Battle of Tournay (1794)

Battle of Tournay (1794)
Part of the Flanders campaign in the War of the First Coalition
Austrian command at the Battle of Tournay
Date 22 May 1794 Location Pont-à-Chin, Belgium 50°38′38″N 3°20′41″E / 50.644019°N 3.344689°E / 50.644019; 3.344689 Result Coalition victory
Belligerents
Habsburg Austria  Great Britain Hanover Dutch Republic	French Republic
Commanders and leaders
Emperor Francis II Prince of Coburg	Charles Pichegru
Strength
28,000–50,000	45,000–62,000
Casualties and losses
3,000–4,000	6,000, 7 cannons
class=notpageimage| Location within Europe

The Battle of Tournay or Battle of Tournai or Battle of Pont-à-Chin (22 May 1794) saw Republican French forces led by Jean-Charles Pichegru attack Coalition forces under Emperor Francis II and Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. After a bitter all-day struggle, Coalition troops recaptured a few key positions including Pont-à-Chin, forcing the French to retreat. The Coalition allies included soldiers from Austria, Great Britain, Hanover, and Hesse-Darmstadt. The Flanders Campaign battle was fought near Tournai in modern Belgium on the Schelde River, located about 80 km (50 mi) southwest of Brussels.

In late April 1794, French forces seized both Courtrai and Menin. On 10–12 May in the Battle of Courtrai and on 17–18 May in the Battle of Tourcoing, the Coalition army failed to dislodge French forces holding these two cities. In a bid to drive the Allies from Tournai, Pichegru launched a frontal attack on their positions west of the city. Though the French were repulsed, the severe fighting in April and May 1794 convinced many Coalition leaders that defending the Austrian Netherlands was a lost cause.