Prelude
The victory of the Chouans at the Battle of Saint James had brought them a reprieve, quickly Republican troops came in support to occupy massively the country of Fougères and the country of Avranches. On January 24, 1,200 men arrived in reinforcement from Rennes, at Saint James General Dumoulin also received reinforcements from Avranches.
Aimé du Boisguy therefore decided to evacuate the country of Fougères, leaving only four companies responsible for guerrilla warfare. Boisguy did not know at this time the submission of Anjou, he decided to go south to gather the troops of Vitré, La Guerche-de-Bretagne and Bas-Maine, he sent letters to the officers of these divisions, asking them to gather all their troops.
The battle
On 26 January, Boisguy's army assembled to set out. There was, however, a clash between 4 Chouan companies going to the rally and a Republican detachment who retreated to Fougères after losing 18 men. 4,500 men according to Pontbriand then went out of the city and repulsed the four companies, then arrived at the sight of the troops of Boisguy who came in reinforcement, however the two troops retreated without fighting. To their surprise, the Chouans, however, continued to hear Republican fire long after their departure. But Boisguy did not attach importance to these actions: he planned to go to Vitré bypassing the east, but he had to go to Parigné first, where he had ammunition made lacking his soldiers because of too many skirmishes. Boisguy therefore decided to postpone his departure until the next day and to camp at Parigné for the night. The chouans took the road to Vieuville for Parigné and arrived at the place called Tombettes. The Republicans commanded by General Dumoulin awaited them in excellent training and well positioned. Dumoulin, who was going to Fougères, had heard the shooting earlier in the day and had guessed the retreat of the Chouans. Soon, the Republicans began encirclement maneuvers.
Boisguy judged that it was impossible to avoid the fight and decided to try a breakthrough. The chouans launched the attack and the chouane avant-garde commanded by Bertrand de Saint-Gilles managed to push back the front lines of the Republicans and make their way. But the cartridges were missing from the Chouans and attacked on the flanks and behind, they were dislocated and routed, 50 of them were killed, hundreds scattered on all sides. According to the Republicans, the losses of the Chouans were 800 dead. However, Dumoulin chose not to pursue them and left for Fougères. Boisguy managed to get to Parigné, but could only gather 1,000 to 1,200 of his men.
Fougères is a commune and a sub-prefecture of the Ille-et-Vilaine department, located in Brittany, northwestern France. As of 2017, Fougères had 20,418 inhabitants. The Fougères area comprises approximately 88,000 inhabitants and is currently growing, unlike the town centre.
Vitré is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Brittany in northwestern France.
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The Chouannerie was a royalist uprising or counter-revolution in twelve of the western départements of France, particularly in the provinces of Brittany and Maine, against the First Republic during the French Revolution. It played out in three phases and lasted from spring 1794 to 1800. The revolt was comparable to the War in the Vendée, which took place in the Vendée region.
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Aimé Casimir Marie Picquet, chevalier du Boisguy, sometimes spelt Bois-Guy,, was a Breton chouan general during the French Revolution. He was nicknamed "the little general" by his men due to his youth. Still a child at the outbreak of the Revolution, he signalled his precocity to fight on the Royalist side, joining the Breton Association at 15 and becoming aide de camp to La Rouërie. At 17 he was made leader of the chouannerie in the pays de Fougères, and a general at 19. Boisguy made the north-east of the Ille-et-Vilaine one of the most active areas of the Breton chouannerie, and showed himself an excellent tactician. Rarely beaten, the chouans there were among the best organised and best disciplined. Fighting in uniform from the end of 1795 and made up of elite troops, even so they suffered from a lack of cavalry and a near-total lack of artillery. The Republicans had to raise major forces to defeat them, and then only with difficulty. In both 1796 and 1800, Boisguy was the last general to surrender, making him one of the main figures of the chouannerie.
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Republicans 
Chouans