Editing Battle of Fleurus (1794) (section)

== Prelude to battle ==

=== Coburg seeks decisive battle at Charleroi ===
The campaigns on the Sambre were only half of the strategy of General Charles Pichegru, who was the commander in chief of the entire front in the Low Countries, which at the time included the Army of the North, and also the Army of the Ardennes. As the Sambre forces attacked from Pichegru's right wing, his left had defeated the Allies in several battles around [[Battle of Courtrai (1794)|Courtrai]], and had [[Siege of Ypres (1794)|laid siege]] to Ypres since 1 June.{{cn|date=March 2023}}

With the French defeat at the battle of Lambusart on 16 June, Coburg had assumed the danger from that wing was now over, and he felt free to relieve the siege of Ypres on the other wing by reinforcing Count Clerfayt, who was commanding the Austrian forces trying to relieve Ypres.{{cn|date=March 2023}}

Marching with 23 battalions of infantry and 30 squadrons of cavalry on 18 June, however, Coburg had only just arrived at Coeyghem (modern Kooigem) later that day when he received the news that Ypres had surrendered and Jourdan had recrossed the Sambre, both on that same day.{{sfn|Dupuis|1907|p=314}} 

With no siege to relieve, but also freed of the immediate need to fight on two fronts, Coburg returned to Tournai, where he opted to seek a decisive battle on the Sambre by uniting the Allied main army, now freed up, with Orange's forces for an all-out attack on the French on the Sambre wing.{{cn|date=March 2023}}

=== Securing the Duke of York's cooperation ===
Coburg planned to bring the 12,000 Austrians under his command at Tournai towards Charleroi to join with Orange's and Beaulieu's 40,000 in the theatre for the decisive battle against Jourdan.{{sfn|Dupuis|1907|p=315}}  However, the concentration of Austrian forces on the left wing for a decisive battle created two complications:

# It also meant denuding the wing that was defending the Scheldt on the Allied right wing, leaving only the forces in English pay, under the Duke of York, as well as Clerfayt’s corps, to hold the river and cover Brussels. These would be severely outnumbered by the French forces facing them.{{cn|date=March 2023}}
# Under their standing orders, the departure of these Austrians to the east could be construed by the British and British-paid troops as a ruse to cover the abandonment of the Low Countries, and would lead to them immediately withdrawing to protect their allies in Holland and the Netherlands, as they were unwilling and unable to fight alone to defend Austrian interests if the Austrians themselves had withdrawn their forces.{{cn|date=March 2023}}

Coburg needed to convince the Duke of York to take command of the forces around Tournai for a few weeks, guard the line of the Scheldt against Pichegru, and delay his withdrawal to the Netherlands.{{cn|date=March 2023}}

However, this at first met with refusal, as the English suspected that the Austrians were trying to use them to cover a retreat from the Low Countries. This was exacerbated by a letter which Orange had sent to the high command at Tournai, in which he assessed that Kleber’s attack on his forces at Chapelle-lez-Herlaimont on 20 June was probably intended to cover a retreat, proven by the fact that he was able to reoccupy the town on the 21st with no resistance.{{cn|date=March 2023}}

The impression given by Orange that the Sambre front was no cause for concern initially confirmed York’s suspicions that Coburg’s was using the Sambre as an excuse to begin an Austrian withdrawal towards the Meuse and out of the Low Countries. However, after a further exchange of letters in which Coburg clarified that Orange was mistaken and clarified that the situation was truly urgent, York finally agreed to take command on the Scheldt, but only on condition that a garrison of Austrians remain to defend Tournai, the main Allied base, because York's force was too weak to defend both the river and the town.{{sfn|Dupuis|1907|pp=316–319}}  

York also offered to bring his corps of British-paid troops to join in the relief of Charleroi, on the basis that this concentration would give Coburg even greater numbers to secure a strong victory that would free him up to then attack the other wing. He also argued that if Coburg was defeated, York would not be able to hold the Scheldt alone anyway, so he might as well join in the attack on the Sambre.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Fortescue|first=Sir John William|title=British Campaigns in Flanders, 1690–1794|publisher=Macmillan|year=1918|volume=4|location=London|page=354}}</ref> However, Coburg declined this offer, preferring to leave York on the Scheldt with the Austrian garrison he requested.{{cn|date=March 2023}}

The two generals also agreed that York could commence a retreat to Holland if Coburg was defeated on the Sambre. York then positioned his troops between Tournai and Oudenaarde to guard the river while still affording them a good route of retreat to Holland if needed.{{sfn|Dupuis|1907|pp=316–319}}