Siege of Condé (1793)
Siege of Condé (1793) | |||||||
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Part of the Flanders campaign in the War of the First Coalition | |||||||
![]() The defenses of Condé included ditches that could be flooded via sluice gates. | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Republican France | |||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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Strength | |||||||
6,000 | 4,300 | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
light | 4,300, 103 guns |
The siege of Condé (8 April – 12 July 1793) saw a force made up of
The Austrian victory at Neerwinden in mid-March drove the French occupation army from the Austrian Netherlands. The subsequent defection of Charles François Dumouriez shook the morale of the French soldiers and caused the politicians to suspect most generals of treason. Austria and her Coalition allies moved against the line of fortresses protecting the northeastern border of France, investing first Condé and Valenciennes soon afterward. Meanwhile, the motley French armies, composed of regulars and raw recruits and led by generals fearful of the guillotine, struggled to defend their nation.
Background
On 18 March 1793, Charles François Dumouriez's French army attacked Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld's Austrian army in the Battle of Neerwinden. The French army numbered 40,000 infantry and 4,500 cavalries while the Austrians employed 30,000 foot and 9,000 horse. The fighting on the French right and center was bitterly contested, but the French left collapsed and abandoned the field. After a second defeat near Leuven on 21 March, the French abandoned Brussels on the 24th, their soldiers deserting in large numbers. Dumouriez negotiated with the Austrians and evacuated the Austrian Netherlands in return for free passage for French troops. The French armies took positions behind the frontier. The Army of Holland deployed near Lille, the Army of the Ardennes at Maulde, the Army of the North at Bruille-Saint-Amand, and the Army of Belgium at Condé-sur-l'Escaut and Valenciennes.[1]
Dumouriez was at heart a monarchist and
Condé-sur-l'Escaut occupies a strategic location at the confluence of the
Siege
A 6,000-strong Coalition division led by
![Painting of a black-moustached man in a white 18th century wig. He wears a blue 1790s style military coat with gold trim.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/43/G%C3%A9n%C3%A9ral_AUGUSTE_MARIE_HENRI_PICOT%2C_COMTE_DE_DAMPIERRE%2C_MARECHAL_DE_CAMP_EN_1792_%281756-1793%29.jpg/150px-G%C3%A9n%C3%A9ral_AUGUSTE_MARIE_HENRI_PICOT%2C_COMTE_DE_DAMPIERRE%2C_MARECHAL_DE_CAMP_EN_1792_%281756-1793%29.jpg)
After Dumouriez defected, the French government appointed
On 23 May 1793, the Coalition army defeated the French in the Battle of Famars. The Coalition lost 1,100 casualties out of 53,000 while the 27,000-strong French army, now under Lamarche, lost 3,000 killed and wounded, plus 300 men, 17 guns, 14 ammunition wagons and three colors captured.[9] One consequence of the battle was that the Coalition began the siege of Valenciennes.[10] The isolated garrison at Condé communicated with the French armies via messages sent by balloons. This proved to be a double-edged sword when one balloon fell into the hands of the Coalition along with its message that the defenders were running low on food.[11] Chancel surrendered Condé, its surviving defenders and 103 artillery pieces on 12 July 1793. Coalition losses during the siege are unknown.[4]
Aftermath
Jean Henri Becays Ferrand surrendered Valenciennes to the Coalition on 27 July 1793.[12] At this point the Coalition allies made a deadly blunder. Having seized Condé and Valencienes, they had 118,000 troops concentrated at the gap in the fortress line. Instead, they split their forces.[13] Their next targets were Dunkirk, invested on 24 August, and Le Quesnoy, invested on 28 August. The siege of Le Quesnoy concluded successfully on 13 September but the siege of Dunkirk was a failure.[14]
The loss of Condé spelt the doom of then-current French commander
Condé was held by the Coalition until 29 August 1794 when Franz von Reyniac surrendered the fortress to Barthélemy Louis Joseph Schérer. The 1,500 Austrian defenders were paroled on the promise not to fight against France for one year. These included one battalion each from Infantry Regiments Joseph Colloredo Nr. 57 and Beaulieu Nr. 58, plus three companies from Esterhazy Nr. 34.[18]
Notes
- ISBN 978-1-908692-24-5.
- ^ Phipps (2010), pp. 158–162
- ^ Goode, Dominic (2008). "Condé-sur-l'Escaut". fortified-places.com.
- ^ ISBN 1-85367-276-9.
- ^ Phipps (2010), p. 171
- ^ Phipps (2010), p. 172
- ^ a b Phipps (2010), pp. 178–180
- ^ Smith (1998), pp. 45–46
- ^ Smith (1998), pp. 46–47
- ^ Phipps (2010), pp. 181–182
- ^ Phipps (2010), p. 184
- ^ Smith (1998), p. 50
- ^ Phipps (2010), p. 213
- ^ Smith (1998), pp. 54–55
- ^ Phipps (2010), p. 189
- ^ a b Broughton, Tony (2006). "Generals Who Served in the French Army during the Period 1789–1815: Cervoni to Custine de Serreck". The Napoleon Series. Retrieved 13 May 2014.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Phipps (2010), p. 258
- ^ Smith (1998), p. 90
References
- Broughton, Tony (2006). "Generals Who Served in the French Army during the Period 1789–1815: Cervoni to Custine de Serreck". The Napoleon Series. Retrieved 13 May 2014.[permanent dead link]
- Goode, Dominic (2008). "Condé-sur-l'Escaut". fortified-places.com.
- ISBN 978-1-908692-24-5.
- ISBN 1-85367-276-9.
See also
- Rickard, J. (2009). "Siege of Condé, April-10 July 1793". historyofwar.org. Retrieved 18 May 2014.