The siege of Condé (8 April – 12 July 1793) saw a force made up of
Habsburg Austrians and
French Royalists commanded by
Duke Ferdinand Frederick Augustus of Württemberg
Duke Ferdinand Frederick Augustus of Württemberg (22 October 1763 – 20 January 1834) was a Habsburg Austrian general during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars.
Early life
He was born into the House of Württemberg as the f ...
lay siege to a
Republican French garrison led by Jean Nestor de Chancel. After a blockade lasting about three months the French surrendered the fortress. The operation took place during the
War of the First Coalition
The War of the First Coalition () was a set of wars that several European powers fought between 1792 and 1797, initially against the Constitutional Cabinet of Louis XVI, constitutional Kingdom of France and then the French First Republic, Frenc ...
, part of a larger conflict known as the
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars () were a series of sweeping military conflicts resulting from the French Revolution that lasted from 1792 until 1802. They pitted French First Republic, France against Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, Habsb ...
.
Condé-sur-l'Escaut
Condé-sur-l'Escaut (, literally ''Condé on the Escaut''; ) is a commune of the Nord department in northern France.
It lies on the border with Belgium. The population as of 1999 was 10,527. Residents of the area are known as Condéens or Con ...
,
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
is located near the
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
border about northeast of
Valenciennes
Valenciennes (, also , , ; ; or ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department, Hauts-de-France, France.
It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced ...
.
The Austrian victory at
Neerwinden
Neerwinden () is a village in Belgium, located in the Municipalities of Belgium, municipality of Landen, in the province of Flemish Brabant, Flanders.
The village gives its name to two great historical battles. The first, the Battle of Neerwind ...
in mid-March drove the French occupation army from the
Austrian Netherlands
The Austrian Netherlands was the territory of the Burgundian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire between 1714 and 1797. The period began with the acquisition by the Austrian Habsburg monarchy of the former Spanish Netherlands under the Treaty of Ras ...
. The subsequent defection of
Charles François Dumouriez
Charles-François du Périer Dumouriez (; 26 January 1739 – 14 March 1823) was a French military officer, French minister of foreign affairs, minister of Foreign Affairs, French minister of Defense, minister of War in a Constitutional Cabin ...
shook the morale of the French soldiers and caused the politicians to suspect most generals of treason. Austria and her Coalition allies moved against the line of fortresses protecting the northeastern border of France, investing first Condé and
Valenciennes
Valenciennes (, also , , ; ; or ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department, Hauts-de-France, France.
It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced ...
soon afterward. Meanwhile, the motley French armies, composed of regulars and raw recruits and led by generals fearful of the
guillotine
A guillotine ( ) is an apparatus designed for effectively carrying out executions by Decapitation, beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secur ...
, struggled to defend their nation.
Background
On 18 March 1793,
Charles François Dumouriez
Charles-François du Périer Dumouriez (; 26 January 1739 – 14 March 1823) was a French military officer, French minister of foreign affairs, minister of Foreign Affairs, French minister of Defense, minister of War in a Constitutional Cabin ...
's French army attacked
Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
Prince Frederick Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (; 26 December 1737 – 26 February 1815) was a military commander in the army of the Holy Roman Empire. He began his career at the age of 18 in a cavalry regiment with which he took part in the Se ...
's Austrian army in the
Battle of Neerwinden. The French army numbered 40,000 infantry and 4,500 cavalries while the Austrians employed 30,000 foot and 9,000 horse. The fighting on the French right and center was bitterly contested, but the French left collapsed and abandoned the field. After a second defeat near
Leuven
Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipalit ...
on 21 March, the French abandoned
Brussels
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
on the 24th, their soldiers deserting in large numbers. Dumouriez negotiated with the Austrians and evacuated the
Austrian Netherlands
The Austrian Netherlands was the territory of the Burgundian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire between 1714 and 1797. The period began with the acquisition by the Austrian Habsburg monarchy of the former Spanish Netherlands under the Treaty of Ras ...
in return for free passage for French troops. The French armies took positions behind the frontier. The ''Army of Holland'' deployed near
Lille
Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...
