While there are many important battles in The French Revolution, the Battle of Valmy was the first major battle of the French Revolution and although it was only the first major battle, it heavily impacted the rest of the revolution, ensured France’s overall victory of the revolution, helped make France into a republic, as opposed to a monarchy based government and the aftermath shaped France for later days.
The impact of the Battle of Valmy was extremely evident after the decisive victory of the French. On September 20th, 1792, the allied forces amassed an army of up to roughly 104,000+ soldiers (40,000 Prussians, 30,000 Austrians, 15,000 French émigrés). France fought against its enemies for roughly 10 days, after the start of the battle. The allied forces made their hasty retreat back towards the border of France on September 3rd, 1792 and then moved out of France by October 23rd of the same year. The heavy impact that surrounds this battle is that, France’s enemies heavily underestimated their rivals and this led to the axis’ loss of the battle. After the word spread that the Battle of Valmy had been won by the allied forces, the morale of France as a whole was pushed upwards by this great news. The day after the battle had ended; France had officially become a republic, without the control of a monarch.
The ensuring factor of France’s victory was deeply seeded from the start of the revolution. On top of having an edge early on due to the enemies’ naiveté, which was making the detrimental mistake of severely under estimating the allied force’s true power. This vital underestimation was extremely important, for the fact that it left the enemy stunned for a decent amount of time, due to the fact that they believed that they ...
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...nd the republic nature of France.) and The Royalists (Who wanted a return to the system of monarchy).
While this time of revolutionary peace only lasted for about 4 years, The Battle of Valmy had helped to secure those 4 years of peace and was considered an important part of the French Revolution.
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The French revolted due to political, economic, and social injustices. Politically, the government was a mess. An absolute ruler can only be beneficial to the people if they cater to
The comparison of German forces in France in 1943 versus 1944 provides a compelling argument that allied forces should have transitioned from defense to offense at a decisive point in Western France. Clausewitz states that, “A sudden powerful transition to the offensive - the flashing sword of vengeance - is the greatest moment for the defense” (Clausewitz, 370). Handel also emphasizes “timing is everything” in relation to the optimal transition from defense to offense (Handel, 190). The Americans and British did transition in 1943 to the offensive with the invasion of Sicily and the Italian campaign (Murray, 375). However, they did not capitalize on the opportunity in 1943 to attack the weaker German forces in France to brandish the “flashing sword of vengeance” that Clausewitz advocates.
Clearly there never was just one French Revolution, but rather a series of revolutions. These occurred while the French struggled to create a new political and social system – one that would follow principles radically different to that of the ‘ancient’ regime. There were five regimes during the French Revolution between 1787 and 1800. However, despite this fragmented revolution, the same fundamental principles guided most of the revolutionaries involved. These principles included equality under law, centralisation of government, elimination of feudal rights, religious freedom and careers open to talent, not birth.
The lift of the Siege of Orleans really gave the French the morale they needed, with the help of Joan of Arc. After France gained a foothold at the heavily fortified position at Orleans, the English stood barely any match against France, which is why this great battle marks the turning point for the Hundred Year’s War.
that contributed to the rise and fall of the French Monarchy. The ideas of the
Beginning in mid-1789, and lasting until late-1799, the French Revolution vastly changed the nation of France throughout its ten years. From the storming of the Bastille, the ousting of the royal family, the Reign of Terror, and all the way to the Napoleonic period, France changed vastly during this time. But, for the better part of the last 200 years, the effects that the French Revolution had on the nation, have been vigorously debated by historian and other experts. Aspects of debate have focused around how much change the revolution really caused, and the type of change, as well as whether the changes that it brought about should be looked at as positive or negative. Furthermore, many debate whether the Revolutions excesses and shortcomings can be justified by the gains that the revolution brought throughout the country. Over time, historians’ views on these questions have changed continually, leading many to question the different interpretations and theories behind the Revolutions effectiveness at shaping France and the rest of the world.
The French revolution may not seem like it did much for the world, but in reality it helped mold a lot of nations into what they are today. The French revolution started in 1789 and ended in 1799. The revolution started off small but quickly changed into a major thing. Some important things in the revolution are its people, battles, and how it affected the nations that we have today.
These major battles had a great impact on the events in the war. Many of the outcomes of these battles decided what events would happen next such as the Battle of Saratoga convinced France that it was safe to enter the war.
When the Hundred Years’ War began in 1337, the strength of the French empire declined and the English possessed most of France. Although the war began in 1337, tensions between France and England started centuries earlier. In 1066, William of Normandy, duke of France, defeated the English and became king of England. A century later, conflict arose when Henry II, a great grandson of William, came into power in 1154 and wanted to add to his empire, known as the Angevin Empire, by taking over French territories. Friction mounted as the fighting between Angevin and French territories continued. Finally, King Edward III of England claimed the throne of France in 1328 but was refused, causing war to break out in 1337. The French suffered huge losses in the first period of the Hundred Years’ War. The French cavalry was decimated at Crecy in 1347, the fortress of Calais was lost in 1347, the French army was crushed at Poitiers in 1356, and King John II handed over ⅓ of the French kingdom to the English by the Treaty of Bretigny. Although the French drove out the English b...
...pave the way for democracy, but the bloodshed could have been more limited. Many people during the Revolution believed that France needed a change in many ways. They had achieved that by 1793. Many new reforms had been implemented in the country and it was much better off than it had been four years prior. I do agree with Kropotkin that the abolishing of serfdom and absolutism was a great achievement for France and that it did lead to a democratic system. Though this is true, the violence and bloodshed during the Revolution could have been minimized through committees and discussions. Schama is also right in that some men were too radical and their new found power went to their head. All said and done, the French Revolution was a bloody time in history, but it paved the way for a new democratic system not only for France but for many other countries as well.
The French placed their defense in old, outdated tactics of static warfare. Gone were the days of two sides slugging it out against prepared reinforced defense structures. Closely integrating concentrated armor, infantry, and closely supported by aviation assets all combined to crush France in a matter of only six weeks. France was simply not prepared for this new age of warfare.
* All the French and English troops went to defend on the river Marne, the battle of the Marne began
... voted into the new republic. “France was a republic, but one now in the hands of an assembly dominated by conservatives, many of whom were monarchists”7.
The French Revolution was based a single feeling. This feeling was injustice and the commoners were sick of being persecuted by the higher monarchies. They stood up to the “big guys” and fought for what they believed in and ended up changing History. Throughout all periods of History, there have been many revolutions. According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of a revolution is a sudden, extreme, or complete change in the way people lived or worked. There are many different reasons why a revolution might happen. Some revolutions were caused due to politics, and others were caused by the economics of a country. There were even social and cultural revolutions. France experienced a revolution in the seventeenth and eighteenth century because
In fact as previously mentioned, this was the most significant result of the war. The loss stung the French people. They were bullied and tossed around and went from threat to laughingstock in a matter of weeks. This would make them hungry for revenge. The reason that this would be the most important result of the Franco-Prussian War was because the French swore revenge, and with this promise, the next war that would take place was a war that changed humanity: and this war would be The Great War, or the start of an era known as World War I.