Page 10 - E-MAGAZINE

The politics of the period inevitably drove France towards war with
Austria and its allies. The King, many of the Feuillants, and the

Girondins specifically wanted to wage war. The King (and many
Feuillants with him) expected war would increase his personal
popularity; he also foresaw an opportunity to exploit any defeat:

either result would make him stronger. The Girondins wanted
to export the Revolution throughout Europe and, by extension, to
defend the Revolution within France. The forces opposing war were

much weaker. Barnave and his supporters among the Feuillants
feared a war they thought France had little chance to win and
which they feared might lead to greater radicalisation of the
revolution. On the other end of the political spectrum Robespierre

opposed a war on two grounds, fearing that it would strengthen the
monarchy and military at the expense of the revolution, and that it
would incur the anger of ordinary people in Austria and elsewhere.

The Austrian emperor Leopold II, brother of Marie Antoinette, may
have wished to avoid war, but he died on 1 March 1792. France
preemptively declared war on Austria (20 April 1792)

and Prussia joined on the Austrian side a few weeks later. The
invading Prussian army faced little resistance until it was checked at
the Battle of Valmy(20 September 1792) and forced to withdraw.

The new-born Republic followed up on this success with a series of
victories in Belgium and the Rhineland in the fall of 1792. The French
armies defeated the Austrians at the Battle of Jemappes on 6
November, and had soon taken over most of the Austrian
Netherlands. This brought them into conflict with Britain and

the Dutch Republic, which wished to preserve the independence of
the southern Netherlands from France. After the French king's
execution in January 1793, these powers, along with Spain and most
other European states, joined the war against France. Almost
immediately, French forces suffered defeats on many fronts, and
were driven out of their newly conquered territories in the spring of

1793. At the same time, the republican regime was forced to deal
with rebellions against its authority in much of western and southern