17 May: Clerfayt, Kinsky, and Charles Problems with the Allied plan began to appear at once. Clerfayt did not receive his orders until late in the morning on 16 May and his column did not start until the evening. The sandy roads slowed the march so that his troops did not reach Wervik until the afternoon of 17 May. Clerfayt found the bridge over the Lys was well-fortified by the French. When he called for his pontoon train, it was found that it had been left in the rear by some blunder and the column was delayed several hours. It was 1:00 am on 18 May before the
pontoon bridge was ready to use. Only a few battalions crossed, but most of Clerfayt's men camped on the north bank that night. The other columns encountered a heavy fog early on 17 May. While Kinsky had only to march from Froidmont to Bouvines, Charles' column was expected to march from Saint-Amand to Pont-à-Marcq. After receiving a message from Charles that his column would not be able to reach Pont-à-Marcq by 6:00 am on 17 May, Kinsky delayed his march. Nevertheless, Kinsky eventually moved forward and drove the French from Bouvines. His troops were unable to cross the Marque because the French had broken the bridge and covered the crossing with a battery of heavy guns. Erskine's reserve cavalry was supposed to support York, but it took the wrong road and joined Kinsky's column instead. Charles' column left Saint-Amand at 10:00 pm on 16 May and fought its way across the river at Pont-à-Marcq at 2:00 pm on 17 May. His soldiers reached
Lesquin but were too tired to go any farther. Charles' advance forced Bonnaud to abandon Sainghin and withdraw to Lille, allowing Kinsky to repair the bridge at Bouvines. However, Kinsky cautiously had his soldiers camp on the east bank of the Marque that night.
17 May: Bussche, Otto, and York During the night, Bussche assembled at Saint-Leger to the west of Warcoing. On 17 May, his column advanced to Mouscron and captured the place. Bussche was stoutly opposed by Thierry's brigade, which was reinforced by Souham. Compère counterattacked, recovering Mouscron and throwing Bussche's troops back to Dottignies and Herseaux. Most of the 1st Hanoverian Infantry was captured. Otto's column successively drove Compère's brigade from Leers, Wattrelos, and Tourcoing. However, this merely pushed Compère's men back to Mouscron where they were able to join Thierry's brigade and help defeat Bussche. York's column moved through Templeuve to attack Lannoy with the Guards brigade, supported by the light dragoons. The French fled so quickly that they suffered very few casualties. York left two Hessian battalions to hold Lannoy and pressed onward to Roubaix. Though the place was well-defended, the Guards brigade chased the French out of Roubaix. Around 5:00–6:00 pm, York found that Mouscron was still held by the French and decided to halt his advance at Roubaix. He had also heard nothing from Otto or Kinsky. However, Emperor Francis ordered York to continue his march to Mouvaux and overrode his objections. Therefore, the Guards brigade under
Ralph Abercromby assaulted the village with the bayonet, driving the French from their well-fortified positions and capturing 3 cannons. The 7th and 15th Light Dragoons circled around Mouvaux and caught the retreating French, cutting down 300 of them. A group of light dragoons actually galloped into the French camp at
Bondues and caused a minor panic.
17 May: Evening On the morning of 17 May, the French generals had no idea of the trap being sprung around them. They were only aware of the movements of Clerfayt's column, so they moved the divisions of Souham and Moreau to the north bank of the Lys. As reports of the Allied advance reached them, the French commanders reacted. Only Vandamme's brigade was left on the north bank to observe Clerfayt, while the rest of the troops were recalled to the south bank. Souham, Souham's staff officer
Jean Reynier, Moreau, Macdonald, Macdonald's staff officer Pamphile Lacroix, and Pichegru's chief-of-staff Jean Jacques Liébert met at Menin in council that evening to decide on a plan. Simply put, Moreau would defend the line of the Lys against Clerfayt's advance while Souham struck southwest from Courtrai and Bonnaud attacked northeast from Lille. Early in the morning they would hurl approximately 40,000 troops at the 20,000 Allies under York and Otto. Meanwhile, the division of André Drut at
Douai would mount a demonstration to the northeast and the Lille garrison would feint to its southeast. Moreau remarked, "It would require a piece of good fortune, on which we cannot count, to prevent half my division and myself being sacrificed according to this plan, but still it is the best which can be proposed, and consequently it should be adopted." On the evening of 17 May, Coalition headquarters knew that Bussche failed to capture Mouscron and that Charles was out of position. It had no news at all from Clerfayt. Uneasy that his left flank was not covered, at 9:00 pm York asked permission to withdraw to Lannoy. Mack refused, promising York that Charles and Kinsky would be up in time. At 1:00 am Mack dispatched
Captain Franz von Koller to Charles with orders to march to Lannoy immediately. At 4:00 am when Koller arrived at Charles' headquarters, his staff refused to awaken the general. In fact, Charles, who suffered from
epilepsy, had a seizure. However, the staff failed to notify the next in command. At 3:00 am, Mack sent a fresh set of orders instructing Charles to leave 10 battalions and 20 squadrons to watch Lille, and march with Kinsky to Lannoy. York and Otto were ordered to attack Mouscron at noon. The Coalition staff officers apparently never considered that the positions of the second and third columns invited a French counterattack. Bussche's mauled units defended Dottignies and
Coyghem. Otto's column was distributed with 7½ battalions and 3 squadrons at Tourcoing, 2 battalions at Wattrelos, and 3 battalions and 3 squadrons at Leers. York's column was spread out with Abercromby's Guards brigade and the 7th and 15th Light Dragoons at Mouvaux, 4 Austrian battalions and the 16th Light Dragoons defended Roubaix, 2 Hessian battalions held Lannoy, and
Henry Edward Fox's brigade (14th, 37th, and 53rd Foot) deployed west of Roubaix, watching Lille. Patrolling the area were 4 Austrian squadrons. The nearest unit belonging to Kinsky's column was distant at Pont-à-Tressin. This was Wurmb's Hessian brigade.
