| Army of Sambre and Meuse | |
|---|---|
 Fusilier of a French Revolutionary Army | |
| Active | 29 June 1794 - 29 September 1797 (units merged into Army of Germany) |
| Country |  French First Republic |
| Branch | French Revolutionary Army |
| Engagements | War of the First Coalition |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Jean-Baptiste Jourdan Pierre de Ruel Jean Marie Moreau Lazare Hoche François Joseph Lefebvre |
The Army of Sambre and Meuse (French: Armée de Sambre-et-Meuse) was a field army of the French Revolutionary Army. It was formed on 29 June 1794 by combining the Army of the Ardennes, the left wing of the Army of the Moselle and the right wing of the Army of the North. Its maximum paper strength (in 1794) was approximately 120,000.[1]
After an inconclusive campaign in 1795, the French planned a co-ordinated offensive in 1796 using Jean-Baptiste Jourdan's Army of the Sambre et Meuse and the Army of the Rhine and Moselle commanded by his superior, Jean Victor Marie Moreau. The first part of the operation called for Jourdan to cross the Rhine north of Mannheim and divert the Austrians while the Army of the Moselle crossed the southern Rhine at Kehl and Huningen. This was successful and, by July 1796, a series of victories forced the Austrians, commanded by Archduke Charles, to retreat into the German states. By late July, most of the southern German states had been coerced into an armistice. The Army of Sambre and Meuse maneuvered around northern Bavaria and Franconia, and the Army of the Rhine and Moselle operated in Bavaria.
Internal disputes between Moreau and Jourdan and with Jourdan's subordinate commanders within the Army of the Sambre and Meuse prevented the two armies from uniting. This gave the Austrian commander time to reform his own forces, driving Jourdan to the northwest. By the end of September 1796, Charles had permanently separated the two French armies, forcing Jourdan's command further northwest and eventually across the Rhine. On 29 September 1797, the Army of Sambre and Meuse was merged with the Army of the Rhine and Moselle to become the Army of Germany.
- ^ Hayworth, Jordan R. (2015). Conquering the Natural Frontier: French Expansion to the Rhine River During the War of the First Coalition, 1792-1797. Denton, Texas: University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library. p. 244.