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Battle of Neerwinden | |||||||||
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Part of the Flanders campaign in the War of the First Coalition | |||||||||
Battle of Neerwinden by Johann Geiger | |||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||
Habsburg monarchy Dutch Republic | Republican France | ||||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
Prince of Coburg | Charles Dumouriez | ||||||||
Strength | |||||||||
39,000–43,000 | 40,000–47,000 | ||||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||||
2,859–3,000 | 4,000–5,000 | ||||||||
The Battle of Neerwinden (18 March 1793) saw a Republican French army led by Charles François Dumouriez attack a Coalition army commanded by Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. The Coalition army of the Habsburg monarchy together with a small contingent of allied Dutch Republic troops repulsed all French assaults after bitter fighting and Dumouriez conceded defeat, withdrawing from the field. The French position in the Austrian Netherlands swiftly collapsed, ending the threat to the Dutch Republic and allowing Austria to regain control of its lost province. The War of the First Coalition engagement was fought at Neerwinden, located 57 kilometres (35 mi) east of Brussels in present-day Belgium.
After Dumouriez's victory at Jemappes in November 1792, the French armies rapidly overran most of the Austrian Netherlands. Rather than driving the Austrians to the west bank of the Rhine River, Dumouriez and the French government became preoccupied with a war with the Dutch Republic. During the breathing space offered by her enemy, Austria assembled an army under the Prince of Coburg and struck back. After a French covering force was routed by Coburg at Aldenhoven, Dumouriez began gathering his army for a counterstroke.
Coburg took up a defensive position at Neerwinden and awaited the confident Dumouriez's attack. The Coalition army was outnumbered in infantry but possessed a two-to-one superiority in cavalry. After intense fighting, Coburg's troops repulsed the attacks of the French center and right wing. When Dumouriez found that his left wing was driven off the battlefield, he began retreating. The defeat led to mass desertions from the discouraged French volunteers. In the face of the military collapse, Dumouriez negotiated a free withdrawal of French troops in return for the surrender of Belgium and Dutch territory. Soon, Dumouriez was plotting against his own government and when his plans failed, he defected to the Austrians, leaving the French army in chaos.
On 6 November 1792, a French army under Charles François Dumouriez defeated the Austrian army of Duke Albert of Saxe-Teschen at the Battle of Jemappes. The French enjoyed an enormous numerical superiority with 40,000 infantry, 3,000 cavalry and 100 guns against an Austrian army counting 11,628-foot soldiers, 2,168 horsemen and 56 guns. [1] Within one month the French armies overran most of the Austrian Netherlands, a territory known today as the nation of Belgium. On the right flank, the Army of the Ardennes led by Jean-Baptiste Cyrus de Valence advanced down the Meuse River toward Huy. On the way, Valence dropped off a force under Louis-Auguste Juvénal des Ursins d'Harville to besiege Namur. Dumouriez himself with the Army of Belgium captured Liège. The Army of the North commanded by Francisco de Miranda laid siege to Antwerp. It was joined by a column under Benôit Guérin de Berneron that marched first from Ath northeast to Leuven (Louvain). [2]
Mechelen (Malines) capitulated to Henri Christian Michel de Stengel and 6,000 Frenchmen on 16 November 1792 and its garrison of one battalion of the Austrian Württemberg Infantry Regiment Nr. 38 was allowed to go free. On the 27th Stengel with 8,000 soldiers from the Army of Belgium won a minor action at Voroux-lez-Liers near Liège over Anton Sztáray and four battalions of Austrians. Antwerp fell on 29 November to Miranda's 17,600 infantry and 1,245 cavalry. The Austrian garrison of the 1st Battalion of the Hohenlohe Nr. 17, two companies of the Vierset Nr. 59 and four companies of the Würzburg Infantry Regiments, plus 140 gunners surrendered after losing two dead and four wounded. The French captured 57 cannons, 50 additional 3-pound regimental cannons, 3,150 muskets and 1,523 hundredweight of gunpowder. [3] The 2,599-man garrison of Namur under Johann Dominik von Moitelle surrendered on 2 December to Valence and Harville after a four-week siege. The Austrian defenders included two battalions of the Kinsky Infantry Regiment Nr. 36, one battalion of the Vierset, two companies of the Le Loup Jäger Battalion, a half-squadron of the Esterhazy Hussar Regiment Nr. 32 and 90 gunners. Harville's division counted 13,256 infantry, 1,425 cavalry and 266 artillerists. [4]