, the ''
Army of the Ardennes
The Army of the Ardennes (''armée des Ardennes'') was a French Revolutionary Army formed on the first of October 1792 by splitting off the right wing of the Army of the North, commanded from July to August that year by La Fayette. From July to ...
'' at
Maulde
Maulde () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.
Heraldry
See also
*Communes of the Nord department
The following is a list of the 647 communes of the Nord department of the French Republic.
The communes cooperate ...
, the ''
Army of the North
The Army of the North (), contemporaneously called Army of Peru (), was one of the armies deployed by the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata in the Spanish American wars of independence. Its objective was freeing the Argentine Northwest a ...
'' at
Bruille-Saint-Amand
Bruille-Saint-Amand () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.
Population
Photos
Heraldry
See also
*Communes of the Nord department
The following is a list of the 647 communes of the Nord department of the French ...
, and the ''Army of Belgium'' at
Condé-sur-l'Escaut
Condé-sur-l'Escaut (, literally ''Condé on the Escaut''; ) is a commune of the Nord department in northern France.
It lies on the border with Belgium. The population as of 1999 was 10,527. Residents of the area are known as Condéens or Con ...
and
Valenciennes
Valenciennes (, also , , ; ; or ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department, Hauts-de-France, France.
It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced ...
.
Dumouriez was at heart a monarchist and
King Louis XVI
Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir-apparent of King Louis XV), and Mari ...
had been executed on 21 January 1793. He planned to lead the army to
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
and overthrow the
National Convention
The National Convention () was the constituent assembly of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for its first three years during the French Revolution, following the two-year National Constituent Assembly and the ...
. He negotiated with the Austrians to cooperate by not invading France while her borders were undefended. On 1 April, when the War Minister
Pierre de Ruel, marquis de Beurnonville
Pierre de Ruel, marquis de Beurnonville (10 May 1752 – 23 April 1821) was a French general during the French Revolutionary Wars and later a marshal of France and Deputy Grand Master of Grand Orient de France.Dictionnaire de la Franc-maçonnerie ...
and the government commissioners arrived at his headquarters in
Saint-Amand-les-Eaux
Saint-Amand-les-Eaux (; former ) is a commune in the Nord department, northern France. It lies on the river Scarpe, 12 km northwest of Valenciennes. In French, the town people are named ''Amandinois'' (m), ''Amandinoise'' (f).
Saint ...
to demand answers, Dumouriez arrested them and handed them over to the Austrians. The plan quickly unravelled when the plotters failed to seize control of the frontier fortresses. In one incident,
Louis-Nicolas Davout
Louis-Nicolas d'Avout (; 10 May 1770 – 1 June 1823), better known as Davout, 1st Prince of Eckmühl, 1st Duke of Auerstaedt, was a French people, French military commander and Marshal of the Empire who served during both the French Revolution ...
's volunteer battalion fired on Dumouriez. While the cavalry and some of the regular infantry might have gone along with the scheme, the artillery and the volunteers, pro-Revolution to the core, refused to follow their general. On 5 April 1793, Dumouriez defected to the Austrians with
Duke Louis of Chartres,
Jean-Baptiste Cyrus de Valence
Jean-Baptiste Cyrus de Timbrune de Thiembronne, Comte de Valence (; 22 September 1757 – 4 February 1822) commanded French troops during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. A nobleman, he joined the French Royal Army as a ca ...
and other officers. With the plot in ruins, the Austrians resumed hostilities.
Condé-sur-l'Escaut occupies a strategic location at the confluence of the
Scheldt (Escaut) and
Haine
The Haine ( ; ; ; ; ) is a river in southern Belgium ( Hainaut) and northern France ( Nord), right tributary of the river Scheldt. The Haine gave its name to the County of Hainaut, and the present province of Hainaut. Its source is in Anderlu ...
