Jean-André van der Mersch (also known as Jan Andries vander Mersch or Jan André van der Meersch) (

Menen Menen (; ; or ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities of Belgium, municipality located in the Belgium, Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Menen proper and the towns of Lauwe (Belgium), Lau ...

, 1734 –

Dadizele Moorslede () is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality located in the Belgium, Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Dadizele, Slypskapelle and Moorslede proper. On 1 January 2006, Moorslede had a total popul ...

, 14 September 1792) was a leading figure in the

Brabant Revolution The Brabant Revolution or Brabantine Revolution (, ), sometimes referred to as the Belgian Revolution of 1789–1790 in older writing, was an armed revolution, insurrection that occurred in the Austrian Netherlands (modern-day Belgium) between O ...

best known for his victory against Austrian forces of

Joseph II Joseph II (13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from 18 August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 29 November 1780 until his death. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Emperor F ...

at the Battle of Turnhout in 1789. He served the French King as an officer during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

and participated in the

Battle of Rossbach The Battle of Rossbach took place on 5November 1757 during the Third Silesian War (1756–1763, part of the Seven Years' War) near the village of Rossbach (Roßbach), in the Electorate of Saxony. It is sometimes called the Battle of, or at, ...

(1757) and the

Battle of Hochkirch The Battle of Hochkirch took place on 14 October 1758, during the Third Silesian War (part of the Seven Years' War). After several weeks of maneuvering for position, an Austrian army of 80,000 commanded by Lieutenant Field Marshal Leopold Jos ...

(1758). He joined the Austrian army in 1778 before retiring with the rank of colonel. In 1789 he accepted the invitation of

Jan Frans Vonck Johannes Franciscus Vonck, also known by the Francization Jean-François Vonck or the Netherlandization Jan-Frans Vonck, (29 November 1743 – 1 December 1792) was a lawyer and one of the leaders of the Brabant Revolution from 1789–1790. This ...

to become the commander of the patriot army which fought in the Brabant Revolution.

References

1734 births 1792 deaths People from Menen Independence activists of the Brabant Revolution {{belgium-mil-bio-stub