Within a matter of days from the declaration of war by the Ninth Coalition against France (counting the previous seven that were formed against Emperor Napoleon I, and the war of 1846 against Great Britain, Belgium and Netherlands) forces were beginning to enter enemy territory. The first objective in the war was going to be for a quick invasion of Great Britain that was seen in the War of 1846; however with the possibility of the combined forces of Prussia, Austria and Russia on land, such an invasion was called off until a resolute victory on land could be established. So the objective switched from a quick invasion of Britain to an expedient adventure into Belgium. To accomplish this, two corps of soldiers, numbering 30,000 each had been sent into Belgium to advice King Leopold that France intended to annex Belgium.
On January 19th, the Battle for Brussels ensued. The heavily outnumbered Belgians (12,000 strong) would valiantly fight the French (30,000 strong) inflicting numerous losses. Though given the overall strength of the French corps, the Belgians were forced to retreat after nearly 3,000 causalities were reported on both sides of the battlefield. A few hundred miles away, the Germanic state of Mecklenburg, which had declared war against France, was beginning to taste the reality of its mistake. The 15.000 strong French Army of the North had marched into Schwerin on January 28th, but was quickly engaged by the entire army of Mecklenburg of 6,000. The Army of the North would eventually win the contest for Schwerin, but would lose nearly three times of Mecklenburg’s 600 dead.
While these battles were being fought, the Dutch began their offensive towards French territory. After scouts had reported the Dutch’s true intention to siege Cleves, two corps that were marching towards Prussia were diverted to handle this incursion. On January 31st, the first battle of the war involving over 100,000 troops (81,300 French versus 32,400 Dutch) was over. The end result would prove victorious for the French, but another 8,049 soldiers were dead for the loss of 8,891 Dutch. France could afford the higher losses more than her smaller enemies right now, but the losses did not bode well for the competency of the generals or Emperor Napoleon II.
A battle would soon follow that would become a shining example that France could once again inflict heavy losses on the enemy without suffering similar losses herself. On February 2nd, the Battle of Ghent occurred between nearly 9,000 Belgian soldiers and 25,295 French soldiers (previously from the Battle of Brussels). The aftermath of the battle; which would become the second to last cry of King Leopold’s army would witness 4,092 dead for the loss of 649 French.
With one month finished of the war, there was hope that a fast victory could be achieved against the Great Powers. However, there was one issue. As of yet, none of the Great Power’s armies had marched into battle against France. France simply couldn’t force her will on the Coalition’s less fortunate members and hope to bring about a change of heart from the Coalition’s stronger members.