Battle of Le Cateau (1794)

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Battle of Le Cateau (1794)
Part of the War of the First Coalition
Date29 March 1794
Location
Result Coalition victory
Belligerents
Banner of the Holy Roman Emperor without haloes (1400-1806).svg Habsburg Austria Flag of France official.svg Republican France
Commanders and leaders
Banner of the Holy Roman Emperor without haloes (1400-1806).svg Paul Kray Flag of France official.svg Antoine Balland
Flag of France official.svg Jacques Goguet
Flag of France official.svg Jacques Fromentin
Strength
7,000 15,000
Casualties and losses
293 1,200, 4 guns

The Battle of Le Cateau (29 March 1794) took place at the start of the 1794 Flanders Campaign during the War of the First Coalition, part of the French Revolutionary Wars. It saw three Republican French divisions led by Antoine Balland, Jacques Gilles Henri Goguet and Jacques Fromentin attack a Habsburg Austrian force commanded by Paul Kray. The Austrians drove off the French and inflicted four French casualties for every Austrian casualty.

Contents

The Action

Le Cateau-Cambrésis is located 24 kilometres (15 mi) southwest of Cambrai. Pre-empting the opening of the Allied offensive, the French launched an attack on Austrian positions at Le Cateau, and at Beauvais and Solesmes, two villages in the vicinity of Landrecies. These positions were carried by the Republicans, but Austrian cavalry were moved forward in advance of the forward units and charged. In the face of this counterattack, the French were stricken with panic and fled, leaving behind 5 guns and 400 dead. Many prisoners were taken, including sixty dragoons who had dismounted and run into a wood. Austrian losses in comparison were 120 men. [1]

Three weeks later, the Coalition army would launch its spring offensive and open the Siege of Landrecies. [2] [3]

Notes

  1. T. N. Longman p.31
  2. Phipps 2011, p. 285.
  3. Smith 1998, p. 72.

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Jacques Philippe Bonnaud or Bonneau commanded a French combat division in a number of actions during the French Revolutionary Wars. He enlisted in the French Royal Army as cavalryman in 1776 and was a non-commissioned officer in 1789. He became a captain in the 12th Chasseurs à Cheval Regiment in 1792. The unit fought at Valmy, Jemappes, Aldenhoven, Neerwinden, Raismes, Caesar's Camp and Wattignies, and he was wounded twice. In January 1794 he was promoted to general officer. In April 1794, he reluctantly accepted command of a division that had been cut to pieces at Villers-en-Cauchies and Troisvilles, and this at a time when failed generals often were sent to the guillotine. He led his troops at Courtrai, Tourcoing and in the invasion of the Dutch Republic. He fought in the War in the Vendée the following year, briefly leading the Army of the Coasts of Cherbourg. In the Rhine Campaign of 1796 he led a cavalry division in combat at Amberg, Würzburg and Limburg. He was badly wounded in the latter action and never recovered, dying at Bonn six months later. BONNEAU is one of the names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe, on Column 6.

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Jacques Gilles Henri Goguet rose to command a French division during the French Revolutionary Wars before he was assassinated by his own soldiers after a defeat. Trained as a physician, he studied medicine at the University of Montpellier before becoming a member of the French National Guard in 1789. He joined a volunteer battalion in 1792 and fought at Jemappes in November that year. In 1793 he was promoted to general officer and transferred to the Army of the Eastern Pyrenees. In September 1793 when a Spanish army threatened to surround Perpignan, the French army commander fled, leaving the army leaderless. In the emergency, Goguet cooperated with Eustache Charles d'Aoust to win the Battle of Peyrestortes. A few days later he commanded the right column under Dagobert at Truillas, where poor relations with his commander led to the failure of the attack.

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References

Coordinates: 50°06′15″N3°32′40″E / 50.10417°N 3.54444°E / 50.10417; 3.54444