Battle at Avesnes-le-Sec

Battle at Avesnes-le-Sec

Part of: First Coalition War

date	September 12, 1793
place	Avesnes-le-Sec
output	Austrian victory

Parties to the conflict
France	Austria
Commander
Nicolas Declaye	Heinrich von Bellegarde Johann Liechtenstein
Troop strength
8,000 men, infantry, 20 cannons	2000 cavalry, 500 infantry
losses
approx. 2000 men dead or wounded, 2000 prisoners	about 100 men dead or wounded

The information on troop strength and losses can vary in the literature.

The battle at Avesnes-le-Sec on September 12, 1793 took place at the beginning of the first coalition war . It ended with a clear victory for the Austrians over the French. It was considered a major cavalry battle, but had little strategic impact.

prehistory

The Prince of Saxe-Coburg had after the battle of Famars the fortress Valenciennes completely enclosed and the end of July 1793 forced to surrender, to secure its southern flank, he ordered the troops under Count Clerfait also Quesnoy to besiege. As a result of the Battle of Hondschoote, the French Northern Army forced the Duke of York's troops to abandon the siege of Dunkirk . The French revolutionary troops were initially too weak to permanently disrupt the blockade of Le Quesnoy, but now, with 8,000 men, deployed line troops as relief. The right wing of the French Northern Army marched on September 12 in three columns towards Le Quesnoy. The strongest of these columns consisted of ten battalions , 20 guns and a small division of cavalry. This advanced from the direction of Cambrai towards Le Quesnoy. The crossing over the Selle river near Saulzoir was secured by the detachment of the Austrian Colonel Johann von Liechtenstein. At that time he had five companies of infantry and a few squadrons of cavalry. The prince defended the position until General Bellegarde had come up with four battalions and six squadrons to support them as reinforcements. The French then began to withdraw in an orderly manner towards Avesnes-le-Sec.

course

The Austrian commander, Feldzeugmeister von Hohenlohe-Kirchberg , had the French pursued with around 2,000 cavalrymen. At Avesnes-le-Sec the French formed a defensive position with two squares , several guns were positioned in between. Oberst of Liechtenstein reached with the Cheveaulegerregiment Kinsky to the front of the opposing position, while FML Bellegarde with the Kaiser Husaren attack the right flank. Several squadrons of the Nassau cuirassiers and hussars of the French émigré Legion attacked in the rear. Despite heavy rifle and gun fire from the French, the imperial riders could not be stopped. By attacking from several sides, the guns lost their danger. The French positions were broken into. Their attempt to regroup also failed. Only about 1000 French escaped. Around 2000 got captured. A great number had fallen. The Austrian casualties were only 69 men.

Overall, the battle had no significant impact on the course of the war. After all, the victory relieved the imperial troops. After the surrender of Quesnoy, the Prince of Saxe-Coburg was able to send troops to support the British who were besieged in Flanders. On September 29th, the Coburg army moved between Berlaimont and Maubeuge on the right bank of the Sambre and enclosed the fortress there.

literature

• Hanns Eggert Willibald von der Lühe (ed.): Military conversation lexicon. Vol. 1 Leipzig, 1833 p. 347f.
• General military encyclopedia . Vol. 2., Leipzig, 1859 390f.
• Tony Jacques: Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: AE. Westport 2007 p. 85.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Gaston Bodart: Military-historical War Lexicon, (1618-1905). Vienna, 1908 p. 278