the The French generals not imagining, that the confederates 1708. ing would have attempted any thing after the laft important conge. queft, especially in fo advanced a season of the year, fepa- The gle on. le. -n bv ter have conftantly inabled them to gall the flanks of the befiegers contracted front of the attack. The advantage was fo much in ed favour of the besieged, as the n, befiegers made but one attempt to form the counterfcarp at the two faliant angles before the tenaille, where they only appeared with five or fix hundred men, because they could not march a greater number in the fmall front they had formed. Moft of thefe men were killed in their advance upon the pallifade; and this fingle experiment fhould have convinced the befieged, that their capital operation for the defence of the place was to make fuch lodgments on the glacis, as were above-mentioned, in order to multiply the fires against the attack, and to take thofe, who approached, in flank, and to greater advantage, than in the covered way, which was not comprehended within the befiegers works. Though the want of power frequently filenced the beliegers cannon, and confequently fufpended the fire of the bombs; yet the befieged did not improve that favourable opportunity in any reparation of the breaches during the night, or clearing away the ruins in the day, tho' the inhabitants of Lifle were numerous and loyal, and might have been employed in this work, while the befiegers artillery ceased to batter the breaches. The guard even of the attacked work was kept with fo little viVOL. XVII. rated French gilance, that only one centinel was awake, and the poft was furprifed, while all the foldiers were asleep, after the defertion of that treacherous centinel, fo that the work was carried without the leaft oppofition on the part of the befieged. It would have been a very eafy affair however to have doubled the centinels in every place, where the negligence or infidelity of one expofed them to the beliegers. But the moft furprising circumftance of all is, that marshal Boufflers capitulated for the city, almost as foon as that half-moon was lot, and without waiting ten or twelve hours, to fee the befiegers fill up the ditch, which would have employed them, at leaft for that time, on account of its breadth, depth of water, and quantity of foft foil on its bottom. For of what particular importance could it be to marfhal de Boufflers, whether the reft of the provifions and ammunition were confumed in the defending the city fome time longer, or in a new defence of the citadel? it was, however, a very effential point, to prolong the defence of the city, as much as poffible, fince the furrender of it to the enemy would afford. excellent accommodations to an army, who greatly needed them in that advanced feason, when the rains are fo frequent in Flanders, that, if they had happened during the fiege of that city, they would certainly have rendered that great enterprize unsuccessful. army fe parates. 1708, rated their army, and returned to Paris. But, all neceffary preparations being made for the fiege of Ghent, that city Ghent in- was invefted on the 20th of December, N. S. in the followvefted. ing manner count Lottum, with thirty-nine battalions, and thirty-fix fquadrons, were pofted between the UpperScheld and the Lys: the hereditary prince of Heffe, with forty fquadrons, and twenty battalions, between the Lys and the canal of Bruges, and from thence to the canal of Sas : the duke of Wirtemberg between Muleftein and the Lower Scheld, with twenty-five fquadrons, and twenty fix battalions count Tilly with thirty fquadrons, and thirty battalions, between the Upper and Lower Scheld: and the duke of Marlborough incamped at Meerlebeck, that he might be near the center of the feveral attacks. On the 14th in the evening, the trenches were opened at the attack commanded by general Lottum; and two thoufand workmen, covered by feven battalions, and two more in referve, with fix hundred horse, were ordered for that fervice, under the command of lieutenant general Fagel, major-general Wecke, The difpofitions for the defence of Lifle were very inconfiderate. The fiege from the beginning was rendered too fatiguing to the garrifon, which was divided into two bodies, alternately upon duty, for the fpace of twenty-four hours. This time was much too long. Half of the troops were pofted in outworks, and the reft were ftationed on the ramparts, and employed in the works; fo that the garrifon had never any ftated hours of reft, which are fo abfolutely neceffary for the officers as well as the foldiers, both for the prefervation of their health, and to render them capable of defending the place for a greater length of time. The inhabitants of Lifle were numerous and wellaffected; and yet they were not employed in any fervice, either for the relief of the garrifon, or the prefervation of the place, It was reported, that marshal de Boufflers wanted provisions towards the clofe of the fiege, and could not fupply the citadel with a fufficient quantity for the garrison. This indeed is true, but the fault must be imputed to the diforder and want of œconomy in the distribution of the provifions, which was always equal; fo that no care was taken to leffen the allotments in proportion to the lofs of men. A company, that had been greatly weakened in the progrefs of the fiege was allowed the fame fubfiftence, as it received when it was much ftronger; fo that at the lat ter-end of the fiege the provifions were diftributed in almoft double the quantity that was neceffary: and this irregularity alone would have occafioned the lofs of the place, had it been accommodated never fo well. and and the lord North and Grey. The men worked about half 1708. an hour before the enemy difcovered them, and then they made fuch a terrible fire, that the allies had near thirty men killed, and about feventy wounded. They carried on their works with good fuccefs from St. Peter's gate towards fort Monterey, and finished a parallel of a thousand paces from the right to the left, within two hundred paces of the counterfcarp. On the 25th at night, the trenches were opened at the duke of Wirtemberg's attack, with four battalions and fix hundred horfe, commanded by major general Murray, who covered fourteen hundred pioneers, and this attack was directed against the caftle. The fame night they opened the trenches before the Bruffel's gate, between the Upper and Lower Scheld, with four battalions and fix hundred workmen, commanded by brigadier Evans, who carried on their works with great fuccels, and made a communication without any lofs. But, the works on the right being very difficult, and time as well as fafcines being wanting to finish the fame, the garrifon made a fally with ten companies of grenadiers, who put the firft troops into fome confufion; and, whilft brigadier Evans was bringing up the next battalions to fupport them, he was taken prifoner with colonel Grove of the Lord North and Grey's Regiment. They had likewise about twenty officers and foldiers killed or taken; but the enemy retired upon the first firing of the troops, and had not time to level the works. On the 26th the batteries began to fire upon the Red Fort, and the garrifon, confifting of two hundred men, furrendered themfelves prifoners of The following days the approaches were carried on with a great deal of fuccefs; and, the batteries being ready to fire, on the 30th at fix in the morning, with red-hot bullets, and the mortars to throw bombs and carcafes into the town, the count de la Motte fent out a trumpeter to the duke of Marlborough, and demanded an honourable capitulation, which was granted him; purfuant to which, one gate of the city, and another of the caftle, were delivered to the troop of the allies on the 31st of December, N. S. Ghent capitulates. war. and two days after count de la Motte marched out with his garrifon, which confifted of above thirty battalions and fixteen fquadrons, in order to be conducted to Tournay. The duke of Argyle, with fix British battalions, immediately after took poffeffion of the town and citadel. The reduction of Ghent occafioned a great furprize at the The French court, and was indeed in itself very wonderful, con- French fidering the fituation and largeness of the place, the nume- abandon Jous Bruges. E 2 1708. fous garrifon, the hard feafon of the year, and the fatigue which the troops had already undergone in this extraordinary long and difficult campaign. The confequence of furrendering that important city was the enemy's quitting of Bruges. Plafendale and Leffinghen, and retiring into their own territories. The duke of Marlborough and prince Eugene, having thus gloriously finished this campaign, and fettled the winter quarters for the forces of the allies, fet out, the 9th of January, from Bruffels for the Hague, having left all the confederate troops under the command of count Tilly, general of the Dutch forces. ter. A very If Ghent and Bruges had not furrendered when they did, hard win- it could not have been potible to have kept them in the field much longer; for, within two or three days after, there was a great fall of now, and that was followed by a most violent froft, which continued the longeft of any in the memory of man: and, though there were fhort intervals of a few days of thaw, we had four returns of an extreme froft, the whole lafting about three months. Many died in feveral parts by the extremity of the cold; it was fcarce poffible to keep the foldiers alive, even in their quarters; fo that they must have perished, if they had not broke up the campaign before this hard feafon. A campaign in Italy The miscarriage before Toulon did not difcourage the duke of Savoy from meditating a new irruption into France, in return for the ficge of Turin. The preparations made by his command through Piedmont during the winter and the fpring, his affembling fo great a body of troops on his frontiers, and preparing, not only a train of field pieces, but a quantity alfo of heavy cannon, gave the French apprehenfions, not only of an incurfion, but of fome important fiege. And, according to the French writers, the duke never diffembled his intention which were to enter Dauphine, and to extort contributions as far as Lyons. But though the bad weather could not fuffer him to take the field till the month of July, yet the lateness of the campaign was foon made up by the rapidity of his conquefts; which the vigilance and activity of the Marfnal de Villars (whom the French used to call their fortunate general) could neither. forefee nor pievent. The duke the better to cover his defign, had firft, with great labour and fatigue, bent his march towards Savoy, over mount Cenis, as if he intended to penetrate into Dauphine through fort des Barreaux ; but, having by this feint drawn the enemy's forces on that fide, he turned short towards Sezane and Oulx, prevented Villars's lars's quick march, and took fuch right meafures, that from the 12th to the 31st of Auguft, N. S. he compaffed his true defign, which was to make himfelf mafter of the important fortrefs of Exilles, fort la Peroufe, and the valley of St. Martin and Feneftrella. By which conquefts he fecured his. own dominions against France, and gained free estrance into the enemy's country, the French having built a strong citadel at Fenetrella, after the blowing up of the fortifications of Pignerol, in order to cover that frontier. The greatest difficulty in taking thefe places was from the impracticableness of the ground, which drew the fieges out into fuch a length, that the fnow began to fall by the time Feneftrella was taken. By this means the Alps were cleared, and Dauphine was now open to him and all things were ready for a greater progrefs in another campaign. Befides thefe advantages, the duke likewife made a diverfion in favour of king Charles III, obliging the enemy to fend a great detachment from Rouffillon to Villars's fupport and affiftance. : 1798. The queen of Great Britain and the ftates-general had Cam folicited the imperial court and the German princes to act paign in with greater vigour than they had hitherto done, and parti- Spain cularly preffed the emperor to give the utmost affiftance he Burnet, could to his brother in Spain, and heartily concurred with M. S. king Charles in defiring, that prince Eugene might be sent Hift. of thither to command in chief. But this point could not be Eur, obtained (t); and, count Guido de Staremberg being ap (t) This affair will be beft explained by the following extracts of letters published by Mr, Cole in his memoirs of affairs of ftate, pointed quence, but to no purpose, The earl of Manchefter to the the like liberty for the reformed earl of Sunderland. Vienna, January 7. 1707-8. This evening count Gallas is at prince Eugene's, where the affairs of king Charles are to be under debate. I had orders from Britain, to urge their fending prince Eugene to Spain, and alfo a letter writ by the queen to the emperor,recommending the fame as a matter of the greatest confe to exercife theirreligion in Silefia, E 3 |