Print, Engraving on Paper, BATAILLE DE FLEURUS GAGNÉE PAR L'ARMÉE FRANÇAISE LE 8 MESSIDOR DE L'AN 2

Bataille de Fleurus gagnée par l'Armée Française le 8 Messidor de l'an 2, 1794. Print depicts two armies engaged in combat beneath the ramparts of a hill town. Great clouds of smoke and gunpowder from cannonballs and muskets fill the air. Right-hand side of the canvas shows a tethered balloon with observers in the gondola. The use of a reconnaissance balloon, such as the one pictured (the l'Entreprenant), is known as the first military use of an aircraft that had a critical impact on the result of a battle. The man depicted in the gondola looking through binoculars is French balloon-corps commander, Jean Coutelle. The other man is his aid who helps to keep track of the Austrian army and writes reports of their actions. The reports could then be sent down the tethers holding the balloon to the French army officials waiting at the other end of the rope.