On 18 March 1793 General Dumouriez attacked the Austrian army of the Prince of Coburg at Neerwinden, in what is now Belgium. His right and center held their ground, but his left under Miranda broke, and the French were beaten. Within three weeks Dumouriez had lost Belgium and gone over to the Austrians. In 1871 the Paris Commune rising began.
Battle of Neerwinden
18 March 1793 · 233 years ago
Back from Holland
Early in 1793 Dumouriez was in Holland while General Francisco de Miranda besieged Maastricht. On 1 March the Austrians crossed the Roer and beat the French at Aldenhoven, and Miranda had to raise the siege.1
Dumouriez hurried back and rejoined the army at Louvain in mid-March. On 16 March the two armies clashed at Tirlemont. Coburg's army then stood behind the Little Gete, with Archduke Charles and the advance guard on its right and Clerfayt on its left.2
Eight columns
Dumouriez split his army into eight columns: Valence led the right, the duc de Chartres the center and Miranda the left. The columns moved off early in the morning, and the firing began around seven.3
On the right the village of Neerwinden was taken and lost several times, and the Austrians held it by evening. Valence was wounded leading the cavalry against the Austrian horse. At nightfall the fight on the right and in the center was still undecided.4
The left gives way
On the left the French took Dormael, but the Austrians retook it, and Archduke Charles then sent his infantry and cavalry against Ruault's division, which broke. The volunteers ran and left the regular troops in the lurch. Guiscard, who commanded the artillery, was killed.5
Miranda fell back to Tirlemont. Dumouriez learned of it only at night, rode to his left and found Miranda in Tirlemont.6
Who lost it?
Dumouriez blamed Miranda: had he held the line of the Gete, the battle would have been won. The military historian Jomini called that charge unjust, and Coburg's biographer Witzleben called it far-fetched. In the view of the historian Arthur Chuquet, Miranda was beaten because he could not carry his soldiers with him, and Neerwinden decided the loss of Belgium as Jemappes had decided its conquest.7
Counting men and losses
The French had between about 40,000 and 48,000 men, depending on the source, and the Austrians between about 32,000 and 43,000, with more cavalry. The French lost about 4,000 men and 30 guns. Coburg's army lost 97 officers and 2,747 men.8
From retreat to defection
On 19 March Dumouriez withdrew his right and center back over the Gete. Thousands of volunteers deserted. On 24 March the army evacuated Brussels. Dumouriez opened talks with Coburg's chief of staff, Colonel Mack, and planned to march on Paris and restore the monarchy.9
At the beginning of April the war minister Beurnonville and four deputies of the Convention came to his headquarters at Saint-Amand to summon him, and Dumouriez had them arrested and handed over to the Austrians. The army would not follow him, and on 5 April he went over to the Austrians. Valence and the duc de Chartres, the future King Louis-Philippe, went with him. For the autumn campaign of 1793, see our article on the Battle of Wattignies.10
Operation Menu, 1969: the secret bombing of Cambodia
18 March 1969 · 57 years ago
Operation Menu was a secret American B-52 bombing campaign over eastern Cambodia during the Vietnam War, aimed at North Vietnamese and Viet Cong bases near the South Vietnamese border. Its effect on the Khmer Rouge, the North Vietnamese and Cambodian civilians is disputed.
Read the full story of Operation Menu, 1969: the secret bombing of Cambodia ›Also on this day
1871: before dawn, General Vinoy's troops moved to seize the National Guard's cannon on Montmartre in Paris. Crowds surrounded the troops, soldiers of the 88th went over to them, and General Lecomte was arrested. Late in the afternoon Lecomte and General Clément Thomas were shot in a house in the rue des Rosiers. The day began the rising of the Paris Commune.11
