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1708. lines of Bervliet, which they took, having no manner of guard to defend them, lieutenant-general Fagel and majorgeneral Murray retiring before them, for want of a fufficient force to make a ftand; their troops not amounting to more than three battalions, and a regiment of dragoons. Afterwards the French advanced, and fell into the Ifland of Cafandt, where they plundered and burnt above a hundred houses belonging to the country farmers and boors, and befides, obliged the inhabitants of the island to pay contributions. Thus they finifhed their expedition, without putting any thing farther material in execution, and retired back to rejoin their main body.

This invafion of Dutch Flanders did dot occafion any alteration in the measures that had been concerted for a confi derable fiege; in order to which a great train of artillery, and a vaft number of waggons laden with warlike ftores, had, with all poffible expedition, been provided at Bruffels. Prince Eugene's army from Germany had now joined the confederates; and the French foreseeing the ftorm, and rightly conjecturing, that Lifle was the place, which the allies intended to bend their main force againft, had made provisions suitable to the greatness of the danger they apprehended. For, befides the presence of the marshal de Boufflers, governor of all French Flanders, and of the lieutenants-general de Surville, Lee, and other Officers of diftinction, they threw into the place twenty-one battalions of the beft troops of France. But notwithstanding the difficulties, that must naturally attend the fiege of fo ftrong and fo well-provided a place, befides others occafioned by the confederates being cut off from their magazines in Antwerp and Sas van-Ghent ; all which made the duke of Vendofme fay, "That he did "not think fo wife a captain as prince Eugene would ven"ture upon fo rafh an enterprize;" yet nothing was able to deter the confederate generals from their refolutions. So that, having brought a great convoy of provifions, amunition, and other warlike ftores from Bruffels to Menin, Lifle Life inveft- (i) was invested on the 13th of Auguft, N. S. on one fide

ed.

(i) Lifle is a large, rich, and ftrong city, the capital of French Flanders, and, next to Paris, was reckoned the chief place of the king of France's dominions. The allies invested it August 13, 1708. The town was furrender. ed to them, October 23, and the

citadel, December 11. It ftands among the pools and marshes, fifteen miles west of Tournay, twenty-eight north of Doway, thirty-fix fouth-west of Ghent, thirty-feven fouth-east of Dunkirk, and thirty-eight almoft west of Mons.

by the prince of Orange-Naffau, ftadtholder of Frifeland, in the following manner; the artillery being arrived at Pottes, and all things concerted for the fiege, the prince of OrangeNaffau was detached with thirty-one battalions, to take post at Marquet upon the Deule, within half a league of Lifle, and lieutenant-general Wood, with thirty-four fquadrons, marched to Potteghem. The grand army marched likewise from their camp at Werwick to Helchin; and, the fame day, prince Eugene, having paffed the Marque at Pont-aTreffin, invefted the town between that place and the Upper Deule, whilft the prince of Orange-Naffau did the fame with his detachment between the Upper and Lower Deule; by which mean the enemy were fhut up, and could put no further reinforcements into the place. The duke of Marlborough took upon him to cover the fiege; and to that end incamped at Helchin, where he had a conveniency from time to time to reinforce the troops imployed in the siege, or to march and fight the enemy, as occafion fhould require.

This important fiege was to be carried on with fifty battalions; fix Imperialists, nine Palatines, five Heffians, and thirty from the grand army; and, all matters being put into a proper pofture for a vigourous fiege, the trenches were opened on the 22d of Auguft, between feven and eight in the evening, on the right and left of the Lower Deule; the right against the gate of St. Andrew, under the direction of monfieur des Roques, and the other against St. Magdalen Gate, under the care of monfieur du Mey. Four thousand workmen were commanded for this fervice, covered by ten battalions of the Imperial, Palatine, and Heffian troops, cammanded by lieutenant-general Wilke, and major-general Volkerfhoven, Ten battalions and fix hundred horfe were ready to fuftain them; but the trenches were carried on with fo good fuccefs, that the allies had above two hours time to cover themselves, before they were perceived by the enemy; who made a terrible fire from the town, though with fo little execution, that the confederates had not above three or four men killed, and about fifteen wounded. On the 23d, lieutenant-general Pettenfdorf, in the fervice of the elector Palatine, and the major-generals Sacken and Soble, relieved the trenches with four Imperial and fix Heffian battalions, and one thousand workmen at each attack. Pettendorf going from one attack to the other, and miffing his way in the night, had the misfortune to be taken prifoner, and carried into the town. The 24th, lieutenantgeneral Spaar relieved the trenches, with major-general Col

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1708.

