232nd Anniversary of the Battle of Fleurus
232 years ago this day, on 8 Messidor, II (June 26, 1794), the armies of the French Republic, lead by Jean-Baptiste Jourdan, achieved its greatest victory at Fleurus against the armies of tyranny lead by Josais von Coburg. After “fifteen hours of the most desperate fighting I ever saw in my life,” as recorded by Jean-de-Dieu Soult, during which Jourdan employed the first use of military aircraft by using balloons for reconnaissance, France defeated the Austrian armies, saving the Republic from the threat of invasion and keeping the Low Countries under revolutionary control.
It was thanks to the brilliance of Jourdan, the strength of Kléber and the zeal of Saint-Just that Fleurus was won and their valiance ensured that the dream of a free world, lead by the people and not by monarchs, would live and go on to dethrone the dreams of tyrants and kings everywhere.
Unité et Indivisibilité de la République!
Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité!