merous artillery, they advanced with great refolution to the charge; but were received with equal intrepidity: the fire on both fides was kept up with unyielding courage during a long and furious conflict: but the efforts of the French were fruitless, and they were at length compelled to retire with the lofs of near three thousand of their beft troops. In the hope of repairing this misfortune, the French planned and executed on the following day an attack on General Clairfait, who was pofted in the vicinity of Courtray they marched from this town in great force, and affailed him at once in feveral points. But happily he was prepared for them. After a conflict that lafted from twelve at noon to near midnight, he routed and drove them back to Courtray; but here they recovered themselves; and the Auftrians were in their turn put to the route, and purfued fo closely, that after croffing two rivers, they with difficulty were able to take fuch a pofition as might cover the three important towns of Ghent, Bruges, and Oftend. This was a fatal day for the allies. The French had in this action triumphed over the abilities of General Clairfait, and the bravery of his beft Auftrian veterans. The confequences of this remarkable defeat were felt during the whole campaign; and it was in fact a prelude to the many difafters that followed. Animated by this fuccefs, the French croffed the Sambre, and obliged General Kaunitz to haften with his whole force to cover Mons: but they followed him with the utmost rapidity, and brought him to a very ferious engagement; wherein, however, they did not meet with the fuccefs they had expected. After repeated charges, made with the most desperate valour, and in which they loft an alarming number of excellent offcers and foldiers, they found themfelves under the neceffity of making a retreat, and even of re-croffing the Sambre, after lofing in this deftructive engagement little lefs than five thoufand of their beft men. This remarkable defeat happened on the 14th of May. After fo confiderable a check, it was hoped in the imperial councils that the French might in their turn be attacked with a likelihood of compelling them to withdraw from thofe parts of the Auftrian territories, of which they had taken poffeffion. To this end arrangements were concerted to recover from them the province of Flanders, which from its fituation was of moft importance to the confederacy. But what had befallen the French on the opening of the campaign, now happened to the allies: the plan they had formed for the execution of their defigns, was betrayed to the French, and thereby completely frustrated. to tion of their plan to the enemy, the Of this treacherous communicaallies unfortunately were not apprized. According to the project agreed upon, they advanced wards the enemy during the night of the 16th, intending to affault his ligence of their approach. lines before he had received intelallied army was formed into five The divifions; the Emperor and the Duke of York acted with the strict÷ eft concert on this important occafion, and neglected nothing that could procure fuccefs to an enterprize on which fo much depended. The The French were pofted on the banks of the Margne, oppofite to those towards which the allied army was now advancing. Two divihons were to force a paffage over this river, while the three others were executing other orders: but the former arrived fo late at the place of their destination, and were fo fatigued with the length of their march, that the utmoft they could do was, to make good their paffage over the river, being utterly unable to perform the remainder of what had been proposed. Another divifion, on its arrival at the French quarters, found them in fuch good order and ftrength, that fearing to be cut off by their fuperior numbers, it immediately retreated to the pofition it had left. The two divifions under General Otto and the Duke fucceeded better, and drove the French from feveral of their pofts. In the laft that was carried by the Duke's divifion, they were ftrongly intrenched, and made a formidable refiftance: but by the judicious conduct of General Ábercromby, and the valour of the troops under his command, the entrenchments were forced, and the enemy totally routed. Thus ended the operations of the 17th of May: a day rendered memorable by the disappointment of the fanguine expectations of the allies to regain their pofts in the Flemish diftricts, and re-establish the fuperiority they had loft there at the clofe of the former campaign. The effects of this unexpected difappointment were peculiarly unfortunate for the confederacy: it excited, or to speak perhaps more properly, it revived a fpirit of miftruft which had in a great measure been laid, by the con fcioulness of the neceffity of acting together with confidence and unanimity, it extinguished the readinefs and alacrity requifite for the formation of enterprizes, by damping that hope of fuccefs which depends on the honour and fecrecy of those who are privy to them. The advantages obtained by the allies in this conflict were of fo little importance, that the French determined to renew the fight next day. Their Generals felt the neceffity of recovering immediately the ground they had loft. They were confcious of the critical fituation in