Army of Mainz

Army of Mainz
Fusilier of a French Revolutionary Army
Active	December 1797 – February 1799
Country	France
Allegiance	Republican France
Commanders
Notable commanders	Jean-Baptiste Aubert du Bayet Jacques Maurice Hatry Barthélemy Catherine Joubert

The Army of Mainz (Armée de Mayence) was a French Revolutionary Army set up on 9 December 1797 by splitting the Armée d'Allemagne into the Armée de Mayence and the Armée du Rhin. Part of it split off on 4 February 1799 to form the armée d'Observation, though part of the armée d'Observation then re-merged into the Armée de Mayence on 28 March that year (with the remainder forming the Armée du Danube).

Army of Mayence 1793

Army of Mayence (or Mainz) was also the unofficial title of the 16,000-man garrison that surrendered on 23 July 1793 at the conclusion of the Siege of Mainz. They were paroled by the Prussian army on condition that they not fight against the First Coalition for one year. Army of the Rhine commander Alexandre de Beauharnais pointed out that the terms did not exclude them from fighting against French rebels inside France. Therefore, 14,000 troops from the garrison were sent to the War in the Vendée under Jean-Baptiste Annibal Aubert du Bayet where they proved to be better soldiers than the poorly-trained armies fighting there. The superiority of the Mainz corps was so evident that it provoked jealousy and in November 1793 the force was broken up.