The
Battle of Boxtel was a battle fought during the
First CoalitionThe First Coalition was the first major concerted effort of multiple European powers to contain Revolutionary France. It took shape after the French Revolutionary Wars had already begun....
in the Dutch province
North BrabantNorth Brabant is a province of the Netherlands, located in the south of the country, bordered by Belgium in the south, the Meuse River in the north, Limburg in the east and Zeeland in the west.- History :...
, on the 15 September 1794. It was part of the
Flanders CampaignThe Flanders Campaign took place in 1793 and 1794 during the French Revolutionary War. An alliance of states led by Britain and Austria, launched an attempt to invade France and defeat the French Revolution. An allied army was despatched to fight the French Revolutionaries in Flanders...
of 1793-94 in which British, Dutch and Austrian troops had attempted to launch an invasion of France through
FlandersFlanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France, and the Netherlands...
. It is often considered most notable for the presence of
Arthur WellesleyField Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, KP, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Anglo-Irish soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the nineteenth century....
who commanded the British troops.
A major allied expedition had planned to overthrow the French Revolutionaries by invading France from the north through
FlandersFlanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France, and the Netherlands...
in co-ordination with other similar attacks from different directions.
The
Battle of Boxtel was a battle fought during the
First CoalitionThe First Coalition was the first major concerted effort of multiple European powers to contain Revolutionary France. It took shape after the French Revolutionary Wars had already begun....
in the Dutch province
North BrabantNorth Brabant is a province of the Netherlands, located in the south of the country, bordered by Belgium in the south, the Meuse River in the north, Limburg in the east and Zeeland in the west.- History :...
, on the 15 September 1794. It was part of the
Flanders CampaignThe Flanders Campaign took place in 1793 and 1794 during the French Revolutionary War. An alliance of states led by Britain and Austria, launched an attempt to invade France and defeat the French Revolution. An allied army was despatched to fight the French Revolutionaries in Flanders...
of 1793-94 in which British, Dutch and Austrian troops had attempted to launch an invasion of France through
FlandersFlanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France, and the Netherlands...
. It is often considered most notable for the presence of
Arthur WellesleyField Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, KP, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Anglo-Irish soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the nineteenth century....
who commanded the British troops.
Background
A major allied expedition had planned to overthrow the French Revolutionaries by invading France from the north through
FlandersFlanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France, and the Netherlands...
in co-ordination with other similar attacks from different directions. These forces had initially been successful but had had suffered a serious reverse outside
DunkirkDunkirk is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.It lies 10 kilometres from the Belgian border. The population of the city at the 1999 census was 70,850 inhabitants...
and by 1794 were retreating back northwards, pursued by an increasingly resurgent French army. In mid-September the French caught up with the Allied rearguard near the small town of
BoxtelBoxtel is a municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands.This is the origin of the van Boxtel family, which has numerous descendants in North Brabant....
.
Battle
On the 14 September 1794 the French attacked
BoxtelBoxtel is a municipality and a town in the southern Netherlands.This is the origin of the van Boxtel family, which has numerous descendants in North Brabant....
and defeated three German battalions from the
Duke of YorkThe title Duke of York is a title of nobility in the British peerage. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of the British monarch...
`s Allied army. The next day, York sent a division commanded by
Ralph AbercrombyLieutenant-General Sir Ralph Abercromby, KB was a British lieutenant-general noted for his services during the Napoleonic Wars.-Biography:...
to recover the town. The British ran into an ambush and were forced to retire in confusion, pursued by French cavalry. The battle was a baptism of fire for Lieutenant Colonel
Arthur WellesleyField Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, KP, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Anglo-Irish soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the nineteenth century....
, future Duke of Wellington, who checked the French pursuit by close-range volley fire.
Aftermath
The British were able to continue their advance northwards and eventually reached the
North SeaThe North Sea is a marginal, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf. The Dover Strait and the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Sea in the north connect it to the Atlantic Ocean. It is more than long and wide, with an area of around...
coast successfully, where they were withdrawn to Britain in 1795. The French pressed on to
AmsterdamAmsterdam is the capital and largest city of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland in the west of the country...
and overthrew the
Dutch RepublicThe Republic of the Seven United Netherlands was a European republic between 1581 and 1795, in about the same location as the modern Kingdom of the Netherlands,...
and replaced it with a satellite state.
External links