Qualla: Battle of Neerwinden (1793)

Battle of Neerwinden (1793): Introduction

Sat, 16 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Manuel F. V. G. Mourão, CC BY-SA 3.0. Charles François Dumouriez was confident as he marched on the village of Neerwinden in March 1793. He had reason. One hundred years earlier, almost to the year, a French marshal had won a brutal victory on this exact ground. Dumouriez had himself crushed the Austrians at Jemappes the previous November and overrun the entire Austrian Netherlands in a month. He outnumbered Prince Coburg's defenders in infantry. He attacked the same village from a similar direction. He even called the comparison to mind before the battle. Within two days he was beaten, within three weeks he was negotiating with the enemy, and within five he was a traitor in flight across the lines, the most spectacular defection of the Revolutionary Wars.

Image: Manuel F. V. G. Mourão | CC BY-SA 3.0

Battle of Neerwinden (1793): An empire in eight weeks

Sat, 16 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Sonuwe, CC BY-SA 3.0. After Jemappes on 6 November 1792, the speed of the French collapse of Austrian power was breathtaking. Mechelen fell on 16 November, Antwerp on the 29th, Namur on 2 December. Dumouriez himself entered Liège to popular acclaim. By the end of the year the French armies in the Low ...

Image: Sonuwe | CC BY-SA 3.0

Battle of Neerwinden (1793): The Austrians return

Sat, 16 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit H. Rousseau (graphic designer), E.Thomas (engraver), Public domain. Prince Coburg had used the breathing space well. On 1 March his army swept aside the French covering force at Aldenhoven and pushed west. The French siege of Maastricht collapsed on the third. By the time Dumouriez gave up his Dutch adventure and hurried south to take command, hi...

Image: H. Rousseau (graphic designer), E.Thomas (engraver) | Public domain

Battle of Neerwinden (1793): Eight columns and one bad bet

Sat, 16 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Jean-Pol GRANDMONT, CC BY 3.0. Dumouriez expected Coburg to mass on his right to protect his Austrian supply line, so he threw his heaviest weight against the Austrian left. He read the deployment wrong. At seven in the morning eight French attack columns swept across the Little Geete. The villages of Racour a...

Image: Jean-Pol GRANDMONT | CC BY 3.0

Battle of Neerwinden (1793): A general talks to the enemy

Sat, 16 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Johann Nepomuk Geiger (1805-1880), Public domain. What happened next is what makes Neerwinden remarkable. Six thousand French volunteers deserted in the days that followed. Within three days the army was down to twenty thousand effectives. On 24 March Dumouriez led what remained through Brussels, opened negotiations with the Aus...

Image: Johann Nepomuk Geiger (1805-1880) | Public domain

Battle of Neerwinden (1793): The dark inheritance

Sat, 16 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Johann Nepomuk Geiger (1805-1880), Public domain. The damage Dumouriez did to the revolutionary cause outlasted his betrayal. Until Neerwinden the French armies had obeyed their generals. Afterward, the representatives on mission held extraordinary powers over commanders, the War Minister sent agents to spy on the rest, and any ...

Image: Johann Nepomuk Geiger (1805-1880) | Public domain