Dumouriez had an opportunity to drive the Austrians from the west bank of the Rhine in conjunction with the Army of the Center. Instead he pursued a pet project of his, the invasion of the Dutch Republic. [5] He hoped to go to war with the Dutch while keeping the Kingdom of Great Britain neutral. But the French government forced his hand, declaring war on Great Britain on 1 February 1793 and ordering him to overrun the Dutch Republic. [6] Dumouriez undertook the invasion with 15,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry, soon reinforced. Leaving Miranda to besiege Maastricht, covered by Valence's army and Harville's corps, Dumouriez pushed north. At this time the Army of the North counted 18,322 men, the Army of Belgium numbered 30,197, the Army of the Ardennes consisted of 23,479 soldiers, Harville's corps was 12,051 strong, the Army of Holland had 23,244 troops and there were 15,000 men in Belgian garrisons. All told, the strength of the French army in the Low Countries was 122,293 men. [5] The French army became overconfident, believing itself invincible. Meanwhile, the National Convention was riven by bitter political struggles between the moderate Girondists and the extreme Jacobins. During this period the army supply system fell apart through neglect. [7]
Dumouriez crossed the Dutch frontier on 16 February 1793. [8] The fortress of Breda fell after a quick siege from 21 to 24 February 1793. The 3,000 Dutch defenders, which included 2,500 infantry and a dragoon regiment, surrendered the city with its 250 cannon and were allowed to go free. Also on the 21st, Maastricht was invested [9] by 10,000 troops of Miranda's army. There were 8,000 Austrian and Dutch defenders [10] under Prince Karl Wilhelm Georg of Hesse-Darmstadt, an Austrian General-major. [11] The siege work at Maastricht in winter weather was too much for the French volunteers and many deserted their units and went home. [5] The fortress of Geertruidenberg with 150 guns capitulated after a siege from 1 to 4 March. The Dutch garrison of two battalions and two squadrons were allowed to go free. [10] Both Breda and Geertruidenberg had been bluffed into giving up by the military engineer Jean Claude le Michaud d'Arcon, who had designed the floating batteries at the Great Siege of Gibraltar. [8] A small fort at Klundert was captured on 4 March by 4,000 men under Berneron. The tiny garrison put up a stiff fight and lost 60 killed before the 73 survivors gave up. [10]
Poised at the edge of Hollands Diep, Dumouriez planned to cross and march through Rotterdam, Delft, The Hague and Leiden to seize Amsterdam. After capturing Maastricht, Miranda would join him by advancing through Nijmegen and Utrecht. Preoccupied with the Dutch Republic, the French commander had given the Austrians too much time to recover. [8] Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld massed an Austrian army on the west bank of the Rhine. He was assisted by a promising staff officer named Karl Mack von Leiberich. [12] On 1 March, Coburg swept aside René Joseph de Lanoue's covering army at the Battle of Aldenhoven. The French abandoned the siege of Maastricht on 3 March. [9] Coburg pursued slowly and the French forces regrouped at Leuven on the 9th. Dumouriez was slow to give up his Dutch project but the French government insisted that he take charge in Belgium. Leaving Louis-Charles de Flers in command of the Army of Holland, Dumouriez arrived at Leuven on 11 March. [12]
