Battles & Campaigns · 1814
Battle of Courtrai (1814)
Courtrai (Kortrijk), West Flanders, Belgium
What happened
A French corps under Nicolas Joseph Maison fought Saxon and Prussian troops under Johann von Thielmann. Maison had made a bold march from Lille to Antwerp and back. Thielmann attacked near Courtrai but met most of Maison's corps. Many Saxon soldiers had never been in battle, and when French troops came round their flanks, their formations broke.
Why it matters
It showed a daring march could still win, though it was a small action. The war was being decided near Paris.
What came next
Days later Maison learned Paris had fallen. Napoleon abdicated, and Maison and Thielmann agreed to an armistice on 7 April.
Did you know?
To fool the Coalition, one French brigade marched 61 km in a single day.
Timeline
- 25 Mar 1814French brigade's 61 km decoy march.
- 31 Mar 1814Battle of Courtrai.
- 6 Apr 1814Napoleon abdicates.
- 7 Apr 1814Maison and Thielmann agree an armistice.