| Unit Name: | Army of the Rhine |
| Dates: | 1791–95, 1797–98, 1799–1801 |
| Country: | Kingdom of France (until 1792) French Republic (from 1792) |
| Allegiance: | Kingdom of France First Republic |
| March: | French: [[Chant de guerre pour l'Armée du Rhin]] |
| Disbanded: | 20 April 1795 |
| Notable Commanders: | Nicolas Luckner Adam Philippe, Comte de Custine |
The Army of the Rhine (French: Armée du Rhin; German: Rheinarmee) was formed in December 1791, for the purpose of bringing the French Revolution to the German states along the Rhine River. During its first year in action (1792), under command of Adam Philippe Custine, the Army of the Rhine participated in several victories, including Mainz, Frankfurt and Speyer. Subsequently, the army underwent several reorganizations and merged with the Army of the Moselle to form the Army of the Rhine and Moselle on 20 April 1795.
The Army of the Rhine (Armée du Rhin) was one of the main French Revolutionary armies operated in the Rhineland theater, principally in the Rhine River valley, from 1791 to 1795. At its creation, the Army of the Rhine had 88,390 men. It was formed on 14 December 1791, to defend France's eastern frontier in conjunction with two other armies, the Army of the North and the Army of the Center (name changed in October 1792 to Army of the Moselle). These armies were subdivided, fresh forces were raised and gradually grew until, by 30 April 1793, eleven armies encircled France on its coastal and the land frontiers. In October 1792, a portion of the army was used to form the Army of the Vosges but these units rejoined the Army of the Rhine on 15 March 1793.
In the first months of fighting, victories for France were few. Although Custine had succeeded in driving the ecclesiastical authorities from the Swiss village of Porrentruy by 27 April 1792, this singular victory was accomplished largely through the enterprises of a local uprising assisted by some advanced guard and it was the last French victory for several weeks: subsequently, the borders of France had been assaulted by the Habsburgs and their allies. At Mons (18 - 29 April 1792), Tournay (29 April 1792), Bavay (17 May 1792), Rumegies (19 May 1792), Florennes 28 May 1792, and La Glisuelle, a village 50NaN0 north of Maubeuge (11 June 1792), Austrian skirmishers repeatedly defeated French forces.
Although much of the spring and summer of 1792 action continued throughout in the border regions with Belgium, the cities along the Upper Rhine, especially the city of Strasbourg, felt under threat of invasion by the Habsburg armies massing on the east side of the Rhine River. On 25 April 1792, Philippe Friedrich Dietrich, mayor of Strasbourg, asked a guest, Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle, to compose a song to rally against the Habsburg threat. That evening, Rouget de Lisle wrote "Chant de guerre pour l'Armée du Rhin" (English: "War Song for the Army of the Rhine"), and dedicated the song to Marshal Nicolas Luckner, a Bavarian in French service. The melody soon became the rallying call to the Revolution: Allons enfants de la Patrie (Arise, children of the Fatherland)/Le jour de gloire est arrivé! (The day of glory has arrived!). It was renamed "La Marseillaise".
The French government ordered Luckner to take command of the Army of the North, and Custine replaced him as overall commander of the Army of the Rhine in Spring 1793. Under his experienced command, the Army took several important positions on the Rhine, including at Speyer, Mainz, Limburg and Frankfurt (see chart of battles below).
