Ten days' campaign

Last updated

Ten days' campaign
Part of the aftermath of the Belgian Revolution
The replacement of the injured horse of the Prince of Orange during the battle of Boutersem in 1831 (cropped).jpg
The replacement of the injured horse of the Prince of Orange at the Battle of Bautersem, 12 August 1831.
Date2–12 August 1831
Location
Result Inconclusive
Belligerents
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium
Flag of France (1794-1815, 1830-1958).svg France
Flag of the Netherlands.svg United Netherlands
Commanders and leaders
Strength
Belgium: 24,000 men [1]
France: 70,000 men [2]
36,000–50,000 men [a]
Casualties and losses
925 dead [4] [5] 661 dead [6] [7]

The ten days' campaign (Dutch : Tiendaagse veldtocht, French : campagne des Dix-Jours) was a failed military expedition by the United Kingdom of the Netherlands against the secessionist Kingdom of Belgium between 2 and 12 August 1831. [1] The campaign was an attempt by the Dutch King William I to halt the course of the Belgian Revolution which had broken out in August 1830.

Contents

The Dutch army invaded Belgium on 2 August 1831 and defeated Belgian forces in several battles over the course of the next few days, advancing deep into Belgian territory. On 8 August, the Belgian government appealed to France for military support. The French agreed to send reinforcements to assist the Belgians under Marshal Étienne Gérard. Rather than fight the French, the Dutch withdrew from Belgium without achieving their objectives. In November 1832, the French besieged and captured Antwerp, the last Dutch stronghold in Belgium, effectively ending the military confrontation between the Dutch and Belgians.

Background

In the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars, the 1815 Congress of Vienna merged the former Austrian Netherlands and Liège, as well as some smaller polities in modern-day Belgium and Luxembourg, with the Dutch Republic to create the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. After 15 years of perceived misrule and growing opposition, the southern provinces of the Kingdom rebelled in August 1830, beginning the Belgian Revolution. Dutch forces were expelled from most of the territory modern-day Belgium and Dutch Limburg by November 1830 when a cease-fire was agreed.

In the aftermath of the revolution, large numbers of Belgian soldiers deserted from the Dutch army. Most of the army's officers were Dutch but the bulk of the conscripted recruits came from the Belgian south. Much of the Dutch army's strength was also deployed overseas in the Dutch colonial empire, notably in the East Indies as part of the Java War. Believing that the Belgians could be pacified and encouraged to abandon their insurrection through negotiation, the Dutch king William I attempted to prevent confrontations with his troops which could radicalise the insurgents. [8] Consequently, there were relatively few armed confrontations between Belgian rebels and the Dutch army during the revolution itself. [8] However, the leaders of the Belgian revolution had grown overconfident because of their early success and had not taken steps to build up a military force of their own.

King William I viewed the failure to suppress the Belgian revolt as a humiliation and sought an opportunity to retaliate. Even if reunification should prove impossible, no armistice between the Dutch and Belgians had been signed and William believed that a successful military campaign against the Belgians would improve his position in future diplomatic negotiations. [9] Therefore, when William learned that the revolutionary National Congress had asked Leopold of Saxe-Coburg to become King of the Belgians, he began to prepare his invasion.

In 1831, a 50,000-strong Dutch force was built up near the Belgian border in North Brabant, notionally to protect the frontier. It was commanded by the Prince of Orange (the future king William II). [3] The Belgian army across the border numbered just 24,000, including both regular soldiers and the poorly-trained and equipped militia units of the Garde Civique . [1] The Belgian force was split into two armies, known as the Army of the Meuse and the Army of the Scheldt, under the nominal command of King Leopold I and his Minister of War Amédée de Failly. [1] The Army of the Meuse was based in Limburg while the Army of the Scheldt surrounded the still Dutch-held citadel of Antwerp, however the distance between the two forces was too great and each was effectively cut off. [1]

The military campaign

Jan Willem Pieneman's depiction of the fall of Hasselt to Dutch forces on 8 August 1831 Overgave van Hasselt (cropped).jpg
Jan Willem Pieneman's depiction of the fall of Hasselt to Dutch forces on 8 August 1831

On the morning of 2 August 1831, just days after Leopold's coronation, [9] the Dutch crossed the border near Poppel. Belgian scouts noticed the advance, and a number of roads were blocked with felled trees. The first skirmishes took place around Nieuwenkerk. The Dutch supreme commander, the Prince of Orange, arrived in the afternoon to support his troops and, at the same time, Zondereigen was taken by the Dutch, with some 400 Belgians repulsed. Near Ravels, the Belgian army was rapidly driven into the surrounding forests by the Dutch and subsequently into a swamp. The Belgians later retreated to Turnhout, allowing the Dutch to set up camp. The sound of the Dutch artillery alarmed the population of Turnhout, who fled en masse towards Antwerp. The next day a Dutch force of about 11,000 prepared to take Turnhout, while another Dutch corps made a diversion towards Antwerp (in reality they would attack Turnhout from another direction). In the following battle, the Dutch smashed the Belgian forces, whose morale broke down early in the battle when the Belgian banner was torn apart by Dutch artillery and a soldier lost a leg to a cannonball. The Belgians were unable to hold their ground and fled.

