Editing Battle of Tourcoing (section)

==Background==
===Armies===
For the campaign of 1794, [[Lazare Carnot]] of the [[Committee of Public Safety]] devised a strategy whereby the French armies would envelop both flanks of the Coalition army defending the [[Austrian Netherlands]]. The French left wing was ordered to seize [[Ypres]], then [[Ghent]], then [[Brussels]]. Meanwhile, the right wing was to thrust at [[Namur]] and [[Liège]], cutting the Austrian line of communications to [[Luxembourg City]]. The French center would defend the line between [[Bouchain]] and [[Maubeuge]].{{sfn|Fortescue|2016|p=86}} On 8 February 1794, new commander Jean-Charles Pichegru arrived at [[Guise]] to assume leadership of the [[Army of the North (France)|Army of the North]].{{sfn|Phipps|2011|p=275}} In March 1794, the Army of the North numbered 194,930 men, including 126,035 soldiers available for the field. Pichegru also had authority over the subordinate [[Army of the Ardennes]] which counted 32,773 men, for a combined total of 227,703 troops.{{sfn|Phipps|2011|p=284}}

At the beginning of April, the Coalition army occupied the following positions. Not counting garrisons, the right wing numbered 24,000 Austrians, Hessians, and Hanoverians under Clerfayt with headquarters at [[Tournai]]. [[Ludwig von Wurmb]] commanded 5,000 soldiers at [[Denain]]. The 22,000 men of the right center were led by the Duke of York at [[Saint-Amand-les-Eaux]]. Headquartered at [[Valenciennes]], Prince Coburg commanded the 43,000 troops of the center. [[William V, Prince of Orange]] commanded 19,000 Dutch of the left-center at [[Bavay]]. [[Franz Wenzel, Graf von Kaunitz-Rietberg]] led 27,000 Austrian and Dutch troops on the left wing at [[Bettignies]]. Another 15,000 Austrians under [[Johann Peter Beaulieu]] guarded the far left from Namur to [[Trier]].{{sfn|Fortescue|2016|pp=84–85}} Emperor Francis arrived at Valenciennes on 14 April and Coburg recommended that the fortress of [[Landrecies]] be reduced.{{sfn|Fortescue|2016|p=87}} On 21 April the [[Siege of Landrecies]] began; it ended on 30 April with a French capitulation.{{sfn|Smith|1998|p=76}}

===Operations===
{{Location map many|France Nord-Pas-de-Calais|caption = Flemish campaign: important locations, May 1794 |relief=yes|border = black| width = 350| float = right
|label  =Dunkirk     |pos=bottom|lat_deg = 51 |lat_min  = 2 |lon_deg = 2 |lon_min = 23
|label2 =Grandreng   |pos2=top  |lat2_deg = 50|lat2_min = 20|lon2_deg = 4|lon2_min = 4
|label3 =Courtrai    |pos3=right|lat3_deg = 50|lat3_min = 50|lon3_deg = 3|lon3_min = 16
|label4 =Lille       |pos4=bottom|lat4_deg =50|lat4_min = 38|lon4_deg = 3|lon4_min = 3
|label5 =Tournai     |pos5=right|lat5_deg = 50|lat5_min = 36|lon5_deg = 3|lon5_min = 23
|label6 =Tourcoing   |pos6=right|lat6_deg = 50|lat6_min = 43|lon6_deg = 3|lon6_min = 10
|label7 =Ypres       |pos7=top  |lat7_deg = 50|lat7_min = 51|lon7_deg = 2|lon7_min = 53
|label8 =Saint-Amand |pos8=left |lat8_deg = 50|lat8_min = 27|lon8_deg = 3|lon8_min = 26
}}
In the [[Battle of Beaumont (1794)|Battle of Beaumont]] on 26 April, Coalition cavalry routed a 20,000-man French column that tried to relieve Landrecies. The Allies inflicted 7,000 casualties on the French and captured their commander [[René-Bernard Chapuy]] with Pichegru's plans for attacking coastal Flanders. With his enemy's plans before him, Coburg immediately sent [[Sir William Erskine, 1st Baronet|William Erskine]] with a considerable reinforcement for the right wing. Clerfayt, who had been drawn to the east, was ordered back to cover the western flank. It was too late; Pichegru had already attacked. Pierre Antoine Michaud's 12,000-man division advanced from [[Dunkirk]] toward [[Nieuport]] and Ypres. [[Jean Victor Marie Moreau]]'s 21,000-strong division from [[Cassel, Nord|Cassel]] swept past Ypres and laid siege to [[Menen|Menen (Menin)]]. Accompanied by Pichegru, Souham's 30,000-man division started from [[Lille]] and seized [[Kortrijk|Kortrijk (Courtrai)]].{{sfn|Fortescue|2016|pp=100–102}} On 29 April, Souham defeated Clerfayt's outnumbered force in the [[Battle of Mouscron]]. That night, the Allied garrison abandoned Menin and successfully broke through the French investment.{{sfn|Phipps|2011|p=293}} By taking Menin and Courtrai, the French had pierced the Coalition front.{{sfn|Fortescue|2016|p=104}}

