Siege of Breda (1793)

Siege of Breda
	Part of the Flanders Campaign in the War of the First Coalition
	; French soldiers move into Breda after its capitulation.
Date	21 – 27 February 1793
Location	Breda, Dutch Republic51°34′59.99″N 4°46′59.99″E / 51.5833306°N 4.7833306°E
Result	French victory
Belligerents
France; Armée du Nord; Batavian Legion;	Dutch Republic; Dutch States Army;
Commanders and leaders
François Joseph Westermann	Alexander of Bylandt
Strength
3,800 troops; 4 mortars; 4 howitzers	1,335 infantrymen; 197 dragoons; 153 artillerists
	class=notpageimage\| Location within Netherlands Siege of Breda (1793) (North Sea)

The siege of Breda took place from 21 to 27 February 1793 in the course of the Flanders Campaign during the War of the First Coalition .

Background

After the

Staats-Brabant; moreover, the Barony of Breda was a centuries-old personal possession of the House of Orange-Nassau, and thus had a symbolic significance for the radical republicans in Paris. On 10 February 1793, when the Franco–Batavian forces were closing in, stadtholder William V, Prince of Orange ordered commander Alexander of Bylandt

to defend Breda at all costs:

Ne vous embarrassez pas si mon chateau et tout ce qui je possède dans la baronnie est brulé ou détruit, je dois à mon pays mon sang pour sa défense s'il le faut, je lui dois aussi la sacrifice de mes biens quand il s'agit de la conservation de ma patrie.
(Don't be embarrassed if my castle and everything I possess in the barony is burnt down or destroyed; I owe to my country my blood for its defence if it's necessary, I also owe it the sacrifice of my properties when the preservation of my fatherland is at stake.)[3]

Siege

The Armée du Nord crossed the border on 16 February, and already began planting

Sans-Culottes that lacked almost everything.^[6]

Within a few days the

Armée du Nord was ordered to return to Brussels rather than further entering Holland.^[7]^[8]

Aftermath

The next day Dumouriez himself arrived in Breda. A liberty tree with a Phrygian cap on top was planted in front of the town hall, and Dumouriez and his officers danced around it whilst singing "La Marseillaise". A gallows was later placed next to it, to maintain order. A Batavian Committee was appointed to form a new governance. However, when Dumouriez suffered a crushing defeat in the Battle of Neerwinden (18 March 1793), commander Flers prepared the city's defences. On 29 March, a States officer ordered the fortress to capitulate in the name of the Prince of Orange, while Dumouriez sent Flers a letter ordering him to evacuate Breda. After several days of negotiations, the French handed the city back to the States without firing a single shot.^[9]

In September 1794, the French returned and there were several skirmishes in the environs of Breda, leading people to fear a new siege. This would not happen, however: the French besieged 's-Hertogenbosch, Grave and Nijmegen, crossed the frozen rivers, advanced through the Bommelerwaard and occupied Utrecht and Amsterdam in January 1795. While the stadtholder and his family and entourage fled to England, the Batavian Revolution in Amsterdam occurred and the Batavian Republic was proclaimed on 18 January. This rendered further resistance futile, and Breda surrendered without a fight on 27 January 1795.^[10]

References

^ ^a ^b Van der Hoeven (1868), p. 223–224.
^ Van der Hoeven (1868), p. 220.
^ Van der Hoeven (1868), p. 218.
^ Van der Hoeven (1868), p. 224–225.
^ DBNL (1869) Mr. Ph. Jurriaan Quint Ondaatje von M.P.J. Ondaatje, p. 57
^ Mémoires du général Dumouriez, Band 2, p. 27, 30, 32, 38, 42, 54
^ Mémoires du général Dumouriez, Band 2, p. 61
^ Patricia Chastain Howe (2008) Foreign policy and the French Revolution. Charles-Francois Doyle, Pierre Lebrun, and the Belgian Plan, 1789-1793. Palgrave Macmillan, London, p. 159, 172
^ Van der Hoeven (1868), p. 227–228.
^ Van der Hoeven (1868), p. 234–236.

Literature

G. G. van der Hoeven (1868) Geschiedenis der vesting Breda, p. 216–228. Breda: Broese & Comp.

[VDH223-1] Van der Hoeven (1868), p. 223–224.

[2] Van der Hoeven (1868), p. 220.

[3] Van der Hoeven (1868), p. 218.

[4] Van der Hoeven (1868), p. 224–225.

[5] DBNL (1869) Mr. Ph. Jurriaan Quint Ondaatje von M.P.J. Ondaatje, p. 57

[6] Mémoires du général Dumouriez, Band 2, p. 27, 30, 32, 38, 42, 54

[7] Mémoires du général Dumouriez, Band 2, p. 61

[8] Patricia Chastain Howe (2008) Foreign policy and the French Revolution. Charles-Francois Doyle, Pierre Lebrun, and the Belgian Plan, 1789-1793. Palgrave Macmillan, London, p. 159, 172

[9] Van der Hoeven (1868), p. 227–228.

[10] Van der Hoeven (1868), p. 234–236.

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