Map of the Dutch march during the ten days' campaign Tiendaagse Veldtocht.svg
Map of the Dutch march during the ten days' campaign

On 4 August, the Dutch took the city of Antwerp. The flag of Brabant was taken down and the Dutch flag was hoisted. The Prince of Orange demanded that the flag be taken down again, because it symbolised occupation rather than a restoration of Dutch power. At the same time the Dutch armies split up and moved further into Belgium, defeating numerous militias and two regular Belgian armies with ease. Such as in the Battle of Houthalen. The division led by Prince Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar moved upon Geel and Diest, and the Third division moved into Limburg. On 8 August, the Dutch defeated the Belgian Army of the Meuse near Hasselt. On 11 August the advance guard of the Belgian Army of the Scheldt was defeated near Boutersem. The next day the Dutch army attacked and defeated the Belgians near Leuven.

For the Belgians all seemed lost. Fearing the total disintegration of the army, Leopold called for international support on 8 August. Sylvain Van de Weyer was sent to attempt to solicit support from Great Britain while François Lehon was sent to France. [11] Although the British government was reluctant to send troops to support Belgium, the French immediately dispatched a force without informing the other Great Powers. [12] The movement of French troops into Belgium particularly worried the British, who felt that it could represent a threat to Europe's balance of power. [12] The French army under Marshal Étienne Gérard crossed the border the next day. The Dutch had taken a risk by invading Belgium without the support of their allies: Russia had wanted to assist but was having trouble suppressing the Polish revolution, and Prussia would not risk sending troops without Russia being able to secure its western borders; [13] now they faced a possible war with the French. After an intervention by the British diplomat Robert Adair, the Dutch halted their advance and a ceasefire was signed on 12 August. The last Dutch troops returned to the Netherlands around 20 August, whilst only Antwerp remained occupied.

Aftermath

Horace Vernet's Siege of the Citadel of Antwerp, 22 December 1832 (1840) depicts the French siegeworks during the 1832 siege Anvers 1832 horace vernet.jpg
Horace Vernet's Siege of the Citadel of Antwerp, 22 December 1832 (1840) depicts the French siegeworks during the 1832 siege

Although the Dutch population, especially the Protestants, rejoiced over the victorious campaign against the "Belgian rebels", King William reluctantly accepted that his dream of a United Netherlands was lost. The campaign did, however, demonstrate the vulnerability of the Belgian position. As a result, the London Conference responsible for drafting an international agreement recognising Belgian independence imposed larger concessions on the Belgians. The resulting Treaty of XXIV Articles ceded territory occupied by the Belgians, including parts of Limburg and Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, to the Netherlands and imposed various economic restraints on Belgium. [9] William nonetheless refused to sign and the Conference agreed to favour the Belgians while the Dutch refused. [9]

The King of the Netherlands, refusing to abandon the citadel at Antwerp, ordered the Dutch General David Hendrik Chassé to hold it at all costs. From the citadel, Chassé bombarded the city of Antwerp, setting fire to hundreds of homes and causing many casualties among the civilian population. The result was a second intervention by the Northern Army of Marshal Gérard, who returned to Belgium on 15 November 1832, to besiege the citadel of Antwerp. This resulted in the participation of Belgian volunteers, who until then had been kept out of combat. The French commander had wanted to conduct the siege alone, fearing the volunteers would spread the idea of revolution beyond the borders of Belgium.[ citation needed ]

In the years after the ten days' campaign, the Belgian army improved its organisation, training, and equipment. They fought mainly along the Scheldt. By preventing the Dutch from blowing up the levees and attacking the Dutch fleet, which was providing assistance to Antwerp, Belgium thwarted attempts to rescue the city. It fell after 24 days under the direction of the French general of Engineers, General François Haxo. General Chassé surrendered on 23 December. The Dutch finally signed the Treaty of XXIV Articles in 1839, effectively recognising Belgium's de facto independence. [14] It can therefore be indirectly argued that Dutch Limburg owes its status as a Dutch area to the Ten Days Campaign.[ citation needed ] Belgium also received 16/31 share of the national debt and the Belgian claims on Zeelandic Flanders lapsed.

