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== The French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars == | == The French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars == | ||
<br> | The promise of the reign of Charles came to a halt with the French Revolution. Baden initially joined forces against France but was invaded and devastated once again. It was also forced to give up territory on the left bank of the Rhine. In 1805 Baden switched allegiances and fought on the side of France. In 1806 Baden became a Grand Duchy and joined the [[Confederation of the Rhine|Confederation of the Rhine]] which was a confederation of 16 German states created by Napoleon. Later, more states joined, resulting in French control over a large area of German territory with over 15 million subjects. Only a few German states remained outside the confederation, i.e. Austria, Prussia, Holstein, and Pomerania. The departure of these states from the Holy Roman Empire led to its demise. Since the confederation lay to the east of France, it created a buffer between France and its enemies, most notably Austria and Prussia. Most importantly, however, was the fact that the German states provided much-needed military support for the French war machine, including numerous troops. At the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Sch%C3%B6nbrunn Peace of Vienna] Baden acquired more territory, this time at the expense of Württemberg. By the time he died in 1811, Charles had quadrupled the size of Baden. After the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Leipzig Battle of Leipzig], in which the French were defeated and suffered unsustainable losses, caused the defection of the German states to the Allies. Baden was among the defectors. <br><br> | ||
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