Battle of Lauffeld

Battle of Lauffeld
Part of War of the Austrian Succession
Louis XV with Maurice de Saxe at Lauffeld
Date 2 July 1747 Location Lafelt, Limburg, between Tongeren and Maastricht. Result French victory
Belligerents
Great Britain  Dutch Republic Habsburg monarchy Hanover	France
Commanders and leaders
Karl Josef Batthyány von Daun Frederick II	Count Löwendahl
Strength
80,000[1] [2] up to 200 guns	82,000[1] to 98,000 [2] 170 guns
Casualties and losses
6,000[3](excluding prisoners) to 11,000 casualties [1][4][2] 23 guns[4]	c. 5,000[3] [4] to 11,000 casualties [2]

The Battle of Lauffeld, variously known as Lafelt, Laffeld, Lawfeld, Lawfeldt, Maastricht, or Val, took place on 2 July 1747, between

Arguably the most talented general of his generation, Saxe conquered much of the Austrian Netherlands between 1744 and 1746 although he failed to achieve decisive victory. In the spring of 1747, Cumberland planned an offensive to retake Antwerp but was forced to fall back when the French threatened to cut him off from his supply base at Maastricht. When the two armies met at Lauffeld, a series of mistakes by Cumberland compromised his position and only counterattacks by the Allied cavalry prevented a serious defeat.

The battle ended Allied hopes of regaining lost ground and Saxe captured

By the end of 1746, most of the participants sought peace. Maria Theresa had secured her throne and was more interested in rebuilding her army in order to retake Silesia; Austria had only acquired the Austrian Netherlands in 1713 because neither the British or Dutch would allow the other to control it and retaining it was not a strategic priority.^[7] Neutrality had allowed the Dutch to become the main carriers of French imports and exports and its loss put further strain on both economies, with the Dutch government putting pressure on the British to make peace.^[8] Although the British were also incurring high levels of debt, they were far better equipped to finance it.^[9]

To keep their Allies fighting, in the January 1747 Hague Convention Britain agreed to fund Austrian and

Brussels

Bergen op zoom

Antwerp

Lafelt

Liege

Breda

Namur

Maastricht

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The Austrian Netherlands and Southern Dutch Republic; key locations 1747–1748

By taking troops from other areas, Saxe was able to assemble a field army of 120,000 men for the 1747 campaign. The defeat of the

To protect Maastricht, Cumberland sent von Daun to secure Tongeren, then held by Clermont-Tonnerre. The Allied cavalry under Ligonier were ordered to occupy the Tongeren-Maastricht road, which ran along a ridge parallel to the river Meuse. Finding the French already in possession, they halted for the night, with the infantry billeted in the villages of Vlytingen and Lauffeld.^[16] As at Rocoux, the Austrians were on the right, holding the villages of Grote and Kleine Spouwen, which are now part of the Belgian town of Bilzen. A steep ravine immediately in front protected them from a direct assault.^[17] The centre was held by the Dutch States Army under the Prince Waldeck, while the left wing, placed around the village of Lauffeld, consisted of British, Hanoverian, and Hessian troops.^[18]

Most sources suggest around 82,000 French troops faced a slightly smaller Allied army, although estimates vary. The next day was overcast, and heavy rain made movement slow and difficult, so the battle began with an exchange of artillery fire at 6:00 am, which continued until 8:30. Cumberland now made a serious error of judgement, and moved his infantry out of the villages where they had spent the night, having first set them on fire. At Fontenoy in 1745, Saxe used similar positions to inflict heavy casualties on the Allied troops, and Ligonier urged that they be re-occupied. After some hesitation, Cumberland agreed, but the change in orders caused confusion among his subordinates.^[19]

Saxe assumed abandoning the villages meant Cumberland was retreating across the Meuse, and around 10:30 sent his infantry forward to take possession. Although Vlytingen was empty, Lauffeld had been re-occupied by troops under Frederick of Hesse-Kassel. Over the next few hours, the village changed hands four or five times, before the French finally captured it around 12:30 pm.^[20] Cumberland ordered a counter-attack but as the infantry formed up, a Dutch cavalry unit to their front was routed by the French and fled, throwing those behind them into disorder and exposing the Allied centre.^[21] This was held by the Dutch, who had been limited to two fruitless attacks, both repulsed by French artillery, costing them 537 men. When the Allied left gave way, the centre and right followed.^[18]

