FRA 
Clairfuit was driven back into his original pofition at 
Thielt. During this conflict, the left wing of the army of 
the North, united to that of the Ardennes, eroded the Sam- 
bre, and took momentary poffeffion of Fontaine l’Eveque 
and Binch, which, however, they were obliged to relin- 
quifh on the appearance of an Andrian force. The armies 
of the North and Ardennes were at this time under the 
commidioners St. Juft and L? Bas, who ftimulated the 
troops to exertion by perpetual threats of execution in 
cafe of failure ; threats which from them could never be 
confidered idle or nugatory. Pichegru had formed plans 
forpading the Strhibre, and befieging Charleroi; but they 
were frustrated by the precipitation and ignorance of thofe 
who controuled him and fuperfeded his authority. 
To expel the French from Flanders became a principal 
object of the allies; and for this purpofe, after many fkir- 
niidtes, in which Lannoy,Turcoing, Roubaix, Mouveaux, 
and all the great polls in the road from Lide to Courtray, 
were taken by the duke of York; a general attack was 
made March 17, under the eye of the emperor himfelf : 
this attempt was rendered unfuccefsful by delays in two 
columns, which ought to have forced the paffage of La 
Marque, but whofe tardinefs left open the communica¬ 
tions between Lifte and Courtray, and deranged the whole 
plan of operations, though in detached points the allies 
gained feveral advantages. Early in the enfuing morn¬ 
ing, the republicans attacked in great force the poll at 
Turcoing; two battalions of Auftrians detached by the 
duke of York to make a diverfion, failed in returning to 
him, and thus left an opening on his right. The French, 
pouring in torrents of troops, had completely furroijnded 
the Britifli battalions; but thefe cut their way through, 
and effefted a retreat. 
Pichegru, believing the allies to be deftitute of artillery, 
made a general attack on their right wing, with a hundred 
thoufand men, intending to force the padage of the Scheldt 
and invert; Tournay. The attack began at five o’clock 
in the morning of the 2zd, and the French, continually 
bringing up frefh troops, continued it the whole day ; 
about three o’clock the right wing of the allies began to 
give ground, when the duke of York detached feven 
Auftrian battalions, and the fecond brigade of Britifti in¬ 
fantry, to their fupport. This decided the fate of the 
day ; they (termed the village of Pont Achin, ruthed with 
fixed bayonets into the heart of the French army, and 
threw them into fuch confufion that they could never be 
rallied, but retreated to Lide. Such a battle has feldont 
been fought; the republicans were in action under an in- 
cefTant fire of cannon and mufketry upwards of twelve 
hours ; twelve thoufand of their men were left dead on 
the field, and five hundred taken prifoners : the lofs of 
the allies was eftimated at four thoufand. On the fame 
day general Beaulieu took the town of Bouillon by ftorm, 
and gave it up to plunder, as a punifhment to the inha¬ 
bitants for firing on the Auftrians. 
In the mean time the French army had repaffed the 
Sambre, recaptured l’Ev<?que and Binch, and partially 
inverted Charleroi; they were however again routed by 
general Kaunitz, on the 24th of May, with the lofs of 
five thoufand killed, wounded, and prifoners, and fifty 
pieces of cannon. The lofs was, however, compenfated 
on another fide, where a portion of the army of the Mo- 
felle was placed under Jourdan, and received the name 
of the army of the Sambre and Meufe ; this force, con¬ 
fiding of forty thoufand men, invaded the duchy of Lux- 
emburgh, took poffeffion of Arlon, and obliged Beaulieu 
to fall back on Marche, in order to cover Namur. The 
duke of York’s pofition at Tournay was thus rendered for 
feveral days very precarious, as a great portion of the al¬ 
lied army was obliged to fall back to cover Bruffels and 
Ghent, and prince Cobourg marched the principal part 
of his army to their relief. The French again crofted the 
Sambre, and blockaded Charleroi, and were again re- 
pulfed, (June 3,) and farced back to their former port- 
Vol.VH. No. 469. 
