 The French citizen ’ s army , created by mass conscription of young men and systematically divested of old men who might have tempered the rash impulses of teenagers and young adults , had already made itself onerous , by reputation and rumor at least , throughout France . Furthermore , it was an army entirely dependent for support upon the countryside . After April 1796 , pay was made in metallic value , but pay was still in arrears . Throughout the spring and early summer , the unpaid French army was in almost constant mutiny : in May 1796 , in the border town of Zweibrücken , the 74th revolted . In June , the 17th was insubordinate ( frequently ) and in the 84th , two companies rebelled . An assault into the German states was essential , as far as French commanders understood , not only in terms of war aims , but also in practical terms : the French Directory believed that war should pay for itself , and did not budget for the payment or feeding of its troops . 
