The Battle of Anderlecht, sometimes referred to as the Fight of Anderlecht, took place in

Anderlecht Anderlecht (, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, and Saint-Gilles, as well as the ...

near

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

between the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...

and the

French Republic France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

on 13 November 1792, during the first year of the

French Revolutionary Wars The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...

Prelude

After the victory of

Jemappes Jemappes (; in older texts also: ''Jemmapes''; wa, Djumape) is a town of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Mons, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It was a municipality until the fusion of the Belgian municipalities in 1 ...

, the

Imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texa ...

troops endeavored to delay the victorious march of the troops of the French Republic. On 13 November 1792, by the rear guard of the Austrians, commanded by Duke Ferdinand Frédéric Auguste of Wurtemberg, met at

Sint-Pieters-Leeuw Sint-Pieters-Leeuw (; french: Leeuw-Saint-Pierre) is a Dutch-speaking municipality of Belgium located in the province of Flemish Brabant (Flemish Region). The municipality comprises the towns of Oudenaken, Ruisbroek, Sint-Laureins-Berchem, Sint ...

, on the way to Brussels, a French avant-garde commanded by Harville, Stengel, Rosières and Thouvenot, soon followed by the head general of the troop commanded by Dumouriez who pursued the Austrians to the heights of

The Battle

The French Army commanded by Dumouriez, initially made up of 3,000 volunteers, launched an assault on the lines of the Duke of Württemberg, accompanied by 20,000 men, on the heights of Anderlecht. After a very lively cannonade and the main fighting which lasted 6 hours, the French troops, assisted by the reinforcements which arrived after crossing the

Senne Senne may refer to: Places *Senne (Germany), a natural region of Germany *Senne, a district of Bielefeld, Germany *Senne (river), a river of Belgium *Senné (disambiguation), places in Slovakia People with the name

*Yōkō Senne, a 13th-cent ...

, ended up reaching 35,000 volunteers, forcing the imperial army to withdraw in disorder on Brussels, crossing back during the night.

Aftermath

The Imperials lost around 500 men on the battlefield and several pieces of artillery destroyed. Their cavalry, under the command of Maximilian Latour, managed to slow down the pursuit of the French and avoid heavier losses. The next day, 14 November 1792, Dumouriez made his entry into

, capital of the

Austrian Netherlands The Austrian Netherlands nl, Oostenrijkse Nederlanden; french: Pays-Bas Autrichiens; german: Österreichische Niederlande; la, Belgium Austriacum. was the territory of the Burgundian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire between 1714 and 1797. The p ...

, to the cheers of the inhabitants, a certain number of Walloon soldiers rallied to the French army.Antoine de Jomini, Histoire critique et militaire des guerres de la Révolution: Campagne de 1792, t. 2, Paris, 1820, p. 238-239.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anderlecht Battles of the War of the First Coalition Conflicts in 1792 1792 in the Habsburg monarchy 1792 in the Holy Roman Empire Flanders Campaign 1793–94