Fleurus

Fleurus, a market-town (pop. 5184) of the Belgian province of Hainault, on the Sambre, 15 miles W. of Namur, has been the scene of three great battles: (1) in 1622, when the Germans, under the Duke of Brunswick and Count Mansfeld, defeated the Spaniards; (2) in 1690, when the French, under Luxembourg, routed the allied Germans and Dutch, commanded by the Prince of Waldeck; and (3) in 1794, between the French, under Jourdan, and the Austrians and their allies, under the Duke of Coburg, on which occasion the latter, although he had virtually beaten his antagonist, gave the signal to retreat.