Rivers. The Romans recognized this when they founded a town at the site. Subsequent residents fortified the location so that by the end of the Middle Ages, Condé was defended by a stone wall with towers surrounded by a moat. The Spanish first tried to modernize the defenses in 1654, but the town was captured by the French general
Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne
Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, vicomte de Turenne (11 September 161127 July 1675), commonly known as Turenne (), was a French general and one of only six Marshal of France, marshals to have been promoted Marshal General of France. The most illus ...
the following year. After the French returned Condé by the
Treaty of the Pyrenees
The Treaty of the Pyrenees(; ; ) was signed on 7 November 1659 and ended the Franco-Spanish War that had begun in 1635.
Negotiations were conducted and the treaty was signed on Pheasant Island, situated in the middle of the Bidasoa River on ...
in 1659, the Spanish converted the town into a fortress. They built a new bastioned trace around the town, outside the old wall which was kept as an inner line. Originally, the new defenses were constructed of earth, but in 1666, the bastions on the west side were revetted with stone. On the south side, a hornwork was built to protect the old town castle. In case of attack, the defenders could easily flood the ditch with water from the rivers. In April 1676 a French army laid siege to the town. Condé was ceded to France by the
Treaty of Nijmegen
The Treaties or Peace of Nijmegen (; ; ) were a series of treaties signed in the Dutch city of Nijmegen between August 1678 and October 1679. The treaties ended various interconnected wars among France, the Dutch Republic, Spain, Brandenburg, Sw ...
in 1678. Fortifications expert
Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban
Sébastien is a common French given name. It is a French form of the Latin name ''Sebastianus'' meaning "from Sebaste". Sebaste was a common placename in classical Antiquity, derived from the Greek word ''σεβαστος'', or ''sebastos'', mea ...
greatly improved the defenses on the east side, adding two demi-bastions and a full bastion. He also constructed sluice gates so that the garrison could control the depth of the water in the ditches and flood areas on the east side. Outside the fortress, Vauban built five square redoubts in order to keep an attacker away from the main defenses as long as possible. The fortress was undisturbed during the wars of
King Louis XIV
LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the longest of any monar ...
. The engineer Pierre du Buat made some alterations to Condé in the 1770s.
Siege
A 6,000-strong Coalition division led by
Duke Ferdinand Frederick Augustus of Württemberg
Duke Ferdinand Frederick Augustus of Württemberg (22 October 1763 – 20 January 1834) was a Habsburg Austrian general during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars.
Early life
He was born into the House of Württemberg as the f ...
invested Condé-sur-l'Escaut on 8 April 1793. The Austrian portion of Württemberg's force included one battalion each of the Infantry Regiments ''d'Alton'' Nr. 15 and ''Joseph Colloredo'' Nr. 57, two composite battalions drawn from Infantry Regiments ''de Ligne'' Nr. 30, ''Württemberg'' Nr. 38, ''Murray'' Nr. 55 and ''Vierset'' Nr. 58, four companies of Tyrolean Sharpshooters and two squadrons of ''Kavanagh''
Cuirassier
A cuirassier ( ; ; ) was a cavalryman equipped with a cuirass, sword, and pistols. Cuirassiers first appeared in mid-to-late 16th century Europe as a result of armoured cavalry, such as man-at-arms, men-at-arms and demi-lancers discarding their ...
Regiment Nr. 12. The French Royalist contingent was made up of two squadrons each of the ''Berczeny''
Hussar
A hussar, ; ; ; ; . was a member of a class of light cavalry, originally from the Kingdom of Hungary during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely adopted by light cavalry ...
