Editing Battle of Wattignies (section)

==Background==
In the summer of 1793, the 118,000-strong Coalition army punched a gap in the line of French fortresses along the frontier with the [[Austrian Netherlands]],{{sfn|Phipps|2011|p=213}} with the [[Siege of Condé (1793)|siege of Condé]] concluding on 12 July and the [[Siege of Valenciennes (1793)|siege of Valenciennes]] on 27 July.{{sfn|Smith|1998|pp=48–49}} In the [[Battle of Caesar's Camp]], the Coalition army under [[Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld]] hustled the French ''[[Army of the North (France)|Army of the North]]'' out of a position near [[Cambrai]] on 7 August.{{sfn|Smith|1998|pp=50–51}} At this moment, the Coalition allies unwisely split their forces. [[Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany]] headed west toward [[Dunkirk]] with 37,000 British, Austrians, Hanoverians and Hessians.{{sfn|Phipps|2011|pp=212–213}}

From 6–8 September, the ''Army of the North'' under [[Jean Nicolas Houchard]] defeated the Dunkirk covering force in the [[Battle of Hondschoote (1793)|Battle of Hondschoote]], compelling the Duke of York to give up the [[Siege of Dunkirk (1793)|siege of Dunkirk]].{{sfn|Smith|1998|pp=53–55}} This was followed by the [[Battle of Menin (1793)|Battle of Menin]] on 13 September, in which the French routed a Dutch corps under [[William I of the Netherlands|Prince William of Orange]]. The Dutch suffered 3,000 casualties and lost 40 field pieces in the disaster. Two days later, an Austrian corps led by [[Johann Peter Beaulieu]] routed the French and recaptured [[Menen|Menen (Menin)]].{{sfn|Phipps|2011|pp=241–242}}

Coburg's main army concluded the [[Siege of Le Quesnoy (1793)|siege of Le Quesnoy]] on 13 September, taking 4,000 French troops prisoner.{{sfn|Smith|1998|pp=53–55}} Two French columns attempted to raise the siege but failed, one of the columns being nearly wiped out by Coalition cavalry in the [[Battle of Avesnes-le-Sec]]. Though Coburg might have easily seized Cambrai and [[Bouchain]], which had been stripped of their garrisons to form the relief columns, the Coalition commander chose to move against [[Maubeuge]] instead.{{sfn|Phipps|2011|p=243}} For these defeats, Houchard was arrested on 23 September and incarcerated in a common prison. Denounced as a coward and a traitor by the Revolutionary Tribunal, he was executed by [[guillotine]] on 16 November.{{sfn|Phipps|2011|pp=244–245}} His predecessor in command of the ''Army of the North'', [[Adam Philippe, Comte de Custine]] had been guillotined on 27 August 1793.{{sfn|Phipps|2011|p=189}}

[[Jean-Baptiste Jourdan]] had been wounded at Hondschoote and was named to lead the ''[[Army of the Ardennes]]'' on 9 September. He was appointed provisional commander in chief of the ''Army of the North'' on 22 September. When Jourdan protested that he lacked the experience to command the 104,000-man army, the [[representatives on mission]] notified him that refusal would result in his arrest.{{sfn|Phipps|2011|pp=246–247}} The new commander found that he must respond to the Coalition's move against Maubeuge.{{sfn|Phipps|2011|p=250}} Coburg's army began the [[Siege of Maubeuge (1793)|siege of Maubeuge]] on 30 September.{{sfn|Smith|1998|p=58}}