BATTLE OF TOURCOING (1794)

The 'Battle of Tourcoing' was fought near the town of Tourcoing, just North of Lille in northeastern France on May 18, 1794 and resulted the victory of the French under General Joseph Souham and General Moreau against the British under the Duke of York and the Austrians under General the Prince of Coburg.^[1]
Under the temporary leadership of General Joseph Souham, General Pichegru's Armee du Nord clashed with an Austro-British-Hanoverian force at Tourcoing. Despite a slight advantage in numbers, the 74,000 Allied troops under Saxe-Coburg were out-led and out fought by France's 70,000 troops. Gen.Souham devised a strategic pincer movement consisting of his division (30,000) attacking Southwards from Courtrai & Gen.Bonnaud's division (20,000) Northeastwards from Lille, thus catching the separated allied columns of Busche, Otto & the Duke of York between them. Moreau's single brigade under Gen.Vandamme (8,000) held off the assault of Gen.Clerfayt across the R.Lys from the West. French casualties were six guns and 3,000 men, while their enemies suffered 5,500 troops lost and some 60 pieces of artillery. It was a sprawling engagement fought out over many square miles of countryside just West of the River Scheldt in Flanders, & together with the engagement at Tournai, the following day & Gen.Jourdan's victory at Fleurus later that year marked the start of the allied evacuation of it's forces across the Rhine & French supremacy in Western Europe.

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★ Detailed history at web2.airmail.net