Editing Battle of Fleurus (1794) (section)

== The third siege of Charleroi ==

=== The fifth crossing of the Sambre ===
[[File:FleurusCrossing.png|thumb|The fifth crossing of the Sambre, and the initial positions taken up by the French army, just prior to the 3rd siege of Charleroi.]]
The defeat at Lambusart caused little damage to the French army, with Jourdan sustaining only 3,000 casualties out of a total of 90,000 men under command, of which 70,000 were engaged. Jourdan had withdrawn the army largely intact and in good order, and French morale remained high as all ranks felt that their loss was only due to the heavy mist, the element of surprise, and shortages of ammunition, not because of any deficiency of the French soldiers themselves.{{cn|date=March 2023}}

As a result of these factors, Jourdan was quickly ready to go back on the offensive, and he recrossed the Sambre for the fifth time just 2 days after the battle of Lambusart, on 18 June.{{cn|date=March 2023}}

The French divisions were to occupy much the same positions as they had during the fourth crossing and second siege of Charleroi. From west to east, they deployed as follows:{{sfn|Dupuis|1907|pp=303–305}}

* General [[Guillaume Philibert Duhesme]]’s division crossed at Aulnes Abbey and Landelies and positioned himself between the towns of Pieton and Souvret.
* General [[Anne Charles Basset Montaigu]]’s division (which replaced Muller's division in the attack force) crossed at Rus (south of the modern Terril du Hameau) and Landelies,<ref name="Charleroi">{{Cite web|last=KBR: The Royal Library of Belgium|date=1770–1778|title=The Ferraris Map|url=https://www.kbr.be/en/the-ferraris-map/|url-status=live|access-date=2 December 2021|page=81: Charleroi|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190530151728/https://www.kbr.be/en/the-ferraris-map/ |archive-date=2019-05-30 }}</ref> and deployed to the right of Duhesme with its right on the Pieton river.
* General [[Antoine Morlot]]’s division and General [[Jean-Joseph Ange d'Hautpoul|Jean-Joseph Ange d’Hautpoul]]’s brigade of cavalry crossed at Marchienne-au-Pont and deployed north of Gosselies with outposts at Thumeon (modern Thimeon)<ref name="Charleroi"/>
* General [[Jean-Étienne Championnet|Jean-Etienne Championnet's]] division and General Guillaume Anselme Philibert de Soland's brigade of cavalry crossed at Marchienne-au-Pont and deployed between Heppignies and Wagnee,<ref name=Fleurus>{{Cite web|last=KBR: The Royal Library of Belgium|date=1770–1778|title=The Ferraris Map|url=https://www.kbr.be/en/the-ferraris-map/|url-status=live|access-date=2 December 2021|page=98: Fleuru|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190530151728/https://www.kbr.be/en/the-ferraris-map/ |archive-date=2019-05-30 }}</ref> with outposts in Mellet and St Fiacre (currently the company compound of Saspj De Munck Lionel & Maxime)<ref name=Gembloux>{{Cite web|last=KBR: The Royal Library of Belgium|date=1770–1778|title=The Ferraris Map|url=https://www.kbr.be/en/the-ferraris-map/|url-status=live|access-date=2 December 2021|page=97: Gembloux|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190530151728/https://www.kbr.be/en/the-ferraris-map/ |archive-date=2019-05-30 }}</ref>
* General [[François Joseph Lefebvre]] crossed at Chatellet and took position between Wagnee and the tavern of Campinaire (at the modern intersection of the N568 and N29),<ref name=Fleurus/> with outposts in Fleurus
* General [[Jacques Maurice Hatry]] also crossed at Chatellet, and marched for Charleroi to resume besieging the fortress
* General [[François Séverin Marceau|Francois Severin Marceau]], on the extreme right, crossed at Tergnee (around modern Rue du Tergnee in Farciennes) to take position from Campinaire to the northern edge of the forest of Copiaux (still existent today, south of Velaine-sur-Sambre), with detachments occupying Velaine, Baulet and Wanfersee (the latter two now combined into the town of Baulet-Wanfercee), and his main camp at Baratre (halfway between modern Lambusart and the town of Keumiee).<ref name=Fleurus/>

From the moment of their deployments, the French divisions immediately began constructing entrenchments and redoubts to fortify their positions protecting the siege works.{{cn|date=March 2023}}

=== Allied miscalculations and reactions ===
Jourdan's recrossing of the Sambre so soon after Lambusart caught the Allies completely by surprise.{{cn|date=March 2023}}

Following the previous battle at Lambusart, the Allied high command under Feldmarschall Prince Coburg had assumed that the French were morally and materially beaten, and would be unable or unwilling to undertake another offensive after four successive failures. As a result, on 17 June, [[William V, Prince of Orange|William V, the Prince of Orange]], in command of the forces of the Allied left wing that defended this front, had spread out his forces again, sending a division under General [[Paul Davidovich|Paul Davidovitch]] to Erquelinnes<ref name=Merbes>{{Cite web|last=KBR: The Royal Library of Belgium|date=1770–1778|title=The Ferraris Map|url=https://www.kbr.be/en/the-ferraris-map/|url-status=live|access-date=2 December 2021|page=66: Merbes le Chateau|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190530151728/https://www.kbr.be/en/the-ferraris-map/ |archive-date=2019-05-30 }}</ref> while simultaneously preparing to send 4 battalions of infantry to reinforce Coburg's centre at Tournai. Orange's main force was at Chapelle-lez-Herlaimont.{{cn|date=March 2023}}

