The road to Malplaquet • Tournoi taken, the Allies began to move to take further eastwards to Mons on September 3rd, in a broad flanking move. Arther Barbera, the owner of the Museum in Bavay, The new woodland area around Sars at Laniere, Monument erected in 1984 to the British regiments that fought at the battle of Malplaquet. Their partnership on and off the battlefield was one of complete understanding, trust and harmony, and they were arguably the greatest “team” in military history. The ground has now been subject to modern drainage systems, but here and there one comes across the occasional boggy stretch of land, in particular near some of the small brooks that meander across the plain between Blaregnies and the outskirts of the site of the Wood of Sars. The actual battle was something of a pyric victory as the French managed for once to fight the Allies to a standstill, despite the now renowned British volleying. Cavalry were used as shock troops against the flanks or rear of an opposing army, and against disordered infantry. Its “Butchers Bill” was by far the worst of any engagement fought during the War of Spanish Succession, and the shock wave that it engendered reverberated through all strata of what today we consider to have been a polite and genteel society. Villars received the news of the occupation of his centre while he was still preparing for his counter-stroke against the Wood of Sars. Orkney may have not wished to steal any of the glory for himself, nevertheless his 13 battalions certainly made all the difference in the centre, where only a few battalions of the French Guard remained, and these only put up a token resistance before abandoning the central redoubts completely. The whole field was covered in dead and wounded men and horses. He cancelled the orders for the twelve battalions to counterattack, and instead moved them to the western outskirts of the Sars salient, there to bolster his infantry within the wood itself who were now slowly being forced back by the sheer weight of numbers. In the War of the Spanish Succession Prince Eugene and the Duke of Marlborough steadily defeated the French armies sent against them. The Duke of Marlborough’s fourth and final victory of the War of the Spanish Succession came at the Battle of Malplaquet, fought on September 11 1709 between the forces of the Grand Alliance and France. Most sources state that the Allies lost 25,000 men, the French, between 10,000 and 15,000.These figures do not allow for those men who died weeks, or maybe even months later from their wounds. Retracing our steps we returned to Aulnois and then drove to Malplaquet village, passing the now disused and crumberling custom control offices. Immediately the Duke ordered Auvergne to deploy his cavalry in readiness to charge Chemerault’s battalions, who were themselves unaware of the threat from the allied cavalry. At 90 meters the hidden French battery of twenty cannon that had been positioned in the re-entrant of the d’Artagnan’s fieldworks, let fly with a tremendous belch and roar of flame, which swept away whole ranks, leaving the ground littered with mangled and torn bodies. Cra’ster), English Historical Review, April 1904. Before the re-entrant where the 20 gun French battery had been concealed, the mutilated remains of the Dutch battalions of general Dohna lay in ghastly windrows. The ground was covered with broken swords, hats, discarded cuirasses, saddles and harness. Where cavalry encountered cavalry the French sometimes still continued the practice of firing their carbines and then filing to the rear to reload while the next rank came forward to fire in their turn. With a view to re-fighting Malplaquet next Spring, Dave Allen and I visited the actual battlefield a few weeks back — as close to the actual day of the battle (11 September) as we could manage. At 8.30 am Marlborough gave the order for the great battery of forty allied cannon to fire a single salvo as a signal to commence the attack. The Battle of Malplaquet, fought on 11 September 1709, was one of the main battles of the War of the Spanish Succession, which opposed the Bourbons of France and Spain against an alliance whose major members were the Habsburg Monarchy, Great Britain, the United Provinces and the Kingdom of Prussia. These give a very good impression of what it must have been like for Lottums columns as they wheeled to their right to attack the Sars salient. ” The IWM has been less than helpful in this regard and I wonder if you have heard the same. Eugene was checked in Provence, and Marlborough made little progress in the north. After advancing towards the enemy, the battalion would halt at 60 yards range. Fisher H.A.L, ‘A History of Europe.’ London 1936. Marlborough began with a feint against the French left. I have heard many accounts of relics being uncovered around the battlefield but none, to my knowledge has thus far been verified. With these lines in place the French army could prepare itself for further operations. Marlborough and Eugene could both be accused of criminal sacrifice of life for no real purpose. It was now 11.30 am, and the smoke and noise were still indicative of the continuing violence near at hand, where close to thirty thousand Allied infantry pressed forward against four or five thousand French defenders, trampling friend and foe alike underfoot. Each time the French pushed back the allied squadrons, they were forced back in their turn by cannon and musket fire, “I really believe had not ye foot been there,” wrote Orkney, “they would have drove our horse from the field.”. Records were sketchy, and roll calls subject to misinterpretation at all levels. to abandon the entrenchment.’