Valmy

Valmy (välmē`), village (1993 est. pop. 293), Marne dept., NE France, in the Argonne region. The "cannonade of Valmy," a Franco-Prussian artillery skirmish, was fought near there on Sept. 20, 1792. This was the first important engagement in the French Revolutionary Wars. Although heavy rain brought an inconclusive halt, the encounter revealed the superiority of French artillery.

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Valmy

battle fought between French and Prussians (1792). [Eur. Hist.: Harbottle Battles, 259]

See : Battle

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Valmy

a village in France (Marne department), near which, on Sept. 20, 1792, the troops of revolutionary France (58,000 men, of whom most were young volunteers) under the command of General C. Dumouriez and General F. Kellermann achieved their first victory over the troops of the Austro-Prussian interventionists and French émigré nobility (40,000 men), headed by the Duke of Brunswick. At Valmy the French troops blocked the interventionists’ way to Paris, successfully repelled their attack, and forced the enemy to retreat. By Oct. 5, 1792, the interventionists had been driven beyond the borders of France.