Abstract
The Vendée War (1793-1795) was a counter-revolutionary insurrection that resulted in extraordinary loss of life. While it was, on the political side, a civil war with (fledging) foreign support for one side, on the military side it was a mix of skirmishes, battles, sieges, ambushes and ‘scorched earth’ policy. The insurgents fought first as an army, then, after defeats in battles, as partisans. The author of this paper highlights the refusal of the Republic to grant them the status of soldiers. Their use of Small War tactics was offensive to the republican army, but not as much as their ideas. The new power based on democracy and reason deprived these opponents of any legitimacy, any vestige of a cause, subjected them to a propaganda campaign and of relentless termination.
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