The Battle of Fleurus of 8 Messidor Year II (June 26, 1794) took place between the allies (United Kingdom, Holy Empire, Electorate of Hanover) and France. The French win a decisive battle at Fleurus, between Charleroi and Namur, in the Austrian Netherlands (now Belgium).
The Allies, commanded by the Prince of Saxe-Coburg, aimed to lift the siege of Charleroi, unaware that the city had accepted a secret surrender the day before. Organized in five columns, they simultaneously struck the French forces deployed in an arc around Charleroi and supported at both ends on the Sambre.
Procedure
The French left first retreated through the Bois de Monceau as far as Marchienne, but there the Imperials, noticing the capture of Charleroi, hesitated. Kléber takes advantage of this to have his troops charge them and force them to retreat.
Morlot, in the center, fell back on Gosselies, while Championnet had to abandon Heppignies. But Jourdan brings reinforcements and retakes this last village.
General of the Imperial Army Beaulieu, who understood this, arrived with a new column; but Jourdan had the reserves given up, and the French, after the greatest efforts, remained masters of the village of Lambusart. Thus everywhere the fight has been re-established:the end of the day is approaching. Beaulieu, also learning of the capture of Charleroi, retreated, and Cobourg decided to order a general retreat to Brussels.
The battle took place all day under a scorching sun, and, in places, in the midst of real fires, the crops having caught fire.
In the evening, out of weariness, Prince Cobourg abandoned the battlefield on which he left 5,000 dead and wounded.
The following day, the Allies abandoned Belgium and retreated to Germany. The Imperials permanently lose control of this region. The French take Brussels (July 10) and Antwerp (July 27) while the English expeditionary force is re-embarked. The last battle on the territory of present-day Belgium will take place in Sprimont on September 18.
This battle saw the first military use of an observation balloon in the history of ballooning. The captain of the Coutelle company of balloonists and an officer can thus observe the deployment of the allies. The presence of this spy balloon affects the morale of the allies.
Characteristics of the L’Entreprenant balloon:
perfectly spherical volume with a diameter of 27 feet (about 9 meters);
with a capacity of 523 m³, it is inflated with hydrogen (H2);
the waterproofing of the envelope was carried out by Jean-Marie-Joseph Coutelle and Nicolas-Jacques Conté (inventor of the pencil); thus, L'Entreprenant will remain two whole months full of gas at the army of Sambre-et-Meuse;
the balloon can raise a basket occupied by two men and reach an altitude of 500 meters , but in practice it is enough that it reaches 250 to 400 meters to be operational. To ensure that observations were transmitted quickly, flags from the maritime signal code were used, or annotated sheets of paper transmitted to the ground in a small leather bag sliding along a cable.
Place of observation of the Battle of Fleurus:
The captive balloon L'Entreprenant rose in Jumet, on the plateau currently occupied by the TEC Charleroi depot and the western end of the runway at Gosselies airport. It was also there that the staff of the French General Jourdan and the representatives of the People Guyton de Morveau, Gillet and Saint-Just were located, "on the plateau of the Jumey mill..." built at the approximate altitude of 180 meters.
Order of battle of the French army on June 20
The French army was 89,592 strong, minus the 8,625 men of Muller's division who did not take part in the battle.
Right wing
It is commanded by General Marceau and is made up of:
Marceau division (Lorge and Hardy brigades) 7,961 strong;
Mayer division (Prestal and Lecourbe brigades) 8,517 strong.
This wing had its right at the level of Auvelais and the Bois de Copiaux, resting on the Sambre and had its left around the Campinaire (near Lambusart). The vanguards occupied Wanfercée-Baulet and Velaine.
Centre
The Army Center is made up of three divisions:
Lefebvre division (brigades:Leval, Jacopin and Sultzmann) for a force of 8,815 men. This division was attached to that of Marceau at Campinaire (on his right therefore) and his left was at Wagnelée. Its vanguard was at Fleurus;
Championnet division (brigades:Legrand, Grenier and Lerivint) for a force of 9,088 men. This division had its right at Wagnelée and its left around Heppignies. His vanguard held Mellet and Saint-Fiacre;
Morlot division (brigades:Olivier and Simon) for a force of 8,578 men. This division had its right in front of Gosselies and its left in front of Thiméon.
Central Reserves
Hatry infantry reserve made up of the Chapsal and Bonnet brigades for a force of 11,064 men, positioned back from the center at Ransart.
Dubois cavalry division made up of the Soland and Hautpoul brigades for a force of 2,713 cavalry. It is also positioned in Ransart.
Left wing
It is made up of three divisions, one of which, the Muller division, is not present on the day of the battle because it was sent as reinforcements to General Scherer to defend the Sambre as far as Maubeuge:
Kléber division (brigades:Duhesme, Fusier and Schlachter) for a force of 9,969 men. This division is positioned on its right around Gosselies and on its left on the heights in front of Jumet, forming a second line of the left wing;
Montaigu division (brigades:Richard, Poncet and Boisset) for a force of 8,358 men. The right of this division is located at Piéton, its center at Trazegnies and its left around the Bois de Monceau (Monceau-sur-Sambre) and Forchies;
Muller division (brigades:Ransonnet and Chevalier) 8,625 strong; this division does not participate in the battle.
Left Reserve
Daurier Brigade 5,904 strong, positioned in Fontaine-l’Évêque, Leernes and Wespe.
Loss
According to Jean-de-Dieu Soult, 5,000 French soldiers were put out of action while the allies left 7,000 dead. The coalition losses are however exaggerated by the French. According to Waldeck, they lost 5,000 men, including the 2,800 men of the Charleroi garrison. On July 4, the statement of the losses is drawn up with the headquarters of Cobourg, in Waterloo; the balance sheet of the imperial troops in Fleurus is 208 dead, 1,017 wounded, 361 prisoners, a mortar, 3 caissons and a standard. According to historian Victor César Eugène Dupuis, the Dutch probably lost about 700 men.