Dumouriez thought his soldiers' morale was too shaky for a retreat so he advanced on Coburg's army, seeking battle. In his haste, the French commander failed to call up Harville's corps or the Army of Holland as reinforcements. Earlier, François Joseph Drouot de Lamarche had been driven out of Tienen (Tirlemont), but on 16 March the French recaptured it after a vigorous combat. [13] The French attacked Tienen with 10,000 troops while Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen defended the town with 6,000 soldiers, six guns and two mortars. French casualties numbered 500 while their opponents sustained losses of 800 killed, wounded and missing. [10] Coburg pulled his army back behind the Little Gete River. Believing that he outnumbered his enemies, Dumouriez was very confident of success. A century before, the French had won the Battle of Landen on the same ground. [14]
The strengths given for the two armies vary somewhat. Historian Digby Smith credited the French with between 40,000 and 45,000 men while stating Austro-Dutch numbers as 43,000. [15] Ramsay Weston Phipps asserted that the French had 40,000-foot and 4,500 horse while the Coalition counted 30,000 infantry and 9,000 cavalry. [13] Theodore Ayrault Dodge wrote that Dumouriez put 42,000 infantry and 5,000 cavalry into battle against Coburg's 30,000-foot and 10,000 horse. [14] According to Gunther E. Rothenberg Dumouriez was outnumbered 43,000 to 41,000. [16]
Lamarche's Advance Guard counted 4,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry. Auguste Marie Henri Picot de Dampierre led the Flankers of the Right, 2,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry. Valence's Right Wing numbered 7,000 in 18 battalions and was divided into the divisions of Joachim Joseph Neuilly, Alexis Paul Michel Le Veneur and Valence. Duke Louis of Chartres led the Center which included 7,000-foot soldiers in 18 battalions and 1,000 horsemen. The subordinate generals of the Center were Jacques Thouvenot and Dominique Dietmann. [10] Miranda's Left Wing was made up of Jean Alexandre Ihler's 7,000 men and Felix Marie Pierre Chesnon de Champmorin's 5,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry. Jozef Miaczinsky led the Flankers of the Left, 2,000-foot and 1,000 horse. Jean Nestor de Chancel commanded the eight battalion Reserve in the strength of 4,000 men. These figures total 38,000 infantry and 5,000 cavalry. [15]
The Advance Guard of Archduke Charles with 11 battalions and 11 squadrons was divided into a number of brigades under the command of colonels. Joseph von Gruber commanded two battalions of the Sztáray Infantry Regiment Nr. 33. Stephan von Mihaljevich led three battalions of the Mahony Jägers, one battalion of the O'Donnell Freikorps, 1/3 battalion of the Branovaczky (Serb) Freikorps and one squadron of the Esterhazy Hussar Regiment Nr. 32. Anton Ulrich Joseph von Mylius directed one battalion of the Grün-Laudon Freikorps, 1/3 battalion of Tyrolean Sharpshooters and one squadron of the Esterhazy Hussars. Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg directed one and 1/3 battalion of Tyrolean Sharpshooters, one battalion of the O'Donnell Freikorps, 1/3 battalion of the Branovaczky Freikorps and three squadrons of the Uhlan Regiment. Paul De Briey led the Barthodeisky, Briey and Pückler Grenadier battalions and six squadrons of the Esterhazy Hussars. [15]
Joseph de Ferraris led the eight battalions and 16 squadrons of the 1st Rank with Duke Ferdinand Frederick Augustus of Württemberg as his division commander. There were two battalions each of Infantry Regiments Kheul Nr. 10, Wartensleben Nr. 28 and Brentano Nr. 35, one battalion each of the Archduke Charles Nr. 3 and Jordis Nr. 59, six squadrons each of the Kavanagh Nr. 12 and Nassau Nr. 14 Cuirassier Regiments and two squadrons each of the Kaiser Nr. 1 and Duke Albert Nr. 5 Carabinier Regiments. Wenzel Joseph von Colloredo directed the six battalions and 10 squadrons of the 2nd Rank, seconded by division commander Johann Andreas Benjowski and brigadier Franz Vincenz Ferrer von Hoditz und Wolfranitz. The units included two battalions each of Infantry Regiments Brechainville Nr. 25 and Callenberg Nr. 54, one battalion each of the Alton Nr. 15 and Joseph Colloredo Nr. 57, six squadrons of the Zeschwitz Nr. 10 Cuirassiers and two squadrons each of the Karaczay Nr. 18 Chevau-léger and Coburg Nr. 37 Dragoon Regiments. [15]
