#Battle of verdun outcome professional

Brunswick headed through the northern woods believing he could cut off Dumouriez. The troops trudged laboriously through a heavy downpour-'rain as of the days of Noah', in the words of Thomas Carlyle. With few other options available, Brunswick turned back and prepared to do battle. The unfavorable situation was compounded by bad weather and an alarming increase in sickness among the troops. Theoretically the Prussians could have marched straight towards Paris unopposed, but this course was never seriously considered: the threat to their lines of supply and communication was too great to be ignored. The French forces were now east of the Prussians, behind their lines. From Metz, Kellermann moved to his assistance, joining him at the village of Sainte-Menehould on 19 September. In response, Dumouriez halted his advance to the Netherlands and reversed course, approaching the enemy army from its rear. The invading army handily captured Longwy on 23 August and Verdun on 2 September, then moved on toward Paris through the defiles of the Forest of Argonne. Heading towards them was Brunswick's coalition army of about 84,000, all veteran Prussian and Austrian troops augmented by large complements of Hessians and the French royalist Army of Condé. Combined, Dumouriez' Army of the North and Kellermann's Army of the Centre totalled approximately 54,000 troops.

#Battle of verdun outcome professional

These veterans provided a professional core to steady the enthusiastic volunteer battalions. Just over half of the French infantry were regulars of the old Royal Army, as were nearly all of the cavalry and, most importantly, the artillery, which were widely regarded as the best in Europe at the time. A second army under General François Kellermann was ordered to link up with him in a mutual defense. The French commander Charles Dumouriez, meanwhile, had been marching his army northeast to attack the Austrian Netherlands, but this plan was abandoned because of the more immediate threat to Paris. In the war's early encounters of mid-1792, French troops did not distinguish themselves, and enemy forces advanced dangerously deep into France intending to pacify the country, restore the traditional monarchy, and end the Revolution.

King Frederick William II of Prussia had the support of Great Britain and the Austrian Empire to send the Duke of Brunswick towards Paris with a large army. The War of the First Coalition was an effort to stop the revolution, or at least contain it to France. Valmy permitted the development of the Revolution and all its resultant ripple effects, and for that it is regarded by historians as one of the most significant battles in history.Īs the French Revolution continued, the monarchies of Europe became concerned that revolutionary fervor would spread to their countries. The victory emboldened the newly assembled National Convention to formally declare the end of monarchy in France and to establish the French Republic. The outcome was thoroughly unexpected by contemporary observers-a vindication for the French revolutionaries and a stunning defeat for the vaunted Prussian army. In this early part of the Revolutionary Wars-known as the War of the First Coalition-the new French government was in almost every way unproven, and thus the small, localized victory at Valmy became a huge psychological victory for the Revolution at large. Generals François Kellermann and Charles Dumouriez stopped the advance near the northern village of Valmy in Champagne-Ardenne. The battle took place on 20 September 1792 as Prussian troops commanded by the Duke of Brunswick attempted to march on Paris. The Battle of Valmy, also known as the Cannonade of Valmy, was the first major victory by the army of France during the Revolutionary Wars that followed the French Revolution.