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Two squadrons of the 11th Light Dragoons were sent to fight in France and the Low Countries, serving at Famars and Valenciennes. They saw action at the Battles of Beaumont and Courtrai (also known as Willems).
The Battle of Beaumont-en-Cambresis 26th April 1794 was an action forming part of a multi-pronged attempt to relieve the besieged fortress of Landrecies. The British and Austrians under the Duke of York defeated a French advance northwards from Cambrai. With wild cheering the allied cavalry whirled down upon the left and rear of the French. Artillery and infantry hastily wheeled about to face the charge with canister and musketry, but made little impact on the avalanche of cavalry, which swept through the French ranks from left to right, sabres flashing. Within a few minutes the French command was a confused mass of fleeing men.
The Battle of Courtrai (10th to 12th May 1794) saw the French army under Jean-Charles Pichegru oppose Coalition forces commanded by François de Croix, Count of Clerfayt and the Duke of York. On 10th May, a French attempt to advance east toward Tournai was turned back by York’s troops. During this action, French infantry, formed in squares, repulsed Coalition cavalry for the first time during the war. Clerfayt attacked Courtrai from the north but made little progress. From 11th to 12th May a large French force defeated Clerfayt and drove his troops to the north.
