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Battle of Fleurus (1794)
Encyclopedia
In the Battle of Fleurus on 26 June 1794, the army of the First French Republic under General Jean-Baptiste Jourdan
faced the Coalition Army (Great Britain
, Hanover
, Dutch Republic
, and Habsburg Monarchy
) commanded by Prince Josias of Coburg
in the most decisive battle of the Flanders Campaign
in the Low Countries
during the French Revolutionary Wars
. Both sides had forces in the area numbering in the vicinity of 80,000 men, but the French
were able to more effectively concentrate their troops in order to achieve victory against the First Coalition
. The Allied defeat led to the permanent loss of the Austrian Netherlands and to the destruction of the Dutch Republic
. The battle marked a turning point for the French army which afterwards remained ascendant throughout the rest of the War of the First Coalition.
The French use of the reconnaissance balloon
l'Entreprenant marked the first military use of an aircraft that had decisive influence on the outcome of the battle.
on 17-18 May 1794, Jourdan was given the command of the Army of the Ardennes
and four divisions of the Army of the North, about 96,000 men in total. This new group was then named the Army of the Sambre-et-Meuse
. The new army was then given the task of capturing Charleroi
.
On 12 June, the French army, accompanied and supervised by a member of the Committee of Public Safety
, Louis de Saint-Just
, had invested
the town of Charleroi
with about 70,000 men. On 16 June at Lambusart, an Austrian-Dutch force of about 43,000 men counterattacked in heavy mist. The Allies managed to inflict some 3,000 casualties on the French and drive them back over the Sambre
. On 18 June, however, Jourdan attacked again and managed to retake Charleroi. The city surrendered on 26 June, just as a relieving force under the Prince of Coburg arrived to raise the siege.
, l'Entreprenant, operated by the Aerostatic Corps
, continuously informed General of Division (MG) Jean-Baptiste Jourdan
about Austrian movements. The Austrians managed to break through both French wings, pushing back MG François Marceau
on the right wing and MG Montaigu on the left wing. But the French center under MG François Lefebvre
held and then counterattacked, and the Austrian assault petered out. Colonel
Nicolas Soult, then serving as Lefebvre's Chief of staff
, wrote that it was, "fifteen hours of the most desperate fighting I ever saw in my life."
Coburg neglected to press on and, uncertain of the outcome, the Austrian commander lost his nerve and fell back to Braine-l'Alleud
and Waterloo
, granting the French an unexpected victory. This was the final straw that caused the allies to retire back over the Rhine, leaving the French free rein in Belgium and the Netherlands. Smith writes that,
, Austrian-Dutch losses numbered 208 killed, 1,017 wounded, and 361 captured. In addition, the French captured one mortar, three caissons, and one standard, while the Austrians captured one cannon and one standard.
Despite any tactical imbalance, the strategic value of Fleurus was immense for the French. The victory precipitated a full Allied
withdrawal from Belgium
and allowed French forces to push north into the Netherlands
. By the end of 1795, the Dutch Republic
was extinguished. After Fleurus, the republican army would keep its momentum in the war, staying on the offensive until its eventual victory against the First Coalition in 1797.
Politically, the battle invalidated the argument that continuation of the revolutionary Reign of Terror
was necessary because of the military threat to France's very existence. Thus, some would argue, victory at Fleurus was a leading cause of 9 Thermidor a month later. Saint-Just arrived in Paris after such a great victory only to die with Maximilien Robespierre
and the other leading Jacobins in the Thermidorian Reaction
.
Jean-Baptiste Jourdan
Jean-Baptiste Jourdan, 1st Comte Jourdan , enlisted as a private in the French royal army and rose to command armies during the French Revolutionary Wars. Emperor Napoleon I of France named him a Marshal of France in 1804 and he also fought in the Napoleonic Wars. After 1815, he became reconciled...
faced the Coalition Army (Great Britain
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
, Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
, Dutch Republic
Dutch Republic
The Dutch Republic — officially known as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands , the Republic of the United Netherlands, or the Republic of the Seven United Provinces — was a republic in Europe existing from 1581 to 1795, preceding the Batavian Republic and ultimately...
, and Habsburg Monarchy
Habsburg Monarchy
The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The Imperial capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when it was moved to Prague...
) commanded by Prince Josias of Coburg
Prince Josias of Coburg
Prince Frederick Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld was a general in the Austrian service.-Biography:...
in the most decisive battle of the Flanders Campaign
Flanders Campaign
This feature refers to the conflict that took place during the Wars of the French Revolution 1792–1801.For the Low Countries campaigns of the War of the Grand Alliance 1688–97 see Nine Years' War...
in the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
during the French Revolutionary Wars
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
. Both sides had forces in the area numbering in the vicinity of 80,000 men, but the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
were able to more effectively concentrate their troops in order to achieve victory against the First Coalition
First Coalition
The War of the First Coalition was the first major effort of multiple European monarchies to contain Revolutionary France. France declared war on the Habsburg monarchy of Austria on 20 April 1792, and the Kingdom of Prussia joined the Austrian side a few weeks later.These powers initiated a series...
. The Allied defeat led to the permanent loss of the Austrian Netherlands and to the destruction of the Dutch Republic
Dutch Republic
The Dutch Republic — officially known as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands , the Republic of the United Netherlands, or the Republic of the Seven United Provinces — was a republic in Europe existing from 1581 to 1795, preceding the Batavian Republic and ultimately...
. The battle marked a turning point for the French army which afterwards remained ascendant throughout the rest of the War of the First Coalition.
The French use of the reconnaissance balloon
Observation balloon
Observation balloons are balloons that are employed as aerial platforms for intelligence gathering and artillery spotting. Their use began during the French Revolutionary Wars, reaching their zenith during World War I, and they continue in limited use today....
l'Entreprenant marked the first military use of an aircraft that had decisive influence on the outcome of the battle.
Operations
After the Battle of TourcoingBattle of Tourcoing (1794)
The Battle of Tourcoing was fought near the town of Tourcoing, just north of Lille in northeastern France on 18 May 1794 and resulted in the victory of the French under Major-Generals Joseph Souham and Jean Moreau over the British under the Duke of York and the Austrians under General the Prince of...
on 17-18 May 1794, Jourdan was given the command of the Army of the Ardennes
Army of the Ardennes
The Army of the Ardennes was a French Revolutionary Army formed in 1792 by splitting off the right wing of the Army of the North, commanded from July to August that year by La Fayette...
and four divisions of the Army of the North, about 96,000 men in total. This new group was then named the Army of the Sambre-et-Meuse
Army of Sambre-et-Meuse
The Army of Sambre-et-Meuse is the best known of the armies of the French Revolution. It was formed on 29 June 1794 by combining three forces: the Army of the Ardennes, the left wing of the Army of Moselle, and the right wing of the Army of the North. It had a brief but celebrated existence...
. The new army was then given the task of capturing Charleroi
Charleroi
Charleroi is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. , the total population of Charleroi was 201,593. The metropolitan area, including the outer commuter zone, covers an area of and had a total population of 522,522 as of 1 January 2008, ranking it as...
.
On 12 June, the French army, accompanied and supervised by a member of the Committee of Public Safety
Committee of Public Safety
The Committee of Public Safety , created in April 1793 by the National Convention and then restructured in July 1793, formed the de facto executive government in France during the Reign of Terror , a stage of the French Revolution...
, Louis de Saint-Just
Louis de Saint-Just
Louis Antoine Léon de Saint-Just , usually known as Saint-Just, was a military and political leader during the French Revolution. The youngest of the deputies elected to the National Convention in 1792, Saint-Just rose quickly in their ranks and became a major leader of the government of the French...
