Battle of Courtrai (1794)

Battle of Courtrai (1794)
	Part of the War of the First Coalition
	; Map of Kortrijk by Joseph de Ferraris
Date	10–12 May 1794
Location	Kortrijk, Belgium
Result	10th May British victory; 11th May French victory;
Belligerents
Republican France	Habsburg Austria; Great Britain; Hanover; Hesse-Darmstadt
Commanders and leaders
Charles Pichegru	Count of Clerfayt; Duke of York
Strength
60,000	40,000
Casualties and losses
Willems: 2,400, 13 guns; Courtrai: 1,000	Willems: 325; Courtrai: 1,500

The 2nd Battle of Courtrai (10–12 May 1794) occurred during the War of the First Coalition near Kortrijk, Belgium, located about 85 kilometres (53 mi) west of Brussels.

The Republican French army under Jean-Charles Pichegru attacked the Coalition forces commanded by The Austrian Fieldmarshall François Sébastien Charles Joseph de Croix, Count of Clerfayt[1] and Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany.

On May 10, 1794, the French infantry formed square to repel Coalition cavalry charges for the first time during the war. Later in the day, after being bombarded by British artillery, three squares were finally broken with heavy losses. This attack by the 7th Light Dragoons[2] is often referred to as the Battle of Willems [3] in Willems, Nord.[4]

But the attack on the Count of Clerfayt on the 11th, who had chased the French out of Courtrai with the help of Dutch Allies, proved successful for the French troops, and forced Clerfayt to retreat to the north Thielt. Both sides lost between 700-800 men.[1]

A clash to the north of Kortrijk (Courtrai) at Ingelmunster on the 12th ended the fighting.

As a result of the battle, the French Army of the North maintained the grip on Kortrijk and Menen (Menin) which it had won in the Battle of Mouscron in April.

The next Coalition attempt to eliminate the French hold on the area resulted in the Battle of Tourcoing a week later.

References

Tucker, Spencer C. (2009-12-23). A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East [6 volumes]: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-85109-672-5. p.978
https://www.britishempire.co.uk/forces/armyunits/britishcavalry/7thltdragoons1794.htm
http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_willems.html
Fortescue, Sir John William (1918). British Campaigns in Flanders, 1690-1794: Being Extracts from "A History of the British Army,". Macmillan and Company, limited. p.319

Notes

Phipps, Ramsay Weston (2011). The Armies of the First French Republic: Volume I The Armée du Nord. USA: Pickle Partners Publishing. ISBN 978-1-908692-24-5.
Rickard, J. (2009). "Battle of Courtrai, 11 May 1794". historyofwar.org. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
Rickard, J. (2009). "Battle of Willems, 10 May 1794". historyofwar.org. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
Smith, Digby (1998). The Napoleonic Wars Data Book. London: Greenhill. ISBN 1-85367-276-9.

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[may11-1] Tucker, Spencer C. (2009-12-23). A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East [6 volumes]: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-85109-672-5. p.978

[2] ttps://www.britishempire.co.uk/forces/armyunits/britishcavalry/7thltdragoons1794.htm

[3] ttp://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_willems.html

[4] Fortescue, Sir John William (1918). British Campaigns in Flanders, 1690-1794: Being Extracts from "A History of the British Army,". Macmillan and Company, limited. p.319