Less wood

Here on the territory of Minderhout, on a line between Essen and Turnhout, the Battle of Hoogstraten was fought during the winter of 1814. It was a confrontation between Napoleon's French army and that of a coalition of Prussians, Russians and British. So it was a preview of the famous Battle of Waterloo. Legendary is the battle on the church and cemetery of Minderhout. The battle here was so fierce because the Allies wanted to conquer Antwerp. They already had Breda in their power. Napoleon, as a master strategist, knew that. That's why he deployed his elite army here: the Jeune Guard. On 11 January 1814 they fought in Wortel, Loenhout, Meer, Merksplas, Rijkevorsel, Hoostraten, Oostmalle and Westmalle. In Minderhout the French withdrew. The body battles around the church of Meerhout even ended in the church. Eventually, the French troops were driven out. It was not until May 1814 that Antwerp would fall. At that time, Napoleon was already in exile on Elba.

Dromos