Battle of Menin (1793)

In the Summer of 1793 the Coalition forces had split, with the British army besieging Dunkirk under the Duke of York, and the Austrians under the Prince of Coburg investing Le Quesnoy. The States Army under the Hereditary Prince was left to guard a long line along the Leie (Lys) river, based on Wervik and Menen (Menin), protecting the lines of communication between two allied armies, for which task it was overextended. The Dutch commander repeatedly asked for reinforcements from his Allies, but these requests were denied. After the Battle of Hondschoote from 6 to 8 September 1793 the British were forced to raise the Siege of Dunkirk, and to fall back upon Veurne (Furnes), thereby exposing the Dutch right flank, which was in danger of being turned at Ypres. The British retreat did not turn into a rout, because Houchard did not pursue them energetically enough, according to later French military commentators. Instead of following in the direction of Veurne he turned sharply right on 10 September, following a plan that Lazare Carnot, the member of the Committee of Public Safety who had special responsibility for the conduct of the war, had laid down in a letter of 5 September. The plan had as objective the relief of Le Quesnoy which was still holding out. Houchard was to march on Tournai and take the fortress. Had to defeat the Dutch troops around Menen as they would otherwise threaten his left flank near Tournai. The Dutch troops had retreated from Ypres, as this was considered indefensible for lack of provisions and toward Menen and Halluin, where they concentrated. A further retreat toward Kortrijk was contemplated and set in motion on 10 September but on the way the Hereditary Prince was informed that Coburg had succeeded in forcing the capitulation of Le Quesnoy, and therefore was able to detach a force of 14,000 Austrians under Beaulieu to reinforce the Dutch along the Leie. This convinced the Dutch commander to remain in position. The three French generals lost valuable time at Bailleul in preparation but their presence remained hidden from the Dutch. This was also evidenced by the narrative of De Bas, representing the Dutch perspective, who reported the French attack as a complete surprise. In the morning of 12 September, two columns of French troops under Dumesny and Hédouville finally left Bailleul for Menen, marching along the left bank of the Leie. ==The battle==

The evening of 12 September strong French detachments had already reached the woods around Bousbecque and Roncq (where they surprised an outpost of the Dutch regiment "Van Brakel," with a loss 40 men), positions. Informed about the attack, the Hereditary Prince asked Beaulieu personally to send reinforcements to the Dutch, who were already pressed by the French assault. Beaulieu refused, pleading that his troops had not yet had breakfast, and therefore could not be ready to march before 9 or 10 AM. He also informed the Prince that he had orders to support the British and not the Dutch. However, he detached four squadrons of cavalry (about 400 men) under general Kray to support Prince Frederick at Wervik, who with 5,000 Dutch troops was holding off a French attack of the division-Hédouville that had started at 5 AM. The village had changed hands twice already, before the French managed to occupy it in force, and drove the Dutch back with sustained artillery fire. of Flanders – the battlefield is in the middle of the triangle "Ipres"-Tournai-Courtrai (click for higher resolution and zoom) When general Kray arrived at Wervik, he assured Prince Frederick that Beaulieu's main force would follow, and convinced the inexperienced Dutchman that it was safe to start a counterattack. The young Prince set himself at the head of the Dutch Guards, and supported by the Swiss regiment-De Gumoëns (in Dutch service) and two grenadier battalions, flanked by Dutch and Austrian cavalry, attacked a French battery head on. The Austrian cavalry troops were hit by heavy grapeshot, and in confusion rode down the Dutch infantry, which also broke. At this crucial moment Prince Frederick was hit in the shoulder by a musket ball, and fell through loss of blood unconscious off his horse. Only with difficulty was he evacuated to a Dutch field ambulance. This loss of the Dutch commander prompted so much confusion on the Allied side that a general retreat started, led by Frederick's second-in-command major-general Count Golowkin. The retreat was bravely covered by the Swiss, who held off pursuing French cavalry, but in the rearguard action the battalion of major Hohenlohe was destroyed with great loss of life. but lightly defended, town of Menen, thereby splitting the Dutch forces. When he heard this, general Golowkin, who had intended to occupy the town, decided to retreat further in the direction of Roeselare. This forced the Hereditary Prince, still near Menen, to give up his defence also, and to retreat in the direction of Kortrijk (Courtrai). In the evening he made a stand in a good position near Wevelgem. The next day the Hereditary Prince started the Dutch troops on an orderly strategic retreat (and therefore not in disarray, as some sources claim without any basis) toward Ghent. On the way he met Beaulieu, who had the temerity to ask for some Dutch troops to cover Kortrijk. The Prince refused in a huff. According to De Bas the Hereditary Prince was much appreciated by the Dutch authorities (especially his father, the stadtholder and Captain-General of the States Army) for his decision to extricate the Dutch troops from Wervik and Menen, and retreat all the way to Ghent, thereby avoiding the destruction of the mobile army. Digby Smith stated Dutch losses as 3,100 men and 40 guns out of a total of 13,000 infantry and 1,800 cavalry, while the French lost 1,500 men. ==Aftermath==

Ironically, after the battle the city of Menen was occupied by troops of the Légion franche étrangère (Batavian Legion), a brigade formed by exiled Dutch Patriots and commanded by lieutenant-colonel Daendels. The Dutch States Army remained at Ghent for the remainder of 1793. Prince Frederick had a difficult recovery from his wound; it never healed satisfactorily and may have contributed to his premature death in 1799. However, the 1793 Campaign season was ended by the battles of Cysoing and Marchiennes, and the French had to retreat from these positions. ==Notes and references==