The operations of the Confederation armies which invaded France along her eastern and south eastern frontier; afford a clear proof that amongst the more immediate consequences of the decisive Battle of Waterloo and speedy capture of Paris, was their having been the means of averting the more general and protracted warfare which would probably have taken place on these frontiers, had a different result in Belgium emboldened the French to act with vigour and effect a stronger defence of these parts of France.

By June they were organised as follows: More troops guarded the south east frontier from Basel to Nice, and covered Lyons: There were two other major deployments: The Austrian military contingent was divided into three armies.

The column formed by the right wing was to be supported by the Russian Army, under Field Marshal Count Barclay de Tolly, which was expected to be collected at Kaiserslautern by 1 July.

Count Beckers occupied the town, posted his division on the heights towards Forbach: and detached patrols along the road to Metz, as far as St. Avold; and to the right along the Sarre, as far as Saarlouis.

After some resistance, this was taken possession of by the Bavarians; whereupon Baron von Ragliovich marched through the town, and took up a position on the opposite Heights, commanding the roads leading to Bouquenom and Lunéville.

From St. Dieuze Wrede detached units to the left, in order to discover the march of General Rapp; who, however, was still on the Rhine, and whose retreat had thus become cut off by the occupation of Nancy.

This order was given in consequence of the desire expressed by the Duke of Wellington and Prince Blücher; that the Austrian Army of the Upper Rhine should afford immediate support to their operations in front of Paris.

Previously to the arrival of the IV (Bavarian) Corps at Château-Thierry; the French garrison had abandoned the place, leaving behind it several pieces of artillery, with ammunition.

Lieutenant Field Marshal Count Wallmoden was posted, with ten battalions and four squadrons, to observe and blockade of the Fortress of Landau, and the Queich Line.

[26][27] The Crown Prince was directed to proceed by Wissembourg and Haguenau with a view to complete, in conjunction with the IV (Bavarian) Corps, the plan of intercepting the retreat of General Rapp.

His advanced guard pushed on to Ingolsheim, and the main body of the III Corps reached the Lines of Wissembourg; which the French abandoned in the night, and fell back upon the Forest of Haguenau, occupying the large village of Surbourg.

[28][29] The Crown Prince of Württemberg engaged General Rapp's Army of the Rhine on 28 June at the Battle of La Suffel, but despite outnumbering the French two to one, the Austrian forces were repelled.

At this last point the advanced guard of the Austrian Reserve Corps, under Lieutenant Field Marshal Stutterheim, moved upon Remiremont, and the main body upon St. Marie aux Mines.

The news of the capture of Paris by the British and Prussian troops led to a Suspension of Hostilities which was concluded on 24 July and extended to the Fortress of Strasbourg, Landau, La Petite-Pierre, Huningue, Sélestat, Lichtenberg, Phalsbourg, Neuf-Brisach and Belfort.

[36] There was however a Sardinian force in this area forming the garrison of Nice under Lieutenant-General Giovanni Pietro Luigi Cacherano d'Osasco,[37] which may have been where this misunderstanding has arisen.

It is uncertain what size of force under Suchet, it having been estimated from 13,000 to 20,000 men; but the Corps of Observation on the Var, in the vicinity of Antibes and Toulon, under Marshal Brune, amounted to 10,000 and was not occupied with any Enemy in its front.

[45] To secure the passage of the river Arve, on 27 June the advanced guard of the right column moved to Bonneville on its left bank but the French, who had already fortified this place, maintained a stout resistance.

In the meantime however, the Austrians gained possession of the passage at Carrouge; by which means the French were placed under the necessity of evacuating Bonneville, and abandoning the valley of the Arve.

On 29 June, this part of the Austrian army moved towards the Jura and, on 1 July, it made its dispositions for attacking the redoubts and entrenchments which the French had thrown up to defend the passes.

The Austrian advance guard pursued the French and reached Saint-Claude in the evening, on the road leading to the left from Gex; and St. Laurent, in the original direction of the attack, beyond Les Rousses.

The advanced guard of the Reserve Corps, under General Count Hardegg, first crossed the Rhône and found the French posted at Charix, in rear of Châtillon, on the road to Nantua.

A powder magazine exploded, which caused a general conflagration; to escape which the garrison rushed out, and surrendered at discretion to the Austrians: thus, in three days, the high road from Geneva to Lyon was opened to the Army of Italy.

[48] On 10, July a detachment, under Major General von Pflüger, was pushed on to Mâcon on the Saône and gained possession of the tête-de-pont constructed there, and of the place itself.

A detachment, consisting principally of Sardinian troops under Lieutenant General Count Latour, had been directed to observe Grenoble, in front of which its advanced guard had arrived on 4 July.

[49] On 9 July, the Sardinian Lieutenant-General d'Osasco, who had been detached to Nice, concluded an armistice with Marshal Brune, who commanded the Armée du Var, in front of the Maritime Alps.

The central column, commanded by General Baron Sacken, advanced through Breslau, Dresden, Zwickau, Baireuth, Nuremberg, Aschaffenburg, Dieburg, and Gross Gerau, towards Oppenheim.

[57][58] Its composition in June was:[59][60][c] Total 25,000[18] The German Corps, which was composed of contingent forces supplied by the small principalities of north Germany was assembled, in the middle of April, in the vicinity of Koblenz.

It amounted to 26,200 men, divided into thirty battalions of infantry, twelve squadrons of cavalry, and two and a half batteries of artillery and was placed under the command of General Count Kleist von Nollendorf.

Here it remained until 21 June, when it received an order from Prince Blücher to move into France by Bastogne and Neufchâteau and to gain possession of the fortresses of Sedan and Bouillon.

[64] On 28 June, Lieutenant General von Hacke, who had been appointed to the command of the German Corps, directed the advance guard to move upon Charleville, which lies under the guns of the Fortress of Mézières, and to carry the place by storm.