Army of England
The Army of England never set foot in England. Established on the 26th of October 1797 by the French Directory, it was built around a single, audacious goal: the invasion of Great Britain. At its head stood Napoleon Bonaparte himself. What unfolded over the next two years was a story of plans abandoned, commands shuffled, and an army that ended its days not across the Channel but deep in the French countryside.
By the close of 1797, the Directory had drawn veterans from three existing armies to fill the new force. Forty thousand men were called from the Army of Italy, while another ten thousand each came from the Army of the Rhine and the Army of Mainz. Despite those numbers on paper, the army had not yet physically assembled. Bonaparte ran its headquarters from Paris, and Louis Desaix served as provisional commander in his absence. The sheer scale of the mobilization signals how seriously the Directory took the prospect of crossing the Channel.
At some point between the army's founding and the spring of 1799, the invasion plan was quietly dropped. No crossing of the Channel ever came. Instead, the army received a very different assignment: suppressing the Chouannerie of 1799, an uprising in Western France. The shift from oceanic assault to domestic counterinsurgency was a dramatic reversal of purpose. With the move to Rouen that accompanied the arrival of troops, the army's headquarters at least left Paris, even if England remained beyond reach.
Charles Edward Jennings stepped into provisional command on the 27th of March 1798, after Desaix's tenure ended. The army's headquarters relocated to Rouen with the arrival of troops, and Jennings held command until the departure of the Army of the Orient on the 19th of May 1798 formalized his position, then again from November 1798 into January 1799. Jean-Francois-Auguste Moulin served twice in provisional roles, bridging gaps in late 1798 and again through mid-1799. Jean Dembarrere held an interim appointment for less than a month in the summer of 1799, followed by Claude Ignace Francois Michaud. Gabriel de Hedouville was the final commander-in-chief, leading the army from the 15th of November 1799 until it was dissolved in January 1800.
On the 14th of January 1800, the Army of England was formally renamed the Army of the West. The order took effect three days later, on the 17th of January. In little more than two years, the force had passed through at least nine distinct command arrangements and pivoted from planning the conquest of Britain to fighting insurgents on French soil. Gabriel de Hedouville, the man left holding command at the end, oversaw a transformation that erased the army's original identity entirely.
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Common questions
What was the Army of England and when was it established?
The Army of England (Armée d'Angleterre) was a field army of the French Revolutionary Army established on the 26th of October 1797 by the French Directory. Its original purpose was the invasion of Great Britain, though that invasion never took place.
Who commanded the Army of England?
Napoleon Bonaparte was appointed commander-in-chief on the 26th of October 1797, with Louis Desaix serving as provisional commander in Paris during Bonaparte's absence. The army subsequently passed through at least nine distinct command arrangements, ending with Gabriel de Hedouville as the final commander.
How many troops were assigned to the Army of England?
By the end of 1797-40,000 men from the Army of Italy and 10,000 each from the Army of the Rhine and the Army of Mainz had been called to the new force, totaling around 60,000 men, though the army had not yet physically assembled.
Why did the Army of England never invade Britain?
The source does not give a specific reason for the abandonment of the invasion plan. The plan was eventually dropped and the army was redirected to suppress the Chouannerie of 1799, an uprising in Western France.
What happened to the Army of England in 1800?
On the 14th of January 1800, the Army of England was renamed the Army of the West. The order took effect on the 17th of January 1800, ending the army's existence under its original name.
What was the Chouannerie that the Army of England was sent to suppress?
The Chouannerie of 1799 was an uprising in Western France. After the British invasion plan was abandoned, the Army of England was reassigned to suppress this domestic rebellion rather than carry out any cross-Channel operation.
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2 references cited across the entry
- 1bookTableaux des armées françaises pendant les guerres de la RévolutionCharles Clerget — 1905
- 2bookHistoire et dictionnaire de la Révolution française. 1789-1799Jean Tulard et al. — Éditions Robert Laffont — 1998