Battle of Turnhout | |||||||
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Part of the Ten Days' Campaign, and Belgian Revolution | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Netherlands | Belgian rebels | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Prince William Saxe-Weimar | Lieutenant Balfour Van Lieshout [a] | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
11,000 | 1,300 soldiers, number of voluntaires. | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Unknown but less than the Belgians | Unknown but more than the Dutch. |
The Battle of Turnhout took place in 1831, during the Belgian Revolution, a force of 11,000 men attacked Turnhout under General Saksen-Weimar's leadership. The Belgian forces were defeated, and Turnhout surrendered to the Dutch.
Before the battle there where around 1,300 soldiers stationed in Turnhout. [1] On August 3, 11,000 men gathered on the Ravels hill to prepare for an attack on Turnhout, led by General Saksen-Weimar. Van Geen's division pretended to advance towards Antwerp but planned to attack the city from the west. Two pieces of Belgian artillery were quickly silenced by the Dutch artillery. After a battle, the Belgian forces hastily fled Turnhout, leaving many weapons of the citizen guard behind due to transportation issues. Only a few soldiers, commanded by Lieutenant Balfour, remained and fired a few shots. Soon after, Mayor Van Lieshout initiated negotiations for surrender, having already informed Niellon that he lacked sufficient manpower to defend the city. The first division went on the Turnhout/Antwerp road and stationed themselves in Vosselaar, while the second division occupied Turnhout. The third division, under General Meyer, established their camp in the villages of Arendonk and Retie. [2] Although it is unknown how many people died in Turnhout, it is said that more Belgians died than the Dutch. [3]
Antwerp Province, between 1815 and 1830 known as Central Brabant, is the northernmost province both of the Flemish Region, also called Flanders, and of Belgium. It borders on the North Brabant province of the Netherlands to the north and the Belgian provinces of Limburg, Flemish Brabant and East Flanders. Its capital is Antwerp, which includes the Port of Antwerp, the second-largest seaport in Europe. It has an area of 2,876 km2 (1,110 sq mi), and with over 1.92 million inhabitants as of January 2024, is the country's most populous province. The province consists of three arrondissements: Antwerp, Mechelen and Turnhout. The eastern part of the province comprises the main part of the Campine region.
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