Battle of Steenkerque
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Steenkerque (Steenkerque also spelled Steenkerke or Steenkirk) was fought on August 3, 1692, as a part of the Nine Years' War. It resulted in the victory of the French
under Marshal François-Henri de Montmorency, duc de Luxembourg against a joint English-Scottish-Dutch-German army under Prince William of Orange
. The battle took place near the village of Steenkerque
in the Southern Netherlands
, 50 km south-west of Brussels
. Steenkerque is presently part of the Belgian
municipality of Braine-le-Comte
.
. The French, not wishing to fight, took up a strong defensive position in accordance with the strategical methods of the time. The French army lay facing North-West with its right on the Zenne
at Steenkerque and its left towards Enghien
. Their supposition was that the enemy would not dare to attack it.
William III had replaced Waldeck
as supreme allied commander. The allied army was encamped about Halle
. The Allies, who would otherwise probably have done as the French marshal desired, were by the fortune of war afforded the opportunity of surprising a part of the enemy's forces. Accordingly William set his army in motion before dawn on August 3 and surprised the French right about Steenkerque. He completely misled the enemy by forcing a detected spy to give Luxemburg false news. In the 17th century when the objects of a war were, as far as possible, secured without the loss of valuable lives and general decisive battles were in every way considered undesirable, a brilliant victory over a part, not the whole, of the enemy's forces was the tactical idea of the best generals.
, deployed silently around 5:00 a.m. close to the French camps. The main body of the French army was farther back and forming up after the passage of some woods. Belatedly, Luxemburg became aware of the impending blow. When the fight opened, Luxemburg was completely surprised and he could do no more than hurry the nearest foot and dragoons into action as each regiment came on the scene.
Unfortunately for the allies, the march of their main body had been mismanaged. Valuable time was lost. At 9:00 a.m. Wurttemberg started methodically cannonading the enemy while waiting for support and for the order to advance. The French worked with feverish energy to form a strong and well-covered line of battle at the threatened point. The allied main body had marched in the usual order with one wing of cavalry leading, the infantry following, and the other wing of cavalry at the tail of the column. On arrival at the field they were hastily sorted out into infantry and cavalry, for the ground was only suitable for the former.
Only a few allied battalions had come up to support the advanced guard when the real attack opened at 12.30. Although the advanced guard had already been under arms for nine hours and the march had been over bad ground, its attack swept the first French line before it. The English and Danes stubbornly advanced and the second and third lines of the French infantry gave ground before them. However, Luxemburg was rapidly massing his whole force to crush them. During this time the confusion in the allied main body had reached its height.
Count Solms
ordered the cavalry he commanded forward, but the mounted men, scarcely able to move over the bad roads and heavy ground, only blocked the way for the infantry. Some of the English foot, with curses upon Solms and the Dutch generals, broke out to the front, and Solms, angry and excited, thereupon refused to listen to all appeals for aid from the front. No attempt was made to engage and hold the centre and left of the French army, which hurried, regiment after regiment, to take part in the fighting at Steenkerque. William's counter-order that the infantry was to go forward, the cavalry to halt, only made matters worse, and by now the advanced guard had at last been brought to a standstill.
At the crisis Luxemburg had not hesitated to throw the whole of the French and Swiss guards into the fight, led by the princes of the royal house. More and more French troops under command of Boufflers
appeared from side of Enghien. During and after this supreme effort the Allies were driven back, contesting every step against the weight of numbers.
The foot and dragoons of the main body which succeeded in reaching the front, served only to cover and to steady the retreat of Wurttemberg's force. The coup having manifestly failed, William ordered a general retreat. The Allies retired as they had come, their rear-guard under the Dutch Marshal Ouwerkerk showing too stubborn a front for the French to attack. The French army, very disordered and suffering heavy casualties, was in no state to pursue.
, was also killed. John Cutts, was one of the few survivors.
