Tourcoing

British, Austrian and Prussian forces converge on French positions near the Franco-Belgian frontier in Hilaire Belloc's account of the Battle of Tourcoing. Fought in May 1794, the action belongs to the struggle between Revolutionary France and the coalition opposing it. Belloc begins with the political circumstances, then turns to the armies, the allied plan, the terrain and the fighting. He argues that this often overlooked engagement helped prepare the way for the French success at Fleurus.

The military detail gives the book its particular focus. Belloc examines how separate columns were meant to surround the French and how their movements affected the larger plan. His discussion of Bussche's advance on Mouscron weighs the purpose of a diversion against the apparent failure to hold the town. Readers interested in campaign planning will find an account concerned with timing, troop numbers and the difference between local results and overall strategy.