Episode 3 of 3
First Aerial Reconnaissance
- When
- 26 June 1794
- Where
- Jumet windmill hill near Charleroi
- Part of
- Battle of Fleurus
The French balloon l'Entreprenant, under Captain Coutelle, provided continuous observation of Austrian movements—the first aerial reconnaissance in battle.
L'Entreprenant was deployed on the 190-metre hill at Jumet windmill (modern Bellevue, a Charleroi suburb), the highest point in the area, continuously informing Jourdan of Austrian movements. A contemporary account, however, called the balloon embarrassing: observers in the gondola found enemy details escaped their view and everything was confused.
Sources
- Battle of Fleurus (1794) Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-15
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.