Analysis

In his Histoire de Belgique series, the Belgian historian Henri Pirenne argued that, despite acts of individual bravery, "the weakness of the resistance was such that the advance of the victors almost resembled a military parade." [15] Nevertheless, Pirenne considered that campaign illustrated the strengths of the new country, pointing out that, despite visible weakness of the Belgian state, the campaign was not followed by a resurgence of Orangism or demands to unify with France. [15]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Belgium</span>

For most of its history, what is now Belgium was either a part of a larger territory, such as the Carolingian Empire, or divided into a number of smaller states, prominent among them being the Duchy of Lower Lorraine, the Duchy of Brabant, the County of Flanders, the Prince-Bishopric of Liège, the County of Namur, the County of Hainaut and the County of Luxembourg. Due to its strategic location as a country of contact between different cultures, Belgium has been called the "crossroads of Europe"; for the many armies fighting on its soil, it has also been called the "battlefield of Europe" or the "cockpit of Europe".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Kingdom of the Netherlands</span> 1815–1830 kingdom including the Netherlands and Belgium

The United Kingdom of the Netherlands is the unofficial name given to the Kingdom of the Netherlands as it existed between 1815 and 1830. The United Netherlands was created in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars through the fusion of territories that had belonged to the former Dutch Republic, Austrian Netherlands, and Prince-Bishopric of Liège in order to form a buffer state between the major European powers. The polity was a constitutional monarchy, ruled by William I of the House of Orange-Nassau.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leopold I of Belgium</span> King of the Belgians from 1831 to 1865

Leopold I was the first King of the Belgians, reigning from 21 July 1831 until his death in 1865.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antwerp Province</span> Province of Belgium

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Netherlands</span> Historical region in Belgium

The Southern Netherlands, also called the Catholic Netherlands, were the parts of the Low Countries belonging to the Holy Roman Empire which were at first largely controlled by Habsburg Spain and later by the Austrian Habsburgs until occupied and annexed by Revolutionary France (1794–1815).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hendrik Conscience</span> Belgian author

Henri (Hendrik) Conscience was a Belgian author. He is considered the pioneer of Dutch-language literature in Flanders, writing at a time when Belgium was dominated by the French language among the upper classes, in literature and government. Conscience fought as a Belgian revolutionary in 1830 and was a notable writer in the Romanticist style popular in the early 19th century. He is best known for his romantic nationalist novel, The Lion of Flanders (1838), inspired by the victory of a Flemish peasant militia over French knights at the 1302 Battle of the Golden Spurs during the Franco-Flemish War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belgian Revolution</span> 1830 revolution against Dutch rule

The Belgian Revolution was the conflict which led to the secession of the southern provinces from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the establishment of an independent Kingdom of Belgium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henri Alexis Brialmont</span> Belgian military engineer and writer

Henri-Alexis Brialmont, nicknamed The Belgian Vauban after the French military architect, was a Belgian army officer, politician and writer of the 19th century, best known as a military architect and designer of fortifications. Brialmont qualified as an officer in the Belgian army engineers in 1843 and quickly rose up the ranks. He served as a staff officer, and later was given command of the district of the key port of Antwerp. He finished his careers as Inspector-General of the Army. Brialmont was also an active pamphleteer and political campaigner and lobbied through his career for reform and expansion of the Belgian military and was also involved in the foundation of the Congo Free State.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Revolutions of 1830</span> Series of political upheavals in Europe

The Revolutions of 1830 were a revolutionary wave in Europe which took place in 1830. It included two "romantic nationalist" revolutions, the Belgian Revolution in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the July Revolution in France along with rebellions in Congress Poland, Italian states, Portugal and Switzerland. It was followed eighteen years later, by another and much stronger wave of revolutions known as the Revolutions of 1848.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Belgian States</span> 18th century republic in the Netherlands

The United Belgian States, also known as the United States of Belgium, was a short-lived confederal republic in the Southern Netherlands established under the Brabant Revolution. It existed from January to December 1790 as part of the unsuccessful revolt against the Habsburg Emperor, Joseph II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Rogier</span> Belgian journalist, statesman

Charles Latour Rogier was a Belgian liberal statesman and a leader in the Belgian Revolution of 1830. He served as the prime minister of Belgium on two occasions: from 1847 to 1852, and again from 1857 to 1868.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brabant Revolution</span> 1789–90 event in the Austrian Netherlands

The Brabant Revolution or Brabantine Revolution, sometimes referred to as the Belgian Revolution of 1789–1790 in older writing, was an armed insurrection that occurred in the Austrian Netherlands between October 1789 and December 1790. The revolution, which occurred at the same time as revolutions in France and Liège, led to the brief overthrow of Habsburg rule and the proclamation of a short-lived polity, the United Belgian States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexis-Michel Eenens</span> Belgian lieutenant-general, military historian, and politician

