Essentially the War of the French Revolution was an effort, at least from the view of France’s opponents, to contain the French Revolution. The Napoleonic War, however, was an effort to defeat Napoleon’s attempt to unite continental Europe under his personal control, as well as to interfere with the attempt to build up French maritime strength (John B. Hattendorf, “The Royal Navy During the War of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic War,” in King, Hattendorf, and Estes, Sea of Words, 30–31).
The passages below are extracted from Prof. David G. Chandler’s marvelous Dictionary of the Napoleonic Wars, 96–98:
The First Coalition
On 26 June 1792, Austria and Prussia formed the First Coalition. Major motives were distaste for developing French republicanism, anxiety for the Bourbon royal family, the presence of growing numbers of émigrés, and the French declaration of war against the King of Hungary and Bohemia (the secondary titles of the Austrian emperor) on 20 April 1792. After the execution of Louis XVI in January 1793 Great Britain joined the coalition, followed by Spain in March. Russia, Holland, Naples, and Tuscany were loosely associated, but contributed little. The effectiveness of French armies began to tell, and in February 1795 Tuscany made peace with France. The same April Prussia left the alliance, the new Batavian Republic (Holland) joined France (16 May), and Spain also left the war on 19 August. Sardinia and Piedmont made peace with France in May 1796. Bonaparte’s conquest of North Italy and limited French successes on the Rhine led to Austria signing the preliminaries of Leoben (18 April 1797), and the First Coalition finally collapsed on 17 October 1797, when Austria signed the Peace of Campo Formio. Lack of coordination, scarcity of common interests, and the problems of Poland—together with French energy and martial skill—were the main causes of failure.
French actions in Switzerland, Italy, and on the Rhine, and her ambitions in the Middle East, led Britain, Austria, Russia, Naples, and Turkey to form the Second Coalition, completed on 22 June 1799. Activity centered on Sardinia, Rome, and Egypt in 1798; the next year fighting spread to Naples, Syria, the Rhine, North Italy, Switzerland, and Holland—with Russian forces joining the Austrians and British in the last two theaters. Early French reverses gave way to successes—and then Bonaparte returned from Egypt. The coup d’état de Brumaire led to the Consulate, and in 1800 French counteroffensives on the Rhine and in North Italy (the Marengo campaign) led to substantial Austrian setbacks, culminating in victory at Hohenlinden on 3 December. Russia had made peace with France on 8 October, and that autumn the Armed Neutrality of the North against Britain took effect. On 9 February 1801 Austria and France signed a treaty; this left only Britain in the war, but the Peace of Amiens (signed on 25 March 1802) brought a short period of general peace.
The Third Coalition
The Enghien affair, Britain’s wish to recover Hanover (seized by France in 1803), and a desire to restrict French expansionism led to the Third Coalition, formed on 11 April 1805 [and this marked the transition from the French Revolutionary War to the Napoleonic War]. Great Britain, Austria, Russia, and Sweden were members, with some German princes. The loss of the battles of Ulm and Austerlitz—and operations in North Italy around Caldiero—doomed the Coalition to failure in its turn; an Austro-French armistice was signed on 6 December, and 20 days later came the Peace of Pressburg. William Pitt’s death was hastened by the news of this new collapse, largely due to weak coordination, poor planning, and to the proven genius of Napoleon.
The Fourth Coalition
Friction with Prussia over Hanover, a series of Russo-Prussian treaties, and an agreement with Great Britain led to the formation of the Fourth Coalition, effective 6 October 1806. The campaign of October–November ruined Prussia militarily (Jena-Auerstädt), but neither Prussia nor Russia made peace. The French occupation of Warsaw led in early 1807 to the bitter Winter Campaign of Eylau, in which Napoleon received his first serious check in battle, but in the following spring the French victory of Friedland led to the conference and Treaty of Tilset. Prussia was dismembered, Russia became an ally of France, and Napoleon’s power and repute appeared at their zenith. Once again Britain was left the sole opponent to Napoleon.
The Fifth Coalition
Growing disillusion with life in a French-dominated Europe and the transfer of French troops to Spain led Austria to seek a new British Alliance, and on 9 April 1809 the Fifth Coalition came into being. The Danube Campaign of April–July, with associated Italian operations, followed, but at Abensberg-Eckmühl Napoleon regained the initiative. After the great French victory of Wagram Austria sought an armistice. The British expedition to Walcheren failed, and on 14 October Austria and France signed the Treaty of Vienna. Britain was again alone, but her armies were permanently in Portugal from April 1809, and the “Spanish Ulcer” would soon be exercising its long-term ill effects on France.
The Sixth Coalition
Following Napoleon’s invasion of Russia in June 1812, Russia and Great Britain formed the nucleus of what became the Sixth Coalition. Spain and Portugal acceded, and after the subsequent French retreat into Poland, Prussia left Napoleon’s alliance and joined the Coalition. Following the battles of Lützen and Bautzen and the armistice of 1813, Austria also joined the alliance, followed by Sweden and numbers of German states. The French were driven west of the Rhine after Leipzig, and the Allies invaded French soil early in 1814. On 9 March 1814 the Treaty of Chaumont bound the Allies together most effectively, with common undertakings and aims, and the triumphant outcome of the Campaign of France led to Napoleon’s first abdication and the restoration of the Bourbons.
The Seventh Coalition
The Allies were meeting at the Congress of Vienna when Napoleon returned to France from Elba. On 25 March 1815 the Seventh Coalition was formed—all signatories of the Sixth becoming parties to the new agreement. The Allies promised 500,000 men, backed by British money, to bring about Napoleon’s final downfall. The Waterloo campaign followed, and on 22 June 1815 Napoleon again abdicated. Allied armies poured into France in July, and with Napoleon’s departure for exile on St. Helena, the need for military coalitions against France came to an end.