[1] For the following operations see map in SPANISH SUCCESSION WAR.
[2] Coburg refrained from a regular siege of Conde. He wished to gain
possession of the fortress in a defensible state, intending to use it
as his own depot later in the year. He therefore reduced it by
famine. During the siege of Valenciennes the Allies appear to have
been supplied from Mons.
[3] Henceforth to the end of 1794 both armies were more or less "in
cordon," the cordon possessing greater or less density at any
particular moment or place, according to the immediate intentions of
the respective commanders and the general military situation.
[4] In the course of this the column from Bouchain, 4500 strong, was
caught in the open at Avesnes-le-Sec by 5 squadrons of the allied
cavalry and literally annihilated.
[5] One of the generals at Maubeuge, Chancel, was guillotined.
[6] Each of the fifteen armies on foot had been allotted certain
departments as supply areas, Jourdan's being of course far away in
Lorraine.
[7] Liguria was not at this period thought of, even by Napoleon, as
anything more than a supply area.
[8] Vukassovich had received Beaulieu's order to demonstrate with two
battalions, and also appeals for help from Argenteau. He therefore
brought most of his troops with him.
[9] We have seen that after Tourcoing, taught by experience, Souham
posted Vandamme's covering force 14 or 15 m. out. But Napoleon's
disposition was in advance of experience.
[10] The proposed alliance with the Sardinians came to nothing. The
kings of Sardinia had always made their alliance with either Austria
or France conditional on cessions of conquered territory. But,
according to Thiers, the Directory only desired to conquer the
Milanese to restore it to Austria in return for the definitive
cession of the Austrian Netherlands. If this be so, Napoleon's
proclamations of "freedom for Italy" were, if not a mere political
expedient, at any rate no more than an expression of his own desires
which he was not powerful enough to enforce.
[11] On entering the territory of the duke of Parma Bonaparte
imposed, besides other contributions, the surrender of twenty famous
pictures, and thus began a practice which for many years enriched the
Louvre and only ceased with the capture of Paris in 1814.
[12] See C. von B.-K., _Geist und Stoff_, pp. 449-451.
[13] The assumption by later critics (Clausewitz even included) that
the "flank position" held by these forces relatively to the main
armies in Italy and Germany was their _raison d'etre_ is unsupported
by contemporary evidence.
[14] For this expedition, which was repulsed by Brune in the battle
of Castricum, see Fortescue's _Hist. of the British Army_, vol. iv.,
and Sachot's _Brune en Hollande_.
[15] He afterwards appointed Berthier to command the Army of Reserve,
but himself accompanied it and directed it, using Berthier as chief
of staff.
[16] Only one division of the main body used the Little St Bernard.
[17] When he made his decision he was unaware that Bethencourt had
been held up at Arona.
[18] This may be accounted for by the fact that Napoleon's mind was
not yet definitively made up when his advanced guard had already
begun to climb the St Bernard (12th). Napoleon's instructions for
Moncey were written on the 14th. The magazines, too, had to be
provided and placed before it was known whether Moreau's detachment
would be forthcoming.
[19] Six guns had by now passed Fort Bard and four of these were with
Murat and Duhesme, two with Lannes.
[20] It is supposed that the foreign spies at Dijon sent word to
their various employers that the Army was a bogy. In fact a great
part of it never entered Dijon at all, and the troops reviewed there
by Bonaparte were only conscripts and details. By the time that the
veteran divisions from the west and Paris arrived, either the spies
had been ejected or their news was sent off too late to be of use.
[21] On the strength of a report, false as it turned out, that the
Austrian rearguard had broken the bridges of the Bormida.
FRENCH WEST AFRICA (_L'Afrique occidentale francaise_), the common
designation of the following colonies of France:--(1) Senegal, (2) Upper
Senegal and Niger, (3) Guinea, (4) the Ivory Coast, (5) Dahomey; of the
territory of Mauretania, and of a large portion of the Sahara. The area
is estimated at nearly 2,000,000 sq. m., of which more than half is
Saharan territory. The countries thus grouped under the common
designation French West Africa comprise the greater part of the
continent west of the Niger delta (which is British territory) and south
of the tropic of Cancer. It embraces the upper and middle course of the
Niger, the whole of the basin of the Senegal and the south-western part
of the Sahara. Its most northern point on the coast is Cape Blanco, and
it includes Cape Verde, the most westerly point of Africa. Along the
Guinea coast the French possessions are separated from one another by
colonies of Great Britain and other powers, but in the interior they
unite not only with one another but with the hinterlands of Algeria and
the French Congo.