François Sébastien Charles Joseph de Croix, Count of Clerfayt led 11 battalions and 14 squadrons of the Reserve, with József Alvinczi as his division commander and Johann Nepomuk Gottfried von Lützow as his brigadier. The units were two battalions each of Infantry Regiments Ligne Nr. 30, Esterhazy Nr. 34 and Württemberg Nr. 38, one battalion each of the Murray Nr. 55 and Vierset Nr. 58, the Leuven, Morzin and Rousseau Grenadier battalions, eight squadrons of the Latour Chevau-légers Nr. 31 and six squadrons of the Blankenstein Hussars Nr. 16. The Dutch Republic contributed six battalions, consisting of two battalions each of the Stokkar and Waldeck and one battalion each of the May and Welderen Infantry Regiments. [15]
Coburg's Advance Guard under Archduke Charles was drawn up on the right flank, Graf Colloredo and the Duke of Württemberg stood in the center and the Count of Clerfayt with the Reserve defended the left flank. The village of Halle was at the far right of the line while Neerwinden village was in the left-center. A screen of Coalition light troops was posted in all the hamlets along the Little Gete. Dumouriez organized eight columns of attack. Valence on the right led three attack columns against Racour and Oberwinden, the Duke of Chartres directed two columns in the center via Laer and Miranda commanded three columns on the left along the main road to Halle. The French reserve formed a final column on the far left where it was to first capture Zoutleeuw (Leau) and then swing south against Halle. [17] Lamarche's Advance Guard operated with the Right Wing. [13]
Dumouriez believed that Coburg would put his main strength on the right wing to protect the Austrian line of communications. Therefore, he planned to throw his heaviest blow against Coburg's left wing. Clerfayt's line stretched from Neerwinden, across Mittelwinden hill to Oberwinden village on the left. Dumouriez directed Valence to outflank Oberwinden with one column, attack Oberwinden frontally with the second and seize the Mittelwinden hill with the third. On Valence's left, Chartres was ordered to attack Neerwinden with his columns. At 7:00 am, the French swarmed across the Little Gete but Valence was unable to capture the Mittelwinden hill until noon. [18] The French seized Racour, Oberwinden and finally Neerwinden. [19]
The Coalition forces launched attack after attack on the villages which were stubbornly defended by the French. Meanwhile, Austrian cavalry charges were highly effective in the open ground between the settlements. After bitter fighting in which Oberwinden and Racour changed hands repeatedly, the two villages and Neerwinden were recaptured by Clerfayt's troops. [19] An Austrian cavalry charge pressed back the French even farther. Dumouriez attempted one more all-out attack with his right but it failed. [18] The French cavalry covered the retreat of the infantry, with Chartres and Valence maintaining a position along the Little Gete. [19]
When Miranda attacked that morning, Coburg's first reaction was to draw substantial troops from his center to reinforce his right flank. Initially, Archduke Charles' men were driven back to Dorsmael but then they held on to the village. The French Reserve captured Leau and threatened Halle but was soon thrown back. [19] The main fighting occurred between 3:00 and 6:00 PM when Miaczinski's column seized Dorsmael but counterattacks drove his soldiers out. Other attacks withered in the face of the strong Coalition defenses. [18] Charles saw an opportunity and hurled his cavalry on the tired French soldiers. The Left Wing became so demoralized that its troops were driven back to Tienen before Miranda could rally them. When Dumouriez heard of the defeat of Miranda's wing on the morning of the 19th he was forced to order a retreat. [19]
On the Coalition side, Mack was given much of the credit for Coburg's triumph. [20] Blamed for the defeat, Miranda traveled to Paris to intrigue against Dumouriez. [21] The Austro-Dutch reported losses of 97 officers, 2,762 rank and file and 779 horses. The French lost 4,000 killed and wounded, plus 1,000 men and 30 artillery pieces captured. General of Brigade Georges Guiscard de Bar was killed and four generals were wounded. [15] Another source estimated Austrian losses as 2,600 killed and wounded and 400 missing while French casualties were 3,000 killed and wounded plus 1,000 missing or prisoners. [16] Immediately after the battle, about 6,000 French volunteers deserted the colors and went home. [15] Three days later, Dumouriez's army only numbered about 20,000 troops as the men deserted in hundreds. [19] On 23 March there was a clash at Pellenberg where Coburg with 38,000 soldiers defeated Dumouriez with 22,000. The Austrians sustained 900 casualties while inflicting 2,000 on the French. [15]
