Austria was seen as the main foreign threat. Believing it was only a matter of time before France was attacked, the Assembly declared war on Austria in April 1792 in an attempt to strike before the Austrians were ready. However, it was the French forces that were ill-prepared. Many army officers (who were nobles) had fled and the army lacked good leaders.
The Austrians were joined by the Prussians and they won several victories over the French. The sans-culottes of Paris suspected King Louis of helping France’s enemies and in August they stormed the Tuileries Palace. The royal family was imprisoned by the National Assembly.
The execution of the king
French fortunes in the war improved after an appeal was made to the people to save the revolution. Huge numbers joined the army, which then overwhelmed the invaders on the battlefield. The sans-culottes demanded more radical reforms and in September 1792 the new National Convention declared France a republic (a type of government without a king, where the people are sovereign). During the celebrations, mobs broke into various Paris prisons and executed over 1,000 people as ‘enemies of the revolution’ in the September Massacres.
