Battle of Oudenarde

battle_name=Battle of Oudenarde

Prelude

Britain, the Netherlands, and the Holy Roman Empire were horrified at the thought of a union between Spain and France, causing them to ally against France, beginning the War of the Spanish Succession. The commander of the allied armies was John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, whose chief deputy was the commander of the Empire's army Prince Eugène of Savoy, who was his close friend.

Related Topics:
Britain - Netherlands - Holy Roman Empire - Spain - France - John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough - Eugène of Savoy

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Meanwhile, the two French army commanders were very quarrelsome. The Duc de Vendôme was a seasoned, experienced soldier. However, for unknown reasons, King Louis XIV of France put his grandson, the Duke of Burgundy, in joint command. These two military officers quarreled frequently.

Related Topics:
Duc de Vendôme - Louis XIV - Duke of Burgundy

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Marlborough's army consisted of about 90,000 men (112 infantry battalions and 197 cavalry squadrons) just south of Brussels. Eugène's forces were assembled at Coblenz, in modern Germany. However, these two areas were somewhat far apart, while the French army's 100,000 soldiers (130 battalions and 216 squadrons) were concentrated near Mons, in modern Belgium.

Related Topics:
Infantry - Battalion - Cavalry - Squadron - Brussels - Coblenz - Mons - Belgium

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However, the French commanders began quarreling. Vendôme wanted to attack the city of Huy, which could draw Marlborough in pursuit. However, the eventual plan adopted (under orders from Louis XIV) was to attack Flanders. The army moved eastward, until they reached the city of Braine l'Alleud, which was about 25 km south of Brussels, and also threatened the nearby city of Leuven. Marlborough placed his forces a few miles south of Leuven, in order to cover both threatened cities.

Related Topics:
Huy - Flanders - Braine l'Alleud - Leuven

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The French army, however, was inactive for more than a month. This apparently allowed the extremely behind schedule Eugène to bring his army from the Rhine. However, on July 5, the French unexpectedly moved west, taking the cities of Bruges and Ghent (although about 300 British soldiers held out in Ghent for a few days). This extremely demoralized Marlborough and his army, and he did not recover until Eugène was at his side.

Related Topics:
Rhine - July 5 - Bruges - Ghent

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The French army had the entire length of the Scheldt from the French border to the newly taken city of Ghent. However, one British fortress remained: Oudenaarde. If they took that city, Marlborough's army would be cut off from the coast, causing them to lose communications with England.

Related Topics:
Scheldt - Oudenaarde

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Marlborough detected this objective, and also correctly guessed the method by which the French troops would attempt to take it. They would march down the east bank of the Scheldt (closer to Marlborough's troops), while leaving a large covering force between the two opposing armies. The French army marched on July 8, toward the city of Lessines. However, Marlborough made one of the most inspired forced marches in history, taking the city on July 10. This forced the French commanders to attempt simply to march across the Scheldt and thereby take the city of Oudenarde.

Related Topics:
July 8 - Lessines - July 10

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Again Marlborough ordered a forced march. This time, though, he ordered 11,000 troops to hold the main crossing point across the Scheldt, under the command of his Quartermaster General, William Cadogan. Cadogan's force was easily able to hold off the French, while Marlborough got his 100,000-strong army across the river.

Related Topics:
Quartermaster General - William Cadogan

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