Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Austria, Empire, Gold Medal of Honour for the Battle of Villiers-en-Couché 1794, 59mm., gilt electrotype copy of the gold medal by Johann Nepomuk Würth (1750-1811), awarded to 8 British officers of the 15th Light Dragoons by the Holy Roman Emperor Francis II; obverse: laureate head of the Emperor facing right, ‘imp. caes. franciscvs. ii. p.f. avg’ ; reverse: four line legend over crossed laurel branches, ‘forti. britanno. in. exercitv. foed. ad. cameracvm. xxiv. apr. mdccxciv’ (To the brave British in the allied army at Cambrai, 24 April 1794), nearly extremely fine and rare £200-250

Listed and illustrated by L. Forrer, Biographical Dictionary of Medallists, vol. VI, p.569/570.

In the Spring of 1794 the armies of the French Republic under General Pichegru and the Anglo-Austrian-German-Dutch under Prince Frederick of Saxe-Coburg faced each other on the French border with the Austrian Netherlands (Belgium). In April the Allied forces advanced to besiege Landrecies situated to the east of Cambrai. On the 23rd April, intelligence reached the allies that a French column, 7,000 strong, was advancing from Cambrai to the N.E. with the apparent object of intercepting the Emperor who was travelling from Brussels to the army headquarters at Le Cateau. A cavalry force under the Austrian, General Otto was sent to reconnoitre. On the 24th, he advanced with 10 squadrons of British and Austrian cavalry and scattered a large force of French cavalry in the vicinity of Montrecourt. The defeated cavalry retired west to Villiers-en-Couché (more properly Villers-en-Cauchies) and reformed, masking a large force of infantry supported by cannon. Otto, massively outnumbered, having then with him only two squadrons each of the British 15th Light Dragoons and the Austrian Leopold Hussars, boldly charged the French; the British charging the front, the Austrians the flank. The French cavalry dispersed, unmasking the infantry and guns. The 15th pressed home their charge and braving cannon and musket fire, broke a French square. The Austrians then pursued the defeated cavalry and infantry and the British pressed on to attack an ammunition and artillery column to the enemy rear. Observing then that further French forces were closing in upon them, the 15th Light Dragoons then charged again through French positions to the safety of their own lines.

In the action the French suffered 800 men killed and 400 wounded, with 3 guns captured. The 15th Light Dragoons had 31 men and 37 horses killed and wounded; the Leopold Hussars, 10 men and 11 horses killed and wounded with a similar number of men missing.

For their bravery against immense odds the Emperor wished to reward eight officers of the 15th. Finding that the then current regulations did not permit the award of the Order of Marie Theresa to foreigners, the Emperor had struck and awarded a special gold medal with chain to each of the officers. These were awarded in 1798. In 1800 following a change in the regulations, each officer was additionally awarded the Knights badge of the Order of Marie Theresa.