would sweep through the north, blocking further access to and from Vienna from any of the northern Provinces, or from Britain.[11]
The Second Coalition took several months to form, starting with Naples allying itself with Austria (19 May 1798) and Russia (29 November),[13] after which British Prime MinisterPitt and Austrian State ChancellorThugut (the latter only on the condition that Russia also joined the coalition) failed to persuade Prussia (which hadleft the First Coalition as early as April 1795) to join in.[13][14] Neither were Britain and Austria able to formalise an alliance, due to lack of an agreement on the loan convention that would cover Austria's outstanding debt to Britain from the previous war, let alone British subsidy to Austria for the upcoming war; they resorted toad hoc cooperation without formal agreement.[15] Next, Russia allied itself with the Ottoman Empire (23 December) and Great Britain (26 December) while attacking theFrench Ionian Islands.[13] By 1 December, the Kingdom of Naples had signed alliances with both Russia and Great Britain.[16]
The preliminary military action under the alliance occurred on 29 November when GeneralKarl Mack, an Austrian serving Naples, occupied Rome, wishing to restore Papal authority with the Neapolitan army. KingFerdinand was pushed by his angry Austrian wifeQueen Maria Carolina,Marie Antoinette's sister, and byHoratio Nelson through his secret lover, the British Ambassador's wifeEmma, Lady Hamilton.[16] All these companions became reckless gamblers when the poorly equipped and led Neapolitan army was not only soon defeated outside Rome and pushed back, but Naples itself was occupied by France on 23 January 1799. The king, the British officials and the women had only the time to escape toSicily.[16]
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In Europe, the allies mounted several invasions, includingcampaigns in Italy and Switzerland and anAnglo-Russian invasion of theNetherlands. Russian generalAlexander Suvorov inflicted a series of defeats on the French in Italy, driving them back to the Alps. The allies were less successful in the Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland, where the British and Russians retreated after a defeatat Castricum, and in Switzerland, where after initial victories an Austro-Russian army was completely routed at theSecond Battle of Zurich. These reverses, as well as British insistence on searching shipping in theBaltic Sea, led to Russia's withdrawal from the Coalition.[17]
Napoleon invadedSyria from Egypt, but retreated after a failedsiege of Acre, and repelling an Ottoman invasion at theBattle of Abukir. Alerted to the political and military crisis in France, he abandoned his army and returned to Europe, and used his popularity and army support to mounta coup that made himFirst Consul, the head of the French government.[18]
Napoleon sent Moreau to campaign in Germany, and went himself to raise a new army atDijon and march through Switzerland to attack the Austrian armies in Italy from behind.[citation needed]
Moreau meanwhile invadedBavaria and won a great battle against Austria atHohenlinden. He continued toward Vienna and the Austrians sued for peace.[19] The result was theArmistice of Steyr on 25 December.[20]
In May 1800, Napoleon led his troops across theAlps through theGreat St. Bernard Pass into Italy in a military campaign against the Austrians. He conducted theSiege of Fort Bard against theSardinian and Austrian armies for two weeks, after which he was able to cross the Alps and enter Italy. He narrowly defeated the Austrians at theBattle of Marengo. While the Austrians had a much larger force, Napoleon was able to organise a hurried retreat from the village before returning with reinforcements. The French successfully charged the Austrian flank with cavalry and Napoleon negotiated for Austria to evacuate Piedmont, Liguria and Lombardy.[21]
Prior to theActs of Union of July/August 1800, which came into effect on 1 January 1801,Ireland was a separate kingdom, with its ownparliament, held in a personal union with Great Britain under the Crown. In response to the 1798United Irishmenrevolt, it became part of theUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, effective 1 January 1801.[citation needed]
The Austrians signed theArmistice of Treviso on 16 January, ending the war in northern Italy.[20] On 9 February, they signed theTreaty of Lunéville for the entireHoly Roman Empire, basically accepting the terms of the previousTreaty of Campo Formio. In Egypt, the Ottomans and British invaded and compelled the French to surrender after the fall ofCairo andAlexandria.[22]
Britain continued the war at sea. TheSecond League of Armed Neutrality, which included Prussia, Russia,Denmark–Norway, andSweden joined to prevent neutral shipping from being stopped by the Royal Navy, resulting in Nelson's successful surprise attack on the Danish fleet in harbour at theBattle of Copenhagen.[23]
France and Spain invaded Portugal in theWar of the Oranges, forcing Portugal to sign theTreaty of Badajoz (1801).[citation needed]
Russia formally made peace with France through theTreaty of Paris on 8 October, signing a secret alliance two days later.[24]
In December 1801, France dispatched theSaint-Domingue expedition to recapture the former colony ofSaint-Domingue (nowHaiti), which had been independent since the 1791Haitian Revolution. This included over 30,000 troops with many experienced and elite veterans, but ended in catastrophic failure; by the end of 1802, an estimated 15,000–22,000 had died of disease andyellow fever, among them Napoleon's brother-in-law GeneralCharles Leclerc.[citation needed]
On 25 March 1802, Britain and France signed theTreaty of Amiens, ending British involvement in the war. After a preliminary treaty signed at Paris on 9 October 1801, theTreaty of Paris of 25 June 1802 ended the war between France and the Ottoman Empire, the last remaining member of the Second Coalition. The peace treaties ceded the left bank of theRhine to France and recognized the independence of theCisalpine,Batavian andHelvetic republics. Thus began the longest period of peace during the period 1792–1815.
American historianPaul W. Schroeder (1987) claimed that, at the time of his writing, most historians – exemplified byPiers Mackesy (1984) – had all too simplistically blamed the Second Coalition's failure on the requirement of "Britain and Russia to trust Austria, when it was obvious that Austria could not be trusted".[25] These historians had assumed that Austria failed to act in accordance with the Coalition's common goal of invading France, ending the Revolution and restoring the Bourbon monarchy, because Vienna was too selfish and too greedy for territorial expansion.[25] Schroeder argued it was not that simple: while Austria's primary war aim was not to overthrow the French Republic, it was reasonable for Vienna to set its own conditions for entering a war with France. The enormous financial debt it still had from the War of the First Coalition jeopardised not just the Habsburg Monarchy's ability to field an army capable of defeating the French, but had also caused hyperinflation and internal instability that risked a revolution inside Austria itself.[26] The Habsburg monarchy's very survival was at stake, and so EmperorFrancis II and Thugut resolved not to enter a war in order to defeat France at all costs, but to make Austria come out stronger than it went in.[7] Moreover, Schroeder reasoned that all the other great powers that were negotiating to form the Second Coalition – Russia, Prussia (which ultimately remained neutral), Britain, and the Ottoman Empire – were duplicitous: each was afraid of and scheming against the others to make sure it gained the most from the war and the others would gain little or actually grow weaker with the new postwar balance of power.[27]
Media related toWar of the Second Coalition at Wikimedia Commons| Preceded by Peasants' War (1798) | French Revolution: Revolutionary campaigns War of the Second Coalition | Succeeded by Siege of Acre (1799) |
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