Battle of Houthalen

The Battle of Houthalen was a battle of the Ten Days' Campaign during the Belgian Revolution. The battle took place on 6 August 1831. The Dutch army defeated the Belgian rebels and continued further to the Belgian inlands.

Battle of Houthalen
Part of the Ten Days' Campaign

Battle of Houthalen; 6 August 1831 (painting by A. von Geusau)
Date6th August 1831
Location
Houthalen-Helchteren area, Belgium
Result Dutch victory
Belligerents
 Netherlands  Belgian rebels
Commanders and leaders
Netherlands Prince William
Netherlands Frederik Knotzer		 Belgium Leopold I

The Battle

After the victorious battles of Ravels and Turnhout Prince William II at the head of the Dutch army continued with a military intervention against the Belgian Revolution as the part of the Ten Days' Campaign. On 6 August[1] Dutch forces clashed with a Belgian rebel forces near Houthalen-Helchteren in a border Limburg province. The Dutch took a decisive victory,[2] mainly thanks to a seize action of the 2nd Division of Frisian Archery.[3]

Conflict lasted for six another days and included several another clashes such as battle of Hasselt and the battle od Leuven. Finally on the 13 August 1831 the truce was arranged the Dutch pulled back. The last Dutch troops withdrew on 20 August.

At the cemetery of Houthalen a commemorative cross was erected after the battle.[4] Dutch painter Nicolaas Pieneman portrayed Lieutenat-General Frederik Knotzer in the battle on his painting from 1834.[5]

References
  1. Beaumont-Vassy, Edouard Ferdinand de la Bonninière vicomte de (1843). Histoire des états européens depuis le Congrès de Vienne (in French). Libraire d'Amyot.
  2. Voor Nederland bewaard: de verzamelingen van het Koninklijk Oudheidkundig Genootschap in het Rijksmuseum (in Dutch). de Prom. 1995. ISBN 978-90-6801-421-1.
  3. "Battle of Houthalen, 1831, Nicolaas Pieneman,". CanvasPrints.com. Retrieved 2023-10-19.
  4. "Remembrance Cross Battle of Houthalen 1831 - Houthalen (Houthalen-Helchteren) - TracesOfWar.com". www.tracesofwar.com. Retrieved 2023-10-19.
  5. "The Engagement at Houthalen, Nicolaas Pieneman, 1834". Rijksmuseum. Retrieved 2023-10-19.

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