Database: War with Austria

Austria was one of France's northern neighbors.*
--
* Well - apart from the countries in between, of course. I've seen Abstergo mess with history plenty of times. But geography is a new one. (Austria did control what was to become Belgium at the time, so perhaps that's what was meant, but come now, people, clarity!)
--
And their history leading up to the revolution was notoriously rocky.
Even the King's marriage to an Austrian woman didn't smooth relations between the countries - Marie Antoinette was regarded with suspicion, and gossip accused her of having too great an influence on the King's decisions.
In 1792, the Legislate Assembly decided that war was a good way to export its problems** and declared war on Austria. The war progressed slowly until a mob attacked the Tuileries Palace in Paris, and the Austrians began to invade France. They easily took Verdun - a short march from Paris - causing a panic in the city, and probably leading to the September Massacres.
--
** Only they called it "spreading the revolution". A wonderful political spin.
--
The French troops however, rallied to form a resistance, and held off the Austrians at Valmy on September 20. The battle was trumpeted as a major victory for France and resulted in the beginning of an Austrian retreat.
Category:Database: Events
Category:Helix database entries