Lazare Hoche's three-part invasion scheme

Lazare Hoche had won battles and risen through the French ranks, giving his proposal the authority of a successful general. His amphibious scheme remained exceptionally weak. It envisioned 15,000 troops landing in Ireland while roughly 1,500-man diversions struck northern England and Wales. The Welsh force was expected to march on Bristol, and the northern diversion was aimed toward Newcastle. Its decisive assumption was political: Irish, Welsh, and English recruits were expected to rally in numbers large enough to transform small landings into a campaign against Britain. The promised scale of support is treated skeptically, especially because many potential recruits already served alongside Britons in regiments and ships. Political discontent still needed command, cohesion, and a willingness to fight familiar comrades before it could become coordinated military power.