which they stood, and that the prefent occafion would prove very decifive. Actuated by the urgency of the moment, they loft no time in making the moft fkilful arrangements, and at break of day attacked part of the Duke of York's divifion which lay nearest to them: another body was speedily ordered to move to its affiftance; but their attack was made with fuch a fuperiority of numbers, that they bore down all refiftance. The Duke's main body being weak-. ened by the abfence of the troops he had been obliged to detach for the fupport of those that were engaged, the enemy feized this opportunity of affailing him. The force deftined for this purpofe was fo numerous, that it completely furrounded and fell upon him on every fide. General Otto's divifion, that lay at fome diftance, was dif lodged by them from its pofition, and overwhelmed by the irresistible ftrength that preffed upon it from all quarters, and inceffantly fupplied by fresh additions, was utterly unable to afford him relief. Duke's divifion was, after the most intrepid refiftance, obliged everyC 2 where where to give way: the Duke himTelf was on the point of falling into the enemy's hands, and compelled to retire with a few attendants to General Otto's divifion. But it was impoffible, with fo unequal a force, to ftem the immediate torrent of the enemy, and enable the Duke's divifion to rally. It was with prodigious efforts that the Generals Fox and Abercromby found means to reffore fufficient order among the troops, to fave them from total deftruction, and effect a retreat. But even this was attended with almoft infurmountable difficulty; the enemy preffing upon them with inceffant fury, and giving them no time to recover from the forlorn fituation into which they had been thrown by the unexpected immenfity of the numbers with which they had to contend on this unfortunate day. The defeat of the allies was in every refpect complete? not one of their divifions was able to oppofe the enemy to any effect: the troops that were headed by the Emperor and Prince Cobourg ared the fame fate as the rest. Some hopes had at firft been entertained, that General Clairfait might have made a junction with the forces engaged; but a river feparated him from them; and the French obferved his motions with fo much vigilance, that he found it impracticable to participate in 'this action. The difafters of the allied army on this fatal day, occafioned a variety of complaints and recriminations among different parts that compofed it. Want of conduct, and even of fufficient refolution, was imputed to fomé; they were accufed of having made an untimely retreat, which, by the confufion it caufed, threw the other parts into irreparable diforder. The precife lofs of the allies in this battle, which was fought near Turcoign, was never fatisfactorily ascertained; but it must have been very great. The British troops alone loft a thousand men, befides a confiderable train of artillery; and the other divifions of the army, though lefs deeply engaged, could not efcape the fury of an enemy fo expert in making the moft of every advantage, and deriving fo many from its prodigious numbers. This complete defeat of the combined powers filled the French with an exultation that led them to think that no refiftance to them could henceforwards be practicable. They counted much lefs on the flaughter of thofe who had fallen in battle, than on the difcouragement among thofe that furvived. They did not feem to reflect on the real and efficient caufe of their fuccefs: the numerous and exhauftlefs multitudes they were able to bring into the field, and to replace as faft as they were destroyed. An enemy thus circumftanced was the more formidable, that he carried on the war at his own doors, and could inftantly, as it were, be fupplied with whatever force was needed for the operations he might project. His enemy's fituation was precifely the reverfe. His fupplies of men came from far diftant countries they had immenfe tracks to traverfe before they reached the place of their deftination. The countries contended for, and in which the war was waged, afforded no recruits, or a very few; the generality of thofe claffes wherein foldiers are found, being averfe to their rulers, and well affected to the French. This was notorioufly the cafe with the people in the Auftrian Netherlands. In the Seven United Provinces, the inhabitants have fo many beneficial Occupations to follow, that their military lift is almoft entirely compofed of foreigners. Such being the relative fituation of the French, and of the confederacy formed against them, it was not furprizing that the lofs of men in battle was fo little felt by the former, and fo much by the latter; and that, prefuming upon fo important an advantage, the French fhould continually be forming fresh enter prizes, while the allies found it neceffary to adopt no hazardous measures without the utmoft caution, from the serious confequences that muft neceffarily enfie through the difficulty of repairing their loffes in killed or taken. Four days after the defeat of the allied army, the French Generals refolved to improve their advantage by following it up, while the fpirits of their enemies were depreffed by their ill fuccefs. To this end they determined to force their paffage over the