Capture of Porrentruy facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Capture of Porrentruy |
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| Part of the War of the First Coalition | |||||||
 Count Custine, who seized Porrentuy and would later lead the Army of the Rhine |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Kingdom of France |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Comte de Custine Charles de Ferrière |
 Bishop von Roggenbach |
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| Strength | |||||||
| ~3000 | 400 | ||||||
The capture of Porrentruy was an important event that happened in the town of Porrentruy, which is in Switzerland. The town was controlled by Austria. However, soldiers from France attacked it. This event took place on April 28, 1792. The French forces won, and this battle marked the very beginning of a big war called the War of the First Coalition.
How Porrentruy Was Captured
On April 20, 1792, France declared war on Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor. Just five days before, Francis II had given a warning to the French King, Louis XVI of France, about some land in Alsace.
The French army was a bit slow to start their attack. So, Nicolas Luckner, who was the commander of the Army of the Rhine, decided to attack the strong town of Porrentruy. He wanted to stop any invasion of France. Luckner gathered about 12,000 soldiers in the area of Basse-Alsace.
Luckner told Adam Philippe, Comte de Custine, to lead an advance into the area of Porrentruy. This region was controlled by the Prince-Bishopric of Basel. The goal was to protect this part of the French border. Custine was joined by Colonel Charles Grangier de La Ferriere, who was his second-in-command.
Custine led a force of about 2,000 soldiers. This group included three battalions of infantry (foot soldiers), an artillery company (with cannons), and about 300 dragoons (soldiers on horseback). They marched into the area and asked the town to surrender.
Even though there were 400 Austrian soldiers in the town, the Prince-Bishop decided not to fight. He moved his soldiers away to Bienne. Because of this, Custine was able to capture Porrentruy without any fighting. He then made his position strong on Laumont mountain. This helped protect nearby valleys like Fribourg, Bienne, Basel, and Solothurn.
