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conduct and expeditious march. The day before, prince Eugene, with his troops, and a detachment of eight battalions and thirty fquadrons from the grand army, returned to Lifle, and the fixteen battalions under count Lottum marched back to the camp. But, the fame morning, lieutenantgeneral Dompre, with forty fquadrons, advanced towards Aloft, being ordered to incamp between that place and Afche, in order to relieve Bruffels. The duke of Marlborough, with king Auguftus, and several other persons of diftinction, having been entertained at dinner by general Paschal, and given the neceflary directions, returned in the evening to his camp at Aloft, where the troops refted the 30th. The day following, the confederate army removed from thence, and incamped with the right at Oudenard, and the left near Bierleghiem. At the fame time, lieutenantgeneral Dedem was ordered to advance with twenty battalions, and to pass the Scheld at Oudenard, where he incamped on the other fide of the river, to affift at the works that were ordered to be made for the fecurity of that place, and to be near at hand to join lieutenant-general Hompefch, who, with thirty-eight fquadrons and eight battalions, were incamped near Menin; by which dispositions a communication was maintained with prince Eugene's forces at Lifle.

1708.

of Lifle con

The fiege of the citadel at Lifle was all this while carried The fiege of on with great diligence; and, in the abfence of prince Eu- the citadel gene, the befiegers had lodged themselves on the fecond tinued. counterfcarp, and began, on the 1st of December, to raise batteries thereon; which being finifhed in fix days, the prince fent a fummons to Boufflers, offering him an honourable capitulation, if he would furrender before the batteries had begun to fire; otherwife to expect no other terms, than for him and his garrison to be made prifoners of war. The governor, whose stock of ammunition was almost exhausted, and who was informed, that the communication between Bruffels and Lifle was free and open, thought fit to prevent furrenders, the confequences of a breach being made in the body of the citadel, by beating a parley the 8th of December, N. S. hoftages being exchanged, the articles were figned the day following; and, on the 10th, the marshal, with the whole garrifon, marched out with all the ufual marks of honour, and were conducted to Doway (q),

If

(q) The prince of Orange the ftates-general on this ocwrote the following letter to

cafion:

The citadel

1708.

If the difficulties of an enterprize increase the glory of it, the taking of Lifle must be one of the moft glorious actions that ever was known (r). The place itself was as ftrong as art could make it, on the fortifications whereof the celebrated monfieur de Vauban had exerted his utmoft skill. It was defended by a numerous garrifon, under the command

High and mighty lords,

not

All the lodgments before the citadel having been joined, and all things being ready to make the descents into the covered way, and to finish the batteries on the left, in order to batter in breach; the enemy beat a parley yefterday morning at feven o'clock. The hoftages on both fides being exchanged, prince Eugene went with thofe of the French to the abbey of Loos; but the capitulation was figned till this day at four in the afternoon; and I thought it my duty to fend it by major Thilo van Thilau, my adjutant-general. I most humbly congratulate your high mightineffes on this new conqueft, which is fo much the more confiderable, because the enemy had been obliged to furrender in a feason of the year fo far advanced, and that we have not on our part fired a gun, and have loft very few men. I pray God to blefs

of

may be long preferved. I am,

&c,

J.W. FRISO, prince From the camp of Orange and before Lifle, Naffau. December 9,' 1708.

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(r) Dr. Hare, in his thankf giving-fermon above-quoted, obferves, that Lifle was looked upon by the French as impregnable, it being the masterpiece of the ableft engineer that kingdom has produced; and 'the great king had added fuch beauty to its ftrength, as fhewed, he thought no body would dare to touch a place, which he had been at fo much charge 6 to make his own; and he was juftified in thinking fo by an undisturbed poffeffion of more than forty years. In truth the very flender knowledge our beft engineers had of it is a fufficient proof, they never dreamt of feeing that glorious day, when a confederate army fhould be able to come against it. It was fo great an enterprize in the judgment of the enemy, that they could not believe we really meant it, when it was plain we could mean nothing elfe: they thought it was a feint only to draw them from the posts they were intrenched in, or pretended to think fo, to colour their ftaying fo long in them to fo little purpofe, or to ex

.

6 your

more and more the arms of high mightineffes, and thofe of your allies; fo that after a feries of glorious and happy fucceffes, there may refult from thence a firm and lafting peace; and that the luftre and glory, which this ftate has attained to, by the particular favour of the Almighty, under the most wife government of your high mightineffes,

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of a marshal of France, and several other experienced gene- 1708. rals; provided with all manner of neceffaries, and encou

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cufe their not endeavouring to prevent our artillery from coming up. But, when it was too late to diffemble their concern, ‹ then what confusion were they in! what a noife was there, that they would and muft raise the fiege, coft what it will ! how many councils were there held! what furious motions 'did they make, or rather what ' not! fometimes they threatened a powerful diverfion, that they would befiege this place. and that, and a third, and a 'fourth, and give us fufficient reafons to repent fo rafh an' enterprize: fometimes nothing 'would do, but they would

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make another place famous by a fresh defeat of them. Wynendale will be always named among the fucceffes of this memorable year, where a small body of foot, under the com'mand of a member of this honourable houfe, maintained 'themselves against near thrice their number, though fupported by a good number of horse, and provided with a numerous artillery; and, after a brave ' defence, obliged them to a fcandalous retreat. Thus we ' have the fulleft proof even from the enemy, that the right ufe was made of our firft fuccefs, and that a more fatal blow could not have been

