War of the Second Coalition

The War of the Second Coalition began in December 1798 when Great Britain and Russia concluded a treaty of alliance against revolutionary France, forming the nucleus of a new coalition. It followed the collapse of the First Coalition at Campo Formio in 1797 and was provoked in part by aggressive French expansion, including Napoleon Bonaparte's invasion of Egypt, which threatened British interests in the Mediterranean and beyond.

The coalition soon expanded as Austria, the Ottoman Empire, Naples, Portugal, and other states joined the alliance against France. The Ottomans were especially angered by the French occupation of Egypt, nominally Ottoman territory, where Bonaparte's army had landed in 1798. The allies hoped to roll back French conquests in Italy, Switzerland, and Germany and to restore the balance of power upset by the Revolution.

The war saw shifting fortunes across multiple theaters. Allied forces, including the Russian armies under Suvorov, won early successes in Italy, but coalition unity frayed and Russia withdrew. After Bonaparte returned from Egypt, seized power in France, and won victory at Marengo in 1800, the coalition crumbled. It was effectively dissolved by the Treaty of Lunéville with Austria in 1801 and the Peace of Amiens with Britain in 1802.