1708. lier, the brigadiers Waffanaer and Keppel, and the British battalions of Godfrey and Ingoldfby, two Pruffian, the Danish guards, and the battalions of Orange, Bellem, Swarts, and Mey. The fame night, three hundred and twenty grenadiers were commanded to attack the chapel of St. Magdalen, wherein the enemy had a hundred and twenty grenadiers, with two captains, and fome fubaltern officers, who having loft one of their captains, and about twenty men, the rest furrendered. The befiegers had, in this action, near thirty men killed and wounded; fome officers and monfieur du Mey (director of the attacks) received a fmall contufion. The 26th the befieged retook the chapel, having made a fally with most of the grenadiers and two fquadrons of dragoons. But the prince of Orange-Naffau being in the trenches, caused two battalions to advance, who retook it, and caufed the enemy to retire with precipitation, into the counterscarp. The 27th in the morning, the befiegers fired fifty pieces of cannon and twenty mortars upon the town with fo good fuccefs, that they beat down one of the enemy's batteries. On the 29th early in the morning, the confederate troops ftormed a fortified mill on the right near the gate of St. Andrew with three hundred grenadiers, beat the enemy from that poft, and took feveral prifoners; but, at the fame time, the enemy made fo terrible a fire from the ramparts, that the befiegers were obliged to quit it. The next day three hundred grenadiers were commanded to retake that mill, but the enemy fet it on fire, and abandoned that poft. On the laft of Auguft the prince of Holftein-Beck relieved the trenches; and each battalion was ordered to furnish fix waggons, to carry ftones near the batteries, to throw the fame with mortars into the enemy's works. The 1ft of September, at night, the Imperialifts relieved the trenches, and the befiegers carried on the fap towards the faliant angle of the counterfcarp of the horn-work, within fifty paces of the pallifadoes; and a vast quantity of fafcines and gabions were prepared for making their lodgment on the counterfcarp. At the fame time the breach being very wide, and the ditch almost filled up with the ruins of the walls, marfhal Boufflers was apprehenfive, that the town would fall into the confederates hands, and therefore ordered feveral of the largeft pieces of cannon to be removed into the citadel. On the 4th the prince of Holftein-Beck relieved the trenches; as did alfo lieutenantgeneral Spaar the next day; and the approaches were carried on fo fuccefsfully, that it was judged, the counterscarp

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would be ftormed the fame evening; but that enterprize was 1708. deferred till the 7th.

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Whilft the fiege of Lifle was thus vigorously carried on, The French the dukes of Burgundy, Vendofme, and Berwick, made two in vain ator three feint advances, as if they defigned to attack the tempt to duke of Marlborough; who, upon thofe motions, gave or- Lifle. ders for his army to be ready to march upon the first occafion; and in the mean time detached the earl of Athlone, with fifteen hundred horfe, to obferve the enemy. The earl advancing towards Leufe, his van-guard fell in with an hundred horfe, detached from the duke of Berwick's army, whom they charged, defeated, and took thirty prifoners. The enemy made feveral marches and counter-marches, whereby it was apparent, that they designed to attempt the raifing of the fiege. The duke of Burgundy likewise fent a fpy, to endeavour to get into Lifle, and acquaint the marshal Boufflers, that, their army being on this fide Tournay, he might depend upon being relieved; but that meffenger happened to be discovered and seized by the allies. Upon this, the duke of Marlborough, in expectation of an engagement, ordered the confederate army, on the 5th of September, to march to the ground marked out for them, in order to give the enemy battle; and, being reinforced by prince Eugene, with feventy-two fquadrons and twenty-fix battalions from the fiege (with which troops came also king Augustus and the landgrave of Heffe, as volunteers); and lieutenant-g -general Fagel having marched with incredible speed out of Dutch Flanders and Brabant, and joined the confederate army with seven battalions and as many fquadrons, they continued till ten o'clock in order of battle. But the enemy declined coming to an engagement; fo that the confederate generals ordered the tents to be pitched again, and the detachment of prince Eugene returned to the camp before Lifle, except fome imperial and Heffian fquadrons. The generals concluding that the enemy had no other defign than to give them frequent alarms, to retard the fiege, and freighten them in their forage, without venturing an engagement, one hundred men out of each battalion were ordered to caft up an intrenchment in the front of their army, which would both fecure the troops from any fudden furprize, and leave the befiegers at liberty to carry on their attacks without interruption.

The confederates, thus finding it impracticable to bring The counthe enemy to a battle, thought fit to ftorm the counterfcarp tericarp is of Lifle, which had been delayed by these movements; and, and taken.

attacked

1708. on the 7th of September in the morning, they made the neceflary difpofitions for that enterprize, having received a reinforcement from the grand army of feven hundred grenadiers, and the like number of fufileers, and fix hundred workmen. Eight hundred grenadiers, fupported by the like number of fufileers, thirty carpenters, and two hundred workmen, were commanded for the attack of the right, between the Lower Deule and the gate St. Andrew, under the direction of the fieur des Roques; and fixteen hundred grenadiers, fupported by the like number of fufileers, thirty carpenters, and two thoufand workmen, were commanded for the attack of the left, between the river and the gate of St. Magdalen, under the direction of the fieur du Mey. The batteries of the confederates made a continual fire before the attack, on all the bastions to disturb the enemy; and after the fignal of three guns, and a general discharge of all the artillery, the attack was made with fo much order and courage on the part of the officers and foldiers, that the counterfcarp was taken in a fhort time, notwithstanding it was defen led by two hundred men of each regiment in the garrifon; and the befiegers lodged themselves in the covered. way. But the enemy made fuch a terrible fire from their out-works with their cannon, mortars, and small arms, and fprung three mines in the covered way, that there were no lefs than one thousand men wounded and flain.

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The confederates, having made themfelves masters of the counterfcarp, endeavoured to perfect their works with all poffible application. In the night, between the 9th and 10th, the enemy made a fally, but were repulfed with confiderable lo's. On the 11th, the Imperialifts relieved the trenches; and an adjutant came from the grand army, to acquaint prince Eugene, that the French were advanced within fight of the intrenchments, and feemed to have a defign to attack them. Whereupon the prince marched with fifteen battalions, and the cavalry, to reinforce the duke of Marlborough. The duke being at dinner, received advice, that the French foragers were advanced within a quarter of a league of the confederate camp, and were fuftained by feveral regiments: lieutenant-general Wood, who happened to be at table, defired his permiffion that he might charge them with two battalions only. The duke granted his request; and, having detached the regiment of Sir Richard Temple, and another English battalion, for that enterprize, they fell upon the enemy, whom they repulfed as far as Ennevelin, where they had pofted fome forces in a castle, which was fur

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