[Illustration: Map of French West Africa and Adjacent Territories.]
In physical characteristics French West Africa presents three types: (1)
a dense forest region succeeding a narrow coast belt greatly broken by
lagoons; (2) moderately elevated and fertile plateaus, generally below
2000 ft., such as the region enclosed in the great bend of the Niger;
(3) north of the Senegal and Niger, the desert lands forming part of the
Sahara (q.v.). The most elevated districts are Futa Jallon, whence rise
the Senegal, Gambia and Niger, and Gon--both massifs along the
south-western edge of the plateau lands, containing heights of 5000 to
6000 ft. or more. Among the chief towns are Timbuktu and Jenne on the
Niger, Porto Novo in Dahomey, and St Louis and Dakar in Senegal, Dakar
being an important naval and commercial port. The inhabitants are for
the most part typical Negroes, with in Senegal and in the Sahara an
admixture of Berber and Arab tribes. In the upper Senegal and Futa
Jallon large numbers of the inhabitants are Fula. The total population
of French West Africa is estimated at about 13,000,000. The European
inhabitants number about 12,000.
The French possessions in West Africa have grown by the extension inland
of coast colonies, each having an independent origin. They were first
brought under one general government in 1895, when they were placed
under the supervision of the governor of Senegal, whose title was
altered to meet the new situation. Between that date and 1905 various
changes in the areas and administrations of the different colonies were
made, involving the disappearance of the protectorates and military
territories known as French Sudan and dependent on Senegal. These were
partly absorbed in the coast colonies, whilst the central portion became
the colony of Upper Senegal and Niger. At the same time the central
government was freed from the direct administration of the Senegal and
Niger countries (Decrees of Oct. 1902 and Oct. 1904). Over the whole of
French West Africa is a governor-general, whose headquarters are at
Dakar.[1] He is assisted by a government council, composed of high
functionaries, including the lieutenant-governors of all colonies under
his control. The central government, like all other French colonial
administrations, is responsible, not to the colonists, but to the home
government, and its constitution is alterable at will by presidential
decree save in matters on which the chambers have expressly legislated.
To it is confided financial control over the colonies, responsibility
for the public debt, the direction of the departments of education and
agriculture, and the carrying out of works of general utility. It alone
communicates with the home authorities. Its expenses are met by the
duties levied on goods and vessels entering and leaving any port of
French West Africa. It may make advances to the colonies under its care,
and may, in case of need, demand from them contributions to the central
exchequer. The administration of justice is centralized and uniform for
all French West Africa. The court of appeal sits at Dakar. There is also
a uniform system of land registration adopted in 1906 and based on that
in force in Australia. Subject to the limitations indicated the five
colonies enjoy autonomy. The territory of Mauretania is administered by
a civil commissioner under the direct control of the governor-general.
The colony of Senegal is represented in the French parliament by one
deputy.
Since the changes in administration effected in 1895 the commerce of
French West Africa has shown a steady growth, the volume of external
trade increasing in the ten years 1895-1904 from L3,151,094 to
L6,238,091. In 1907 the value of the trade was L7,097,000; of this 53%
was with France. Apart from military expenditure, about L600,000 a year,
which is borne by France, French West Africa is self-supporting. The
general budget for 1906 balanced at L1,356,000. There is a public debt
of some L11,000,000, mainly incurred for works of general utility.
See SENEGAL, FRENCH GUINEA, IVORY COAST and DAHOMEY. For Anglo-French
boundaries east of the Niger see SAHARA and NIGERIA. For the
constitutional connexion between the colonies and France see FRANCE:
_Colonies_. An account of the economic situation of the colonies is
given by G. Francois in _Le Gouvernement general de l'Afrique
occidentale francaise_ (Paris, 1908). Consult also the annual _Report
on the Trade, Agriculture, &c. of French West Africa_ issued by the
British foreign office. A map of French West Africa by A. Meunier and
E. Barralier (6 sheets on the scale 1:2,000,000) was published in
Paris, 1903.