Ever since the commencement of the war, great exertions had been made to bring the Empress of Russia into the coalition. That sovereign had an instinctive dread of the French revolution and its principles; but imagining that she had but little to gain by becoming a party to the war in the west of Europe, she constantly declined joining the allies. At length, however, on the 18th of February, she was induced to consent to a treaty of defensive alliance with Great Britain; in which treaty, the contracting parties guaranteed to each other all their dominions, territories, &c., as well such as they actually possessed, or might hereafter acquire, by treaty; and agreed, that in case of one of them being attacked by sea or land, the other was immediately to send succour: Russia was to send land troops to the aid of Great Britain, to the number of 10,000 infantry and 2,000 horse, and Great Britain was to send a squadron of twelve ships of the line to the aid of Russia. A treaty of defensive alliance, upon the same principles, was also concluded between the Emperor of Germany and England, the succours on either side, in case of attack made, being 20,000 foot and 6,000 horse. But these treaties meant little more than that Russia might, at some time, require the assistance of an English fleet, and that Austria would require an English subsidy. Equally unprofitable to England was a treaty, or agreement, entered into at the close of this year, with the infidel and piratic Dey of Algiers. This last treaty originated with Sir Gilbert Elliot, the viceroy of George III. at Corsica. There had been for a long time a mortal hatred existing between the Corsicans and the Algerines; and Sir Gilbert Elliot wished to conciliate the latter. By this treaty, the Algerines were to be permitted to carry their prizes into the forts of Corsica, and to sell them there; whilst the Corsicans were to be permitted to frequent the African coast for the coral fishery, &c., on condition that the Viceroy of Corsica should pay to the Dey of Algiers 179,000 piastres, and a further sum of 24,000 piastres for a cargo of grain which had been taken by the English from the Algerines.
THE CAMPAIGN OF THE ALPS.
During the severity of the winter, the French, who had taken possession of the Alps, were in a state of miserable destitution from desertion and sickness, and no measures were taken by the convention to reinforce them. On the other hand, the courts of Vienna and Turin were making vigorous efforts for prosecuting the war on the Piedmontese frontier. All that the republicans aimed at, was to retain possession of the posts they had gained on the Alps; but, after various actions, they were obliged to evacuate every position on the maritime Alps, and the allied armies threatened the country of Nice and the territory of the republic. If the allies had pushed their advantages with vigour, the republicans must have lost more; but they, as was their general rule, were sluggish and irresolute. Nelson, who had been detached with a small squadron to co-operate with the Austrian general, Devins, and who served on the coast of Nice, was almost frantic at his sluggishness. A plan had been formed for getting between the French divisions that occupied the Nissard territory and a part of the Western Riviera, or coast of the republic of Genoa, for taking the first of these divisions in the rear, and for blockading the port and city of Nice. But planning and executing were two different things. To carry out the plan proposed it was necessary that the allies should occupy the town and bay of St. Remo; but when Nelson suggested its capture, Devins, imagining that Nelson wanted possession of St. Remo for its harbour, argued that the bay of Valdo, which could be of no service in reducing Nice, was a much better and safer anchorage. He finally agreed to send 10,000 men to St. Remo, if Admiral Hotham would send him ten ships of war, and transports sufficient to carry them; but Hotham declined sending any more ships, and the plan therefore failed, the old German attributing its failure to the British admiral. While these divisions paralysed the movements of the allies, the Alpine legions of the republicans were re-enforced by 7000 men from the Eastern Pyrenees, and 10,000 from the army on the Rhine. Moreover, the neutral powers and states assisted France more effectually than the allies assisted each other. Great as had been the insults and wrongs which the Genoese republic had suffered from the French republic in 1794, yet privateers carried abundant supplies of provision from Genoa to the French armies. Moreover, while the Genoese senate presumed to claim from the British fleet all the rights of a neutral state, they allowed all their roadsteads, bays, harbours, and even the well-defended port of the city of Genoa