| French Revolutionary Army | |
|---|---|
 General Dampierre leading the French troops at the Battle of Jemmapes, November 1792, in an early 20th-century painting by Raymond Desvarreux | |
| Active | 1792–1804 |
| Country | French Republic, and European émigré groups. |
| Allegiance |  French First Republic |
| Motto(s) | Honneur et Patrie |
| Colours |  |
| Engagements | Quasi-War Haitian Revolution War of the First Coalition War of the Second Coalition |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Napoleon Bonaparte Pierre Augereau Auguste Marie Henri Picot de Dampierre Louis Desaix Thomas-Alexandre Dumas Lazare Hoche Jean-Baptiste Jourdan François Christophe de Kellermann Jean-Baptiste Kléber Jean Lannes François Joseph Lefebvre André Masséna Jean Victor Marie Moreau Jean-Mathieu-Philibert Sérurier Joseph Souham Étienne Jacques-Joseph-Alexandre Macdonald |
The French Revolutionary Army (French: Armée révolutionnaire française) was the French land force that fought the French Revolutionary Wars from 1792 to 1802. In the beginning, the French armies were characterised by their revolutionary fervour, their poor equipment and their great numbers. However, the French Revolutionary Army had become arguably the most powerful army in the world by the mid-1790s,[1] as the French armies had become well-experienced and organized, enabling them to comfortably outfight their enemies.[2]
Despite experiencing early disastrous defeats, the revolutionary armies successfully expelled foreign forces from French soil and then overran many neighboring countries, establishing client republics. Leading generals included Napoleon Bonaparte, Jean-Baptiste Jourdan, André Masséna, Jean Victor Marie Moreau and Étienne Macdonald.[3]
As a general description of French military forces during this period, it should not be confused with the "revolutionary armies" (armées révolutionnaires) which were paramilitary forces set up during the Terror.[4] Following the proclamation of the French Empire in 1804 the Revolutionary Army became the Imperial Army.
- ^ Griffith, Paddy (1998). The Art of War of Revolutionary France, 1789–1802. Greenhill Books. pp. 8, 85. ISBN 1-85367-335-8.
- ^ Scupham, William (2014). ""Friends, Fellows, Citizens. and Soldiers": The Evolution of the French Revolutionary Army, 1792–1799" (PDF). Primary Source. 5 (1).
- ^ Griffith, Paddy (1998). The Art of War of Revolutionary France, 1789–1802. Greenhill Books. p. 123. ISBN 1-85367-335-8.
- ^ Cobb, Richard (1987). The People's Armies. New Haven: Yale UP. ISBN 0300040423.