1. The Revolutionary Assemblies and the
Armies.
IF nothing were known of the revolutionary Assemblies, and
notably of the Convention, beyond their internal dissensions,
their weakness, and their acts of violence, their memory would
indeed be a gloomy one.
But even for its enemies this bloodstained epoch must
always retain an undeniable glory, thanks to the success of its
armies. When the Convention dissolved France was already the
greater by Belgium and the territories on the left bank of the
Rhine.
Regarding the Convention as a whole, it seems equitable to
credit it with the victories of the armies of France, but if we
analyse this whole in order to study each of its elements
separately their independence will at once be obvious. It is at
once apparent that the Convention had a very small share in the
military events of the time. The armies on the frontier and the
revolutionary Assemblies in Paris formed two separate worlds,
which had very little influence over one another, and which
regarded matters in a very different light.
We have seen that the Convention was a weak Government,
which changed its ideas daily, according to popular impulse; it
was really an example of the
profoundest anarchy. It directed nothing, but was itself
continually directed; how, then, could it have commanded armies?
Completely absorbed in its intestine quarrels, the
Assembly had abandoned all military questions to a special
committee, which was directed almost single-handed by Carnot, and
whose real function was to furnish the troops with provisions and
ammunition. The merit of Carnot consisted in the fact that
besides directing over 752,000 men at the disposal of France,
upon points which were strategically valuable, he also advised
the generals of the armies to take the offensive, and to preserve
a strict discipline.
The sole share of the Assembly in the defence of the
country was the decree of the general levy. In the face of the
numerous enemies then threatening France, no Government could
have avoided such a measure. For some little time, too, the
Assembly had sent representatives to the armies instructed to
decapitate certain generals, but this policy was soon abandoned.
As a matter of fact the military activities of the
Assembly were always extremely slight. The armies, thanks to
their numbers, their enthusiasm, and the tactics devised by their
youthful generals, achieved their victories unaided. They fought
and conquered independently of the Convention.