The English, as they would again 50 years later at Battle of Fontenoy
, blamed their great losses on the attitude of the Dutch.
A "steinkirk" (also Steinquerque, Stinquerque in the mémoirs of Abbé de Choisy
) was a lace cravat loosely or negligently worn, with long lace ends. According to Voltaire (l'Âge de Louis XIV), it was in fashion after the Battle of Steenkerque, where the French gentlemen had to fight with disarranged cravats on account of the surprise sprung by the Allies.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
under Marshal François-Henri de Montmorency, duc de Luxembourg against a joint English-Scottish-Dutch-German army under Prince William of Orange
William III of England
William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
. The battle took place near the village of Steenkerque
Steenkerque
Steenkerque is a Belgian village 50 km south-west of Brussels, 10 km south of Enghien...
in the Southern Netherlands
Southern Netherlands
Southern Netherlands were a part of the Low Countries controlled by Spain , Austria and annexed by France...
, 50 km south-west of Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
. Steenkerque is presently part of the Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
municipality of Braine-le-Comte
Braine-le-Comte
Braine-le-Comte is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Hainaut.On January 1, 2006, Braine-le-Comte had a total population of 20,305...
.
Prelude
The French had achieved their immediate object by capturing of NamurNamur (city)
Namur is a city and municipality in Wallonia, in southern Belgium. It is both the capital of the province of Namur and of Wallonia....
. The French, not wishing to fight, took up a strong defensive position in accordance with the strategical methods of the time. The French army lay facing North-West with its right on the Zenne
Zenne
The Zenne or Senne is a small river that flows through Brussels, left tributary of the Dijle/Dyle. Its source is in the municipality of Soignies. It is an indirect tributary of the Scheldt, through the Dijle and the Rupel...
at Steenkerque and its left towards Enghien
Enghien
Enghien is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Hainaut. On January 1, 2006 Enghien had a total population of 11,980. The total area is 40.59 km² which gives a population density of 295 inhabitants per km²....
. Their supposition was that the enemy would not dare to attack it.
William III had replaced Waldeck
Prince Georg Friedrich of Waldeck
Prince Georg Friedrich of Waldeck was a German and Dutch Field Marshal .In 1641, Waldeck entered the service of the States-General of the Netherlands; later in 1651, in the service of Brandenburg, he reached the highest rank as minister...
as supreme allied commander. The allied army was encamped about Halle
Halle, Belgium
Halle , is a Belgian city and municipality in the district Halle-Vilvoorde of the province Flemish Brabant. The city is located on the Brussels-Charleroi Canal and on the Flemish side of the language border that separates Flanders and Wallonia...
. The Allies, who would otherwise probably have done as the French marshal desired, were by the fortune of war afforded the opportunity of surprising a part of the enemy's forces. Accordingly William set his army in motion before dawn on August 3 and surprised the French right about Steenkerque. He completely misled the enemy by forcing a detected spy to give Luxemburg false news. In the 17th century when the objects of a war were, as far as possible, secured without the loss of valuable lives and general decisive battles were in every way considered undesirable, a brilliant victory over a part, not the whole, of the enemy's forces was the tactical idea of the best generals.
The battle
The allied advanced guard of infantry and pioneers, under the Duke of WurttembergFerdinand Willem, Duke of Wurttemberg-Teck
Ferdinand Willem, Duke of Wurttemberg-Neuenstadt was a general in the Dutch army.Ferdinand Wilhelm was the sixth child of Frederick...
, deployed silently around 5:00 a.m. close to the French camps. The main body of the French army was farther back and forming up after the passage of some woods. Belatedly, Luxemburg became aware of the impending blow. When the fight opened, Luxemburg was completely surprised and he could do no more than hurry the nearest foot and dragoons into action as each regiment came on the scene.
