It concerns the Vendean army's crossing of the river Loire after their defeat in the Battle of Cholet on 17 October 1793 and its march to Granville in the hope of finding reinforcements there from England.

Unable to take Granville on 14 November 1793, it fell back towards Savenay (23 December 1793) where it was completely destroyed by Republican troops under Kléber.

With no choice, the Vendéen forces chose to take the only escape route open and fall back first to Beaupréau to the northwest then later to Saint-Florent-le-Vieil, where they were cornered in a bend of the river Loire.

After the battle of Cholet however, they made the mistake of believing the war had been definitively won, so they delayed their attack on Saint-Florent-le-Vieil.

Until October, the main weakness of the Republican troops was their lack of coordination, due to their division into several armies, and the rivalries of their leaders.

These generals were accompanied and supervised by several representatives-on-mission, including Antoine Merlin de Thionville, Pierre Bourbotte, Pierre-Louis Prieur and Jean-Baptiste Carrier.

North of the Loire, the Republican forces of the Army of the Coasts of Brest, commanded by general Jean Antoine Rossignol, were dispersed.

However, on the same day, the Republican forces of the Army of the West crossed the Loire at Angers and Nantes, determined to pursue the "Brigands".

[4] A few days later, Léchelle was arrested on the orders of Merlin de Thionville and sent to Nantes, where he committed suicide on 11 November.