, had invested
Investment (military)
Investment is the military tactic of surrounding an enemy fort with armed forces to prevent entry or escape.A circumvallation is a line of fortifications, built by the attackers around the besieged fortification facing towards the enemy fort...
the town of Charleroi
Charleroi
Charleroi is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. , the total population of Charleroi was 201,593. The metropolitan area, including the outer commuter zone, covers an area of and had a total population of 522,522 as of 1 January 2008, ranking it as...
with about 70,000 men. On 16 June at Lambusart, an Austrian-Dutch force of about 43,000 men counterattacked in heavy mist. The Allies managed to inflict some 3,000 casualties on the French and drive them back over the Sambre
Sambre
The Sambre is a river in northern France and Wallonia, southern Belgium, left tributary of the Meuse River. The ancient Romans called the river Sabis.-Course:...
. On 18 June, however, Jourdan attacked again and managed to retake Charleroi. The city surrendered on 26 June, just as a relieving force under the Prince of Coburg arrived to raise the siege.
Battle
On 26 June, Feldmarschall Coburg manœuvred around Charleroi with 52,000 Austrians and Netherlanders. Too late to save the city, which had surrendered, the Austrian commander split his army into five columns and attacked the French. A French reconnaissance balloonObservation balloon
Observation balloons are balloons that are employed as aerial platforms for intelligence gathering and artillery spotting. Their use began during the French Revolutionary Wars, reaching their zenith during World War I, and they continue in limited use today....
, l'Entreprenant, operated by the Aerostatic Corps
French Aerostatic Corps
The French Aerostatic Corps or Company of Aeronauts was the world's first air force, founded in 1794 to use balloons, primarily for reconnaissance.-Experimentation:...
, continuously informed General of Division (MG) Jean-Baptiste Jourdan
Jean-Baptiste Jourdan
Jean-Baptiste Jourdan, 1st Comte Jourdan , enlisted as a private in the French royal army and rose to command armies during the French Revolutionary Wars. Emperor Napoleon I of France named him a Marshal of France in 1804 and he also fought in the Napoleonic Wars. After 1815, he became reconciled...
about Austrian movements. The Austrians managed to break through both French wings, pushing back MG François Marceau
François Séverin Marceau-Desgraviers
François Séverin Marceau-Desgraviers was a French general of the Revolutionary Wars.-Early life:Desgraviers was born at Chartres, Eure-et-Loir. His father served as a legal officer, and Marceau received an education for a legal career, but at the age of sixteen he enlisted in the regiment of...
on the right wing and MG Montaigu on the left wing. But the French center under MG François Lefebvre
François Joseph Lefebvre
François Joseph Lefebvre, First Duc de Dantzig was a French military commander during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and one of the original eighteen Marshals of the Empire created by Napoleon....
held and then counterattacked, and the Austrian assault petered out. Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Nicolas Soult, then serving as Lefebvre's Chief of staff
Chief of Staff
The title, chief of staff, identifies the leader of a complex organization, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a Principal Staff Officer , who is the coordinator of the supporting staff or a primary aide to an important individual, such as a president.In general, a chief of...
, wrote that it was, "fifteen hours of the most desperate fighting I ever saw in my life."
Coburg neglected to press on and, uncertain of the outcome, the Austrian commander lost his nerve and fell back to Braine-l'Alleud
Braine-l'Alleud
Braine-l'Alleud is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant, about 20 kilometers south of Brussels. The Braine-l'Alleud municipality includes the former municipalities of Braine-l'Alleud proper, Ophain-Bois-Seigneur-Isaac, and Lillois-Witterzée. It also includes...
and Waterloo
Waterloo, Belgium
Waterloo is a Walloon municipality located in the province of Walloon Brabant, Belgium. On December 31, 2009, Waterloo had a total population of 29,573. The total area is 21.03 km² which gives a population density of 1,407 inhabitants per km²...
, granting the French an unexpected victory. This was the final straw that caused the allies to retire back over the Rhine, leaving the French free rein in Belgium and the Netherlands. Smith writes that,
"By this stage of the war the court in ViennaViennaVienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
was convinced that it was no longer worth the effort to try to keep their Netherlands provinces and it is suspected that Coburg gave up the chance of a victory here so as to be able to pull out eastwards."
