Key Facts
- Duration
- 18 days (1–18 June 1794)
- Garrison size
- 7,000 men (Habsburg Austrians and Hessians)
- Relief attempts repelled
- 3
- Theater
- Flanders Campaign, War of the First Coalition
Strategic Narrative Overview
The French siege force under Jean Victor Marie Moreau invested the 7,000-strong garrison of Austrians and Hessians commanded by Paul von Salis and Heinrich von Borcke. Joseph Souham's troops repelled three successive relief attempts by Count Clerfayt's corps, which was too outnumbered to break through the French lines. The besiegers tightened their grip on the city over eighteen days, leaving the defenders with no viable means of escape or resupply.
01 / The Origins
During the War of the First Coalition, Republican France sought to push the Coalition forces out of the Austrian Netherlands. In the Flanders Campaign of 1794, the Coalition initially drove against the French center, but the French seized the initiative on both flanks. As Coalition forces shifted eastward to defend the Sambre River line in late May, Pichegru's Army of the North moved its left wing to besiege the fortified city of Ypres.
03 / The Outcome
Faced with no prospect of relief, the Coalition garrison surrendered Ypres on 18 June 1794. The fall of the city secured the western flank of the French campaign in Flanders. One week later, the French achieved a critical victory on the eastern flank at the Battle of Fleurus, effectively ending Coalition control over the Austrian Netherlands and accelerating French domination of the region.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Jean-Charles Pichegru, Jean Victor Marie Moreau, Joseph Souham.
Side B
2 belligerents
Paul von Salis, Heinrich von Borcke, François Sébastien Charles Joseph de Croix, Count of Clerfayt.
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.