. Sometimes the fire of the entire front rank would be also reserved as a fourth ‘firing’. Villars stationed himself near the village of Malplaquet. On the French left General Puysegur ordered his troops to fall back towards Quievrain, possibly noting that Boufflers had become far too embroiled in the cavalry battle in the centre to consider any overall plan for the salvation of the army. Unlike Waterloo, the battlefield of Malplaquet has no tourist or trinket shops and maybe all the better for that. Things were very different on Schulenburg’s left. The main question to be asked about Malplaquet from the allied perspective is was it necessary? General Oxenstiern was killed, and over two thirds of the Prince of Orange’s staff fell around their leader. Each battalion was around 600-800 strong and organized into left and right wings, these again being subdivided into divisions and platoons, eighteen platoons normally made up a battalion. You can see on Malplaquet battlefield, near the farm of Blairon, the new look of the british regiment monument. Much debate has occurred over the actual roll that was to be played by the Dutch forces on this wing. In front of the French left wing stretched the Wood of Sars (also sometimes called the Wood of Taisnieres). Map of the Extension of the French Frontier, 1601-1766. The whole countryside for miles around echoing to the screams of the surgeon’s knife. As he turned in the saddle to converse with General St Hilaire he was hit by a musket ball that passed through his high top boot, and penetrated below his left kneecap, shattering the bone. Author Simon Macdowell does a superb job of sorting out a confusing battle for the general reader. It is still possible to trace the line of the re-entrant that cut-into the French position at this point, and which was used to such good effect to conceal their hidden battery of twenty cannon from the approaching Dutch, Swiss and Scottish formations, who were decimated by the enfilading fire from these guns. In both instances the defending forces had constructed log breastworks and entrenchments covering the approaches to their front, and in both cases the stronger force was cut down in swathes endeavouring to break through the defenders lines. Marlborough himself took station behind Orkney’s British battalions, while Prince Eugene marched at the head of Schulenburg’s second line. Do not leave without paying a visit to Bavay, and the wonderful little military museum of Messieurs Arthur Barabera, ‘Musee du 11 September 1709.’ Here you will find maps, uniforms, weapons and artefacts dealing with the battle, as well as a friendly welcome. The battle cost the French Bavaria, and the capture of Gibraltar, also in 1704,was another body blow to Louise XIV’s ambitions. To this end 40 allied battalions under General Schulenburg, in three huge, deep and compact lines, would move against the northern face of the Wood of Sars. As in Aulnois, the visitors can park their transport in the square of Malplaquet and proceed on foot to explore the surrounding area. Riderless horses either dashed to and fro or stood quietly nibbling the grass, while others tried pathetically to rise from the ground, only to fall back again in their agony. Like ripples on water, the 83 battalions of the Allied right wing began to advance over the 700 meters of ground that separated them from the Wood of Sars and the formidable entanglements and breastworks of the French forward line, which stood silently awaiting the order to open fire. My reason for not doing so is because I have come to doubt the actual location of this corps when the battle began. This was the bloodiest battle all the way up to Borodino in 1812 when Napoleon invaded Russia and got too close to Moscow for there not to be a big fight. Now safe from any French counterattacks, Lottum’s depleted command, together with Orkney’s two fresh British battalions finally burst into the southern tip of the Wood of Sars, pouring over the entrenchments and finally coming to grips with their adversaries using the bayonet and clubbed musket. The cavalry squadrons under General Miklau had arrived further out on Withers right, and had begun to shake themselves out from column of march into line, when they were hit on their right flank by General M.de Rozel with ten squadrons of French carabiniers. It was here that Eugene received a wound which nicked the side of his neck, just behind the left ear. Here were ranged some 63 battalions of infantry. The dates in this page are given in the Old Style. Louise XIV, under pressure from all sides, now became determined to reject all proposals and terms outright. Certainly the Prince of Orange himself was under no illusion, and considered that his part in the battle consisted of penetrating and destroying the French to his front. Having made sure that no more suicidal attacks would occur, and that the role of the left wing was to only contain the French, Marlborough and Eugene rode back to the centre to await news of the combat in the Wood of Sars. As these troops moved forward General Chemerault, who commanded the left of the French line of redoubts, brought forward twelve battalions of infantry, intending to throw them against Lottum’s disorganized left flank. Clouds of dust enveloped friend and foe alike, powdering uniforms and making distinction difficult, while wounded horses, maddened by pain and fear attempted to kick their way free from the crush. One is reminded of the bitter fighting that occurred in the Wilderness Campaign of 1864, during the American Civil War, and indeed the circumstances are almost identical to the way things took place at Malplaquet. Unable to leave Mons until reinforcements arrived, the allies allowed Villars to build entrenchments to the north-east of Malplaquet. The Dutch Blue Guards left over half their strength on the field together with Generals Spaar and Hamilton, and the attack petered out and retired, still in good order, leaving the ground carpeted with even more dead and wounded. A plaque on the farm wall commemorates this event. The command of the French left now devolved upon General Puysegur, who having command thrown upon his shoulders in so unexpected a manner seems to have become overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of his situation. The central part of the battlefield appeared less gruesome, that is until the French redoubts were passed. The advancing German battalions under Schulenburg, some twenty thousand strong, lost their cohesion as the defending French brigades poured volley after volley into the struggling masses before them. A second musket ball caught General Albergotti in the thigh knocking him out of the saddle, and a third hit General Chemerault killing him instantly. A reconnaissance was carried out to discover the strength of the French lines, and although still incomplete, they were nevertheless found to be formidable; therefore an alternative plan was implemented which put aside any form of mobile warfare in favour of the siege of Tournai. George G.Harrap Ltd, Fifth Edition, London 1963. It was fought near the village of Malplaquet (now on the French side of the Franco-Belgian border), about 10 miles (16 km) south of Mons. It is possible to walk the entire length of the French front line by taking farm tracks and some of the paved roads that cross the battlefield all around this area, and splendid views are obtainable across to the Allied positions running from the edge of the modern Wood of Tiry to the new plantations of trees that cover some of the land on which the Wood of Sars once stood.