page_title: Battle of Wattignies
section_title: Results
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Wattignies / Results
caption_attribution_description: English: Portrait of Frederick, Duke of York (1763-1827)
context_page_description: The Battle of Wattignies saw a Republican French army commanded by Jean-Baptiste Jourdan attack a Coalition army directed by Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. After two days of combat Jourdan's troops compelled the Habsburg covering force led by François Sébastien Charles Joseph de Croix, Count of Clerfayt to withdraw. The War of the First Coalition victory allowed the French to raise the Siege of Maubeuge. At a time when failed generals were often executed or imprisoned, Jourdan had to endure interference from Lazare Carnot from the Committee of Public Safety. The village, renamed Wattignies-la-Victoire in honor of the important success, is located 9 kilometres southeast of Maubeuge.
  Coburg's main army encircled 25,000 French soldiers in Maubeuge while about 22,000 Austrians under Clerfayt were formed in a semi-circle, covering the southern approaches to the fortress. On the first day, 45,000 French soldiers mounted a clumsy attack which was easily repulsed, except near the village of Wattignies. On the second day, Jourdan concentrated half his army at Wattignies and after a tough fight, forced Coburg to concede defeat.
context_section_description: Prepared for a long battle, Jourdan reinforced Duquesnoy's division at Wattignies and ordered it to entrench. The Duke of York arrived from the northwest with 3,500 men to reinforce Coburg. The Austrian commander-in-chief had plenty of soldiers but the Prince of Orange denied a request to send any of his soldiers to the south side of the Sambre. Fearful of a sortie by the large garrison of Maubeuge, Coburg lifted the siege and retreated across the river at Hautmont and Buissière. Chancel recommended an attack on the retreating army but Ferrand declined to intervene. The Maubeuge garrison made a weak sortie on 15 October but remained inert the next day. On 17 October, the garrison sent out a column to the south to meet with Jourdan, instead of to the north after the retreating Coalition forces.
  The Coalition reported losses of 365 killed, 1,753 wounded and 369 captured or missing, a total of 2,487 casualties. French losses were estimated at 3,000. Another authority numbered French losses as 5,000 killed, wounded and missing. The Austrians sustained 2,500 killed and wounded while an additional 500 men were captured. A third source also gave casualty figures of 5,000 French and 3,000 Austrians and added that the French lost 27 artillery pieces. A fourth source estimated losses as 3,000 on each side. For the poor performance of the Maubeuge garrison, Chancel was blamed, arrested, convicted and guillotined. For the rout of his brigade, Gratien was arrested but eventually acquitted. Claude Lecourbe distinguished himself in the attack on Wattignies on 16 October. Édouard Mortier was wounded at Dourlers on 15 October. Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte fought in Balland's division and Michel Ney was probably in Fromentin's division.
caption: Duke of York
exif: {}