Battle of Villers-en-Cauchies
Part of French Revolutionary Wars
Date 24 April 1794 Location Villers-en-Cauchies, Nord, France Result Anglo-Austrian victory
Belligerents
First French Republic	Habsburg Austria Great Britain
Commanders
Chapuis de Tourville	Rudolf von Otto
Strength
7,000	300
Casualties and losses
1,200 killed, wounded or captured, 5 cannons	95 killed, wounded or missing

In the Battle of Villers-en-Cauchies, fought on 24 April 1794, a small Anglo-Austrian cavalry force routed a vastly more numerous French division during the Flanders Campaign of the French Revolutionary Wars. Villers-en-Cauchies is 15 km south of Valenciennes.

[edit] Background

During the 1794 campaign in Flanders, Allied forces led by the Prince of Saxe-Coburg and the Duke of York sparred with the French Army of the North (Armee du Nord) under Charles Pichegru. When Austrian Lieutenant General (Feldmarschall-Leutnant) Rudolf Ritter von Otto found that a French force was threatening Landrecies, he took two squadrons of the Austrian 17th Archduke Leopold Hussars and two squadrons of the British 15th Light Dragoons to scout the movement.

[edit] Battle

Otto soon found himself facing a superior force of French cavalry with only 300 horsemen. At this time, the Austrian leader heard that Emperor Francis II was nearby with a small retinue. To save his sovereign from capture, Otto determined to attack the French cavalry, who were deployed in line between Villers-en-Cauchies and a wood. When the Anglo-Austrians charged, the French cavalry wheeled aside, revealing a line of infantry with cannons in support.^[1]

Despite being drawn into a trap, the allied horsemen charged home and broke through the six battalions of French infantry, who belonged to Major-General Charles Chapuis de Tourville's command.^[2] When the eight squadrons of French cavalry regrouped and counterattacked, Otto's horsemen routed them also. The allied horse pursued the fleeing Frenchmen for 8 miles in the direction of Bouchain.

[edit] Results

The French admitted a stunning 1,200 killed, wounded and captured ^[3] out of a force of 7,000 men. They also lost 5 cannons. The Austrians lost 10 killed and wounded and 10 missing. British casualties were 58 killed and 17 wounded.^[4]

Emperor Francis II awarded 8 officers involved in this action with a special gold medal ^[5] since at that time it wasn't possible to award the Military Order of Maria Theresia upon foreigners; later, in 1801, after a change in the orders's statutes, these same officers were created Knights of the Military Order of Maria Theresia.^[6] The recipients were Major William Aylett; Captain Robert Pocklington; Captain Edward Michael Ryan; Lieutenant Thomas Granby Calcraft; Lieutenant William Keir; Lieutenant Charles Burrell Blount; Cornet Edward Gerald Butler and Cornet Robert Thomas Wilson. Of this medal only 9 pieces have been struck: 8 awarded and one preserved at the "Münzkabinett" in Vienna.

[edit] Commentary

During the early years of the French Revolutionary Wars, the French cavalry was particularly weak compared to the cavalry of their enemies. Historians blame this weakness on the loss of many aristocratic cavalry officers who fled France during the Revolution.^[7] In addition, the French infantry was filled with raw conscripts who were still learning their trade. Soon, the quality of the French cavalry and infantry would greatly improve as the officers and soldiers absorbed hard lessons at the hands of their enemies.

The next major engagement would be the Battle of Tourcoing on 17-18 May.

[edit] References

• Chandler, David. The Campaigns of Napoleon. New York: Macmillan, 1966.
• Chandler, David. Dictionary of the Napoleonic Wars. New York: Macmillan, 1979. ISBN 0-02-523670-9
• Glover, Michael. The Peninsular War 1807-1814. London: Penguin, 2001. ISBN 0-141-39041-7
• London Gazette nr. 15025 of June 9th, 1798
• London Gazette nr. 15370 of June 2nd, 1801
• Mericka, Vaclav: Orden und Ehrenzeichen der Oesterreichisch Ungarischen Monarchie Vienna, Praha, Schroll, 1974
• Smith, Digby. The Napoleonic Wars Data Book. London: Greenhill, 1998. ISBN 1-85367-276-9

[edit] Footnotes

1. ^ Chandler Dictionary, p 465
2. ^ Smith, p 74
3. ^ Chandler Dictionary, p 465. Chandler gives 66 total Allied casualties.
4. ^ Smith, p 74. Smith also gives 800 killed, 400 wounded and 150 captured. The number of dead is ridiculous and may be a misprint. The British killed-to-wounded ratio also looks suspicious.
5. ^ London Gazette nr. 15025
6. ^ London Gazette nr. 15370
7. ^ Chandler Campaigns, p 69

[edit] External references

• Otto by Digby Smith, compiled by Leopold Kudrna