The French revolutionary process gained an important boost on September 20, 1792, when the French patriots managed to defeat the Prussians at the Battle of Valmy. Occurred in the context of reaction to the revolutionary process by the neighboring nations of France, defenders of the Ancien Regime, the Battle of Valmy it represented the end of the French absolutist monarchy and the beginning of the republican period.
The developments of the French revolutionary process, which began on July 14, 1789, left the French nobility terrified. Lands and castles were taken by peasants who were exploited for centuries in the process known as the Great Fear. Furthermore, with the Constitution of 1791, the nobility and the clergy lost a good part of the privileges they held.
A considerable part of the French nobles began to emigrate from France, mainly to Prussia and Austria. In these countries, they started talks with the authorities who also feared the development of the process. revolutionary, mainly in the sense of influencing the population of their countries to fight against the monarchies absolutes. Hence the Pillnitz Declaration, signed between Austria and Prussia in 1791, threatening to intervene in France in the name of the supposed legitimacy of power held by the Bourbon dynasty. Louis XVI tried to flee with his family from France, but was caught on the French border, in the city of Varennes.
The situation became more tense when the Prussian and Austrian armies began to march on the French territory after April 1792, when the Legislative Assembly of France declared war on the two countries. The troops of the Old Regime forces were commanded by Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick, and were also attended by the Prussian king, Frederick Wilhelm II. The advance of royalist troops intensified in August 1792, with the conquest of Logwy on 23 August and Verdun on 2 September.
With the threat of invasion of the French capital, the Jacobin leaders Robespierre, Danton and Marat called on the population to fight the invaders, through the proclamation of the “homeland in danger”. Weapons were distributed to the population, thus forming a popular army, known as the Paris Insurrectionary Commune. The French troops stationed at Valmy were commanded by Generals Charles François Dumouriez and Etienne Christophe Kellermann. The Battle lasted only one day and was not significant in the sense of military confrontation, but rather in its consequences for the French Revolution.
After the victory over the Prussians, the French revolutionaries proclaimed the Republic. Two days later, they arrested King Louis XVI and convicted him of treason, with the death penalty served by losing his head to the guillotine.
The revolutionary process is no longer just reactive, it is also an expansion process, taking revolutionary ideals to other parts of Europe. Consequently, the nobility of other countries became more concerned about the possible loss of political, economic and cultural power they held.
THE Battle of Valmy it marked a change in the practice of war, becoming a “total war” as opposed to the war of positions. It was the peoples, or part of the population, who went to war, through the military enlistment and a national ideology being used as a stimulus. It was no longer just warriors, usually nobles, close to the fighting kings.
By Tales Pinto
Graduated in History
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/guerras/batalha-valmy-avanco-revolucao-francesa.htm