Siege of Valenciennes ( 1793 ) The siege of Valenciennes took place between 13 June and 28 July 1793 , during the Flanders Campaign of the War of the First Coalition . The French garrison under Jean Henri Becays Ferrand was blockaded by part of the army of Prince Josias of Saxe - Coburg - Saalfeld , commanded by the Duke of York . Valenciennes fell on 28 July , resulting in an Allied victory . Background . Following the defeat of the French Republican armies at Neerwinden , the Allied army under the Prince of Coburg recovered much of the Austrian Netherlands and began besieging Condé - sur - l ' Escaut , while the demoralised French army ' s attempts to relieve the fortress in actions at St . Amand and Raismes were driven back . By mid May Coburg was reinforced to a strength approaching 90 , 000 , which allowed the Allies to drive the French from an entrenched camp at Famars on 23 May , and lay siege to Valenciennes . Many of the French who had been driven from Famars took refuge in the fortified town of Valenciennes , raising its garrison considerably . Coburg selected the recently arrived Duke of York to lead the siege operations with his own command and 14 , 000 Austrians , while Austrian General Joseph de Ferraris was attached to supervise the technical aspects . The British government were surprised by this , the British were inexperienced in heavy siege warfare and lacked equipment , it was even suspected the Austrians had some sinister reasons for choosing York York ' s Chief of Engineers Colonel Moncrieff believed that the place could be carried by an assault without the need for a long protracted investment , but Ferraris would hear none of it and insisted on a formal siege of trenches following full procedures . The Siege . It took a fortnight before heavy guns could be brought forward , but on 13 June trenches were finally dug and the siege began . 25 , 000 men undertook the siege , protected by a covering army of 30 , 000 . The siege operations of the Austrians proceeded at a slow pace , much to the frustration of York . Fitzgerald wrote " He sharply remonstrated with them , and in return was reproved for his excessive zeal " . On 26 July , the main hornworks on the Eastern side were stormed by three columns , one of them of British troops ( companies of the Guards supported by part of Abercromby ' s brigade ) . York ' s chief of staff Murray wrote : " The keeping of the hornwork was entirely owing to us putting the Duke of York at the head . Repeated orders were sent by General Ferraris to evacuate it . Knowing the Duke ' s wishes on that head , convinced of the folly of such a measure , and strongly supported by Colonel Moncrieff , I gave positive orders to the contrary , which was approved in the fullest manner by His Royal Highness who was at that time at a redoubt a little to the rear " Following the fall of the hornwork Valenciennes surrendered on 28 July , the garrison being allowed to leave with the honours of war minus their weapons and munitions . Aftermath . York was proclaimed as a saviour by the population of the town , which trampled the tricolour underfoot and declared him King of France . Although the released garrison troops were supposed to return to France and not fight again in the War , in fact many were immediately reassigned to the defence of Dunkirk by the French government .