compaffed with moraffes and ditches full of water; fortified 1712. with feveral works; defended by brigadier Berkoffer with fixe battalions and five hundred men, detached from the garrison of Doway, and by the regiment of Schellart, confifting of three fquadrons of cuiraffiers, of the elector Palatine's troops. Thefe difficulties obliged Villars to defire the marquis de Montefquiou to take upon him the care of the fiege. On the last day of July (Villars being returned to the fiege) the town furrendered, and the garrifon, to the number of five thousand, were made prifoners of war, and conducted to Valenciennes. The lofs of this poft was of very bad confequence to the allies; for they had there a general magazine of all forts of artillery, ammunition, and provifions, defigned for the further operations of the campaign. On the other hand, the advantage the enemy obtained by forcing the intrenchments of Denain, and by the taking of Marchiennes, were fo confiderable, that the French king wrote an account Doway of it to the archbishop of Paris (p). After this, Doway was invested.

in- Aug. 12.

(p) The letter was as follows: the ftrength of its intrenchments)

Coufin,

. The fteps I have taken to effect a general peace, and the fufpenfion, which I have agreed on with the queen of England, have not availed to determine the other allies to enter into the fame fentiments. On the con

trary, they formed a defign to push on their conquefts, and befiege Landrecy. The importance of that place (the taking of which would have opened to the enemy an entrance into my kingdom) determined me to give my orders to the marshals de Villars and de Montefquiou, (who command my army in Flanders) to attack and fight the enemy, to oblige them to raife the fiege. They have acted with so much conduct and prudence, and the fuccefs has been fo happy, that the camp, which was poffeffed by the enemy at Denain (notwithstanding

was forced and defeated with the
intire lofs of feventeen battalions
which defended it, and of a
convoy of about five hundred
waggons, who were at the fame
time on the march towards the
camp before Landrecy. The
defeat of thefe troops incamped
at Denain was followed by the
taking of the poft of Mar-
chiennes, where the enemy had
fix battalions, five hundred foot
detached from the garrison of
Doway, and three fquadrons of
horfe, who were all made pri-
foners of war: And being add-
ed to thofe taken in the camp
at Denain, and in fome other
pofts along the Scarpe, make
the number of above feven thou-
fand men, and upwards of four
hundred officers, prifoners; a-
mong whom are several of their
general officers. My troops,
who in these two actions fhewed
all poffible valour, took thirty-
feven colours, and three ftan-

dards.

1712. invefted, which obliged prince Eugene to abandon the defign of befieging Landrecy, and march to the relief of Doway. The prince tried to raise the fiege, but did not fucceed. Indeed the States would not put things to fo great a venture after fuch loffes: So Villars profecuted the fiege with vigour, and battered fort Scarpe with eighty pieces of cannon: But, notwithstanding the garrifon of the fort confifted but of four hundred men, they defended it fourteen days, and surrendered prifoners of war on the 28th of Auguft, having repulfed the French in feveral attacks. After the taking of that fort, the enemy redoubled their fire against the town; and, although the garrifon was but weak, general Hompefch, the governor, contrary to the expectations of the allies or the French, held out till the 8th of September, N. S. when he furrendered the garrifon prifoners of war. The enemy, during this siege, were repulfed in feveral attacks, and loft a great number of men (especially when they took the counterfcarp and a halfmoon, which they were obliged to abandon) and, had the garrifon been numerous enough in proportion to the extent of the place, it is very probable, the French would not have retaken it. Prince Eugene had the mortification to be a fpectator to the loss of this place; but it was not his fault, if a vigorous attempt was not made to prevent it: For, during the fiege, he ufed all poffible endeavours to engage the enemy: but the French had fo ftrongly fortified their camp on the one hand, and the Dutch were fo cautious of running any hazards in this critical juncture, that the prince, seeing no poffibility of coming to action, returned to his camp at Seclin, from whence detachments were made to fecure Life, Mons, Bethune, Aire, St. Venant, and other places. After the furrender of Doway, advice being brought to prince Eugene, that the French were advanced to Malplaquet, and pofted on the fame ground, where the famous battle of that

dards. The enemy loft with
Marchiennes a great number of
cannon, and ftores of all forts of
ammunition and provifions, la
den in above one hundred and
fifty bilanders; and their army
being weakened by fo confider
able a loss, having no longer
communication with the places
they are poffeffed of towards the
Scarpe, have been forced to
raile the fiege of Landrecy, to

retire towards Mons. And as fuch an event is a visible mark of the protection of God, whe knows the rectitude of my intentions, I hold myself obliged to render to him most humble acts of thanksgiving. I defire therefore, that you will caule Te Deum to be fung in the metropolitan church of my good city of Paris, &c.'

name

name was fought three years before, a difpofition was made 1712. to diflodge them, and prevent the fiege of Quefnoy. But n the enemy having with great diligence advanced within half a Quefnoy league of Quefnoy, and taken a very advantageous camp, invested prince Eugene thought fit to ftop his march near the wood andtaken. of Dour, and to encamp with the right near St. Guilain, the left at the mill of Saart near the wood of Lagniere, and the head quarters at Belian. Villars having, with the utmoft care, fecured all the paffes, and fortified his camp, the neceffary difpofitions were made for carrying on the fiege of Quefnoy, which was invefted the 8th of September, N. S. The French expected to have made themselves mafters of the town in eight or ten days; but major-general Ivoy, who commanded in the place, made fo good ufe of the heavy artillery, which the allies left there, after the taking of Quefnoy, that it was the 14th of October, N. S. before he was obliged to submit to the fame terms, on which Doway had been surrendered, that the garrifon fhould remain prisoners of war. The French gave out, that they found in the place one hundred and fixteen heavy cannon; a great number of others of small fize; forty mortars, five hundred thousand weight of powder; a great quantity of bullets, bombs, grenadoes, and provifions of all forts; the whole being valued at three millions of livres; and that this garrifon compleated the number of forty battalions of the allies, killed or made prisoners fince the 24th of July, N. S. on which happened the unfortunate affair of Denain. The French, being re- Bouchain folved to lose no time in inlarging their conquefts, opened taken. their trenches before Bouchain; which place was fo indif- O&. 10. ferently provided, and the garrison so weak, that they made but a flender refiftance; for, the enemy having taken poffeffion of the covered way, and made the difpofitions for ftorming the place, the garrifon beat a parley, and, furrendered at difcretion.

Fort

While the French were before Bouchain, the allies furprized the fort of Knocque in the following manner: Brigadier Caris, commander of Oftend, having received certain furprized Knocque intelligence, that the garrifon of fort Knocque was very weak, by the refolved to try to furprize it. Accordingly, Caris detached allies. one hundred and eighty men, under the direction of captain Brodrick. De Rue, a famous partifan, who, having marched with the Oct. 4. utmost privacy, found means to hide themselves in three little houses, and in the governor's garden, ftanding between four draw-bridges, where they lay clofe all night. In the morning, at the opening of the gates, fome of the detachVOL. XVII.

ment

1712.

ment advanced on a fudden, and made themselves masters of the bridge nearest the fort, having killed the guard. De Rue divided his men into four bodies, and with one of them seized a gate, while two other divifions ran to the other two gates, and the fourth drew up near the Cazerns to hinder the garrifon from drawing together; which fucceeded fo well, that with the lofs of only two men killed, and one wounded, that important fort was taken. The French governor hearing the hoife, leaped out of bed, and, looking out of the window, cried, Quarter! and was made prisoner of war with the garrifon, which confifted of three French companies, and one of Swifs, but a great many of them were fick. De Rue, having fecured that poft, fent out part of his men, to seize all the provifions in the neighbouring villages, and to bring the fame into the fort, before the garrifon of Ypres could be informed of the lofs of the place. He dispatched also an exprefs with an account of this fuccefs to brigadier Caris, who detached forty men to reinforce the garrifon. The precautions taken by De Rue were not ufelefs; for the lofs of that poft occafioned the motion of a great body of troops on each fide towards the Lys, as if the French defigned to retake it; but they found that fortrefs fo well and fo feasonably provided, that the French intirely abandoned the defign of attacking it.

The campaign in the Netherlands ended with the taking of Bouchain by the French; for, a few days after, both armies marched into winter-quarters; and prince Eugene, having ftaid fome days at Bruffels to fettle fome matters with the council of Brabant, proceeded to the Hague on the 28th of October.

The END of VOL. V.