On 21 January 1793, Louis XVI was guillotined at the Place de Grève. Von Fersen heard the news while in Cologne: "Received last night at 10:30, from the Archbishop of Tours, the sad details of the death of the King of France". On 1 February, France officially declared war against Great Britain and the Dutch Republic, but the tide quickly turned against the French in the Netherlands. The general in charge of the northern army, Dumouriez, was defeated 18 March at Neerwinden and Louvain. On 18 March, von Fersen was able to meet with him: