| Catholic and Royal Army of Anjou and Haut-Poitou | |
|---|---|
| Armée catholique et royale d'Anjou et du Haut-Poitou | |
 Type of flag of the Catholic and Royal army, parish company of La Verrie. | |
| Active | 1793–1800 |
| Allegiance |  Kingdom of France |
| Size | 40,000 |
| Motto(s) | Pour Dieu et le Roi (lit. 'For God and the King') |
| Engagements | |
The Catholic and Royal Army of Anjou (French: Armée catholique et royale d'Anjou) or Catholic and Royal Army of Anjou and Haut-Poitou (French: Armée catholique et royale d'Anjou et du Haut-Poitou), also nicknamed the Grande Armée (lit. 'Grand Army'), was the largest royalist army during the War in the Vendée against the French First Republic. It was formed and operated in the northern and eastern parts of the coastal region.
The army's mobilization capacity was 40,000 men. Although the unit had permanent organization, it was very loose. The army was organized into divisions that grouped parish companies, with no intermediate units.
The army successfully stormed Saumur on 9 June 1793. On June 12, Jacques Cathelineau was elected the army commander. Then, the highest-level Royalist commanders decided to attack Nantes, but the attack in the end of June failed due to the lack of coordination between the army of Anjou and Haut-Poitou and the army of Pays de Retz and Bas-Poitou. Cathelineau died in the fighting in Nantes.
Order of Battle
| Division of | Divisional general | Strength |
|---|---|---|
| Saint-Florent-le-Vieil | Charles de Bonchamps, later Jacques Cathelineau | 12,000 |
| Cholet and Beaupréau | Maurice d'Elbée | 9,000 |
| Maulévrier | Jean-Nicolas Stofflet | 3,000 |
| Châtillon-sur-Sèvre | Henri de la Rochejaquelein | 7,000 |
| Bressuire | Louis Marie de Lescure | 6,000 |
| Argenton-les-Vallées | de Laugrenière | 2,000 |
| Loroux | François Lyrot [fr] | 3,000 |
General Staff
In June 1794, the army's general staff was reorganized:
| Role | Person |
|---|---|
| General in Chief | Jean-Nicolas Stofflet |
| Lieutenant General | La Bouëre |
| Major General | Trottouin |
| Chief of Cavalry | Rostaing |
| Chief of Infantry | Berrard |
| Chief of Artillery | Bertrand Poirier de Beauvais [fr] |
| Secretary-general | Henri Michel Gibert |
| Commissioner-General, responsible for civil affairs | Abbot Étienne-Alexandre Bernier |
References
- ^ Ross 2010, p. 172.
- ^ Harper 2019.
- Berthre de Bourniseaux 1819, p. 280.
- Poirier de Beauvais 1893, p. 300.
Sources
- Berthre de Bourniseaux, Pierre Victor Jean (1819). Histoire des guerres de la Vendée et des Chouans, depuis l'année 1792 jusqu'en 1815 (in French). Vol. I. Paris: Brunot-Labbé.
- Poirier de Beauvais, Bertrand (1893). Mémoires inédits de Bertrand Poirier de Beauvais (in French). Paris: Plon.
- Ross, Steven T. (2010). "Vendée, The". The A to Z of the Wars of the French Revolution. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9781461672388.
- Harper, Rob (2019). "Chapter 3 - 'For God and the King': The Catholic and Royal Armies". Fighting the French Revolution: The Great Vendée Rising of 1793. Barnsley, Great Britain: Pen & Sword Books. ISBN 9781473868984.