Alexis Michel Eenens was a Belgian lieutenant-general, military historian, and politician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Antwerp (1832)</span> French siege of Antwerp in 1832

The siege of Antwerp took place after fighting in the Belgian Revolution ended. On 15 November 1832, the French Armée du Nord under Marshal Gérard began to lay siege to the Dutch troops there under David Chassé. The siege ended on 23 December 1832. The French had agreed with the Belgian rebels that the latter would not participate in the battle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal question</span> 1950 Belgian political crisis

The royal question was a major political crisis in Belgium that lasted from 1945 to 1951, coming to a head between March and August 1950. The question at stake surrounded whether King Leopold III could return to the country and resume his constitutional role amid allegations that his actions during World War II had been contrary to the provisions of the Belgian Constitution. The crisis brought Belgium to the brink of a civil war. It was eventually resolved by the abdication of Leopold in favour of his son King Baudouin in 1951.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Flanders</span>

The history of Flanders concerns not only the modern Dutch-speaking part of Belgium, which is now called "Flanders", but also several neighbouring territories and populations. Its historical core territory was in western Belgium between the coast and the Scheldt river.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of rail transport in Belgium</span>

Belgium was heavily involved in the early development of railway transport. Belgium was the second country in Europe, after Great Britain, to open a railway and produce locomotives. The first line, between the cities of Brussels and Mechelen opened in 1835. Belgium was the first state in Europe to create a national railway network and the first to possess a nationalised railway system. The network expanded fast as Belgium industrialised, and by the early 20th century was increasingly under state-control. The nationalised railways, under the umbrella organisation National Railway Company of Belgium (NMBS/SNCB), retained their monopoly until liberalisation in the 2000s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monster Mortar</span> Heavy mortar

The Monster Mortar was one of the largest mortars ever developed. Also called Leopold or the Liège mortar, the 24 inches (610 mm) caliber mortar was conceived by the French artillery officer Henri-Joseph Paixhans. The mortar was manufactured under the direction of the Belgian Minister of War Baron Louis Evain and cast at the Royal Canon Foundry in Liège, Belgium in 1832. It saw action at the Battle of Antwerp in December 1832.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belgium in the long nineteenth century</span> History of Belgium from 1789 to 1914

In the history of Belgium, the period from 1789 to 1914, dubbed the "long 19th century" by the historian Eric Hobsbawm, includes the end of Austrian rule and periods of French and Dutch rule over the region, leading to the creation of the first independent Belgian state in 1830.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albert Prisse</span> Belgian soldier, engineer, diplomat and statesman

Albert-Florent-Joseph Prisse was a Belgian soldier, engineer, diplomat and statesman of French origin. His family lost their fortune during the French Revolution. He served in the army of Napoleon between 1809 and 1814 in Austria, Spain and the Netherlands. In 1816 he became a naturalized citizen of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and served in the army as a surveyor. When Belgium broke away from the Netherlands in 1830 he became an officer of the new Belgian army. He served in various military commands, represented Belgium at the Court of the Hague for three years, and was Belgian Minister of War in 1846–47.

References

  1. Henri Pirenne gives an estimate of 50,000 men for the Dutch army. [3] Jeremy Black provides a lower estimate of 36,000 men and 72 cannon.

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Pirenne 1948, p. 32.
  2. "1830–1831 The Belgian Revolution". Timeline Dutch History. Rijksmuseum. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
  3. 1 2 Pirenne 1948, p. 31.
  4. Draper, Mario (2018). The Belgian Army and Society from Independence to the Great War (e-book ed.). Springer International Publishing. p. 24. ISBN   9783319703862.
  5. Clodfelter, Micheal Clodfelter (2017). Warfare and Armed Conflicts A Statistical Encyclopedia of Casualty and Other Figures, 1492–2015 (E-book) (4th ed.). McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers. p. 174. ISBN   9781476625850.
  6. Draper, Mario (2018). The Belgian Army and Society from Independence to the Great War (e-book). Springer International Publishing. p. 24. ISBN   9783319703862.
  7. Clodfelter, Micheal Clodfelter (2017). Warfare and Armed Conflicts A Statistical Encyclopedia of Casualty and Other Figures, 1492–2015 (E-book) (4th ed.). McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers. p. 174. ISBN   9781476625850.
  8. 1 2 Witte et al. 2009, p. 23.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Witte et al. 2009, p. 29.
  10. "De overgave van Hasselt" (in Dutch). Brabants Erfgoed. 1 January 1850. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  11. Witte 2010, p. 86.
  12. 1 2 Witte 2010, p. 87.
  13. Pirenne 1948, pp. 32–4.
  14. Witte et al. 2009, p. 30.
  15. 1 2 Pirenne 1948, p. 34.

Bibliography