, ''Saxe'' Hussar and ''Royal Allemand'' Cavalry Regiments. The French garrison was commanded by Maréchal de Camp (
General of Brigade) Jean Nestor de Chancel. The 4,300 defending French soldiers were organized into four battalions, four independent companies and eight squadrons.
After Dumouriez defected, the French government appointed
Auguste Marie Henri Picot de Dampierre
Auguste Marie Henri Picot de Dampierre (; 19 August 1756 – 9 May 1793), styled the Marquis de Dampierre and usually known as Dampierre , was a French general during the time of the French Revolution. He served in many of the early battles of t ...
to replace him in charge of the ''Army of Belgium'' on 4 April 1793. There was a reorganization on 24 April in which the ''Army of Belgium'' and ''Army of Holland'' were suppressed and the remaining troops were consolidated into the ''
Army of the North
The Army of the North (), contemporaneously called Army of Peru (), was one of the armies deployed by the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata in the Spanish American wars of independence. Its objective was freeing the Argentine Northwest a ...
'' with Dampierre in command and the subordinate ''
Army of the Ardennes
The Army of the Ardennes (''armée des Ardennes'') was a French Revolutionary Army formed on the first of October 1792 by splitting off the right wing of the Army of the North, commanded from July to August that year by La Fayette. From July to ...
'' under
François Joseph Drouot de Lamarche
François Joseph Drouot de Lamarche (14 July 1733 – 18 May 1814) briefly commanded a French army during the French Revolutionary Wars. He served in the French Royal Army as a cavalryman. In 1792 he was raised to the rank of general officer a ...
. Dampierre knew that his troops needed rest but the
representatives on mission
Representative may refer to:
Politics
*Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people
*House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities
*Legislator, someon ...
demanded action. His army reoccupied the Camp of Famars near
Valenciennes
Valenciennes (, also , , ; ; or ; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department, Hauts-de-France, France.
It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced ...
on 15 April. Two weeks later on 1 May, the French attacked the Coalition army under
Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
Prince Frederick Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (; 26 December 1737 – 26 February 1815) was a military commander in the army of the Holy Roman Empire. He began his career at the age of 18 in a cavalry regiment with which he took part in the Se ...
in an attempt to relieve Condé. Though the foot soldiers fought stoutly, the cavalry did not do its duty and the assault failed. On 8 May in the
Battle of Raismes, Dampierre attacked again and his left-wing made some progress. The British Guards brigade was committed to the action and drove back the French, but was finally stopped by intense fire. However, the French relief attempt failed.
[Phipps (2010), pp. 178–180] The French suffered 1,500 casualties out of 30,000 involved in the action while the Coalition lost about 600 killed and wounded. Coburg's army numbered about 60,000 including Austrian,
Prussian
Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, the House of Hohenzoll ...
,
Dutch
Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
** Dutch people as an ethnic group ()
** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship ()
** Dutch language ()
* In specific terms, i ...
and
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
* British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
troops, though many of these were not engaged. Dampierre was carried from the field with part of his thigh shot away; he died the next day. Despite his heroic death, he was denounced as a traitor in the National Convention by
Georges Couthon
Georges Auguste Couthon (, 22 December 1755 – 28 July 1794) was a French politician and lawyer known for his service as a deputy in the Legislative Assembly during the French Revolution. Couthon was elected to the Committee of Public Safety o ...
. Had he survived, Dampierre would probably have been sent to the
guillotine
A guillotine ( ) is an apparatus designed for effectively carrying out executions by Decapitation, beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secur ...
since he was under suspicion. On 10 May the Coalition forces recaptured all the ground that they lost on the 8th and the French army retired to the Camp of Famars.
[
On 23 May 1793, the Coalition army defeated the French in the ]Battle of Famars
The Battle of Famars was fought on 23 May 1793 during the Flanders Campaign of the War of the First Coalition. An Allied Austrian, Hanoverian, and British army under Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld defeated the French Army of the North l ...
