Autumn Campaign Flanders Campaign

battle of hondschoote

on 7/8 august french, under charles kilmaine driven caesar s camp north of cambrai. following week in tourcoing sector dutch troops under hereditary prince of orange attempted repeat success handled jourdan @ lincelles until extricated british guards brigade.

france @ mercy of coalition. fall of condé , valenciennes had opened gap in frontier defences. republican field armies in disorder. however, instead of concentrating, allies dispersed forces. in south knobelsdorf s prussian contingent departed join main prussian army on rhine front, while in north york under orders secretary of state dundas lay siege french port of dunkirk, british government planned use military base , bargaining counter in future peace negotiation. led conflict coburg, needed occupying forces protect flank accompanying thrust towards cambrai. lacking york s support austrians chose instead besiege le quesnoy, invested clerfayt on 19 august.

york s forces began investment of dunkirk, though ill-prepared protracted siege , had still not received heavy siege artillery. armée du nord, under command of jean nicolas houchard defeated york s exposed left flank under hanoverian general freytag @ battle of hondschoote, forcing york raise siege , abandon equipment. anglo-hanoverians fell in order veurne (furnes), able recover there no french pursuit. houchard s plan had been merely repulse duke of york march south relieve le quesnoy; on 13 september defeated hereditary prince @ menin (menen), capturing 40 guns , driving dutch towards bruges , ghent, 3 days later forces routed in turn beaulieu @ courtrai.

further south coburg meanwhile had captured le quesnoy on 11 september, enabling him move forces north assist york, , winning signal victory on 1 of houchard s divisions @ avesnes-le-sec. if these disasters not enough french, news reached paris in alsace duke of brunswick had defeated french @ pirmasens. jacobins stirred ferocity of panic. laws imposed placed lives , property @ disposal of regime. failing follow victory @ hondschoote , defeat @ menen, houchard accused of treason, arrested, , guillotined in paris on 17 november.

at end of september coburg began investing maubeuge, though allied forces stretched. duke of york unable offer support command weakened, not strain of campaign, dundas in london, began withdrawing troops reassign west indies. result, houchard s replacement jean-baptiste jourdan able concentrate forces , narrowly defeat coburg @ battle of wattignies, forcing austrians lift siege of maubeuge. convention ordered general offensive towards york s base @ ostend. in mid october vandamme laid siege nieuport, macdonald took werwicq , dumonceau drove hanoverians menen, french forced in sharp rebuffs @ cysoing on 24 october , marchiennes on 29 october, brought end year s campaigning.