Battle of Wijnendale
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Battle of Wijnendale | |||||||
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Part of the War of the Spanish Succession | |||||||
Tapestry representing the battle of Wijnendale (1708) in Blenheim Palace, residence of the Duke of Marlborough, showing in the foreground the allied convoy, on the right Wijnendale Castle. | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Great Britain Dutch Republic |
France Bourbon Spain | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
John Richmond Webb Cornelis van Nassau-Woudenberg | Count de la Mothe | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
7,500 men | 22,000 [1] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
1,000 | 2,000 |
The Battle of Wijnendale took place during the War of the Spanish Succession fought on 28 September 1708 near Wijnendale, Flanders, between an allied force protecting a convoy carrying ammunition for the Siege of Lille (1708) and forces of Bourbon France and Spain. It ended in a victory for the allies, leading to the taking of Lille.
Prelude
After their great victory in the
Marlborough ordered the necessary goods to be shipped to Ostend and a large convoy of 700 slow wagons was organised there to travel further over land to Lille. The convoy was protected by 6,000 infantry and 1,500 cavalry under command of Major General John Richmond Webb and Brigadier Cornelis van Nassau-Woudenberg, the son of Lord Overkirk.[3][4]
The commander of the French garrison of Bruges, Count de la Mothe, was informed of the convoy and gathered a force of 22,000 to 24,000 men towards Wijnendale to intercept the convoy.
Battle
Webb was aware of the advancing French army and knew a confrontation was unavoidable. He drew up a plan to compensate for his numerical disadvantage. Using the wooded landscape around Wijnendale, he chose an open spot, flanked on both sides by woods and hedges. He placed his troops in two long lines, closing off this open space. Later a third line was formed with reinforcements coming from Oudenburg. Meanwhile, behind these lines, the convoy continued slowly towards Lille.
While Webb was deploying his troops, Prussian general
Having arrived at the open space, de la Mothe, expecting an easy victory, deployed his army as expected. Between 4 and 5 pm the French artillery opened fire. When de la Mothe saw the effects on the enemy were limited, he ordered his infantry forward. The large French force was hampered by the narrow terrain and suffered badly from the fire of the allied first line, which held its ground. Then Webb ordered the Prussian, Hanoverian and Dutch regiments who were hidden in the woods on both flanks, to open fire. Despite suffering heavy casualties, de la Mothe ordered a second attack, which initially pushed the allied first line back. But with the help of the second line and the continuous fire from the flanks, the French were stopped and forced to withdraw and leave the battlefield.
When the battle was as good as won, allied cavalry under command of William Cadogan arrived at the battlefield.[5] He had been sent from Lille by Marlborough, who was anxious to secure the arrival of the ammunition convoy.[6]
Aftermath
The toll of this two-hour battle was heavy: some 2,000 French soldiers were killed or wounded. The allies lost 1,000 dead and wounded, mostly from the early artillery bombardment.[7]
The convoy reached Lille intact on 29 September, allowing the siege to continue. Three weeks later, on 22 October, the city was taken.
Although Marlborough, in his reports to London, gave credit for the victory to Maj Gen Webb, the initial report in the Gazette credited the victory to Cadogan, who had arrived on the scene only at the end of the battle. Winston Churchill claims that Marlborough deliberately slighted Webb and favoured Cadogan, a fellow
Webb and Nassau-Woudenberg garnered much praise in the Dutch Republic and Sicco van Goslinga, one of the Dutch field deputies, requested promotion to major general for Overkirk's son. In the army of the Bourbons, the French largely blamed the Spanish for the defeat, but the leadership of La Mothe was also strongly criticised.[4]
References
- ^ Winston S. Churchill, Marlborough: His Life and Times. Book Two, The University of Chicago Press, 2002, Chap. XXVI: Wynendael (page 508).
- ISBN 978-0-00-722572-9.
- ^ Holmes 2009 p. 399
- ^ a b Wijn 1959, p. 543.
- ^ Holmes 2009 p. 400
- ^ Holmes 2009 p. 399
- ^ Holmes 2009 p. 400
- ^ Holmes 2009 pp. 400-401
- ^ Holmes 2009 p. 401
Sources
- Relation de l'Action qui s'est passée à Wynendale le 28. de Septemb[re] 1708. entre un Corps de Troupes des Alliés, commandé par le Major-General Webb, & l'Armée des François, commandée par le Comte de la Motte, Brussel, Eugène Fricx, 1708.
- Winston S. Churchill, Marlborough: His Life and Times. Book Two, The University of Chicago Press, 2002, Chap. XXVI: Wynendael.
- Richard Holmes, Marlborough: Britain's Greatest General, HarperCollins, London, 2009.
- Wijn, J.W. (1959). Het Staatsche Leger: Deel VIII-2 Het tijdperk van de Spaanse Successieoorlog (The Dutch States Army: Part VIII-2 The era of the War of the Spanish Succession) (in Dutch). Martinus Nijhoff.
External links
- The Spanish Succession, Siege of Lille Archived 25 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine