Battle of Fleurus (1690)

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Battle of Fleurus
Part of the War of the Grand Alliance
Battle of Fleurus, 1 July 1690
Date 1 July 1690 Location Fleurus, Spanish Netherlands (Present-day Belgium) Result French victory
Combatants
France	Dutch Republic, Holy Roman Empire, England,[1] Spain
Commanders
Duc de Luxembourg	Prince of Waldeck
Strength
35,000	38,000
Casualties
3,000 dead,[2] 3,000 wounded	6,000 dead, 5,000 wounded, 8,000 captured

The Battle of Fleurus was fought during the War of the Grand Alliance on 1 July 1690. The French army of the Spanish Netherlands was commanded by François Henri de Montmorency-Bouteville, duc de Luxembourg; the Allied army comprising Dutch, German, Spanish, and British troops was commanded by Prince Georg Friedrich of Waldeck.

Luxembourg commanded 35,000 troops; Prince Waldeck commanded 38,000. Despite suffering 6,000 casualties, the battle was an overwhelming victory for France – the allies suffered almost 20,000 killed, wounded or taken prisoner. Although the French decided not to follow up their victory – allowing the Allies to seek safety in Brussels – they were able to impose war taxes on a broad area of now-undefended territory.^[3]

[edit] Background

In 1690 the main theatre of the war moved to the Spanish Netherlands. After replacing the theatre’s previous commander Marshal Humières, French forces were now commanded by the talented Marshal Luxembourg – a position he would keep until his death in 1695. If necessary, Luxembourg could call upon support from Marshal Boufflers’ army on the Moselle.

To oppose Luxembourg, King William had given command of the Allied forces in the region to Prince Waldeck – William himself was busy in Ireland forestalling King James' and his Jacobite supporters' attempt to regain the throne. In the Rhineland, Marshal de Lorge commanded French forces (although the Dauphin held honorific command). De Lorge was opposed by the Elector of Bavaria, who had succeeded command of Allied forces in the region after the death of Charles of Lorraine. Marshal Catinat led the French forces in Dauphiné against the Duke of Savoy; and Marshal Noailles commanded forces deployed on the border of Catalonia.^[4]

[edit] Prelude

Marshal Luxembourg was one of Louis’ greatest commanders. His crushing victory at Fleurus was one of the great tactical successes of his career.

Prince Waldeck had hoped to delay the campaign to enable the Elector of Brandenburg to move on the Moselle and tie down Boufflers, but Luxembourg’s early manoeuvres had allowed Boufflers to move between the rivers Sambre and Meuse to support the French commander. Waldeck left his assembly point at Tienen (Tirlemont) and advanced to Wavre. After dispersing his troops to live off forage, the Allied army reassembled and advanced to Genappe on 8 June.

In mid-June Luxembourg split his forces, detaching several battalions under Marshal Humières to observe the Spanish forces (now reinforced with Hanoverian troops), while the main French army left Deinze and marched south, crossing the River Sambre at Jeumont on 23 June.^[5] Meanwhile, detachments from Boufflers forces under the command of Rubantel had augmented Luxembourg’s army which, by 27 June, had camped at Boussu.

The Spanish Netherlands. Fleurus sits midway between Namur and Charleroi near the Sambre River.

As Luxembourg manoeuvred south of Mons and Charleroi, Waldeck moved his camp between Nivelles and Pieton on 28 June. That same evening, Luxembourg personally led a detachment from Gerpinnes (together with bridging pontoons), to establish a crossing of the Sambre at Ham. A fortified position at Froidmont (garrisoned by about 100 men) was soon compelled to surrender after artillery was brought across the river; a simultaneous attack by French dragoons seized an enemy redoubt that had been abandoned at the approach of Luxembourg’s army.^[6] With the bridgehead secure, the rest of the French army (apart from the heavy baggage that had remained on the south bank at Ham) crossed the Sambre on 30 June.

Waldeck decamped and moved towards the French bridgehead. French and Dutch cavalry sent out to reconnoitre the area crossed swords in an inconclusive action near Fleurus, but by evening the French cavalry had withdrawn to Velaine where it was joined by the rest of their army, only 3 km from the Allies.