On 24 March the French army retreated through Brussels. Dumouriez began calling in his detachments such as Harville's corps. [20] At this point Dumouriez opened negotiations with the Austrians. He offered to evacuate Belgium if his armies were allowed an unmolested retreat. The terms were accepted and the French armies withdrew to camps behind the border. The Army of Holland was allowed to march through enemy lines and took position near Lille. The Army of the Ardennes was posted at Maulde, the Army of the North at Bruille-Saint-Amand, and the Army of Belgium at Condé-sur-l'Escaut and Valenciennes. [22] Geertruidenberg was evacuated on 2 April [10] and Breda on 3 April. [9]
Dumouriez was a monarchist at heart and he despaired when King Louis XVI went to the guillotine on 21 January 1793. He found the political situation in Paris to be chaotic. He was appalled at the tendency of radicals to interfere with army commanders. Having already negotiated with the enemy, Dumouriez offered to treat and the Austrians sent Mack on 25 March. The French commander proposed to take the army and march on Paris. He would overthrow the National Convention, crush the Jacobins and restore the Constitution of 1791. [23] For their part, the Austrians pledged to halt their advance while he carried out his coup. [24] But Dumouriez moved too slowly. On 1 April, four commissioners and the War Minister Pierre de Ruel, marquis de Beurnonville arrived at his headquarters to demand that the commander explain himself in Paris. They were seized and handed over to the Austrians. [25]
Dumouriez tried to put the frontier fortresses in the hands of his adherents but failed. [25] Miaczinski botched the attempted seizure of Lille and was later executed. [26] Dumouriez believed that he could control the regular infantry and cavalry regiments. On the other hand, the volunteers and the artillery remained devoted to the National Convention. In one incident, Dumouriez was fired on and nearly arrested by Louis-Nicolas Davout's volunteer battalion. He then made the mistake of being seen with an Austrian escort and the gunners took the lead in refusing to obey him. Seeing that his plot had fallen apart, Dumouriez defected to the Austrians on 5 April 1793. He was accompanied by the Duke of Chartres, Valence, several more generals and some cavalry. [25] No longer bound by the previous agreement, Coburg prepared to invade France. [24]
Hitherto the armies had been ruled and directed by officers. Now begins the Revolutionary nightmare. [27]
Ironically, the treason and defection of Dumouriez gave the Jacobins full scope to take control of the armies. Before Neerwinden, the army obeyed its commanders. Afterward, the representatives on mission were given extraordinary powers over army commanders. The generals might pay with their lives for defeat, but the real authority lay with the political operatives. Meanwhile, the new War Minister sent his agents to spy on the generals. These men were quick to report any complaint against officers, which could result in disgrace or execution. Elements of this system stayed in force even after Maximilien Robespierre was overthrown and guillotined. [28]
The Battle of Tourcoing saw a Republican French army directed by General of Division Joseph Souham defend against an attack by a Coalition army led by Emperor Francis II and Austrian Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. The French army was temporarily led by Souham in the absence of its normal commander Jean-Charles Pichegru. Threatened with encirclement, Souham and division commanders Jean Victor Marie Moreau and Jacques Philippe Bonnaud improvised a counterattack which defeated the Coalition's widely separated and poorly coordinated columns. The War of the First Coalition action was fought near the town of Tourcoing, north of Lille in northeastern France.