18 May: French counterattack Malbrancq's brigade lay south of Menin at
Roncq and Blancfour. To its east, Macdonald's brigade was posted at
Halluin. The brigades of Daendels and Jardon deployed farther east between Aalbeke and Belleghem. The brigades of Compère and Thierry at Mouscron plugged the space between Macdonald and Daendels. The divisions of Bonnaud and Osten were near
Flers. At 3:00 am on 18 May, the French army began moving into its assault positions. Osten's division and Baillot's cavalry were left to fend off any advances from Kinsky and Charles in the area of Flers and
Lezennes. Bonnaud split his 18,000 troops into two columns: the northern moved through Pont-a-Breug (modern Flers-Breucq) toward Roubaix, the southern moved through L'Hempenpont toward Lannoy. Malbrancq moved south from Roncq toward Mouvaux. Macdonald advanced from Halluin against the west side of Tourcoing. Compère marched from Mouscron against Tourcoing's north side. Thierry moved from Mouscron and Daendels marched from Aalbeke; both attacked Wattrelos. Jardon advanced from Belleghem against Dottignies where his troops dueled with Bussche's Hanoverians the rest of the day. The French assault hit Otto at dawn and the local commander Paul Vay De Vay asked York to send help. York sent 2 battalions of Infantry Regiment
Grand Duke of Tuscany Nr. 23 with orders to return if they were too late to save the town. In fact, by the time they reached Tourcoing, the place had already fallen to the French and they never returned to York. The Austrian commander at Tourcoing, Eugen von Montfrault took a defensive position east of the town, but he was compelled to retreat when a French battery opened fire from the north. Montfrault formed his troops into a large square, with 4 battalions and light artillery in front, 1 battalion protecting each flank, cavalry guarding the rear, heavy artillery and wagons in the center, and light infantry holding a skirmish line. Montfrault started withdrawing in this formation about 8:15 am. The 2 Hessian battalions in Wattrelos, outnumbered 6-to-1, were forced to retreat at 8:00 am. With the help of a 2-company force sent by Otto, the Hessians escaped to Leers. Unable to retreat through Wattrelos, Montfrault's still-intact square turned into a secondary road that passed west of the town. Here, Montfrault was hit by Bonnaud's troops from the south and Souham's men from the north and west. The square formation broke up and the Austrians fled to Leers. Between 6:00 and 7:00 am, Bonnaud's division began attacking York's troops at Roubaix and Lannoy; this was a little after Otto's column came under assault. Soon after, Malbrancq's brigade attacked Mouvaux from the north and some of the French formations that had captured Tourcoing began to appear north of Roubaix. York fruitlessly sent couriers to recall the two battalions sent to Otto. At Mouvaux, the defenses faced east with the line bent back to the hamlet of Le Fresnoy to defend against attack from the north. Fox's brigade faced west toward Lille. The remaining Austrian battalions were posted near Roubaix, to Fox's right rear. These units were soon swept away by the French assault partly because Bonnaud's troops moved through the gaps left by the two missing battalions. By this time, the brigades of Thierry and Daendels were advancing from Wattrelos to strike York's column from the north. The French attackers completely isolated Abercromby's Guards brigade and York sent orders for it to fall back to Roubaix. Abercromby's Guards withdrew to Roubaix protecting a convoy of artillery, with the 7th and 15th Light Dragoons acting as the
rearguard. Roubaix was still held by a dismounted squadron of the 16th Light Dragoons. The column of guns and the Guards brigade exited the walled town safely and turned right into the road leading to Lannoy. As the Austrian Hussars emerged, a nearby French gun took the column in enfilade, causing havoc. The Hussars tried in vain to find another escape route, but finally galloped down the road through a gauntlet of fire. Unknown to the horsemen, the artillery train ahead of them had been ambushed and the drivers panicked, abandoning their guns and limbers in the road and fleeing with the horses. After riding , the cavalry plowed into the artillery blockade, throwing horses and riders to the ground, as the French peppered them with musketry. The British camp followers were also killed in the chaos.
