Battle of the Vosges

The Battle of the Vosges also known as the Battle of Trippstadt was fought on 13 July 1794 in eastern France in the Vosges Mountains from which it derives its name.

The Introduction

By July 1794, the fledgling French Republic had been at war for a little under two years and in that time its fortunes had changed dramatically. Following initial setbacks for the Revolutionaries, the war changed in France's favour with the appointment of Lazare Carnot to the post of War Minister (or as the position was formally known - Head of the Committee of Public Safety War Section). Following the introduction of the levée en masse or mass conscription, French armies had increased to around 800,000 frontline troops and a grand total of between 1.4 and 1.6 million men under arms. These were divided into 13 principal field armies.

The largest of these was the Army of the Rhine which in July 1794 amounted to around 115,000 under Claude Ignace François Michaud. The Army of the Rhine was deployed along a frontline some 70 kilometres in length. It was opposed by an Allied army of around 70,000 Prussians, Austrians and Electoral Saxons under Prussian Wichard Joachim Heinrich von Möllendorf which held strong defensive positions in elevated terrain. In the approximate center of the Allied line was the town of Trippstadt.

Vosges

The Vosges (French pronunciation: ​[voːʒ]) (German: Vogesen [voˈɡeːzn̩]), also called the Vosges Mountains, are a range of low mountains in eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single geomorphological unit and low mountain range of around 8,000 square kilometres (3,100 sq mi) in area, which runs in a north-northeast direction from the Burgundian Gate (the Belfort–Ronchamp–Lure line) to the Börrstadt Basin (the Winnweiler–Börrstadt–Göllheim line) and which forms the western boundary of the Upper Rhine Plain. The Grand Ballon is their highest peak at 1424 m, followed by the Storkenkopf (1366 m) and the Hohneck (1364 m).

Geography

The elongated massif is divided south to north into three sections:

Évosges

Évosges is a commune in the Ain department in eastern France.

Population

See also

References

Vosges (chocolatier)

Vosges Haut-Chocolat is a Chicago-based luxury chocolate maker that offers exotic varieties flavored with spices, bacon, and other ingredients. It is owned by Katrina Markoff, who also created the Wild Ophelia brand.

Unique qualities

Vosges Haut-Chocolat is home to unique flavor combinations, many of which are inspired by the travels of the chocolatier owner, Katrina Markoff, such as the Red Fire Chocolat, made with Mexican chilis, cinnamon and dark chocolate, the Black Pearl Chocolat, made with ginger, black sesame seeds and dark chocolate, and Mo's Milk Chocolate Bacon Bar, a bacon-flavored chocolate bar.

The company features different gourmet chocolates at their Chicago and New York boutiques.

Critical praise

Vosges offers flavors including Red Fire Toffee, Red Fire Spice, and a Oaxaca blend that have been praised as being "beautifully presented and made from the finest cacao and spices in the world." Huffington Post's reviewers also gave the chocolates high marks, noting the unusual offerings, such as Wild Tuscan Fennel Pollen, with Floral Anise, and Ginger plus Fresh Wasabi, with Black Sesame Seeds.