The Battle of Wattignies saw a French army commanded by Jean-Baptiste Jourdan attack a Coalition army directed by Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. After two days of combat Jourdan's troops compelled the Habsburg covering force led by François Sébastien Charles Joseph de Croix, Count of Clerfayt to withdraw. The War of the First Coalition victory allowed the French to raise the siege of Maubeuge. At a time when failed generals were often executed or imprisoned, Jourdan had to endure interference from Lazare Carnot from the Committee of Public Safety. The village, renamed Wattignies-la-Victoire in honor of the important success, is located 9 kilometres (6 mi) southeast of Maubeuge.
The Battle of Jemappes took place near the town of Jemappes in Hainaut, Austrian Netherlands, near Mons during the War of the First Coalition, part of the French Revolutionary Wars. One of the first major offensive battles of the war, it was a victory for the armies of the infant French Republic, and saw the French Armée du Nord, which included many inexperienced volunteers, defeat a substantially smaller regular Austrian army.
The Battle of Kaiserslautern saw a Coalition army under Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel oppose a Republican French army led by Lazare Hoche. Three days of conflict resulted in a victory by the Prussians and their Electoral Saxon allies as they turned back repeated French attacks. The War of the First Coalition combat was fought near the city of Kaiserslautern in the modern-day state of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, which is located about 60 kilometres (37 mi) west of Mannheim.
In the Battle of Jemappes on 6 November 1792, a French army led by Charles François Dumouriez attacked and defeated an Austrian army commanded by Albert of Saxe-Teschen. Though the Austrians were outnumbered three-to-one, the victory greatly encouraged the population of the young First French Republic and lead to the evacuation of Austrian forces from the Austrian Netherlands. Note: all units have their names as they are translated in English.
The siege of Lille saw a Republican French garrison under Jean-Baptiste André Ruault de La Bonnerie hold Lille against an assault by a Habsburg army commanded by Duke Albert of Saxe-Teschen. Though the city was fiercely bombarded, the French successfully withstood the Austrian attack in the action. Because the Austrians were unable to completely encircle the city, the French were able to continuously send in reinforcements. After news of the French victory over the Prussians at Valmy, Albert withdrew his troops and siege cannons. The next battle was at Jemappes in November. The Column of the Goddess monument was completed in 1845 to commemorate the siege.
The Battle of Ettlingen or Battle of Malsch was fought during the French Revolutionary Wars between the armies of the First French Republic and Habsburg Austria near the town of Malsch, 9 kilometres (6 mi) southwest of Ettlingen. The Austrians under Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen tried to halt the northward advance of Jean Victor Marie Moreau's French Army of Rhin-et-Moselle along the east bank of the Rhine River. After a tough fight, the Austrian commander found that his left flank was turned. He conceded victory to the French and retreated east toward Stuttgart. Ettlingen is located 10 kilometres (6 mi) south of Karlsruhe.
