Ten Days' Campaign | |||||||
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Part of the aftermath of the Belgian Revolution | |||||||
The Prince of Orange leading the Dutch army in the Battle of Ravels on 3 August 1831 |
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Belligerents | |||||||
Supported by: France |
United Netherlands | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Strength | |||||||
Belgium: 24,000 men France: 70,000 men |
50,000 men | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
91 killed & 453 wounded |
112 killed & 457 wounded |
Belgian victory;
The Ten Days' Campaign (Dutch: Tiendaagse Veldtocht, French: Campagne des Dix-Jours) was a failed military expedition by the United Kingdom of the Netherlands against the secessionist Kingdom of Belgium between 2 and 12 August 1831. The campaign was an attempt by the Dutch King William I to halt the course of the Belgian Revolution which had broken out in August 1830.
The Dutch army invaded Belgium on 2 August 1831 and defeated Belgian forces in several battles over the course of the next few days, advancing deep into Belgian territory. On 8 August, the Belgian government appealed to France for military support. The French agreed to send reinforcements to assist the Belgians under Marshal Étienne Gérard. Rather than fight the French, the Dutch withdrew from Belgium without achieving their objectives. In November 1832, the French besieged and captured Antwerp, the last Dutch stronghold in Belgium, effectively ending the military confrontation between the Dutch and Belgians.
In the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars, the 1815 Congress of Vienna merged the former Austrian Netherlands (modern Belgium and Luxembourg) with the Dutch Republic to create the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. After 15 years of misrule and growing opposition, the southern provinces of the Kingdom rebelled in August 1830, beginning the Belgian Revolution.