Unfortunately for the allies, the march of their main body had been mismanaged. Valuable time was lost. At 9:00 a.m. Wurttemberg started methodically cannonading the enemy while waiting for support and for the order to advance. The French worked with feverish energy to form a strong and well-covered line of battle at the threatened point. The allied main body had marched in the usual order with one wing of cavalry leading, the infantry following, and the other wing of cavalry at the tail of the column. On arrival at the field they were hastily sorted out into infantry and cavalry, for the ground was only suitable for the former.
Only a few allied battalions had come up to support the advanced guard when the real attack opened at 12.30. Although the advanced guard had already been under arms for nine hours and the march had been over bad ground, its attack swept the first French line before it. The English and Danes stubbornly advanced and the second and third lines of the French infantry gave ground before them. However, Luxemburg was rapidly massing his whole force to crush them. During this time the confusion in the allied main body had reached its height.
Count Solms
Hendrik Trajectinus, Count of Solms
Hendrik Trajectinus, Count of Solms, was a Dutch lieutenant-general.Commander of the Garde te Voet, he played an important role in the Battle of Steenkerque....
ordered the cavalry he commanded forward, but the mounted men, scarcely able to move over the bad roads and heavy ground, only blocked the way for the infantry. Some of the English foot, with curses upon Solms and the Dutch generals, broke out to the front, and Solms, angry and excited, thereupon refused to listen to all appeals for aid from the front. No attempt was made to engage and hold the centre and left of the French army, which hurried, regiment after regiment, to take part in the fighting at Steenkerque. William's counter-order that the infantry was to go forward, the cavalry to halt, only made matters worse, and by now the advanced guard had at last been brought to a standstill.
At the crisis Luxemburg had not hesitated to throw the whole of the French and Swiss guards into the fight, led by the princes of the royal house. More and more French troops under command of Boufflers
Louis François, duc de Boufflers
Louis François, Duc de Boufflers, Comte de Cagny was a Marshal of France....
appeared from side of Enghien. During and after this supreme effort the Allies were driven back, contesting every step against the weight of numbers.
The foot and dragoons of the main body which succeeded in reaching the front, served only to cover and to steady the retreat of Wurttemberg's force. The coup having manifestly failed, William ordered a general retreat. The Allies retired as they had come, their rear-guard under the Dutch Marshal Ouwerkerk showing too stubborn a front for the French to attack. The French army, very disordered and suffering heavy casualties, was in no state to pursue.
Aftermath
Over eight thousand men out of only about fifteen thousand engaged on the side of the Allies were killed and wounded. The losses of the French out of a much larger force were at least equal. Contemporary soldiers affirmed that Steenkirk was the hardest battle ever fought by the infantry in that war. Five English regiments were completely destroyed. Their commander, general Hugh MackayHugh Mackay
Hugh Mackay was a Scottish general best known for his service in the Revolution of 1688.- Early military career :...
, was also killed. John Cutts, was one of the few survivors.
The English, as they would again 50 years later at Battle of Fontenoy
Battle of Fontenoy
The Battle of Fontenoy, 11 May 1745, was a major engagement of the War of the Austrian Succession, fought between the forces of the Pragmatic Allies – comprising mainly Dutch, British, and Hanoverian troops under the nominal command of the Duke of Cumberland – and a French army under Maurice de...
, blamed their great losses on the attitude of the Dutch.
Trivia
An article of dress was named after the battle.A "steinkirk" (also Steinquerque, Stinquerque in the mémoirs of Abbé de Choisy
François-Timoléon de Choisy
François Timoléon, abbé de Choisy was a French author.-Life:He was born in Paris. His father was attached to the household of the duke of Orléans, and his mother, who was on intimate terms with Anne of Austria, was regularly called upon to amuse Louis XIV...
) was a lace cravat loosely or negligently worn, with long lace ends. According to Voltaire (l'Âge de Louis XIV), it was in fashion after the Battle of Steenkerque, where the French gentlemen had to fight with disarranged cravats on account of the surprise sprung by the Allies.