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rain, whither the whole French army marched from their 1709. lines behind the Scarpe. On the other hand, the prince of w Heffe having taken poffeffion of the other lines already mentioned, incamped with his right at Jenappe, and his left to Tremiers, whereby Mons was in a manner blocked up, and the army under the duke of Marlborough incamped at Havre, and that under prince Eugene, at St. Denis.

armies.

On the 7th of September, Boufflers arrived in the French Motions of camp, and joined Villars. The fame day the duke of Marl- the two borough received advice, about noon, that the French were marching to attack the body under the command of the prince of Heffe. Whereupon, orders were given to the army to decamp from Havre, and leave their baggage behind, and their tents standing. The army having made a halt on the hills of Belian (where the prince of Heffe had his quarters) the generals received farther intelligence, that the French had not paffed the defiles of Waffne, but were incamped near Quievrain; whereupon the confederate army continued in the camp the following night, but in order of battle. The duke of Marlborough being informed, that the garrison of Mons confifted only of nine weak Spanish, and two Bavarian battalions, befides the dragoons of Pasteur, conjectured, that Villars's chief defign was to oblige the confederates to draw all their forces into the plain between Belian and Tremiers, that he might have an opportunity to throw reinforcements into Mons: to prevent which, the duke fent fome troops towards St. Guiflain. The 8th, prince Eugene and the duke spent the whole day in viewing the ground between the two armies; and, the 9th in the morning, the French made a motion, as if the would march towards Boffu, but, the duke of Marlborough being advanced with some other generals to take a narrow view of their army, they foon perceived, that the motion of their left was only a feint to cover the march of their right, which filed off at the fame time. The duke, being unwilling to lofe a moment, ordered his army to march by his left; by which motion the two armies came fo near, a little after two, that they cannonaded each other till the evening, They continued all the night in the fame fituation; the French being posted behind the woods of la Marte and Taifniere, near Malplacquet, where they intrenched themselves the 10th. And the confederate troops lay with their right near Sart and Bleron, and the left on the edge of the wood of Lagniere, the headquarters being near the center of Blaregnies.

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The duke of Marlborough, prince Eugene, and the prince royal of Pruffia paffed the night with monfieur Goslinga, that they might be ready, if the enemy fhould make any attempt. But though they were much fuperior in number, and more especially in infantry, yet they were so far from defigning to attack the allies, that on the contrary, they begun to fortify their camp (though it was by nature very strong and advantageous) with all the industry and application imaginable. Befides the thick hedges, which, like a chain, ran along their whole camp, they made deep lines to cover their foot; and, on the right, caft up three intrenchments one behind the other, though the accefs was otherwife very difficult, because of a marshy ground, which lay before them. Their center, which was in a little plain, was likewife fecured by feveral intrenchments, defended in convenient places with good artillery; and, befides all this, they cut down a great number of trees, which they laid across the ways, to obftruct the paffage of the confederate horfe. They also cut down the hedges behind their lines, for the more eafy march of their cavalry, to fupport their infantry, as occafion might require; fo that their camp might not be very improperly called a regular fortified ci

tadel.

Prince Eugene and the duke of Marlborough, who had, in concert with monfieur Goflinga, taken the resolution to attack the French, finding, on the 10th, that they had made ufe of the preceding night to improve the advantage of their fituation, refolved only, without altering their defign, to put off the execution of it, till they were reinforced by eighteen battalions, which had been employed in the fiege of Tournay. To thefe orders were immediately dispatched, that they should march, with all poffible expedition, to join the grand army; which they did that very night, under the command of count Lottum and baron Schuylemburgh. The fame evening alfo a detachment from the blockade from Mons, under the command of lieutenant general Dedem, took St. Guiflain fword in hand, and made the garrifon, which confifted of two hundred men, prifoners of

war.

The troops, that came from Tournay, having, on the 11th of September, in the morning, joined the right wing, over against the wood by Sart, where the enemy's left was pofted, prince Eugene, the duke of Marlborough, and the field-deputies, rode together along the line between the two

armies,

armies, and feveral men were in their prefence killed by the 1708. enemy's cannon.

The confederates had begun to work on their batteries at Battle of break of day. They raifed one of twenty-eight pieces of Blaregnies or cannon on the left, another of forty in the center, and the Malplaque. reft of the artillery was diftributed on the right. A very thick fog, which lafted till half an hour paft feven, had very much faciliated their work; but then it cleared up, and gave the two armies a perfect view of each other.