itself, to be crowded with French privateers, and men were enlisted in the city for the French army. Thus re-enforced and supported, Massena, who commanded the republicans, at length made a general attack on the confederates, assisted by Generals Scherer and Serrurier. The allies were so supine that they were not aware of his movements till a cannon-ball, at sunrise of the 23rd of November, aroused them from their lethargy. The French general’s great object was to get between the Austrians and Piedmontese, to cut them off from one another, and then to defeat them in detail: no very difficult task, as both armies were indiscreetly scattered over a wide extent of mountainous country. The battle took place among rocks and precipices, and in the midst of a storm of hail and snow. The republicans were everywhere successful: the centre and the right wing were beaten from post to post, and at last put to flight; and the left wing, though it withstood the shock of assault bravely, was compelled to flee likewise. It is said that many thousands took to flight who had never seen the enemy, and some of whom were thirty miles from the advanced posts. The retreat, indeed, became a rout, and the republicans captured 5000 prisoners, all the artillery of the allies, and an immense store of ammunition. This terminated “the campaign of the Alps,” for the Austrians and the Piedmontese were driven from all that coast, and the French triumphantly wintered in Vado and Savone.
AFFAIRS OF LA VENDEE.
During this year the pacification of the Vendee was effected. Charette with a few thousand royalists had, in the winter of 1794, maintained the contest there, and the princes of Europe looked up to him as the only man capable of restoring the royal cause. After some slight reverses, however, Charette listened to overtures made by secret agents of the convention; and at the end of February, 1795, a treaty of peace was concluded and signed. It seems probable that Charette was the more induced to take this step from the moderation recently displayed by the French government. It soon became evident, however, that neither party was sincere, that each suspected the other, and that both were preparing for another struggle. The seeds of inextinguishable discord prevailed between them, and this promised a future outbreak. Charette, indeed, seemed, after he had signed the treaty, to be living the life of a country gentleman; but all the while he was carrying on a secret correspondence with the Bourbon princes, and receiving supplies from England to aid him in his future operations. It would have been well for Charette if money had been all that he obtained from England; but, unfortunately, a number of emigrants crossed the Channel, and led him and the rest of the Vendean chiefs on to their ruin. The English ministry, indeed, embarked 6000 of these exiles in our pay, and a regiment of artillery from Toulon, as well as arms and accoutrements for 80,000 men. These were separated into two divisions; and a third, composed of British troops, was destined to support the whole when they had landed on the coast of France. The chief command of the expedition was given to the Count d’Artois, and great hopes were entertained of success, as the Chouans and Vendeans had engaged, on his landing, to place 80,000 men at his disposal. Subsequently, however, the Count d’Artois gave up the command to Puissaye, together with some £10,000 in gold, and several millions of livres in assignats. In expectation of being joined by numerous bands of royalists, Puissaye took with him 27,000 muskets, powder in abundance, and complete uniforms for more than 20,000 soldiers. All obstacles in the way of transporting his troops to France were removed by the defeat of the French fleet, from Brest, by the Channel fleet under Lord Bridport, in which the French lost three ships of the line, and were obliged to seek shelter with those that remained in the harbour of L’Orient. Under these auspicious circumstances, the expedition set sail; and on the 27th of June appeared in Quiberon Bay, where the troops immediately landed, and took Fort Penthièvre, situated on a small peninsula, or promontory, which encloses Quiberon Bay on one side, and which is joined to the main land by a low sandy isthmus, called La Falaise. The news of the disembarkation of these troops caused great sensation through all France; the bravery of the Vendean peasants in their recent conflicts had been deeply remembered. But by the time they had landed, the whole of Brittany was enveloped by three or four armies under the command of Hoche, while General Canclaux, who had collected a large force to watch Charette, prevented the arrival of any succour from the Vendée. Hoche took immediate measures to avert the danger. Having disposed a part of his forces