M ANNUAL REGISTER^ 1 794. 



merou* artillery ;they advanced witli 

 great resolution to the charge ; but 

 were received witli equal intrepi- 

 dity : the fire on both sides was 

 kept up with unyielding courage 

 during a long and furious contiict : 

 but the elTorts of tlie French were 

 fruitless, aud they Mere at length 

 compelled toretire with the loss of 

 near three thousand of their best 

 troops. In the hope of repairing 

 this misfortune, the French planned 

 and executed on the following day 

 an attack on General Clairfait» 

 who was posted in the vicinity of 

 Courtray : they marched from tliis 

 town ill great force, and assailed 

 him at once in several points. But 

 happily he was prepared for them. 

 After a conflict that lasted from 

 twelve at noon to near midnight, 

 he i-outed and drove them- bade to 

 Courtray ; but here they recovered 

 thejinselves; and the Aiistriatis were 

 in their turn put to the rout, and 

 pursued so closely, that after cross- 

 iiig two. rivers, they with difficulty 

 -^cre able to take such a position 

 as might cover the three important 

 towns . "of Client, Bruges, and 

 Ostend-i This was a fatal day for 

 the. allies.. The French had in this 

 action triumphed over the abilities 

 of General Clairfait, and the bra- 

 very of his best Austrian veterans. 

 The coasequcnccs of thisremark- 

 ablp defeat were felt during th.e 

 vvnole campaign ; and it was in fact 

 a prelud»<o the many disasters that 

 followed.. 



Animated by this success, ths' 

 French crossed the Sambre, and 

 obliged General Kau-iitz to hasten 

 with his whole force to cover 

 Mojis: but they fpllowed.him with. 

 the utmost rapidity, and" brought 

 him to a very seiy^s engagement ; 

 wherein, however, they did uot 



meet with tlie success they had 

 expected. After repeated charger, 

 made with the most desperate va- 

 lour, and in which they lost an 

 alarming number of excellent ofli- 

 cers and soldiers, they found them- 

 selves under tlie necessity of mak- 

 ing a r«treat, and even of re-cross- 

 ing^ the Sarnbre, after losing in thi» 

 destructive engagement little less 

 than five thousand of their best 

 men. This remarkable defeat hap- 

 pened on the iith of May. After 

 so considerable a check, it was 

 hoped in the imperial councils that 

 the- French might in their turn be 

 attacked with a likelihood of com- 

 pelling them to withdraw from 

 those parts of the Austrian territo- 

 ries of which they had taken pos- 

 session. To this end arrangementr 

 were concerted to recover from 

 them the province of Flanders, 

 which from its situation was of most 

 importance to the confederacy. 

 But what had befallen the French 

 on the opening of the campaign, 

 now happened to the allies : the 

 plan they had formed for the exe- 

 cution of their designs, was be- 

 trayed to the French, and thereby 

 completely frustrated. 



Of this treacherous communica- 

 tion of their plan to tlie enemy, the 

 allies unfortunately were not ap- 

 prized. -Accoiding to the project 

 agreed upon, they advanced to- 

 v.-ards the enemy during the night 

 of the Ifith, intending to assault hiS' 

 lines before he had received intel- 

 ligence of their approach. The 

 aUied army was formed into five 

 divisions ; the Emperer and the 

 Duke of York acted with the strict- 

 er.t concert on this important occar 

 sion, and neglected nothing- that 

 could procure success to an enter- 

 prize on which so much depended. 



The 