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given them; but we want not 'the voice of enemies or friends to witness the importance of this enterprize, by the fuccefs of which not only their frontier is broke into the most de'firable part, and a fair advance 'made towards penetrating into the heart of France; but, what the great monarch owes more to than his fword, his • treasure alfo is extremely af⚫fected by it; it loses him a great revenue, which at this time he can very ill want; it makes a mighty interruption in traffic and commerce thro' his own kingdom, and almost cuts off the greatest advantage he had by an open trade with our allies. In short, taking Lifle is cutting a nerve in the body politic, one of the largest and moft ufeful nerves; from whence his greatest armies received their nourishment, from

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1708. raged to a vigorous defence by the approach of a powerful army, which was as numerous, if not ftronger, than the

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* whence his Flanders - forces were always paid. Could we not have formed that fiege, little had remained of our victory, but the glory of regaining by the fword what furprize and treachery had taken from us; but a fiege, much lefs fo great a one, we could not undertake without < artillery; and to have artillery, ⚫ while the enemy were in pof• feffion of Ghent, every body, ⚫ I believe, will own they thought impoffible, till he, who has a genius equal to all difficulties, * fhewed the way, and contrived the means; which were exe<cuted with that wonderful dexterity and diligence, that the greatest train, that perhaps was ever brought fo far by land, was provided in a little time, and conducted between 6 two armies of the enemies,

without the leaft diflurbance,

fafe to us. After this fuccefs, which might justly be efteemed a fecond victory, there feemed to be little to do, but to attend quietly four or five weeks the iffue of the fiege; but by fetting out wrong at first, our engineers foon came to want, ⚫ what of all things was hardest to be fupplied; and the flow progrefs, that was made afterwards, put the fiege in the • utmost danger of miscarrying, and the army of starving. And ⚫ thofe unpromifing appearances ⚫ made not a few with the weather would give us a pretence to raise the fiege we feemed ⚫ unable to go through. Never ⚫ fure had covering army fo

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much work, never had commander fo great a trial of all the qualities, that go to make a confummate general. To hinder fo long the junction of the enemy, to prevent their difturbing the fiege, or making a diverfion, to keep for ten weeks a communication with Bruffels, and, when that was ftopped, to open another with Oftend, and after that ftill to • find out new resorts, and subfift a great army thrice the time that was expected, in an ene'my's country, that we feemed to have eat up, even before

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we were perfectly confined to • it; these are difficulties nothing • could furmount, but a mind,

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that cannot be puzzled or difmayed. But this is not all; while we were befieging, we were befieged ourselves, the ' enemy had hemmed us in on . every fide, and for ten weeks together intrenched the Scheld with all the diligence they could, refolved, it feems, we 'fhould not pass on any terms. But, when the fiege they had laid to Bruffels made the trial neceffary, neither river, nor army, nor intrenchments availed any thing. We furprized the enemy, at a time; when they were moft concerned to be upon their guard; and, what is beyond all belief, paffed the river they had been fo long fortifying, without the lofs of one man; and by that happy paffage their fiege was raifed before it was 'well begun. These are fuch difficulties, as greatly inhance the

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forces of the allies. And yet the allies, without having any 1708. communication with their own territories, ever fince the duke of Vendofme took the village of Leffinghen after a fiege of eight days, reduced Lifle, found means to fubfift about it till the reduction of the citadel, and got corn from the ter

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the value of the fucceffes we I rejoice in; and ferve for fhades to illuftrate and fet off the 'many masterly frokes, which • a curious eye cannot but difcern in the beautiful plan of this great and wonderful cam"paign. I might add, that the length of our fiege made it late in December, before we could attempt to retake the places • the enemy had ftolen from us, which is itself fuch a circumstance, as is without example in that country; but in the end, this fuccefs was alfo added to the reft, and the cam'paign was happily concluded with the year.- -There is nothing the interpofition of God has more vifibly appear⚫ed in, than the favourable • weather we were bleffed with 'fo long together; which was fo neceffary for us, that without it every body faw we could have done nothing; and yet fo extraordinary, that the like • has not been known in the memory of man; nor was there any thing the enemy trufted more to, than that the rains would overtake us; which had they done, had not the heavens been fhut up in the latter feason, we muft inevitably have been obliged to raise our fiege, though no difturbance had been given by the enemy. Had we known • in December to the very end of it fo much ill weather, as they commonly have three or

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four months before, we must

have been content to let the

enemy enjoy quietly their treachery, which could not but have had a very ill influence on the nex campaign. Το 'what can we impute this, but to his good providence, who opens and fhuts the heavens as he will? wonderful has his favours to us been in this refpect, beyond our most forward hopes, beyond what we dared to wish for. To pass by feveral very remarkable in• ftances of this kind, the passing and repaffing of the Scheld, the firft of which was the faving of Flanders, and the other of Brabant, both depended on great marches, that 'were made without the leaft disturbance from the weather, which might easily have defeated the fuccefs of them; though the firft was foon followed with a great rain the very night of the battle, and the other was preceded by a 'greater, which the enemy felt all the evil of, being then on their march to invest Bruffels ; but this weather lafted no longer, than till we were ready to make use of better. But there was another circumftance in our repaffing of the Scheld, which I cannot omit a night 'march, which we were forced

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to make in order to it, was happily for us, by an unfore'feen coincidence, directed by the full affiftance of the moon.'

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