Wattignies - 15-16 October 1793

In the late summer of 1793, the French Republic stood on the brink of collapse. Engaged in a war against a powerful coalition of European states, it had suffered defeat after defeat since the spring, and on all its borders its territory was being invaded. On 8 September 1793, by seizing victory at Hondschoote in Flanders over their Anglo-Hanoverian adversaries, the republican troops thwarted the siege of Dunkirk. This was insufficient, however, to upset the plans of the Prince of Coburg, who, at the end of that month, began with his Austrian troops the siege of one of the last citadels guarding the northern border: Maubeuge.

Despite its garrison of 20,000 men, the fortress could not hold out for long. Spurred on by the représentant en mission Lazare Carnot, General Jean-Baptiste Jourdan hastily assembled a relief army. The fighting took place on 15 and 16 October: 45,000 French combatants assailed 21,000 Austrians entrenched south of Maubeuge, principally around the villages of Dourlers and Wattignies.

In this new instalment of the Batailles Oubliées collection, the author, drawing on the archives of both belligerents, reveals the twists and turns of this battle that secured the liberation of Maubeuge and granted the Republic a much-needed respite.