The French Revolutionary Wars (1792-1802) were a series of conflicts that arose from the tensions surrounding the French Revolution (1789-1799). The wars were fought between Revolutionary France and several European powers, most notably Austria, Prussia, Russia, Spain, and Great Britain. Ten years of conflict resulted in a French victory and the rise of Napoleon.
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Timeline
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5 May 1789The Estates-General convenes in Versailles for the first time in 175 years.
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14 Jul 1789The Bastille in Paris is stormed.
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27 Aug 1791Austria and Prussia release the Declaration of Pillnitz, threatening Revolutionary France with military action.
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20 Apr 1792Revolutionary France declares war on Austria, sparking the War of the First Coalition.
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20 Sep 1792The Battle of Valmy results in a French victory over Prussian invaders.
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6 Nov 1792The Battle of Jemappes results in a victory for the French Republic over an Austrian army, allowing for the French conquest of Belgium.
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Feb 1793The French Republic calls for 300,000 new soldiers to be raised, by conscription if necessary, prompting revolt across the nation.
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18 Mar 1793The Battle of Neerwinden results in an Austrian victory, driving the French Republican forces from Belgium.
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23 Aug 1793The levée en masse is enacted, flooding France's armies with conscripts.
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6 Sep 1793 - 8 Sep 1793The Battle of Hondschoote results in a victory for the French Republic over an Anglo-Hanoverian army during the French Revolutionary Wars.
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6 Sep 1793 - 8 Sep 1793Battle of Hondschoote results in victory for the French Republic over an Anglo-Hanoverian-Hessian army
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13 Sep 1793Battle of Menin results in a victory for the French Republic over a Dutch army.
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25 Sep 1793General Jean-Baptiste Jourdan takes command of the French Army of the North during the War of the First Coalition.
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15 Oct 1793 - 16 Oct 1793Battle of Wattignies results in victory for the French Republic over an Austrian army.
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Nov 1793 - Feb 1794Drownings at Nantes; between 1,100 and 4,000 Vendean rebels and Catholic clerics are drowned in the Loire River by French Republican soldiers.
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24 Jun 1794The French are victorious at the Battle of Fleurus; their armies remain ascendent for the rest of the War of the First Coalition.
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Jan 1795The Dutch Republic falls and is replaced by the Batavian Republic, first of the French satellite states known as sister republics.
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Apr 1795 - Jun 1795Prussia and Spain exit the French Revolutionary Wars with the treaties of Basel.
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10 Apr 1796 - 2 Apr 1797Napoleon Bonaparte's Italian Campaign.
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17 Oct 1797Austria and France sign the Treaty of Campo Formio, ending the War of the First Coalition.
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May 1798 - Sep 1801Napoleon's Campaign in Egypt and Syria serves as a catalyst for the formation of the Second Coalition.
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1 Aug 1798The French fleet anchored at Aboukir Bay is completely destroyed by a British fleet under Horatio Nelson at the Battle of the Nile.
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12 Nov 1798 - 25 Jun 1802The War of the Second Coalition.
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25 Mar 1799French General Jean-Baptiste Jourdan is defeated by a larger Austrian army under Archduke Charles at the Battle of Stockach.
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15 Apr 1799Russian Field Marshal Alexander Suvorov takes command of Allied forces in Italy.
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27 Aug 1799 - 27 Oct 1799The Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland, led by the Duke of York, ends in failure.
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25 Sep 1799The Second Battle of Zurich results in a French victory against an Austro-Russian army.
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14 Jun 1800First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte narrowly defeats an Austrian army at the Battle of Marengo.
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3 Dec 1800French General Jean-Victor Moreau beats the Austrians at the Battle of Hohenlinden.
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2 Apr 1801The British attack a Danish fleet at the First Battle of Copenhagen, because of Denmark's participation in the League of Armed Neutrality.
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25 Mar 1802The French Republic and the United Kingdom sign the Treaty of Amiens, ending hostilities between the two nations.
