Battle of Jemappes

Battle of Jemappes
Part of the French Revolutionary Wars
Date 6 November 1792 Location Near Jemappes, Belgium Result French victory
Belligerents
France	Austria
Commanders and leaders
Charles Dumouriez	Albert of Saxe-Teschen Count of Clerfayt
Strength
40,000-43,000, 100 guns	13,796, 56 guns
Casualties and losses
2,000	1,241, 5 guns

War of the First Coalition Verdun Avesnes-le-Sec Valmy Jemappes 1st Mainz Neerwinden Raismes Famars 1st Arlon Bellegarde Hondshoote Dunkirk Méribel Peyrestortes Truillas 1st Wissembourg Wattignies Kaiserslautern San Pietro and Sant'Antioco Toulon 2nd Wissembourg Martinique Guadeloupe Saint-Florent Bastia 2nd Arlon Villers-en-Cauchies Saorgio Beaumont Mouscron Boulou Tourcoing Tournay 3rd Arlon Ushant Fleurus Calvi Vosges Fort-Dauphin Baztan San-Lorenzo 1st Dego Black Mountain Roses Gulf of Roses Genoa Luxembourg Groix Quiberon Hyères 2nd Mainz Loano Montenotte Millesimo 2nd Dego Mondovì Fombio Lodi Borghetto Ettlingen Lonato Castiglione Neresheim Amberg Würzburg Rovereto 1st Bassano Biberach Emmendingen Schliengen 2nd Bassano Calliano Caldiero Arcole Newfoundland Expédition d'Irlande Kehl Rivoli Mantua Faenza Fishguard Neuwied Veronese Easters Camperdown War in the Vendée War of the Pyrenees Flanders Campaign Anglo-Spanish War

The Battle of Jemappes (6 November 1792) took place near the town of Jemappes in Hainaut, Belgium, near Mons. General Charles François Dumouriez, in command of the French Revolutionary Army, defeated the greatly outnumbered Austrian army of Field Marshal Duke Albert of Saxe-Teschen and his second-in-command François de Croix, Count of Clerfayt.

Contents 1 Basic Battle Summary 2 Order of battle 3 Battle 4 Results 5 References 5.1 External references 5.2 Footnotes

Basic Battle Summary

Dumouriez, intent on invading the Austrian Netherlands, advanced late in the season and attacked the Austrians with greatly superior forces. Jemappes was won by costly but effective charges against the Austrians' prepared position. Dumouriez overran the Austrian Netherlands within a month, but lost it at the Battle of Neerwinden in March. The French would not reconquer the Austrian Netherlands until the summer of 1794.

Order of battle

See Jemappes 1792 Order of Battle for details of Austrian and French organization.

Battle

Saxe-Teschen entrenched his 11,628 infantry, 2,168 cavalry and 56 guns along the Cuesmes Ridge just a few kilometers west of Mons. The Austrian artillery included fourteen 12-lb cannon, thirty-six 6-lb and 3-lb cannon and six 7-lb howitzers.^[1] The north end of the position, defended by Feldmarschal-Leutnant (FML) Franz Freiherr von Lilien, was anchored on the village of Jemappes. Feldzeugmeister Count Clerfayt commanded the center and FML Johann Beaulieu led the Left Wing. The Austrian right wing faced to the west, the center and the left wing faced toward the southwest.^[2] The village of Cuesmes lay behind the Austrian left. One flaw in the position was that an Austrian retreat could only be made across a single bridge over the Hain River.^[1]

Dumouriez had 32,000 infantry, 3,800 cavalry and 100 artillery pieces. He expected to be joined by General Louis Harville's additional 4,000 men on the right. (Smith gives a total of 40,000 infantry and 3,000 cavalry.)^[1] Dumouriez planned to turn both Austrian flanks. Accordingly, he divided his army into two wings, giving General Jean Ferrand command of the left and General Pierre Beurnonville control of the right. The French army was made up of a collection of royal army, volunteer, and national guard units.

The French made an "ill-coordinated but enthusiastic attack"^[3] A series of attacks beginning at dawn stalled. Dumouriez ordered a renewed assault at noon. The Duke of Chartres (who styled himself General Egalité) sent a massive French column at the center of the ridge. This gained a foothold which the Austrians could not dislodge. Some French soldiers also enveloped the enemy right, threatening the Austrian rear. Saxe-Teschen withdrew his right and center into Mons. Beaulieu ably covered the retreat with his left wing.

Results

The French lost approximately 650 dead and 1,300 wounded. The Austrians reported 305 dead, 513 wounded and 423 men and 5 guns captured. Many of the Austrian casualties were caused by the plentiful French artillery. The Bender IR # 41 suffered especially heavy casualties of 14 officers and 400 rank and file. Mons surrendered to the French the day after the battle and Brussels fell on 14 November. The French populace "went wild with joy" at this first offensive victory of the war.^[1]

References

• Chandler, David. Dictionary of the Napoleonic Wars. New York: Macmillan, 1979. ISBN 0-02-523670-9
• Lynn, John A. The Bayonets of the Republic: Motivation and Tactics in the Army of Revolutionary France, 1791-94. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1996.
• Pope, Stephen. The Cassell Dictionary of the Napoleonic Wars, Cassell, 1999.
• Smith, Digby. The Napoleonic Wars Data Book. London: Greenhill, 1998. ISBN 1-85367-276-9

External references

Battle of Jemappes by historyofwar.org

Footnotes

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Smith, p 31
2. ^ Chandler, map, p 214
3. ^ Chandler, p 214