Battle of Menin (1793)

The evening of 12 September strong French detachments had already reached the woods around Bousbecque and Roncq (where they surprised an outpost of the Dutch regiment "Van Brakel," with a loss 40 men),^[5] while Beaulieu arrived at the Leie with six squadrons of cavalry and six battalions of infantry (not the hoped-for 14,000, but still about 8,000 men).^[6]: 137 Here the Hereditary Prince personally welcomed him and led him across the Leie to a camp near Wevelgem, where the Austrians stayed overnight. Meanwhile, Dutch troops forced the French vanguard, advancing in two columns toward Menen and Halluin, back near Halluin.^[2]: 207 In these skirmishes the Prince of Hesse-Darmstadt was severely wounded.^[6]: 137

Early the next morning, 13 September, Houchard started a three-pronged attack by launching columns under generals Hédouville, Béru, and Dumesny toward the Dutch^[8] positions. Informed about the attack, the Hereditary Prince asked Beaulieu personally to send reinforcements to the Dutch, who were already pressed by the French assault. Beaulieu refused, pleading that his troops had not yet had breakfast, and therefore could not be ready to march before 9 or 10 AM. He also informed the Prince that he had orders to support the British and not the Dutch. However, he detached four squadrons of cavalry (about 400 men) under general Kray to support Prince Frederick at Wervik, who with 5,000 Dutch troops was holding off a French attack of the division-Hédouville that had started at 5 AM. The village had changed hands twice already,^[9] before the French managed to occupy it in force, and drove the Dutch back with sustained artillery fire.^{[2]: 208 [10]: 63–64}

When general Kray arrived at Wervik, he assured Prince Frederick that Beaulieu's main force would follow, and convinced the inexperienced Dutchman that it was safe to start a counterattack. The young Prince set himself at the head of the Dutch Guards, and supported by the Swiss regiment-De Gumoëns (in Dutch service) and two grenadier battalions, flanked by Dutch and Austrian cavalry, attacked a French battery head on. The Austrian cavalry troops were hit by heavy grapeshot, and in confusion rode down the Dutch infantry, which also broke. At this crucial moment Prince Frederick was hit in the shoulder by a musket ball, and fell through loss of blood unconscious off his horse. Only with difficulty was he evacuated to a Dutch field ambulance. This loss of the Dutch commander prompted so much confusion on the Allied side that a general retreat started, led by Frederick's second-in-command major-general Count Golowkin.^[11] The retreat was bravely covered by the Swiss, who held off pursuing French cavalry, but in the rearguard action the battalion of major Hohenlohe was destroyed with great loss of life.^[2]: 209

Meanwhile, the Hereditary Prince led the Dutch defense at Halluin with six battalions, under command of Count Wartensleben, against two strong French columns of the division-Béru,^[10]: 64 that vastly outnumbered the Dutch, and had 17 heavy artillery pieces, which did great execution among the Dutch.^[5] The Dutch troops fought on in the vain hope that Beaulieu would send reinforcements. Around 11 AM the Dutch had to give way, as a third French column threatened to turn their flank. French troops under general Dumonceau managed to reach the fortified,^[12] but lightly defended, town of Menen, thereby splitting the Dutch forces.^[13] When he heard this, general Golowkin, who had intended to occupy the town, decided to retreat further in the direction of Roeselare. This forced the Hereditary Prince, still near Menen, to give up his defence also, and to retreat in the direction of Kortrijk (Courtrai). In the evening he made a stand in a good position near Wevelgem.^[6]: 137 Dutch cavalry, and a Prussian corps under Von Reitzenstein that had observed the battle with interest near Gheluvelt, but not engaged in it, managed to break through the French lines and retreat to the vicinity of Ypres.^{[2]: 209 [14]}

The next day the Hereditary Prince started the Dutch troops on an orderly strategic retreat (and therefore not in disarray, as some sources^[15] claim without any basis) toward Ghent. On the way he met Beaulieu, who had the temerity to ask for some Dutch troops to cover Kortrijk. The Prince refused in a huff. According to De Bas the Hereditary Prince was much appreciated by the Dutch authorities (especially his father, the stadtholder and Captain-General of the States Army) for his decision to extricate the Dutch troops from Wervik and Menen, and retreat all the way to Ghent, thereby avoiding the destruction of the mobile army.^[2]: 210 If only he had done so sooner, as he intended on 10 September, instead of accepting battle against overwhelming odds. But then he reasonably assumed that Beaulieu's main force would join him in the battle. If this had happened the two forces would have been more evenly matched in numbers.

The Dutch losses were 97 officers and 1394 non-commissioned officers and men (of which 18 officers and 131 other ranks killed), 164 horses and 40 guns.^[2]: 210 The French had 600 casualties.^[3]: 101 Historian Ramsay Weston Phipps gave Dutch losses as 88 officers and 3,000 rank and file, including 1,200 men and 40 guns captured.^[16] Digby Smith stated Dutch losses as 3,100 men and 40 guns out of a total of 13,000 infantry and 1,800 cavalry, while the French lost 1,500 men.^[4]

Ironically, after the battle the city of Menen was occupied by troops of the Légion franche étrangère (Batavian Legion), a brigade formed by exiled Dutch Patriots and commanded by lieutenant-colonel Daendels.^[6]: 139

Three days later Houchard met Beaulieu and was defeated by the well-rested Austrians at the Battle of Courtrai (1793), and the Dutch revolutionaries were chased out of Menen again, but they returned in October with the division Souham, where they distinguished themselves at the recapture of the city on the 25th.^[17]

The Dutch States Army remained at Ghent for the remainder of 1793. Prince Frederick had a difficult recovery from his wound; it never healed satisfactorily and may have contributed to his premature death in 1799.^[2]: 211

The British and Hanoverians reoccupied the Leie-line in late September, but were again driven from Wervik and Menen by Dumesny and Jacques MacDonald in October.^[18] However, the 1793 Campaign season was ended by the battles of Cysoing and Marchiennes, and the French had to retreat from these positions.

50°47′44″N 3°07′18″E / 50.7956°N 3.1217°E / 50.7956; 3.1217