Editing Battle of Tourcoing (section)

===17 May: Evening===
On the morning of 17 May, the French generals had no idea of the trap being sprung around them. They were only aware of the movements of Clerfayt's column, so they moved the divisions of Souham and Moreau to the north bank of the Lys. As reports of the Allied advance reached them, the French commanders reacted. Only Vandamme's brigade was left on the north bank to observe Clerfayt, while the rest of the troops were recalled to the south bank.{{sfn|Fortescue|2016|p=115}} Souham, Souham's staff officer [[Jean Reynier]], Moreau, Macdonald, Macdonald's staff officer Pamphile Lacroix, and Pichegru's chief-of-staff Jean Jacques Liébert{{sfn|Phipps|2011|p=299}} met at Menin in council that evening to decide on a plan.{{sfn|Fortescue|2016|p=115}}<ref group="note">Phipps wrote that the French generals were at Courtrai rather than Menin.</ref> Simply put, Moreau would defend the line of the Lys against Clerfayt's advance while Souham struck southwest from Courtrai and Bonnaud attacked northeast from Lille. Early in the morning they would hurl approximately 40,000 troops at the 20,000 Allies under York and Otto. Meanwhile, the division of André Drut at [[Douai]] would mount a demonstration to the northeast and the Lille garrison would feint to its southeast.{{sfn|Phipps|2011|p=299}} Moreau remarked, "It would require a piece of good fortune, on which we cannot count, to prevent half my division and myself being sacrificed according to this plan, but still it is the best which can be proposed, and consequently it should be adopted."{{sfn|Phipps|2011|p=300}}

On the evening of 17 May, Coalition headquarters knew that Bussche failed to capture Mouscron and that Charles was out of position. It had no news at all from Clerfayt.{{sfn|Fortescue|2016|p=116}} Uneasy that his left flank was not covered, at 9:00 pm York asked permission to withdraw to Lannoy. Mack refused, promising York that Charles and Kinsky would be up in time. At 1:00 am Mack dispatched [[captain (armed forces)|Captain]] Franz von Koller to Charles with orders to march to Lannoy immediately. At 4:00 am when Koller arrived at Charles' headquarters, his staff refused to awaken the general. In fact, Charles, who suffered from [[epilepsy]], had a seizure. However, the staff failed to notify the next in command. At 3:00 am, Mack sent a fresh set of orders instructing Charles to leave 10 battalions and 20 squadrons to watch Lille, and march with Kinsky to Lannoy.{{sfn|Phipps|2011|pp=298–299}}

York and Otto were ordered to attack Mouscron at noon. The Coalition staff officers apparently never considered that the positions of the second and third columns invited a French counterattack. Bussche's mauled units defended Dottignies and [[Kooigem|Coyghem]]. Otto's column was distributed with 7½ battalions and 3 squadrons at Tourcoing, 2 battalions at Wattrelos, and 3 battalions and 3 squadrons at Leers. York's column was spread out with Abercromby's Guards brigade and the 7th and 15th Light Dragoons at Mouvaux,{{sfn|Fortescue|2016|p=116}} 4 Austrian battalions and the 16th Light Dragoons defended Roubaix, 2 Hessian battalions held Lannoy, and [[Henry Edward Fox]]'s brigade (14th, 37th, and 53rd Foot) deployed west of Roubaix, watching Lille. Patrolling the area were 4 Austrian squadrons. The nearest unit belonging to Kinsky's column was {{cvt|4|mi|km|0}} distant at Pont-à-Tressin.{{sfn|Fortescue|2016|p=118}} This was Wurmb's Hessian brigade.{{sfn|Cust|1859|p=200}}
[[File:TourcoingMay18.png|thumb|The second day of the Battle of Tourcoing, 18 May. Souham and Bonnaud improvise a pincer counterattack on the columns of Otto and York, who have been left exposed in a salient by the failures of Clerfayt, Charles and Kinsky to advance, and by Bussche's repulse. Otto and York are crushed while Charles and Kinsky stand by, Clerfayt is repulsed by Vandamme, and what remains of the Allied forces withdraw.]]