Battle of Walcourt

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The Battle of Walcourt was fought during the War of the Grand Alliance on August 25, 1689. The action took place near the walled town of Walcourt near Charleroi in the Spanish Netherlands, and brought to a close a summer of uneventful marching, manoeuvring, and foraging. The battle incurred no more than 2,000 casualties.

The Allied army was commanded by Georg Friedrich, Prince of Waldeck; the French army by Louis de Crevant, Duke of Humières. Notably, the battle marked the only victory gained by the English and Dutch over the French before both armies retired to winter quarters.^[2]

[edit] Background

In 1689, French forces were engaged along four fronts in War of the Grand Alliance: Marshal Duras continued to lead an army in the Rhineland; Marshal Noailles led his forces in Catalonia; French troops were sent to aid King James II in Ireland in an effort to regain his kingdom; and Marshal Humières commanded in the Spanish Netherlands.^[3]

In the war Louis would make the Spanish Netherlands the major theatre, but during 1689, it was considered only a secondary front. This quiescence was due to the fact that the main protagonists were busy elsewhere; King William III was occupied with political matters in England and a Jacobite rebellion in Scotland, whilst King Louis XIV was busy campaigning along the Rhine. As in previous wars, the many fortresses in the area would shape campaigns, leading to an emphasis on siege warfare.^[4]

On 14 May, Humières assembled his army for the new campaign near Boussières on the river Sambre where he marshalled 24 battalions and 75 squadrons, totalling 24,000 men. William entrusted overall command of his 35,000 troops in the Spanish Netherlands to the 69-year-old Georg Frederick, Prince of Waldeck, with the English contingent of 8,000 men, commanded by John Churchill, Earl of Marlborough.^[5] However, William was sceptical about the quality of the English troops; compared to the Dutch troops of the period, English troops were little more than a rabble, lacking in organisation, field administration and commissariat.^[6] But Waldeck watched with interest as Marlborough sought to bring order and organisation to his command, later writing that he hoped the English “ . . . were as disciplined as they were brave.” By September however, Waldeck was still lamenting their “ . . . temperament, nonchalance, wretched clothing and the worst of shoes.”^[7]

[edit] Battle

The Spanish Netherlands. Walcourt lies south of Charleroi near the River Sambre.

Administrative problems and the late arrival of contingents delayed the opening of the Allied offensive in the region until late June. Waldeck moved from near Tirlemont and headed towards Fleurus; the two armies spent the next two months marching and counter-marching in an attempt to gain a strategic advantage.^[8]

Georg Friedrich von Waldeck (1620–92). While King William III sought to defeat James II in Ireland, Waldeck commanded the Allied forces in the Spanish Netherlands.

By August Prince Waldeck had crossed the River Sambre and had camped near the Walled town of Walcourt. On 25 August, Allied foragers, escorted by 600 English troops of Colonel Hodges’ Regiment (16th Foot, later the Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment) were sent out to the surrounding countryside. Soon however, the Allies were attacked by Humières forces. Hodges was able to prevent the development of the French attack for several hours, eventually retiring his troops to a nearby mill. By 11:00, Marlborough had arrived within sight of the engagement and noticing Hodges was under attack by several French batteries, ordered the embattled Colonel to withdraw to a hill east of Walcourt, behind which the main Allied force was forming.^[9] Waldeck later commented to William – “[Hodges] and the English, who are with him, have accomplished miracles, and I could never have believed that so many of the English would show such a joie de combattre.”^[10]

Despite his troop’s failure to overcome Hodges, Humières decided to attack Walcourt itself, defended by 600 men. Several attacks were pressed home but the French suffered heavy casualties from the Allied enfilading guns. Despite the losses Humières persisted in his attacks and sent a party of Gardes Françaises to try to set alight Walcourt’s gates. The attempt failed, and the safety of the garrison was assured after Brigadier-General Thomas Tollemache brought the Coldstream Guards and a German Battalion into the town around 14:00.^[11]

Humières now flung his men against the right wing of the main Allied line beyond the town. However, at about 18:00, Waldeck launched a double counterattack against the tiring French; General Slangenberg's Dutch against their left and Marlborough, at the head of the Life Guards and the Blues (supported by two regiments of foot), against their right. The French reeled back in disarray but valuable service by the French cavalry, commanded by Colonel Villars, prevented the retreat from becoming a rout, allowing Humières to extricate his men from the field.^[12]

Humières had been humiliated, but due to administrative problems, Waldeck made little attempt to follow up his success.^[13] For a few days the two armies remained face to face, cannonading one another at intervals, but no further fighting occurred. Humières returned to the region of the Scheldt fortresses, and Waldeck to Brussels.

[edit] Aftermath

The battle (the only notable incident in the whole campaign), was sharp and bloody; there had within living memory been no equally serious encounter between the English and French. French losses are estimated between 600 and 2,000; Allied casualties numbered less than 100. Prince of Waldeck commended the 39-year-old Marlborough to William who “ . . . in spite of his youth” had shown great military aptitude; on 5 September (26 August O.S), in recognition of his endeavours, William awarded Marlborough the lucrative colonelcy of the 7th Foot (later the Royal Fusiliers). The success had encouraged the Allies, however Humières, dubbed le maréchal sans lumière by his colleagues, found himself disgraced.^[14]

Before Humières went into winter quarters, he detached four battalions of Gardes françaises to march to the Rhineland, where in 1689 Louis' outnumbered forces faced their greatest challenge.^[15] But by 1690, the main seat of action the war returned to Flanders. For this campaign however, King Louis entrusted command of the theatre to Marshal Luxembourg, who on 1 July, fought his tactical masterpiece against Waldeck at the Battle of Fleurus.^[16]

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• Chandler, David G. Marlborough as Military Commander. Spellmount Ltd, (2003). ISBN 1-86227-195-X
• Dupuy, R. E & Dupuy, T. N. The Collins Encyclopedia of Military History 4th ed. HarperCollins Publishers, (1995).
• 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