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1795. July. August. September. Three months in which France’s leaders turn their backs on the electorate… The Rhine theatre sees the launch of the French offensive targeting Mannheim… And the failure of the emigres expedition to Quiberon Bay leads to a terrible reckoning. This is episode 15 of the Napoleonic Quarterly – covering three months in which power trumps principle in the French republic.

[09:16] – Professor David Andress of the University of Portsmouth explains the tricky situation faced by those ruling France in this three months – and their profoundly anti-democratic solution.

[27:15] – Military historian Paul Demet describes the initial stages of the Mannheim offensive as Jourdan and Pichegru take on the Austrians on the Rhine.

[44:54] – Mary Robinson, Associate Professor of History at the University of Lourdes, outlines why the British-backed Quiberon landing of French emigres proved such a failure during this quarter.

Plus Professor Emeritus Charles Esdaile of the University of Liverpool and Professor Alexander Mikaberidze of Louisiana State University-Shreveport offer their analysis throughout, including Alex describing the sacking of his home town from [42:00].

And from [1:02:00], we have our first choices of two figures facing dilemmas at the end of the quarter: Alex chooses French military officer Napoleon Buona Parte, hanging around in ‘sleazy theatres’ during this period, while Charles picks Sultan Selim III of Ottoman Turkey.