1794.E2.80.935 Campaign Flanders Campaign

1 1794–5 campaign

1.1 siege of landrecies
1.2 french counter-offensive
1.3 fall of dutch republic
1.4 british evacuation

1794–5 campaign

over winter both sides re-organised. reinforcements transported britain in order shore coalition line. in austrian army coburg s chief of staff prince hohenlohe replaced karl mack von leiberich. @ beginning of 1794 allied field army numbered on 1 hundred thousand, bulk of army in positions between tournai , bettignies, both flanks further extended small outposts , cordons meuse on left , channel coast on right. facing them armée du nord under command of jean-charles pichegru, , had been reinforced conscripts result of levée en masse, giving combined strength of armies of north , ardennes (excluding garrisons) 200,000, 2 1 of coburg s force.

positions of armies @ start of 1794 campaign


siege of landrecies

at beginning of april 1794, austrian troops encouraged when emperor francis ii joined coburg @ allied headquarters. first action of campaign french advance le cateau on 25 march, beaten off clerfayt after sharp fight. 2 weeks later allies began advance series of covered marches , small actions facilitate investment of fortress of landrecies. york advanced saint-amand towards le cateau, coburg led centre column valenciennes , le quesnoy, , left hereditary prince led besieging corps bavay through forest of mormal towards landrecies. on 17 april york drove goguet vaux , prémont, while austrian forces advanced in direction of wassigny against balland. hereditary prince began siege of landrecies, while allied army covered operation in semi-circle. on left @ eastern end of line lay commands of alvinczi , kinsky, stretching maroilles 4 miles east of landrecies, south prisches, south-west line of sambre river. on western bank of river line ran west catillon towards le cateau , cambrai. right of allied line under duke of york , ended near le cateau. line of outposts ran north-west along line of selle river.

the french plan attack both flanks of allies, while sending relief columns towards landrecies. on 24 april small force of british , austrian cavalry drove such force under chapuis @ villers-en-cauchies. 2 days later pichegru launched three-pronged attempt relieve landrecies. 2 of columns in east repulsed forces of kinsky, alvinczi , young archduke charles, while chapuis s third column advancing cambrai destroyed york @ beaumont/coteau/troisvilles on 26 april.

the french counter-offensive

landrecies fell on 30 april 1794 , coburg turned attention maubeuge, last remaining obstacle advance on french interior, on same day pichegru began overdue northern counter-offensive, defeating clerfayt @ battle of mouscron , retaking courtrai (kortrijk) , menen.

for 10 days lull descended both sides consolidated before coburg launched attacks regain northern positions on 10 may. jacques philippe bonnaud s french column defeated york @ willems, clerfayt failed recapture courtrai , again driven lys river.

the french conquest of low countries may 1794 till june 1795.



the battle of tourcoing.

the coalition forces planned stem pichegru s advance broad attack involving several isolated columns in scheme devised mack. @ battle of tourcoing on 17–18 may effort became logistical disaster communications broke down , columns delayed. third of allied force came action, , extricated after loss of 3,000 men. pichegru being absent on sambre, french command @ tourcoing had devolved onto shoulders of joseph souham. on return front pichegru renewed offensive press advantage despite repeated attacks held off @ battle of tournay on 22 may.

although allied front remained intact, subsequently austrian commitment war became increasingly weakened. prussians on point of pulling out of war due perceived austrian duplicity in bavaria. emperor influenced foreign minister baron johann von thugut, , thugut political considerations overrode military plans. in may 1794 fixation profiting third partition of poland, , troops , generals began stripped coburg s command. mack resigned chief-of-staff in disgust on 23 may , replaced prince christian august von waldeck-pyrmont, supporter of thugut. in council of war on 24 may emperor francis ii called vote on withdrawal, left vienna. duke of york dissented withdrawal.

thugut’s negative influence has been cited 1 of decisive factors in loss of campaign, possibly more important tourcoing , fleurus. decision retreat taken despite news of great gains on southern flank. on 24 may wichard joachim heinrich von möllendorf s prussians surprised french @ battle of kaiserslautern, while on same day coburg s left wing under franz wenzel, graf von kaunitz-rietberg, after beating off attack on sambre had counter-attacked , routed french right wing completely. northern flank temporarily stabilised coburg moved forces south support kaunitz, promptly resigned after being replaced hereditary prince. pichegru benefited weakening of allied northern sector return offensive , initiate siege of ypres. series of supinely ineffective counter-attacks clerfayt through june beaten off souham.

