page_title: Battle of Courtrai (1814)
section_title: Battle
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Courtrai (1814) / Battle
caption_attribution_description: English: Preußen: von Hellwigsches Streifcorps. 1813 Deutsch: Knötel, Band I, Tafel 28: Preußen: von Hellwigsches Streifcorps. 1813
context_page_description: The Battle of Courtrai saw Johann von Thielmann's Kingdom of Saxony troops and a few Prussians encounter an Imperial French force under Nicolas Joseph Maison near Kortrijk, a city south-west of Ghent in what is now Belgium. Thielmann attacked only to find himself facing the bulk of Maison's I Corps. The action ended in a rout of the Saxons, most of whom were under fire for the first time.
  While Napoleon battled the main Coalition armies: the Army of Bohemia or the Grand Army, under the command of the Austrian Prince Schwarzenberg and the Army of Silesia under the command of the Prussian General Prince Blücher in a major campaign in north-east France, a secondary campaign was waged in the Low Countries to the north. A third Coalition body, Army of the North led by Prince Jean Baptiste Bernadotte sent major elements into the Low Countries to drive out the Imperial French occupation forces. In time, the Coalition forces, joined by a British expedition and other reinforcements, succeeded in driving the local French forces back to Lille and isolating most of the remainder in Antwerp.
context_section_description: Finding that Maison evacuated Ghent, Thielmann moved south-west to Avelgem, hoping catch Solignac's division. He called in some dispersed troops and invited Wallmoden to march to Oudenaarde to help defeat the French. Thielmann's 2nd Brigade under Prince Paul von Württemberg took the main road from Avelgem, while Brause's 1st Brigade used a different route. At 6:00 am on 31 March, Brause's brigade cleared the French outposts from Zwevegem. The 1st Battalion of the 1st Saxon Landwehr Regiment covered the right flank toward Harelbeke while Hellwig's Freikorps covered the left flank in the direction of Bellegem. The 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the Saxon Landwehr and four guns constituted the reserve while the remainder of 1st Brigade formed the centre. While the 1st Brigade deployed, the 2nd Brigade arrived in Zwevegem. When Brause reported a French battle line in front of him, Thielmann and Prince Paul went forward to investigate. After an inspection, Thielmann waved his troops forward.
   
  The 2nd Brigade deployed with two and one-half battalions forward. In reserve were the 3rd Battalion of the 3rd Saxon Landwehr Regiment and the Schwarzberg Battalion on the Windmill Hill. Seeing the Saxons approaching only from the direction of Oudenaarde, Maison resolved to envelop both flanks. He ordered Solignac to move from Bellegem to strike the Saxon left flank while Barrois advanced from Harelbeke to turn the Saxon right flank. Roguet's division supported by Castex's cavalry would hold the center while the other divisions wheeled inward. The quality of Maison's troops was superior to their opponents. The French units consisted of veteran cadres filled up with conscripts while the Saxon Landwehr had never been in battle before. 
  Prince Paul deployed the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 3rd Saxon Landwehr Regiment into a closed column with the Bernberg Battalion behind them. Sending five companies of Saxons and two companies from the Schwarzberg Battalion ahead as skirmishers, Paul ordered an attack, apparently without specific orders. Maison responded by ordering a body of French skirmishers to hit Thielmann's left flank while sending four of Roguet's battalions forward, led by the 10th Tirailleur Regiment. The attack pressed back the 1st Battalion of the 1st Saxon Landwehr. By now a large portion of the Saxon force was deployed as skirmishers in a noisy musketry duel.
  When Thielmann finally realized he was engaged with the whole I Corps, he immediately ordered a retreat. The 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the 1st Saxon Landwehr were helped out of a difficult situation by a charge by the Saxon Hussars. As the divisions of Barrois and Solignac closed in from the flanks, the Saxon division lost cohesion. Jean-Luc Darriule's brigade led Barrois' attack while Penne's brigade led Solignac's advance. Castex led a cavalry charge by the 2nd Guard Chasseurs à Cheval which threw back the Saxon Cuirassiers and got among the Saxon infantry. Thielmann's formations disintegrated, the individual soldiers scattering across the countryside. Either the 2nd or 3rd Battalion of the 3rd Saxon Landwehr was trapped against a wall and surrendered in a body. Darriule's brigade pursued as far as the hamlet of Kerkhove and some panicked Saxons drowned while trying to swim across the Scheldt.
caption: Hellwig's Streifcorps
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