The allies being now convinced that the French not on ly could bring into the field larger armies than they ex pected ; but that their generals possessed a very considera ble degree of skill, and their troops steadiness and disci pline, as well as enthusiasm, prepared to open the cam paign of 1794 with such a force, and on such a plan, as, in their opinion, could not fail to render them generally and permanently victorious. Their force amounted to upwards of 180,000 men, consisting of Dutch, Germans, and English, divided into six armies ; and their plan was, by getting within the frontier towns of France, to cut off their enemies from the interior. At first they met with some success ; but the numbers which the decrees of the committee of public safety poured into the French armies, and the en thusiasm and ardour with which even these raw troops were inspired, in a short time not only deprived the allies of the fruits of their victories, but obliged them to act en tirely on the defensive.
Pichegru, especially, was eminently successful in ma ritime Flanders : Ypres surrendered to him, Charleroi was taken by Jourdan, who afterwards defeated the Austrians at Ileums. These misfortunes compelled the allies to re treat in every direction ; and the French beheld themselves advanced, victorious, to the confines of Dutch Flanders.
On the Rhine, their success was equally great, and from the same causes : before the end of July, the Palatinate was in their possession. In the battles by which these conquests were achieved, they indeed lost immense num bers of men ; but their leading principle was to bring up superior forces every day till their object was accomplish ed ; and thus acting on their enemies with a body, not only of greater weight, but of more rapid motion, they bore down all opposition.
The only cases in which they were unsuccessful this campaign, were in Corsica, and in their rencontre by sea with Lord Howe ; the circumstances of both of which have been detailed in the history of BRITAI N.
From the pause which the French army made, when it had advanced to the confines of Dutch Flanders, it was at first supposed that they did not mean to invade the United Provinces ; but after a short pause, Pichegru advanced, and the allies retreated before him, first across the Maese, and afterwards across the Rhine. On the 7th of Novem ber, Nimeguen was occupied by the French, when they again paused in the career of victory. On the borders of Spain they were equally successful ; the Spaniards were unable to stand before them, and the greater part of Na varre fell into their power, while, on the east side of Spain, Catalonia, by the conquest of Rosas, was left totally unde fended.
It is now time to look to Paris, at once the scene of con stant intrigue, and the mutual massacre of parties, and the source whence all the victories of the army flowed. The
Jacobins, though defeated, were not dispirited or inactive : they formed a most dreadful plot to regain their power ; and this plot, as usual, was to be carried into execution in Paris, for whoever ruled Paris ruled the kingdom ; and in the most profligate districts of Paris, for hitherto whoever ruled there, ruled the capital. The hall of the Convention was surrounded, on the 20th of May 1795, by immense numbers of abandoned and desperate women, who demand ed bread, and the constitution of 1793 ; and the members were compelled to retire, till General Roche with the mi litary, dispersed the insurgents. The Jacobins, however, returned to the charge in the evening ; and by pointing some pieces of cannon against the hall of the Convention, intimidated the members into a promise that bread should be supplied, and the constitution of 1793 restored. The troops again came to the relief of the Convention ; and, by 'attacking- the suburb of St Antoine, the great focus of re bellion, they succeeded in reducing the insurgents, and in restoring the authority of the Convention. In the south of France, where the Jacobins also endeavoured to regain their power, they were not more fortunate ; so that the Convention might have established themselves firmly, had they been possessed of that commanding talent and ener gy, which the state of France, both at home and abroad, at that time imperiously demanded. But they were deficient in these respects ; and their deficiency they were anxious to compensate, by the establishment of a new constitution. The plan of this constitution was laid before the Conven tion, by the committee appointed to frame it, on the 23d of June. According to it, the legislature was to be composed of two assemblies; and the executive power was to be en trusted to five persons, who were to be called the Execu tive Directory. This plan was not received with much ap probation at Paris ; and an especial provision made by the Convention, that at the approaching election, the electors should be bound to return two-thirds of the present mem bers, or, if they did not, that the Convention themselves might fill up the vacancies, gave very great dissatisfaction. In this emergency, the Convention endeavoured to strength en themselves against the citizens of Paris, by an union with the Jacobins ; and by this union, and the assistance of the troops in Paris, which were placed under the com mand of Barras, Bittne, and Bonaparte, the refractory citi zens were compelled to submit to the Convention ; but the consequence was, that the Jacobins regained their as cendency.