Initial military success encouraged the Republic’s
leadership to expand France’s borders, with an eye toward
creating an effective buffer between the new republic and
the hostile monarchs of Prussia and Austria. The French
quickly seized the Austrian Netherlands and the United
Provinces, essentially today’s Belgium and the
Netherlands. The French also took over much of modern-
day Switzerland. In all three places, the French had strong
control through the 1790s.
Germany was initially hotly contested. But by 1795, the
French had firm control over the Rhineland, the western part
of Germany lying on the left bank of the Rhine River. The
Prussians were forced to recognize this fact under the
Treaty of Basel. Between 1795 and 1802, the French held
the Rhineland, but not any other part of Germany. In 1802
the Rhineland was officially incorporated into France.
Italy remained the main seat of war in the second half the
1790s, with the Austrians as the opponents. Savoy was