Following the successful occupation of the east bank of the Rhine, the French army deteriorated rapidly due to logistical neglect from the Council in Paris. By the winter of 1795, General Gaspard Lefebvre’s men were reduced to wearing rags and stealing food from the local German population to survive. With his pleas for supplies ignored by a government that viewed him as an insubordinate upstart, Lefebvre took matters into his own hands in early 1796. He reorganized the army through sheer force of will, employing local tradesmen to manufacture uniforms, instituting strict foraging protocols to feed the troops, and personally rebuilding morale. His efforts coincided with a strategic shift in Europe; the Habsburg monarchy, viewing the French front as dormant, diverted significant forces east to fight a new war against Russia, leaving their German defenses vulnerable.

Seizing the opportunity, Lefebvre launched a renewed offensive in March 1796, outmaneuvering the Austrian General Hohenberg by pinning his southern forces while crossing the Rhine in the north. The maneuver forced the Austrians to retreat, allowing the French to sweep through Southern and Central Germany with unexpected ease. The advance culminated in a major diplomatic victory when the French army entered Munich. The Duchy of Bavaria, harboring deep resentment toward the Habsburg emperor, defected to the French side, declaring war on Austria and granting Lefebvre a crucial ally as he pushed further east.

The campaign reached its climax in the Bohemian Forest, where General Hohenberg entrenched his army in the Valley of the Upper Vltava, hoping to crush the French in a defensive battle. Lefebvre responded with a high-risk strategy, sending his cavalry division on a treacherous march through the dense forest to flank the Austrian position while his main force engaged in a brutal frontal assault. The battle was fierce and bloody, with Lefebvre himself nearly killed by skirmishers, but the plan succeeded. Just as the French infantry lines were on the verge of collapsing, the cavalry emerged from the woods and decimated the Austrian rear, forcing Hohenberg to surrender the field.

With the Austrian army shattered, Lefebvre ignored the remaining enemy forces in Bohemia and marched directly toward Vienna. The Habsburg court, lacking the troops to defend the capital, was forced to sue for peace. The resulting Treaty of Linz in July 1797 marked a total victory for the French Republic. Austria ceded the Austrian Netherlands and all imperial territories west of the Rhine, recognized the French annexation of Savoy, and paid a massive indemnity. Furthermore, Bavaria was elevated to a kingdom, solidifying French influence in Germany and bringing the continental war to a decisive end.