This being the pofture of the French and confederate forces, a little after eight o'clock, the signal for the attack being given by a difcharge of fifty pieces of cannon, and the cannonading continuing very brifk on both fides, prince Eugene advanced with his right into the wood of Sart, and eighty-fix battalions of that wing, commanded by general Schuylemburgh, the duke of Argyle, and other generals, and twenty two other battalions, under the command of count Lottum, attacked the enemy with fuch bravery, that, notwithstanding the barricadoes of felled trees, and other impediments they met in their way, after an hour's refiftance, they drove the French out of their intrenchments in the woods of Sart and Traifniere. The defign of the attack was to drive the enemy out of the wood, and then to attack them in the flank of their intrenchments on the plain; which fucceeded, and all the enemy's infantry of the left wing were ruined. General Withers, with nineteen battalions, attacked the enemy in another intrenchment beyond the woods of Taifniere and Great Lagniere with the like vigour and good fuccefs. Thirty-fix Dutch battalions, commanded by the prince of Nassau Frifeland (or Orange) and baron Fagel, who attacked the enemy's right, pofted in the wood of La Merte, and in that opening, covered with three intrenchments, met with great refiftance, and loft abundance of men, before they could penetrate into the intrenchments. The fight was here defperate; but the Dutch foon drove the enemy from off their advantageous ground into their intrenchments, taking their colours. They likewife drove them out of their first intrenchment; but, as they were marching on to the fecond, they were charged with great vivacity by the enemy, and obliged to retire to their former pofts. The duke of Marlborough then ordered Withers to march with the body under his immediate direction to fuftain them; but upon notice, that Withers was actually engaged with the enemy, and that all things went well on the right, the duke thought fit rather to press the advantages

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1709. advantages there, than to hazard a new motion towards the left in the heat of the action. As foon as the enemy's left went to retire and draw off their cannon, the duke of Marlborough commanded the earl of Orkney, with fifteen batta lions, to attack them, and force them from their intrenchments in the plain between the woods of Sart and Janfart, with directions, if he fucceeded, to poft himself there, and cover the horse, as they should file off through the woods into the plain, in order to charge the enemy's cavalry, which were there drawn up. This was executed with fuch refolution and fuccefs, that, after a fhort difpute, the enemy quitted those intrenchments, which gave the horse an opportunity to enter them. And though the first squadrons, led by the prince of Heffe, had great difficulty to form themfelves, and were put into some disorder by the French king's houfhold troops; yet being immediately rallied by the duke of Marlborough, and feconded by the fquadrons of prince Eugene's army, they advanced together into the plain. Being there covered by their own foot, and having formed themselves into very good order, they charged the enemy's cavalry, who being foon broke and defeated, their whole army fell into diforder, and retired towards the plains of Bavay, leaving fome of their cannon behind them. The allies made a good use of the beginning of the victory, and all the troops moved on with fresh resolution. General Vink, having, with the horse, surrounded feveral battalions of the enemy's right, fummoned them to furrender themfelves prifoners of war; but the French, being covered by a morafs, made their retreat along the edge of a wood: three regiments of Danish cavalry, falling at the fame time on the enemy, made a terrible flaughter among them, till, having gained a fecond wood, they found means to escape. Eighteen fquadrons, being detached to endeavour to disperse them in their retreat towards Quievrain, met their whole left wing on this fide the little river Quaifnau, confifting of about an hundred fquadrons, commanded by Boufflers in perfon; and perceiving only at firft the enemy's rear, pofted at the corner of a wood, the dragoons made up to them, and drove them without refiftance; but colonel Lippe, and a cornet, advancing too far, were taken, without being perceived by their own men. The wood being forced, the eighteen fquadrons advanced into the plain; but, perceiving before them the enemy's whole left wing in three columns, one of which retreated in good order, the other two in fome confufion, they made a fhort halt, and were fomewhat fur

1709.

prized to see the enemy face about, and draw up in order of battle. However, this fmall body of the confederate horfen kept their ground, and pofted themselves upon an eminence, with the wood of Elonge on their right, expecting to be attacked; but they immediately perceived, that the enemy made a ftand, with no other defign than to pafs a rivulet, that was in their way to a defile, leading them to Bavay, which they gained, before the allies, who pursued them full gallop, could come up with them. However, the allies followed the chace as far as the village of Quievrain, where the French had a brigade of foot, who obliged them to flacken their pace. Upon which they thought fit to give over the pursuit, and the enemy marched unmolefted to Bavay. The reft of their broken army retired in great confufion, fome to Maubeuge and Valenciennes, and others to Condé, leaving the allies in poffeffion of the field of battle, fixteen of their cannon, twenty colours, twenty-fix ftandards, and other indifputable marks of a victory; not to mention a great number of prisoners. Some of these were taken in the action, others in the purfuit, and the far greater number the next morning in Bavay, and other neighbouring places, either weariness or wounds not permitting them to follow the grofs of their army; which, having that night paffed the rivulet of Renelle, incamped with their right at Quesnoy, extending their left towards Valenciennes.

The confederate generals, upon viewing, after the battle, the advantageous poft, from whence they had driven the enemy, where themselves aftonished to see what difficulties they had furmounted. And, indeed, all the troops as well officers as foldiers, fhewed as great refolution, bravery, and firmness in this obftinate action, as ever was known. The enemy, whether encouraged by their intrenchments, or animated by the fhame of their former defeats, fought with a bravery beyond what was expected from them, from half an hour past eight in the morning, till half an hour past two in the afternoon. They were, however, at length, forced to yield to the fuperior courage of the allies, whofe generals, the duke of Marlborough, prince Eugene, count Tilly, and the prince of Naffau, were, during the whole fight, continually at the head of their troops in the hotteft of the fire, And monfieur Goflinga, one of the field-deputies of the ftates, was not wanting to animate the foldiers by his example. Great numbers fell in this bloody action; and the allies owned, that they had above eighteen thoufand killed or wounded

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