on southern flank french army of moselle , army of ardennes combined part of right wing of army of north under jourdan, , after yet failed attempt able cross sambre , lay siege charleroi. following day ypres surrendered pichegru. coburg decided concentrate of forces on sambre drive jourdan back, leaving york @ tournai , clerfayt @ deinze face pichegru , cover right. clerfayt driven deinze , retreated behind ghent, obliging york withdraw behind scheldt.

in south coburg launched series of attacks against jourdan s combined army of sambre-et-meuse narrowly beaten off @ battle of fleurus 26 june. proved decisive turning point. french gains in both north , south austrians called off attack before clear result , retreated north towards brussels. beginning of general retreat rhineland, austrians abandoning 80-year-long control of austrian netherlands. york s anglo-hanoverians on right obliged withdraw in order defend antwerp, abandoning ostend, garrison of under lord moira able break through encircling french forces , rejoin york on scheldt.

the loss of austrian support led collapse of campaign. none of other coalition partners had sufficient forces in theatre check french advance, , began retreat northwards, abandoning brussels (conquered pichegru on 11 july). jourdan pressed whole austrian line in repeated actions through days of july, encouraging coburg s retreat tienen (tirlemont) , beyond, while york withdrew dijle river. although still ostensibly subordinate austrian command, dutch , anglo-hanoverian forces separated , moved protect dutch republic. mechelen (malines) fell on 15th, antwerp evacuated on 24th, same day duke of york crossed dutch frontier @ roosendaal, while austrians crossed meuse @ maastricht. 3 days later, pichegru occupied antwerp. meanwhile, jourdan took namur on 17 july, , liège on 27 july, abolishing prince-bishopric third time since 1789, time good. demolition of saint lambert s cathedral, in revolutionary eyes symbol of clerical power , oppression, initiated.

fall of dutch republic


animation of siege of s-hertogenbosch (with english subtitles).



temperature during winter of 1794–5.

in august 1794 pause in operations fell french focused efforts against belgian channel ports (sluis fell on 26 august), , york attempted in vain encourage austrian support. under pressure britain, emperor dismissed coburg, place filled temporarily more unpopular clerfayt. after fall of le quesnoy , landrecies french, pichegru renewed offensive on 28th, obliging york pull line of aa river attacked @ boxtel , persuaded withdraw meuse. on 18 september clerfayt defeated @ battle of sprimont on banks of ourthe, followed further defeat @ hands of jourdan @ battle of aldenhoven on roer river on 2 october, causing austrians retreat rhine , ending austrian presence in low countries. garrison in strong fortress of luxembourg city remained, beginning on 22 november, heavily beleaguered 7 months.

by autumn, in netherlands french, including herman willem daendels dutch patriots, had taken eindhoven , paused pursuit on waal river. dutch orangists surrendered s-hertogenbosch (bois-le-duc) on 12 october after heavy 3 week siege. york planned counter-offensive austrian assistance relieve nijmegen, abandoned when hanoverian contingent backed out. york recalled , replaced william harcourt. @ stage prussians in peace talks french, , austria looked ready follow suit. william pitt younger angrily rejected suggestion of negotiating france, british position in dutch republic looked increasingly insecure.

as temperatures plummeted in mid-december rivers froze solid, allowing french resume advance. on 10 december, antoine guillaume delmas attacked dutch defences in bommelerwaard in vain, 28 december french had captured whole of polder. delmas, herman willem daendels , pierre-jacques osten succeeded in avoiding dutch water line, attacking fortifications , cities east , west. on 10 january rest of french army crossed frozen waal river near zaltbommel. on 15 january, prussian , british army withdrew positions , fled germany, passing on way amersfoort, apeldoorn , deventer in bitter cold. on 16 january, city of utrecht had surrender. on 20 january 1795 french army reached amsterdam, had been taken on dutch revolutionaries, causing pro-french batavian revolution. stadtholder, william v, prince of orange, fled exile in england, , dutch revolutionaries proclaimed batavian republic.

british evacuation

the british continued retreat northwards, ill-equipped , poorly clothed. spring 1795 had left dutch territory entirely, , reached port of bremen, part of hanover. there waited orders britain. pitt, realizing imminent success on continent virtually impossible, @ last gave order withdraw britain, taking them remnants of dutch, german , austrian troops had retreated them. york s army had lost more 20,000 men in 2 years of fighting. on embarkation of of british army england in april 1795 small corps under general dundas remained on continent until december same year.

the surrender of luxembourg on 7 june 1795 concluded french conquest of low countries, marking end of flanders campaign.

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