[[File:AduC 135 Cobourg (F., duc de Saxe, 1737-1815).JPG|thumb|left|upright=0.6|alt=Black and white print of a man in profile wearing a coat with an award pinned to the breast. His hair is worn with curls at the ears in late 18th century style.|Prince Coburg]]

When Landrecies surrendered on 30 April, Coburg sent York west to reinforce Clerfayt. The two Coalition forces joined at Tournai: York led 18,000 soldiers, Clerfayt commanded 19,000 troops (though one British brigade was still en route), and [[Johann Ludwig, Reichsgraf von Wallmoden-Gimborn|Johann von Wallmoden]] had 4,000–6,000 men.{{sfn|Fortescue|2016|p=105}} The two Coalition commanders worked out a plan where Clerfayt would attack Courtrai from the north while York would strike from the direction of Tournai and cut off the French from Lille.{{sfn|Fortescue|2016|p=106}} At about the same time, Pichegru ordered [[Jacques Philippe Bonnaud]]'s large division (formerly Chapuy's) from [[Cambrai]] to Lille.{{sfn|Phipps|2011|p=294}} In the [[Battle of Courtrai (1794)|Battle of Courtrai]] on 10 May, Bonnaud's 23,000 troops advanced to attack the Coalition troops holding Tournai. York turned the French right flank with a mass of cavalry. The French infantry repelled a series of cavalry charges, but the Allied horsemen finally prevailed after receiving artillery support; the French were forced to retreat.{{sfn|Fortescue|2016|pp=106–108}} Also on 10 May, Clerfayt attacked [[Dominique Vandamme]]'s brigade (of Moreau's division) at Courtrai but failed to capture the place. The next day, Souham reinforced Vandamme with part of his division.{{sfn|Phipps|2011|p=294}} On 11 May, the French drove back Clerfayt who retreated north to [[Tielt]]. Realizing that the French forces in the area badly outnumbered him, York halted and called for reinforcements.{{sfn|Fortescue|2016|p=108}}

After the fall of Landrecies, the Coalition high command was torn between moving the army west to save coastal Flanders or east to assist Kaunitz on the [[Sambre]] River. They considered a feint attack toward Cambrai or investing [[Avesnes-sur-Helpe]]. When York's appeal for help arrived, Kinsky was sent to Denain with 6,000 troops so that Wurmb's force could march to Tournai. Then Kaunitz announced that he was hard-pressed.{{sfn|Fortescue|2016|p=108}} Coburg told Francis II that he must decide whether the main army should move to Flanders or to the Sambre. On 13 May, Kaunitz won the [[Battle of Grandreng]] so the next day the emperor decided the main army must move west toward Flanders. Even so, Orange and 8,000 troops were left behind to protect Landrecies.{{sfn|Fortescue|2016|p=109}} Despite the odds, York was determined to attack on 15 May, in cooperation with Clerfayt. In the night of 14 May, a message arrived from Francis telling York that he would soon arrive and the Allies would launch a major attack.{{sfn|Brown|2021|p=136}} Francis joined York in Tournai on 15 May while Archduke Charles and the main Coalition army arrived at Saint-Amand-les-Eaux.{{sfn|Fortescue|2016|p=110}}

As an added distraction, the [[Kościuszko Uprising]] broke out in Poland on 25 March and quickly spread. This event took Francis, [[Catherine I of Russia]] and [[Frederick William II of Prussia]] completely by surprise. Catherine asked Francis for help and Prussia withdrew 20,000 soldiers from the war against France.{{sfn|Fortescue|2016|p=109}} At imperial headquarters, one faction led by Coburg wanted to continue the war with France, while another faction wanted Austria's energies directed toward Poland in order to thwart its rival Prussia.{{sfn|Fortescue|2016|p=110}}