Editing Battle of Fleurus (1794) (section)

=== 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 Jourdan had withdrawn the army largely intact and in good order, and French morale remained high as all ranks felt that their loss was only due to the heavy mist, the element of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}}