. The Coalition lost 1,100 casualties out of 53,000 while the 27,000-strong French army, now under Lamarche, lost 3,000 killed and wounded, plus 300 men, 17 guns, 14 ammunition wagons and three colors captured. One consequence of the battle was that the Coalition began the siege of Valenciennes. The isolated garrison at Condé communicated with the French armies via messages sent by balloons. This proved to be a double-edged sword when one balloon fell into the hands of the Coalition along with its message that the defenders were running low on food. Chancel surrendered Condé, its surviving defenders and 103 artillery pieces on 12 July 1793. Coalition losses during the siege are unknown.[
]
Aftermath
Jean Henri Becays Ferrand
Jean Henri Becays Ferrand or Jean Marie Begais Ferrand de la Caussade (10 September 1736 – 28 November 1805) became a French general officer early in the French Revolutionary Wars and led troops during two early actions. From a noble family, ...
surrendered Valenciennes to the Coalition on 27 July 1793. At this point the Coalition allies made a deadly blunder. Having seized Condé and Valencienes, they had 118,000 troops concentrated at the gap in the fortress line. Instead, they split their forces. Their next targets were Dunkirk
Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...
, invested on 24 August, and Le Quesnoy
Le Quesnoy (; ) is a commune and small town in the east of the Nord department of northern France. It was part of the historical province of French Hainaut. It is known for its fortifications, dating from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. ...
, invested on 28 August. The siege of Le Quesnoy concluded successfully on 13 September but the siege of Dunkirk was a failure.
The loss of Condé spelt the doom of then-current French commander Adam Philippe, Comte de Custine
Adam Philippe, Comte de Custine (4 February 174028 August 1793) was a French general. As a young officer in the French Royal Army, he served in the Seven Years' War. In the American Revolutionary War he joined Rochambeau's ''Expédition Parti ...
. Though popular in the army, Custine was called to Paris, arrested on 22 July and executed on 27 August 1793. Chancel was promoted to general of division
Divisional general is a general officer rank who commands an army division. The rank originates from the French Revolutionary System, and is used by a number of countries. The rank is above a brigade general, and normally below an army corps ...
on 11 September 1793 but he ultimately suffered the same fate as Custine. Chancel was second-in-command of the garrison during the siege of Maubeuge
The siege of Maubeuge took place from at the Entrenched Camp of Maubeuge () the start of the First World War on the Western Front. The railway from Thionville (Diedenhofen, 1871–1919) to Luxembourg City, Arlon and Namur into Belgium had been ...
. During the Battle of Wattignies
The Battle of Wattignies (15–16 October 1793) saw a 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 c ...
, the 20,000-man garrison made an ineffective sortie on 15 October 1793 and was practically inert on the 16th as the battle still raged. After the French victory, Maubeuge was relieved but its defenders failed to pursue the retreating Coalition forces. The blame for the garrison's poor performance was laid on Chancel and he was condemned "with doubtful justice". Chancel died by the guillotine on 6 March 1794.[
Condé was held by the Coalition until 29 August 1794 when Franz von Reyniac surrendered the fortress to ]Barthélemy Louis Joseph Schérer
Barthélemy Louis Joseph Schérer (18 December 1747 – 19 August 1804), born in Delle, near Belfort, became a French general during the French Revolutionary Wars and on three occasions led armies in battle.
Early career
Schérer served in the ...
. The 1,500 Austrian defenders were paroled on the promise not to fight against France for one year. These included one battalion each from Infantry Regiments ''Joseph Colloredo'' Nr. 57 and ''Beaulieu'' Nr. 58, plus three companies from ''Esterhazy'' Nr. 34.[Smith (1998), p. 90]
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
See also
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Condé 1793
Conflicts in 1793
1793 in France
Sieges of the War of the First Coalition
Sieges involving Austria
Military history of Nord (French department)
Attacks on military installations in France
Low Countries theatre of the War of the First Coalition
Battles of the War of the First Coalition involving Austria