N C E. 797 
tion by a fally of the garrifon, aftirted by fome troops from 
Tournay. 
The increafing ftrength of the French armies, and their 
refolute purfuit of their objeft, now gave a gloomy afpeft 
to the affairs of the emperor. The principality of I .ege 
had fttewn fuch marks of favour to the republican caufe, 
that a proclamation was judged neceftary, by which the 
place was put under the command of the prince of Wit - 
temberg, and all gunfmiths and other perfons were en¬ 
joined to depofit their arms and ammunition in the town- 
houfe. The progrefs of the French increafed the fpirit 
of difaffedfion ; and, when they had cut oft'all communi ¬ 
cation from Bruftels to Charleroi and Luxembourg, me¬ 
nacing the inveftment of Charleroi and Ypres, the malcon¬ 
tents at Bruftels publicly avowed themfelves, and planted 
the tree of liberty. The emperor quitted the army, and 
returned to Vienna, to fet on foot further fupplies. 
. Y P res, the key of Weft Flanders, was blockaded by 
the French on the 5th of June, their befieging army 
amounting to thirty thoufand men, and their covering 
army to twenty-five thoufand. Clairfait, having advanced 
to relieve the place, was attacked at Rouffelaer and Hoog- 
leden ; but he drove back the aflailants. Having received 
reinforcements from prince Cobourg, he became in turn 
the aftailant, and had fome hopes of fuccefs ; but, over¬ 
powered by numbers, he was obliged to fall back to 
Thielt, while general Hamerftein retreated to Bruges. 
During the three enfuing days, he made perpetual efforts, 
and fought feveral (kirmithes; but on the fourth he was 
attacked by a very numerous army of republicans, and 
driven to Ghent, which he reached with great difficulty, 
and found the communication with Oudenard entirely cut 
off. Ypres immediately furrendered ; general Walmo- 
den found himfelf no longer able to retain Bruges ; and 
the duke of York, evacuating Tournay, retired to Renaix, 
hoping to fupport Oudenard, which the French had fum- 
moned to furrender. 
Meanwhile the army of the Sambre and Meufe had 
joined that of the North, fo often defeated before Charle¬ 
roi ; and having taken Dinan, again crofted the river in 
the face of the Auftrians, and began to reconftruft the 
works for profecuting the fiege. They were however 
again defeated, and driven beyond the Sambre ; but Piche¬ 
gru, who commanded them, in two days refumed his fta- 
tion, confident in fuperior forces, and determined at all 
events to fucceed. The prince of Cobourg on this nc- 
cafion abandoned Tournay, leaving the defence of the 
Scheldt to the duke of York, and withdrawing all his 
ports from before Valenciennes, Quefnoy, and the other 
French towns in his poffeffion, he attempted the more im¬ 
portant talk of fuccouring Weft Flanders. He made a ge¬ 
neral attack on the polls of the enemy on June 26 ; but, 
after a very long and fevere aftion, the allies were defeat¬ 
ed in every point, and forced to retreat to Halle, thirty 
miles from the field of battle. This decifive adtion was 
fought on the plains of Fleurus, and confirmed the fate 
of Flanders ; Charleroi had furrendered the preceding 
day, and the prince of Cobourg was compelled, an the 
approach of the republicans, to retreat from Halle, leav¬ 
ing Bruftels to its fate. The allies were thus obliged to 
forego all hopes of retaining poffeffion of Flanders, as 
their force, which confided originally of a hundred and 
ninety thoufand men, w'as reduced to eighty thoufand. 
while that of the republicans was increafed to more than 
three hundred thoufand. 
About the fame period, earl Moira arriving at Ortend 
with feven thoufand men, found Ypres and Thorout on 
one fide, and Bruges on the other, in poffeffion of the 
French ; and, defpairing of rendering efiedlual afliftance 
in any other quarter, preff'ed forward to join the duke of 
York, taking his route through Bruges to Malle. Ge¬ 
neral Vandame was in the neighbourhood with twenty 
thoufand French, and would have fallen on the Engliftt 
forcej but for an ingenious deception of major-general 
9 R Doyle, 
