Battle of Menin (1793)

Battle of Menin (1793)
Part of the French Revolutionary Wars
General Jean Nicolas Houchard, victor in the battle
Date 12–13 September 1793 Location Menen, Flanders Result French victory
Belligerents
France	Dutch Republic  Austria
Commanders and leaders
Jean Houchard	Prince William of Orange
Strength
27,000-30,000	13,000
Casualties and losses
600-1,500	1,550-3,100, 40 guns

The Battle of Menin, or of Wervik and Menen was fought on 12 and 13 September 1793 between 30,000 men of the French Army of the North commanded by Jean Nicolas Houchard, and 13,000 Coalition troops: the veldleger (mobile army) of the Dutch States Army, commanded by the William, Hereditary Prince of Orange and his brother Prince Frederick of Orange-Nassau, and a few squadrons of Austrian cavalry under Pál Kray, seconded by Johann Peter Beaulieu. The great superiority in numbers being on the French side the battle ended in a victory for France, with the Dutch army suffering heavy losses. Among the casualties was Prince Frederick, who was wounded in the shoulder at Wervik, an injury from which he never fully recovered. The combat occurred during the Flanders Campaign of the War of the First Coalition. Menen is a city in Belgium located on the French border about 100 kilometres (62 mi) west of Brussels.

After his victory in the Battle of Hondschoote, the French commander Jean Nicolas Houchard decided to fall on the Dutch forces defending Menen. About 27,000 French troops advanced on Menen from two directions - northward from Lille toward Menen and eastward along the north bank of the Leie (Lys) River toward Wervik and Menen. The Dutch defenders held their own on the 12th. However, on the 13th the French won a significant victory, forcing the Dutch to withdraw to Deinze. Two days later, the French were beaten by Beaulieu in the Battle of Courtrai and abandoned Menen. Despite his recent successes, Houchard was charged with treason and executed.

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