Battle of Grandreng
1794 CE.
Shown on the map at 50.333°, 4.067°.
The Battle of Grand-Reng or Battle of Rouvroi (13 May 1794) saw a Republican French army jointly commanded by Louis Charbonnier and Jacques Desjardin attempt to advance across the Sambre River against a combined Habsburg Austrian and Dutch army under Franz Wenzel, Graf von Kaunitz-Rietberg. After winning crossings over the Sambre at Thuin and Lobbes on the 10th and Merbes-le-Château on the 12th, the French were defeated on 13 May at Grand-Reng and forced to retreat. The War of the First Coalition engagement marked the first of five attempts by the French armies to establish themselves on the north bank of the Sambre. Grand-Reng is now part of the village of Erquelinnes, Belgium, lying close to the border with France. Rouveroy (Rouvroi) is situated 3.8 kilometres (2.4 mi) north. Grand-Reng is located about 33 kilometres (21 mi) southwest of Charleroi. The spring of 1794 saw intense and continual fighting in the Austrian Netherlands between the French and First Coalition armies. While the Coalition army concentrated their main effort in the center against Landrecies, the French directed their efforts against the flanks.
Text from the Wikipedia article Battle of Grand-Reng, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.