Editing French Directory (section)

===Foreign policy===
Between July 1794 and the October 1795 elections for the new-style Parliament, the government tried to obtain international peace treaties and secure French gains. In January 1795 General [[Jean-Charles Pichegru|Pichegru]] took advantage of an extremely cold winter and invaded the [[Dutch Republic]]. He captured [[Utrecht]] on 18 January, and on 14 February units of French cavalry captured the Dutch fleet, which was trapped in the ice at [[Den Helder]]. The Dutch government asked for peace, conceding [[Zeelandic Flanders|Dutch Flanders]], [[Maastricht]] and [[Venlo]] to France. On 9 February, after a French offensive in the Alps, [[Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany]] signed a treaty with France. Soon afterwards, on 5 April, France signed a peace treaty, the [[Peace of Basel]], with [[Prussia]], where King [[Frederick William II of Prussia|Frederick William II]] was tired of the war; Prussia recognized the French occupation of the western bank of the [[Rhine]]. On 22 July 1795, a peace agreement, the "Treaty of Basel", was signed with Spain, where the [[French Revolutionary Army]] had marched as far as [[Bilbao]] in the [[War of the Pyrenees]]. By the time the Directory was chosen, the coalition against France was reduced to [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Britain]] and [[Habsburg monarchy|Austria]], which hoped that [[Russian Empire|Russia]] might be brought in on its side.