Scheldt, and lay fiege to the city of Tournay, wherein they had many wellwithers. They collected a force of no lefs than one hundred thousand men, with which they doubted not to compafs their defigns. The allies in the mean time having reunited their fcatter ed forces, prepared with unabated refolution to meet them again. At five in the morning, on the 22d, the French attacked the advanced pofts of the allies, and obliged them to fall back on the main body: but here their progrefs was checked, and, notwithstanding the fire and L. impetuofity with which they continued their various attacks till near ten at night, the fkilfulness of the difpofitions made by General Fox, to whom the command and honour of the day chiefly fell, and the fteady valour of the troops under him, their attempts were wholly fruftrated; and they were compelled to retire as far back as Lifle. The lofs of the French in this fevere conflict was eftimated at more than 10,000 men. It would have been much greater had the British cavalry been able to act. But the French, who had on feveral occafions fuffered confiderably by its exertions, had taken the precaution to cover both their flanks by thick woods, through which the horfe could not penetrate. Had they not been guarded in this manner, it was the opinion of many of the ableft judges, that fuch a victory obtained by the allies must have decided the whole fate of the campaign in their favour. It was at this period that the Emperor, accompanied by Colonel Mack, forfook the Nether lands, and returned to Vienna, His departure occafioned the more furprize, that the fate of the campaign was far from being decided. The French had juft been defeated and the public were of opinion that he ought to have remained on the fcene of action, were it only to infpire his foldiers. All he had done was to iffue proclamations; to which no attention was paid. The fignal defeat of the French near Tournay was accompanied by two others; which, though not of equal importance, contributed greatly to raife the fpirits of the auies; on which the activity of the enemy, and the continual fuperiority of ftrength they displayed on C 3 every every occafion, had made a very ferious impreffion. They faw that, with all their efforts, even when fuccefsful, they could not damp the refolution of the French; who icemed to forget their defeats the moment they were able to renew the fight, and to behave with as much confidence as if they had been the victors. The firft of thefe defeats was on the 24th of this month, two days after the action wherein they had received fo destructive a check. They had taken a ftrong pofition at Rouveroy, on that fide of the Sambre where General Kaunitz lay encamped. He formed there with a defign of furprizing them; and did it fo effectually, notwithstanding their ufual vigilance, that they fuffered a total rout, with the lofs of near 5,000 men killed and taken, together with fifty pieces of cannon. Six days before this event, the Auftrian forces, commanded by General Beaulieu, had invaded the diftrict of Bouillon, lying within the precincts of France. A large body of French were defeated, and the town of that name taken and plundered, on pretences of the inhabitants having fired on the Austrian troops: 1,500 men, it was reported, were flain or captured on this occafion. But thefe difcomfitures of the French produced no folid advantages to the allies; in the diftrict of Bouillon they foon recovered the fuperiority. General Jourdain, at the head of 40,000 men, entered the Duchy of Luxemburgh; and General Beaulieu was in confequence forced immediately to abandon his pofition, and retreat towards Namur, in order to protect it from Jourdain's army. Elated by his fuccefs, and confiding in his numerous forces, General Jourdain advanced towards Charleroy, of which he cut off the communication with Bruffels. Alarmed at his attempt, the allies collected a powerful body of troops, at the head of which the hereditary Prince of Orange attacked the French, on the 3d of June, fo vigorously, that they were obliged to recrofs the Sambre, after lofing about 7,000 men. It was not expected that, after being forced to raise the fiege of Charleroy with fo much lofs, they would fo readily be able to refume it with a greater ftrength than before. This however they did in a fhort time. They recroffed the Sambre with 60,000 men, after deftroying fome fortified pofts that had been conftructed to obftruct their approaches to the town, they recommenced the fiege with the utmost fervour. The commanders of the allies were duly fenfible of the critical fituation they were in; Charleroy was, by the prefent pofition of the con tending armies, abfolutely neceffary for the prefervation of Bruffels itfelf. Should the former fall, the latter could not stand. Of this the French were well aware; and, from that motive, carried on the fiege of Charleroy with all poffible vigour. Animated by the confcioufnefs of the imminent dangers that threatened them, were the French to reduce this important fortrefs, Prince Cobourg, in conjunction with the hereditary Prince of Orange and General Beaulieu, determined to hazard a general action with the French, in order to compel them to raise the fiege. For this purpose the major part of the allied army was drawn toge ther, |