so as to overawe Brittany, he proceeded with 7000 men to the peninsula of Quiberon, and drove back the royalists to their intrenched camp near Fort Penthièvre. Here the royalist troops were shut up by the forces of Hoche; and while in this situation an open rapture took place between the emigrants and Chouans. Desertions became frequent, no new royalist troops arrived, and nothing was heard of the forces that had been promised from Jersey, the Elbe, and the English coast. But had all these forces arrived simultaneously it would have been to no purpose, as Hoche and Caudaux had collected such immense forces, and had cast, up such strong intrenchments on the heights of St. Barbe, which commanded the sandy isthmus of La Falaise, that no hope could be entertained of dislodging them. On the 15th of July the English convoy arrived with some royalist troops from the mouth of the Elbe, under the Count de Sombreuill; but their total number did not exceed 1100 men, which did not make up for the recent losses by desertion. Yet, encouraged by their arrival, before they had well landed, Puissaye detached Vauban with 12,000 Chouans to make a diversion on the right of Hoche’s camp, to effect a junction with some other insurgents, said to have been gathered behind the heights of St. Barbe; while Puissaye himself marched from the narrow promontory, crossed the sandy desert, and boldly attacked the republicans in front. But all their efforts were fruitless: after some desperate fighting the royalists once more were compelled to retreat to their intrenched camp on the isthmus of La Falaise. There was treachery in that camp. In Puissaye’s army there were Frenchmen who had enrolled in it merely for the chance of escaping from England, and these now settled with the republicans, to desert and put them in possession of Fort Penthièvre. This dark deed was done on the dark and stormy night of the 20th of July, when a detachment of republican grenadiers having approached near to the spot, some of these sham royalists who were on guard betrayed the fort, and assisted in slaughtering their own comrades. All was lost; the storm prevented the British fleet from approaching the coast; hundreds perished in the waves, and thousands by the sword of their own countrymen. Early on the morning of the 21st, the British frigates worked up to the south-east point of the peninsula, and received on board, by means of boats, about 2500 men; the rest were made prisoners or perished, and nearly all the arms and uniforms, with the ammunition and stores, were left behind for the benefit of the republicans. Those royalists who were taken prisoners were all marched off to Vannes, where a sort of military tribunal condemned the Count de Sombreuill, the Bishop of Dôl, and all the officers and gentlemen taken; and these being-all shot, the common men enrolled themselves in the republican army. The broken remains of this expedition were landed in the isle of Plouat, where they were soon afterwards joined by 2500 men from England, who gained possession of the Isle d’Yeu; but at the close of this year the English troops were re-embarked, and both ships and men returned to England.
In the meantime, as soon as Canclaux weakened his army to strengthen that of Hoche, and crush the royalist expedition at Quiberon Bay, Charette resumed the offensive, and had gained several advantages over the republicans. He looked eagerly for the promised arrival of Count d’Artois; and on the 10th of October the count disembarked at Isle d’Yeu. While here a place of rendezvous was appointed, and Charette, fully assured that the prince would land at the port of La Tranche, united his forces, dispersed some republican detachments, and cut his way to within a day’s march of the appointed place. But Charette was doomed to be disappointed; the count’s aide-de-camp here met him, with the intelligence that his highness had changed his mind, and would choose a more opportune moment and a better place for landing. The Count d’Artois returned to England; and from this time the affairs of the royalists in the western provinces rapidly declined. The efforts of the Chouans and Vendeans were, indeed, confined to a species of guerilla warfare, which, as will be seen, was completely extinguished in the following year, by the republicans under Hoche. On discovering the determination of the Count d’Artois the brave Charette saw the extent of his fate. “My friends,” he exclaimed to those around him, “we are lost; this is my death sentence! To-day I have fifteen thousand troops around me, to-morrow I shall not have three hundred.” Charette fell back immediately from the coast; and he soon had the mortification of seeing his troops dispersing, and his enemies gathering around him on all sides. Such was his situation at the close of this year.