Siege of Bergen op Zoom (1814)

Siege of Bergen op Zoom (1814) A British illustration of the attack Date 8 March 1814 Location Bergen op Zoom, Netherlands Result French victory Belligerents First French Empire United Kingdom Commanders and leaders Guilin Bizanet Jean Ambert Thomas Graham Strength 2,700 4,000 Casualties and losses 500 dead and wounded, 100 prisoners 2,100 killed, wounded, and prisoners

War of the Sixth Coalition Lützen Bautzen Hamburg Luckau Großbeeren Katzbach Dresden 1st Kulm Dennewitz Feistritz 2nd Kulm Göhrde Bidassoa Leipzig Hanau Nivelle Caldiero Danzig Arnhem Bornhöved Sehested Nive Metz Hoogstraten Antwerp 1st Bar-sur-Aube Brienne La Rothière Lesmont Mincio Six Days Garris Mormant Montereau 2nd Bar-sur-Aube Orthez Gué-à-Tresmes Saint-Julien Laubressel Craonne Bergen op Zoom Laon Mâcon Reims Limonest Arcis-sur-Aube Fère-Champenoise Saint-Dizier Paris Courtrai Toulouse Bayonne German Campaign Campaign in north-east France Campaign in south-west France

The Siege of Bergen op Zoom (8 March 1814), took place during the War of the Sixth Coalition between a British force led by Thomas Graham, 1st Baron Lynedoch and a French garrison under Guilin Laurent Bizanet and Jean-Jacques Ambert. The initial British assault force seized part of the defenses, but a well-managed French counterattacked and compelled much of the assault force to surrender. Bergen op Zoom is a port in the Netherlands about 70 kilometres (43 mi) south of Rotterdam and 40 kilometres (25 mi) north of Antwerp in Belgium.

Assault

French General Guilin Laurent Bizanet had 2,700 soldiers in the garrison when, under cover of night and using local intelligence, Graham attacked. The French, however, were positioned well, and the population allied with them as they fought in the streets. The attacking British troops took heavy casualties. General Bizanet remained in control of Bergen op Zoom until a peace accord was signed.

Forces and casualties

One source named Bizanet as the governor and Jean-Jacques Ambert as the French commander. The 2,700-man French garrison sustained 500 killed and wounded and 100 captured during the action. Of the 4,000 troops in the British assault force, 2,100 were killed, wounded or captured. In addition to the units listed below, the source counted the 2nd Battalion of the 35th Foot in the assault force. The Guards Brigade consisted of three companies of the 1st Foot Guards and four companies each of the 2nd Foot Guards and 3rd Foot Guards, all from the 2nd Battalions of the regiments.^[1]

British Order of Battle

Graham formed his troops into four columns as follows:^[2]

Notes

References

• Alison, Archibald (1842). History of Europe from the Commencement of the French Revolution to the Restoration of the Bourbons. 10. Paris: Baudry's European Library. Retrieved 13 February 2016. 
• C. J. Barrington (pub) (1814). The Military Panorama, Or, Officer's Companion. 
• Nafziger, George (1994). "French Garrisons in the Lowlands, 1 January 1814" (PDF). United States Army Combined Arms Center. Retrieved 21 February 2016. 
• Smith, Digby (1998). The Greenhill Napoleonic Wars Data Book. London, UK ; Mechanicsburg, PA, USA: Greenhill Books ; Stackpole Books. ISBN 9781853672767. OCLC 37616149. 

Coordinates: 51°29′46″N 4°17′05″E / 51.4960°N 4.2847°E / 51.4960; 4.2847