[edit] Battle

On the morning of 1 July, Luxembourg marched his forces towards Fleurus. Waldeck had set up his 38,000 troops in the two customary lines on the high ground between the village of Heppignies on their right and past the chateau of St Amant on their left; Waldeck’s front was covered by the Orme stream whose elevated banks made a frontal assault all but impossible.^[7]

Luxembourg divides his forces and attacks Waldeck’s army on both flanks. The setback for the Allies at the battle threatened grave international consequences.^[8]

Luxembourg divided his forces to attack both flanks of the Allied army – an audacious plan that in order for it to succeed would require secrecy and deception. The columns of the first French line split to take position between Heppignies and Fleurus, with some troops moving up towards St Amant. The two columns of Luxembourg’s right veered off to the north across the Orme, their passage covered by the hedges and wheat fields, and by a screen of French cavalry. Forty cannon were positioned near the chateau of St Amant, and another 30 guns positioned between the chateau and Fleurus.

Unnoticed by Waldeck, Luxembourg had enveloped Waldeck’s flanks. Had the Allied commander realised that Luxembourg had split his army in two, he might have overwhelmed the isolated French left before the right came into position, be he did not.^[9] After the French right wing was in position (commanded by Luxembourg himself), the French artillery opened fire at about 10:00, striking the Allied infantry with great effect. Their left wing, commanded by Lieutenant-General Jean Christophe, comte de Gournay, opened their attack with a cavalry charge but Gournay was killed in the assault; his death disordered his cavalry who retired to Fleurus to regroup.^[10] A cavalry charge on the right wing however, met with more success, driving the enemy cavalry back. On the heels of this attack, the French infantry now advanced against both flanks of Waldeck’s line which, finding itself enveloped by the enemy, finally broke. Some of the Allied troops managed to regroup on high ground near Fleurus, but were eventually overwhelmed.

Despite being pressed by French cavalry, Waldeck was able to create a new line with his remaining forces further back. However, this line also collapsed, broken by French infantry flushed with confidence from their initial success. The remainder of Waldeck’s troops streamed towards Nivelles in the best order they could.^[11]

[edit] Aftermath

The heaviest fighting that day lasted from 11:30 to 14:00. Within that time Luxembourg had crushed the Allied army, inflicting a 50% casualty rate, including 6,000 killed. Waldeck eventually retired on Brussels where his injured troops were replaced with men from fortress garrisons.^[12] Spanish troops under Gastañaga joined the main Allied army, as did the Count of Tilly with troops from Liège and Brandenburg on 22 July. On 2 August, the Elector of Brandenburg’s forces combined with Waldeck whose Allied army now numbered 55,000 men. With this force, the Allied army marched to Genappe, proceeding on to Nivelles on 7 August.

The Battle of Fleurus was a complete success, but devoid of result.^[13] Louvois, Louis’ war minister, wanted to order Luxembourg to immediately besiege Namur or Charleroi, but Louis, concerned about the dauphin’s forces in Germany and the imminent arrival of the Elector of Brandenburg’s army, ordered Luxembourg to augment Boufflers forces and forgo a siege. However, Luxembourg was able to put much of the land east of Brussels under contribution.^[14]

The remainder of the campaign season in the Spanish Netherlands was relatively quiet. Boufflers temporarily combined his forces with Luxembourg, but in late August returned to the area between the Sambre and Meuse rivers. After a series of minor skirmishes both the Allies and the French returned to winter quarters in October; Luxembourg careful to station his men on enemy territory, while the Allies quartered in and around Maastricht. The Hanoverians returned home while many from Brandenburg and Lüneburg found quarters in the fortresses of the Spanish Netherlands.^[15]

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• Dupuy, R. E & Dupuy, T. N. The Collins Encyclopaedia of Military History 4th ed. HarperCollins Publishers, (1995). ISBN 0062700561
• Guizot, Francois P. G. A Popular History of France From The Earliest Times, Volume V. [1]
• Lynn, John A. The French wars 1667–1714: The Sun King at War. Osprey Publishing, (2002). ISBN 1-84176-361-6
• Lynn, John A. The Wars of Louis XIV, 1667–1714. Longman, (1999). ISBN 0-582-05629-2