Meanwhile, 150 squadrons of French cavalry had assembled around Wilre, preparing to attack Cumberland's flank; unaware the Allies were falling back on Maastricht, Ligonier and 60 squadrons charged, taking them by surprise. One of the best known cavalry charges in British military history, Saxe later claimed only this prevented him destroying the Allied army^[

Aftermath

Estimates of total casualties vary, ranging from between 5,000 and 11,000 killed or wounded on either side.

Bergen-op-Zoom in September and Maastricht in May 1748. It provided further proof of Cumberland's weaknesses as a general, all of which had been factors in his earlier defeat at Fontenoy in 1745. These included inadequate reconnaissance, lack of strategic awareness, and poor co-ordination with his senior commanders, as shown by his failure to inform Ligonier he had withdrawn the infantry.^[25]

Despite their success in Flanders, the British naval blockade caused a collapse in French customs receipts, and cut them off from the

Cape Finisterre in October 1747. Despite the loss of their naval escort, most of the merchantmen escaped but warned of their approach, the British Leeward Islands Squadron under Commodore George Pocock was able to intercept many of them in late 1747 and early 1748.^[27] As a result of this defeat, the French navy could no longer protect their colonies or trade routes.^[28]

In November, Britain and Russia signed a convention for the supply of additional troops and in February 1748, a Russian corps of 37,000 arrived in the Rhineland.[29] However, by now Newcastle was also ready to agree terms, although it has been argued he failed to appreciate the impact of the naval blockade on the French economy. The terms of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle were first agreed by Britain and France at Breda, then presented to their allies. These confirmed Prussian possession of Silesia and minor territorial adjustments in Italy, but essentially returned the situation to 1740, with France withdrawing from the Low Countries. Returning the territorial gains which had cost so much, in exchange for so little, led to the phrase "as stupid as the Peace".^[30]

The war confirmed the decline of the Dutch Republic as a major power and Newcastle berated himself for his "ignorance, obstinacy, and credulity", in believing otherwise.^[31] The search for a Continental ally to replace the Dutch drove British acceptance of the Prussian conquest of Silesia; this in turn caused the breakdown of the Anglo-Austrian Alliance, and led to the re-alignment known as the Diplomatic Revolution.^[32]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Grant 2011, p. 421.
2. ^ ^{a b c d e} Bodart 1908, p. 211.
3. ^ ^{a b} Castex 2012, p. 141.
4. ^ ^{a b c} Périni 1906, p. 338.
5. ^ Scott 2015, pp. 48–50.
6. ^ McKay 1983, pp. 138–140.
7. ^ Scott 2015, pp. 58–60.
8. ^ Scott 2015, p. 61.
9. ^ Carlos, Neal & Wandschneider 2006, p. 2.
10. ^ Hochedlinger 2003, p. 260.
11. ^ Scott 2015, p. 62.
12. ^ Rodger 1993, p. 42.
13. ^ White 1962, p. 207.
14. ^ White 1962, p. 208.
15. ^ Thompson 2012, p. 177.
16. ^ Lauffeldt.
17. ^ ^{a b} Morris.
18. ^ ^{a b} Van Lennep 1880, p. 322.
19. ^ Davies 2022, pp. 21–22.
20. ^ Davies 2022, p. 22.
21. ^ Smollett 1796, p. 524.
22. ^ McGarry 2013, pp. 134–135.
23. ^ Oliphant 2015, p. 64.
24. ^ Anderson 1995, p. 173.
25. ^ Anderson 2000, p. 211.
26. ^ McKay 1983, p. 169.
27. ^ Rodger 2004, p. 253.
28. ^ Black 1999, pp. 97–100.
29. ^ Hochedlinger 2003, p. 259.
30. ^ McLynn 2008, p. 1.
31. ^ Browning 1975, p. 150.
32. ^ Ingrao 2000, pp. 157–177.

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50°49′43″N 5°37′06″E / 50.82861°N 5.61833°E / 50.82861; 5.61833