ABSTRACT
In the French armies, extravagant use was made of propaganda, whilst in the period 1793—4, in particular, the Revolution was given a social content designed to give the French populace, urban and rural alike, something to fight for, and much practical support and encouragement were offered to the rank and file. In 1792 the French armies had gone to war commanded by figures like Dumouriez and Custine, in other words generals of the Bourbon army who had rallied to the Revolution. Dramatic though the French victory at Arcola may have been, the bulk of the Austrian forces had got away, and so the campaign of 1796 may be said to have ended in stalemate. In the north, by contrast, Jean-Baptiste Jourdan had found himself fighting off a series of Austrian counter-attacks which gave yet one more proof of the fighting qualities of the Habsburg armies.