Robert Wilson watched a soldier's wife kiss her baby and then throw it in a ditch. "She frantically rushed forwards and, before she got ten yards, was rent in pieces by a discharge of grape that entered her back." Wilson claimed that York's column lost 56 guns. Eventually the Guards cleared the immediate area and the rest of the troops recovered themselves. As the column neared Lannoy, it was believed to be held by the French. In fact, the 2 battalions of Hessians were still holding out. Seeing some cavalrymen and believing them to be Hessians,
William Congreve allowed them to approach; they were French and cut the harnesses to the gun teams. The Guards and the cavalry marched cross-country to Marquain. The Guards brigade lost 196 officers and men while the light dragoons lost 52 men and 92 horses. The British artillery lost 19 out of 28 guns. The Hessians were forced to abandon Lannoy soon after; they sustained 330 casualties out of 900 men. Fox's brigade defended itself successfully from Bonnaud's troops, but found itself surrounded. The brigade withdrew in good order, reaching the main road near Lannoy. Soon afterward, the brigade found that the French had set up a battery in the road blocking their escape. At this moment, a French emigrant who had enlisted in the 14th Foot offered to guide Fox's soldiers cross-country. Though continually harassed by French skirmishers, cannon fire, and cavalry, the British brigade managed to reach Leers and safety. However, it suffered the loss of all its battalion guns but one, and 534 officers and men out of a total of 1,120. York barely evaded capture after starting the day at Roubaix. Finding himself cut off from the forces of Abercromby and Fox, and seeing his Austrian battalions melting away, he took a small escort from the 16th Light Dragoons and rode toward Wattrelos. While riding through that town, York's party was taken under fire by some French soldiers and then they rode cross-country. They came upon a small group of Hessians defending the Spiere brook. York's horse refused to cross the brook, so he waded across, took the horse of an
aide-de-camp, and got away to Otto at Leers. Souham later remarked that York, "came within an ace of accompanying his guns to Lille".
18 May: Clerfayt, Kinsky, and Charles At 7:00 am, Clerfayt's column crossed the Lys near Wervik. His troops marched toward
Linselles and
Bousbecque where they faced Vandamme's brigade (now on the south bank). Clerfayt drove back Vandamme's right flank and captured 8 guns. Desenfans' brigade retreated southwest to
Bailleul when it might have operated against Clerfayt's western flank. An advanced guard composed of one squadron each of the British
8th Light Dragoons and a Hessian cavalry regiment was surrounded by the French. The Coalition troopers gallantly cut their way out of the trap, though they lost two-thirds of their numbers. Vandamme reported that the cavalry got as far as Halluin, causing his artillery to hurriedly withdraw. Two battalions arrived, Vandamme's men steadied, pushed back Clerfayt a distance, and captured a color from the 8th Light Dragoons. Thinking that the French received 5,000 reinforcements, Clerfayt pulled back to
Wervik while hoping to renew the offensive on 19 May. In fact, Vandamme's brigade had fought alone.The French formations did not pursue Otto and York, because of the looming threat from Clerfayt. Souham ordered the brigades of Malbrancq, Macdonald, and Daendels to march against Clerfayt on the evening of 18 May. Bonnaud, Thierry, and Compère were left to hold Wattrelos and Lannoy. That night, Clerfayt received notice of the Coalition defeat. He withdrew across the Lys and continued to
Roeselare, carrying off 300 prisoners and 7 guns. The French tried to move through Menin to intercept Clerfayt, but Hanoverian cavalry repulsed the leading elements. When Kinsky was urged by the emperor's aide-de-camp to push forward to Sainghin, he replied, "Kinsky knows what he has to do". Nevertheless, his column remained inactive. At 6:00 am, one of his subordinates asked for orders and Kinsky announced that he was sick and no longer in command. At 2:00 pm, Kinsky heard about the defeat of York and Otto and withdrew. Charles received early-morning orders to march to Lannoy, only distant. Yet, his troops did not move until noon and did not reach the Tournai-Lille highway until 3:00 pm. By then, new orders arrived directing him to fall back to Tournai. Charles later proved himself to be a gifted commander, but the inertia of Kinsky and Charles on this day was so astounding that it led Fortescue to opine that their lack of urgency was encouraged at headquarters by generals in the faction of
Johann Amadeus von Thugut, the Austrian prime minister, in an act of deliberate betrayal to sabotage the English so Austria would not be kept in the war against France, and could focus instead on countering Prussia in Poland, his preferred foreign policy priority. However, Fortescue's chauvinistic assertion was based on the claim that Austrian headquarters had not urged Kinsky and Charles forward, whereas they actually had tried. Phipps wrote of Kinsky and Charles, "As far as the battle was concerned, the 29,000 men of these two columns might have been a hundred miles away". ==Results==