The Battle of Mouscron was a series of clashes that occurred when the Republican French Army of the North under Jean-Charles Pichegru moved northeast to attack Menin and was opposed by Coalition forces under the overall leadership of François Sébastien Charles Joseph de Croix, Count of Clerfayt. In their initial advance, the French began the siege of Menin and captured Courtrai. With Habsburg Austrian reinforcements, Clerfayt counterattacked on the 28th but Joseph Souham soon massed superior French forces and drove the Coalition troops out of the area. This Flanders Campaign action happened during the War of the First Coalition, part of the French Revolutionary Wars. The battle occurred near Mouscron, Belgium, located at the French border 9 kilometres (6 mi) south of Kortrijk and at Menen, located 11 kilometres (7 mi) west of Kortrijk.
The Battle of Raismes, also known as the Battle of Condé or St. Amand, saw the French Republican army led by Auguste Marie Henri Picot de Dampierre attack the Allied Coalition army of Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. The French intended to raise the Siege of Condé, but were defeated by Coalition forces. The battle was fought during the Flanders Campaign in the War of the First Coalition. After hard fighting, the French were driving back a Prussian force when British reinforcements arrived to stabilize the situation. Dampierre was fatally wounded while leading a final unsuccessful assault. The Allies recaptured the lost ground two days later.
The Battle of Kaiserslautern saw an army from the Kingdom of Prussia and Electoral Saxony led by Wichard Joachim Heinrich von Möllendorf fall upon a single French Republican division under Jean-Jacques Ambert from the Army of the Moselle. The Prussians tried to surround their outnumbered adversaries but most of the French evaded capture. Nevertheless, Möllendorf's troops inflicted casualties on the French in the ratio of nine-to-one and occupied Kaiserslautern. While the Prussians won this triumph on an unimportant front, the French armies soon began winning decisive victories in Belgium and the Netherlands. The battle occurred during the War of the First Coalition, part of the French Revolutionary Wars. In 1794 Kaiserslautern was part of the Electoral Palatinate but today the city is located in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany about 67 kilometres (42 mi) west of Mannheim.
The Battle of Grand-Reng or Battle of Rouvroi saw a Republican French army jointly commanded by Louis Charbonnier and Jacques Desjardin attempt to advance across the Sambre River against a combined Habsburg Austrian and Dutch army under Franz Wenzel, Graf von Kaunitz-Rietberg. After winning crossings over the Sambre at Thuin and Lobbes on the 10th and Merbes-le-Château on the 12th, the French were defeated on 13 May at Grand-Reng and forced to retreat. The War of the First Coalition engagement marked the first of five attempts by the French armies to establish themselves on the north bank of the Sambre. Grand-Reng is now part of the village of Erquelinnes, Belgium, lying close to the border with France. Rouveroy (Rouvroi) is situated 3.8 kilometres (2.4 mi) north. Grand-Reng is located about 33 kilometres (21 mi) southwest of Charleroi.
The siege of Ypres saw a Republican French army commanded by Jean-Charles Pichegru invest the fortress of Ypres and its 7,000-man garrison composed of Habsburg Austrians under Paul von Salis and Hessians led by Heinrich von Borcke and Georg von Lengerke. French troops under Joseph Souham fended off three relief attempts by the corps of François Sébastien Charles Joseph de Croix, Count of Clerfayt. Meanwhile, the French besiegers led by Jean Victor Marie Moreau compelled the Coalition defenders to surrender the city. The fighting occurred during the War of the First Coalition, part of the Wars of the French Revolution. In 1794 Ypres was part of the Austrian Netherlands, but today it is a municipality in Belgium, located about 120 kilometres (75 mi) west of Brussels.
The siege of Condé saw a force made up of Habsburg Austrians and French Royalists commanded by Duke Ferdinand Frederick Augustus of Württemberg lay siege to a Republican French garrison led by Jean Nestor de Chancel. After a blockade lasting about three months the French surrendered the fortress. The operation took place during the War of the First Coalition, part of a larger conflict known as the French Revolutionary Wars. Condé-sur-l'Escaut, France is located near the Belgium border about 14 kilometres (9 mi) northeast of Valenciennes.
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.