On 29 December 1794, the left wing of the Army and the right wing of the Army of the Moselle combined to form the Army besieging Mainz. The rest of the Army of the Moselle united with the Army of the Rhine on 20 April, to form the Army of the Rhine and Moselle. This army united with the Army of Sambre-et-Meuse to form the Army of Germany on 29 September 1797.[1]
| Date | Battle | Victor | Commander | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 April 1792 | France | Adam Philippe Custine[3] | ||
| 21 October 1792 | French | Custine | ||
| 30 September 1792 | Capture of Speyer | French | Custine | |
| 21 October 1792 | Capture of Frankfurt | French | Custine | |
| 10 November 1792 | Limburg | French | Custine, Houchard commanding the advanced guard. | |
| 2 December 1792 | Frankfurt am Main | Coalition | Custine, GdB van Helden commanding the garrison force | |
| 14 April–23 July 1793 | Coalition | Alexandre de Beauharnais | ||
| 13 October 1793 | Coalition | Jean Pascal Carlenc | ||
| 20 August–23 December 1793 | French | Louis Lazare Hoche (Army of the Moselle) Jean-Charles Pichegru (Army of the Rhine) | ||
| 18 November–22 December 1793 | French | Pichegru | ||
| 18–22 December 1793 | French | Hoche | ||
| 26–29 December 1793 | French | Hoche and Pichegru | ||
| 23 May 1794 | Prussian-Saxon | Claude Ignace François Michaud | ||
| 23 May 1794 | Battle of Schifferstadt | French | Michaud | |
| 12–13 July 1794 | Schänzel | French | Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr | |
| 17–20 September 1794 | 3rd Kaiserslautern | Prussian-Saxon | François Ignace Schaal | |
| 25 December 1794 | Battle of Mannheim bridge | French | Martial Vachot |
In its five-year history, the Army had several Orders of Battle. This is the OOB at the beginning of the 1793 campaign.
Total 20 battalions
Total 26 battalions, 12 squadrons
Positioned at Bingen.
Brigade Houchard
National Guard
2nd Brigade Gilot
Total 22 squadrons
Reserve totals 8 battalions, 12 squadrons, 2 platoons
Stability of command of the Army of the Rhine reflected the overall chaos of the French Revolutionary governments, especially in the years 1791–1794. Four of the generals serving in those years were guillotined (see chart below).
| Date | Name |
|---|---|
| 14 December 1791 – 6 May 1792 | Nicolas Luckner |
| 7 May – 20 July 1792 | Alexis Magallon de la Morlière (intérim) |
| 21 July – 25 December 1792 | Armand Louis de Gontaut (also called "Biron") * |
| 26 December 1792 – 14 March 1793, | Étienne Deprez-Crassier, interim and subordinate to Adam Philippe Custine, who commanded this and the Army of the Moselle |
| 15 March – 17 May 1793 | Custine, also commander of the Army of the Moselle until 19 April; he was removed from command of both armies on 29 July 1793, tried and executed in August. |
| 18–29 May 1793 | Dominique Diettmann, interim and subordinate to Jean Nicolas Houchard* |
| 30 May – 17 August 1793 | Alexandre de Beauharnais, provisionally and subordinate to Houchard. |
| 18 August – 29 September 1793 | Charles Hyacinthe Leclerc de Landremont, interim to 23 August, then provisionally |
| 30 September – 1 October 1793 | Louis Dominique Munnier (interim) |
| 2–26 October 1793 | Jean Pascal Raymond Carlenc (provisional) |
| 27 October 1793 – 13 January 1794 | Jean-Charles Pichegru, subordinate to Lazare Hoche |
| 14 January 1794 – 10 April 1795 | Claude Ignace François Michaud, during his absences, Jean Philippe Raymond Dorsner |
| 4 December 1794 – 13 February 1795 | Jean-Baptiste Kléber, subordinate to the Army of Mainz |
| 14 February – 29 April 1795 | François Ignace Schaal, subordinate to Army of Mainz |
| 11–16 April 1795, | Jean-Baptiste Kléber (interim) |
| 17–19 April 1795 | Jean-Charles Pichegru, during assembly of the Armies of the Rhine and Moselle |
An army of the Bourbon Restoration bore this name. In 1815 during the Hundred Days the V Corps – Armée du Rhin under the command of General Jean Rapp, was cantoned near Strassburg, and fought holding actions against contingents of Russians and Austrians, the largest of which was the Battle of La Suffel on fought on 28 June 1815.
This name was also used for the French military forces posted to Germany during the Occupation of the Rhineland (1919–1930), following the First World War.
People known to have served in this Armée include: