Battle of Cholet

Battle of Cholet
Part of the War in the Vendée
La déroute de Cholet, by Jules Girardet
Date 17 October 1793 Location Maine-et-Loire, France Result Decisive Republican victory
Belligerents
First French Republic	Vendéens
Commanders and leaders
• Jean Léchelle • Jean-Baptiste Kléber • François Séverin Marceau-Desgraviers • Michel de Beaupuy • Nicolas Haxo • Louis Vimeux • Marc Scherb • Antoine Bard • Alexis Chalbos • François Muller • François-Joseph Westermann	• Maurice d'Elbée • Charles de Bonchamps † • Henri de La Rochejaquelein • Jean-Nicolas Stofflet • Charles de Royrand • Gaspard de Bernard de Marigny • François de Lyrot • Piron de La Varenne
Strength
26,000	40,000
Casualties and losses
4,000 killed or wounded	ca 8,000 killed, wounded, or missing 12 cannons lost

ca 8,000 killed, wounded, or missing

The Battle of Cholet was fought on 17 October 1793 during the French Revolutionary Wars, between French Republican forces under General Jean Léchelle and French Royalist Forces under Louis d'Elbée. The battle was fought in the town of Cholet in the Maine-et-Loire department of France, and resulted in a Republican victory. D’Elbée was wounded and captured; he was later executed by Republican troops in Noirmoutier. The Royalist insurgent, Charles Melchior Artus de Bonchamps, was fatally wounded in the battle.

On the morning of 16 October 1793, the Vendéen army, beaten at the Battle of La Tremblaye, with neither ammunition nor artillery, had evacuated Cholet to take up positions in Beaupréau. The republican avant-garde, commanded by Beaupuy, entered in the town square by the south and moved through the town to settle on the high grounds north of the town. Kléber then deployed the remainder of his troops by positioning the divisions of Beaupuy and Haxo on the left flank of the château de La Treille, and those of Louis Vimeux on the right flank of the château de Bois-Grolleau.

As for François Séverin Marceau-Desgraviers, who had just been promoted general of brigade after the Battle of La Tremblaye, he occupied the center with general Marc Amand Élisée Scherb, in front of the Papinière moorland where the terrain was open. Kléber informed Jean Léchelle of the situation, who was the chief general of the Army of the West, and he approved. The military competencies of Léchelle were known to be null, most of the representatives had agreed to unofficially entrust the commandment to Kléber.

...
Wikipedia