The siege of Le Quesnoy saw a force made up of Habsburg Austrians and French Royalists led by François Sébastien Charles Joseph de Croix, Count of Clerfayt lay siege to a Republican French garrison commanded by François Goullus. After two and a half week siege, the French capitulated after suffering heavy losses. The War of the First Coalition operation was fought at Le Quesnoy, located near the border with Belgium about 27 kilometres (17 mi) west of Maubeuge.
The Battle of Courtrai saw a Republican French army under Jean-Charles Pichegru oppose Coalition forces commanded by François Sébastien Charles Joseph de Croix, Count of Clerfayt. The battle was fought as part of French efforts to defeat an Allied attempt to recapture Courtrai, which the French captured in the opening days of their 1794 offensive in the Low Countries. On 10 May, a French attempt to advance east toward Tournai was turned back by the Duke of York's troops in the Battle of Willems, but resulted in York himself retreating to Tournai once he realised he had underestimated the size of the French army. On the same day as Willems, Clerfayt attacked Courtrai from the north but made little progress. On 11 May, with York's retreat, French forces turned on Clerfayt at Courtrai after York's retreat and forced him to retreat to the north. As a result of the battle, the French Army of the North maintained their grip on Courtrai and Menin which it had won in late April. The fighting occurred during the War of the First Coalition near Kortrijk, Belgium, located about 85 kilometres (53 mi) west of Brussels.
The Battle of Aldenhoven saw the Habsburg Austrian army commanded by Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld attack a Republican French force under René Joseph de Lanoue. The Austrians successfully crossed the Roer River and engaged in a cavalry charge led by Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen which routed the French and inflicted heavy losses. The War of the First Coalition battle occurred near Aldenhoven, a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany located about 55 kilometres (34 mi) west of Cologne.
Pierre Raphaël Paillot de Beauregard led a French division at the Battle of Wattignies. A nobleman, he joined the French Royal Army as a cadet in 1755 and fought in the Seven Years' War. He became a lieutenant colonel in 1779, but two years later got into a dispute with a superior officer and was placed on inactive service. The French Revolution and the War of the First Coalition saved his career; he was promoted general of brigade in 1792. He led a 2,000-man column at Arlon in 1793 but irritated his army commander. After his 5,800-strong division performed poorly at Wattignies he was put in prison for 10 months. He was briefly employed again during the War in the Vendée in 1795 before retiring from military service in 1796.
The Battle of Willems saw a Republican French army under Jean-Charles Pichegru oppose Coalition forces commanded by Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany, as part of a French attempt to defeat an Allied counteroffensive and continue its own 1794 offensive in the Low Countries, which had already seen success with the battle of Mouscron and the capture of the important cities of Menin and Courtrai. The battle was a French tactical defeat, but victory in the battle of Courtrai the next day, coupled with the Duke of York's realisation that he was badly outnumbered, led to Allied withdrawal and a strategic victory for the French, who retained their hold on Menin and Courtrai. During this action, French infantry formed in squares and repulsed Coalition cavalry for the first time during the war. The fighting occurred during the War of the First Coalition near Kortrijk, Belgium, located about 85 kilometres (53 mi) west of Brussels.
Wenzel Joseph von Colloredo-Mels und Wallsee served in the army of Habsburg Austria from the middle to the end of the 18th century. For the subsequent two decades, he continued to serve the Austrian military in non-combat roles. During the Seven Years' War, he fought at Prague, Maxen, Torgau, and other actions. He held field commands in the Austro-Turkish War. During the War of the First Coalition he led troops at Neerwinden, Raismes, Famars, Caesar's Camp, and Maubeuge. In 1784, he became Proprietor (Inhaber) of an Austrian infantry regiment and held the position until his death. He was promoted Field Marshal in 1808.
Preceded by War in the Vendée | French Revolution: Revolutionary campaigns Battle of Neerwinden | Succeeded by Battle of Famars |