Such was the Allied confidence that the French would not dare make another attempt on Charleroi, that even when the French recrossed the Sambre a fifth time, Orange concluded erroneously that they were aiming for Mons, the original objective of the Sambre campaigns.{{sfn|Dupuis|1907|p=305}} 

Orange ordered his outnumbered force at Chapelle-lez-Herlaimont to withdraw to the main base at Rouveroy to defend Mons and avoid being cut off by French advances. The 4 battalions intended for Coburg were withheld while Beaulieu's corps, which had returned to guard Namur after Lambusart, was ordered to assemble near Quatre-Bras to cover the road to Brussels.{{cn|date=March 2023}}

As a result, the French once again effected their crossing unopposed.{{cn|date=March 2023}}

=== Siege operations ===
The third siege of Charleroi commenced formally on 19 June with the city's investment, which the garrison, only 2,800 men strong under one Colonel Reynac,{{sfn|Dupuis|1907|pp=308, 320}} was too weak to delay, especially since no one had expected the French to attack again so soon. With only three days between the raising of the second siege and the commencement of the third one, the garrison had neither had time to prepare for a new siege, nor destroy the works from the previous one.{{cn|date=March 2023}}

During the third siege, the French benefitted from the reuse of the works from the second siege, giving them a headstart in speed and progress.{{cn|date=March 2023}}

As the siege progressed, the various divisions of the army undertook several small divisional operations to clear enemy forces from their perimeter and keep Allied observation forces at a distance.{{sfn|Dupuis|1907|pp=311–313}}  

On 20 June, Kleber took his two divisions, under Duhesme and Montaigu, to Chapelle-lez-Herlaimont, attacking in four columns and driving the enemy forces in the town out, before returning to their defensive positions with Montaigu positioned from Trazegnies back to the town of Pieton, and Duhesme on his right, stretching from Trazegnies to the Pieton river.{{cn|date=March 2023}}

On 21 June, Championnet and Morlot attacked Quatre-Bras and drove away the Allied force at the crossroads, before returning to their entrenchments.{{cn|date=March 2023}} 

On 22 June, Kleber attacked Chapelle-lez-Herlaimont again with his two divisions to drive out the Allies, who had returned.{{cn|date=March 2023}}

=== The surrender of Charleroi ===
At 7&nbsp;am on 25 June, seeing that no relief appeared to be forthcoming after a week and that the French were about to begin their third parallel (a trench line close enough to launch infantry assaults from), Reynac asked for terms of surrender.{{sfn|Dupuis|1907|p=309}} 

When presented with Reynac's request for terms by a major from his staff, it was refused by the Representative of the People [[Louis Antoine de Saint-Just|Louis-Antoine Saint-Just]], who was in charge of negotiations. Saint-Just demanded an immediate surrender instead. Armand de Marescot, the chief engineer of the forces on the Sambre at this time, was present at the negotiations and recorded the following exchange in his campaign report:

<blockquote>SAINT-JUST: I don't want this piece of paper (i.e. Reynac's note with proposed terms of surrender), I want the place itself.

MAJOR: But if we surrender at discretion (i.e.unconditionally), we will be dishonoured.

SAINT-JUST: We can neither honour or dishonour you, just as it is not in your power to honour or dishonour the French nation. There is no connection between you and us.

MAJOR: But can we not obtain some form of capitulation (i.e. terms)? 

SAINT-JUST: Yesterday we could have listened to you; today you must surrender at discretion. I have spoken; I have used the powers entrusted to me; I will take back nothing. I count on the courage of the army, and mine.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Marescot|first=Armand Samuel de|title=Relation des trois attaques de la place de Charleroy|publisher=Archives du Service Historique de l'Armee|year=1795|volume=B1 34|location=Vincennes}}</ref> </blockquote>Saint-Just's threat was just a bluff; the French were not actually ready to assault Charleroi. It would have taken at least another eight days for the French to have taken the fortress by assault if resistance had continued under a resolute commander.{{sfn|Dupuis|1907|p=322}}  However, Saint-Just needed to intimidate Reynac into surrendering as soon as possible because the French had been aware for some days that the Allied main army was already nearby and their attack to relieve Charleroi was imminent.{{cn|date=March 2023}}

In fact, the Allies were already getting dangerously close; on 25 June itself, as Reynac was negotiating his surrender, a detachment from Coburg's army was already trying to get to the ridge of Heppignies to fire rockets, an agreed-upon signal that the relief army had arrived. However, they were driven away by Championnet, whose division occupied the ridge, before they could get close. They were only able to launch their rockets from Frasne (modern Frasnes-lez-Gosselies), too far away to the north to be seen.{{sfn|Dupuis|1907|p=320}}  Around midnight on the day of the battle, an Austrian cavalry officer, [[Joseph Radetzky von Radetz|Count Radetzky]], did manage to infiltrate the French lines and actually reach the walls of Charleroi to discover it was already captured, but was then injured and chased by a French patrol on the way back later in the morning, and did not make it back to headquarters with his news until the afternoon, when the battle was already in full swing.{{sfn|Dupuis|1907|p=321}} 

Despite the fact that the French were clearly not ready to assault the fortress yet, Reynac had been discouraged by the apparent lack of any relief, and was intimidated by Saint-Just's posturing and threats. Seeing no point in further resistance, he agreed to surrender unconditionally that very afternoon. Forces from Hatry's division, which had been besieging Charleroi, then marched in to take possession of the city.{{sfn|Dupuis|1907|p=311}} 

Reynac's surrender had come in the nick of time for the French. The very next morning, the Allies would commence the battle of Fleurus to relieve Charleroi–just half a day too late. Hatry's division, freed up from siege duties, would make an important contribution as a reserve force during the battle.{{cn|date=March 2023}}