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Theforeign alliances of France have a long and complex history spanning more than a millennium. One traditional characteristic of the French diplomacy of alliances has been the"Alliance de revers" (i.e. "Rear alliance"), aiming at allying with countries situated on the opposite side or "in the back" of an adversary, in order to open a second front encircling the adversary and thus re-establish abalance of power. Another has been the alliance with local populations, against other Europeancolonial powers.
Over the centuries, France has constantly been looking for Eastern allies, as a counterbalance to Continental enemies.[1] Throughout French history, this was especially the case againstAustria-Hungary,Spain orPrussia:[1] theAbbasid–Carolingian alliance (against theUmayyad Caliphate and theByzantine Empire), theFranco-Hungarian alliance andFranco-Ottoman alliance (against theHabsburg Empire), theFranco-American alliance (againstGreat Britain), theFranco-Russian Alliance (againstGermany). In particular, since 1870 the desire to counter German power has been a major motivating force leading France to create Eastern alliances.[2]
France also has a strong tradition of alliance with autochthonous populations in order to resist a powerful opponent. In the American continent, France was the first to identify that cooperation with local tribes would be strategically significant, before England also started to adopt this strategy.[3] An importantFranco-Indian alliance centered on theGreat Lakes and theIllinois country took place during theFrench and Indian War (1754–1763).[4] The alliance involved French settlers on the one side, and the indigenous peoples such as theAbenaki,Ottawa,Menominee,Winnebago,Mississauga,Illinois,Sioux,Huron,Petun, andPotawatomi on the other.[4]
The French easily mixed and inter-married with the Indians, which greatly facilitated exchanges and the development of such alliances. Through these alliances with the Indians, the French were able to maintain for over 150 years a strong position in the New World at the expense of the British, who had much more difficulties in making Indian allies.[5]
In India, the French GeneralDupleix was allied toMurzapha Jung in theDeccan, andChanda Sahib in theCarnatic Wars, in the conflict againstRobert Clive. The French succeeded in the 1746Battle of Madras, and the French and Indians fought together and vanquishedAnwaruddin in 1749, but failed in theBattle of Arcot in 1751 and finally surrendered in 1752.[6] The French again had a success at the capture ofFort St. David in 1758 underLally, but were finally defeated atMasulipatam (1759) andWandewash (1760).[6]
In 1782,Louis XVI sealed an alliance with thePeshwaMadhu Rao Narayan. As a consequenceBussy moved his troops toIsle de France (nowMauritius) and later contributed to the French effort in India in 1783.[7][8]Suffren became the ally ofHyder Ali in theSecond Anglo-Mysore War against the British from 1782 to 1783, fighting the Royal Navy on the coasts of India andCeylon.[9][10] From February 1782 until June 1783 Suffren fought the English admiralSir Edward Hughes and collaborated with the rulers of Mysore.[10][11] Suffren fought in theBattle of Sadras on 17 February 1782, theBattle of Providien on 12 April nearTrincomalee and theBattle of Negapatam (1782) on 6 July offCuddalore, after which he seized upon the anchorage of Trincomalee, compelling its small British garrison to surrender. An army of 3,000 French soldiers collaborated with Hyder Ali to captureCuddalore. Finally theBattle of Trincomalee took place near that port on 3 September. These battles can be seen as the last battles of the Franco-British conflict that encompassed theAmerican War of Independence, and would cease with the signature of theTreaty of Versailles (1783) establishing peace and recognizing America independence.
Some French alliances were purely tactical and short term, especially during the period of theFrench Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.Napoleon Bonaparte had launched theFrench invasion of Egypt in 1798 and fought against theOttomans to establish a French presence in the Middle East, with the ultimate dream of linking up with the ruler of Mysore,Tipu Sultan, in order to attack British possessions in India.[12][13] After having failed a first time, Napoleon entered into aFranco-Ottoman alliance and aFranco-Persian alliance in order to create an overland access for his troops to India.[14] Following the visit of the Persian Envoy Mirza Mohammad-Reza Qazvini to Napoleon, theTreaty of Finkenstein formalized the alliance on 4 May 1807, in which France supported Persia's claim toGeorgia, promising to act so that Russia would surrender the territory. In exchange, Persia was to declare war on Britain, and to allow France to cross the Persian territory to reach India.[15]