Aftermath
It is generally agreed that the battle was a costly one for the French, with casualties estimated between five and six thousand. The Allied losses have always been in dispute: the French claimed significantly higher losses than their own, while the Allies claimed far less. Traditional estimates attribute "considerable casualties" to Coburg's army, and hover near five thousand Allied killed and wounded. However, according to historian Digby SmithDigby Smith
Digby Smith is a British military historian. The son of a British career soldier, he was born in Hampshire, England, but spent several years in India and Pakistan as a child and youth. As a "boy soldier," he entered training in the British Army at the age of 16...
, Austrian-Dutch losses numbered 208 killed, 1,017 wounded, and 361 captured. In addition, the French captured one mortar, three caissons, and one standard, while the Austrians captured one cannon and one standard.
Despite any tactical imbalance, the strategic value of Fleurus was immense for the French. The victory precipitated a full Allied
First Coalition
The War of the First Coalition was the first major effort of multiple European monarchies to contain Revolutionary France. France declared war on the Habsburg monarchy of Austria on 20 April 1792, and the Kingdom of Prussia joined the Austrian side a few weeks later.These powers initiated a series...
withdrawal from Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
and allowed French forces to push north into the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. By the end of 1795, the Dutch Republic
Dutch Republic
The Dutch Republic — officially known as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands , the Republic of the United Netherlands, or the Republic of the Seven United Provinces — was a republic in Europe existing from 1581 to 1795, preceding the Batavian Republic and ultimately...
was extinguished. After Fleurus, the republican army would keep its momentum in the war, staying on the offensive until its eventual victory against the First Coalition in 1797.
Politically, the battle invalidated the argument that continuation of the revolutionary Reign of Terror
Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror , also known simply as The Terror , was a period of violence that occurred after the onset of the French Revolution, incited by conflict between rival political factions, the Girondins and the Jacobins, and marked by mass executions of "enemies of...
was necessary because of the military threat to France's very existence. Thus, some would argue, victory at Fleurus was a leading cause of 9 Thermidor a month later. Saint-Just arrived in Paris after such a great victory only to die with Maximilien Robespierre
Maximilien Robespierre
Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre is one of the best-known and most influential figures of the French Revolution. He largely dominated the Committee of Public Safety and was instrumental in the period of the Revolution commonly known as the Reign of Terror, which ended with his...
and the other leading Jacobins in the Thermidorian Reaction
Thermidorian Reaction
The Thermidorian Reaction was a revolt in the French Revolution against the excesses of the Reign of Terror. It was triggered by a vote of the Committee of Public Safety to execute Maximilien Robespierre, Antoine Louis Léon de Saint-Just de Richebourg and several other leading members of the Terror...
.
Books
- Glover, MichaelMichael GloverMichael Glover served in the British army during World War II, after which he joined the British Council and became a professional author...
. "Jourdan: The True Patriot". Chandler, DavidDavid G. ChandlerDavid G. Chandler was a British historian whose study focused on the Napoleonic era.As a young man he served briefly in the army, reaching the rank of captain, and in later life he taught at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Oxford University awarded him the D. Litt. in 1991...
(ed.). Napoleon's Marshals. New York: Macmillan, 1987. ISBN 0-02-905930-5 - Jaques, Tony. Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: A Guide to 8,500 Battles from Antiquity Through the Twenty-first Century. Vol. II. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007. ISBN 9780313335389
- Rothenberg, Gunther E. The Art of Warfare in the Age of Napoleon. Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University Press, 1980. ISBN 0-253-31076-8
- Smith, Digby. The Napoleonic Wars Data Book. London: Greenhill, 1998. ISBN 1-85367-276-9
External links
- U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission: "Military Use of Balloons During the Napoleonic Era". Accessed April 1, 2007.