The siege of Condé (8 April – 12 July 1793) saw a force made up of Habsburg Austrians and French Royalists commanded by Duke Ferdinand Frederick Augustus of Württemberg lay siege to a Republican French garrison led by Jean Nestor de Chancel.

The subsequent defection of Charles François Dumouriez shook the morale of the French soldiers and caused the politicians to suspect most generals of treason.

Austria and her Coalition allies moved against the line of fortresses protecting the northeastern border of France, investing first Condé and Valenciennes soon afterward.

Meanwhile, the motley French armies, composed of regulars and raw recruits and led by generals fearful of the guillotine, struggled to defend their nation.

After a second defeat near Leuven on 21 March, the French abandoned Brussels on the 24th, their soldiers deserting in large numbers.

While the cavalry and some of the regular infantry might have gone along with the scheme, the artillery and the volunteers, pro-Revolution to the core, refused to follow their general.

On 5 April 1793, Dumouriez defected to the Austrians with Duke Louis of Chartres, Jean-Baptiste Cyrus de Valence and other officers.

Subsequent residents fortified the location so that by the end of the Middle Ages, Condé was defended by a stone wall with towers surrounded by a moat.

Fortifications expert Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban greatly improved the defenses on the east side, adding two demi-bastions and a full bastion.

He also constructed sluice gates so that the garrison could control the depth of the water in the ditches and flood areas on the east side.

[3] A 6,000-strong Coalition division led by Duke Ferdinand Frederick Augustus of Württemberg invested Condé-sur-l'Escaut on 8 April 1793.

[4] After Dumouriez defected, the French government appointed Auguste Marie Henri Picot de Dampierre to replace him in charge of the Army of Belgium on 4 April 1793.

Two weeks later on 1 May, the French attacked the Coalition army under Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld in an attempt to relieve Condé.

The British Guards brigade was committed to the action and drove back the French, but was finally stopped by intense fire.

On 10 May the Coalition forces recaptured all the ground that they lost on the 8th and the French army retired to the Camp of Famars.

This proved to be a double-edged sword when one balloon fell into the hands of the Coalition along with its message that the defenders were running low on food.

[14] The loss of Condé spelt the doom of then-current French commander Adam Philippe, Comte de Custine.

After the French victory, Maubeuge was relieved but its defenders failed to pursue the retreating Coalition forces.

[16] Condé was held by the Coalition until 29 August 1794 when Franz von Reyniac surrendered the fortress to Barthélemy Louis Joseph Schérer.