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.
Song of Glory 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 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".
Successes under Custine's command 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). ==Final reorganization==