Battle of Denain facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Battle of Denain |
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| Part of the War of the Spanish Succession | |||||||||
 Marshal Villars leads the French charge at the Battle of Denain. Oil on canvas, 1839 (Galerie des Batailles, Palace of Versailles). |
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
 France |
 Habsburg monarchy Dutch Republic Hanover |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Claude de Villars |
Prince Eugene Arnold, Earl of Albemarle  |
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| Strength | |||||||||
| 100,000 men | 120,000 men | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 2,066 dead or wounded | 2,400 dead or wounded 4,100 captured |
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The Battle of Denain was a major fight that happened on July 24, 1712. It was part of the War of the Spanish Succession, a big European conflict. In this battle, French forces, led by Marshal Villars, won a key victory. They defeated the combined armies of the Dutch and Austrians, who were commanded by Prince Eugene of Savoy.
This battle was the last big fight in the Flanders region during the war. It was very important because it stopped the Grand Alliance from being able to attack Paris, the capital of France. It also helped France get back land it had lost over the past seven years. Even though it was a local win, Marshal Villars used it wisely. He moved his troops skillfully to take back important forts near the border. This made it impossible for the Allies to march on Paris and force France to agree to their peace terms.
Contents
Why the Battle Happened
The War of the Spanish Succession had been going on since 1701. By 1712, France was in a tough spot. The country was struggling with money problems and its army was not doing well. Early French victories had been followed by many defeats. The Allied forces, led by Prince Eugene of Savoy and the Duke of Marlborough, had won several battles.
France's Difficult Times
In 1708, after a big defeat at the Battle of Oudenaarde, most of northern France's strongholds were controlled by the Allied forces. These Allies included Austria, the Netherlands, and Britain. France also faced an economic crisis. A very harsh winter in 1708-1709 caused famine and many deaths.
Villars Takes Command
In 1709, Marshal Villars took command of the French northern army. He quickly worked to reorganize his troops, who were feeling discouraged. Later that year, the Allies, led by Prince Eugene and the Duke of Marlborough, fought the French at Malplaquet. Villars was wounded, and the French army had to retreat. However, the Allies lost twice as many soldiers. Their campaign then slowed down.
A Shift in the War
France's difficult situation became more stable. The Allies could not force France to accept harsh peace terms, so the war continued. In Britain, the Tories, a political group who wanted to end the war, gained power in 1710. They became more open to making peace with France. Despite this, the Duke of Marlborough had more success in 1711. He led his army through strong defenses and captured Bouchain, an important fort in northern France.
However, Marlborough lost favor with Queen Anne. His political rivals worked to have him removed from his command in December 1711.
Before the Battle
The Duke of Marlborough had captured Bouchain the year before. He left most of his troops to guard the border towns. This was to stop the French from building new defenses during winter. This led to a plan in the The Hague to burn a large French hay storage building in Arras. This would prevent Marshal Villars from getting his army ready early in the year. It would also allow Prince Eugene to attack Arras or Cambrai without a French army nearby.
Allied Movements
On March 2 and 3, 1712, an Allied army led by Arnold van Keppel, Earl of Albemarle, moved towards Arras. They bombarded the town. This attack was very successful. However, the Emperor's troops arrived too late to fully use this advantage. By then, Villars had already gathered his army between Cambrai and Arras.
In May 1712, Villars prepared to go on the attack. The French gathered a large army of 200,000 men. They stretched along the northern border from Arras to Cambrai. The Allied northern army was positioned along the Scarpe River. They were located between Douai and Marchiennes, holding the towns of Denain and Landrecies.
British Withdrawal
The Duke of Marlborough, who had been very successful but also controversial, had recently been removed from his command. The British forces were now led by the Duke of Ormonde. He had secret orders from his government not to fight alongside Prince Eugene's Allies. In June, Prince Eugene attacked and captured Le Quesnoy. During this attack, the Duke of Ormonde pulled his British forces away. This caused a disagreement between the British and the other Allies. Ormonde moved his men towards Dunkirk, following his agreement with the French. Although Ormonde ordered the German troops who were paid by Britain to leave, they refused and stayed with Prince Eugene.
How the Battle Unfolded
Marshal Villars carefully studied the enemy's positions. He secretly decided to attack Denain. French cavalry units were sent to capture bridges over the Selle River. This river flowed through le Cateau and joined the Scheldt River near Denain. That evening, a French group also took positions around a mill at Haspres. This blocked the river there. That night, French soldiers began marching towards Prince Eugene's forces at Landrecies.
Villars' Clever Plan
Prince Eugene thought the French were attacking Landrecies. So, he sent more troops there. This made the Allied right side weaker. This side, led by the Earl of Albemarle, was holding Denain.
At dawn, Villars suddenly changed his army's direction. He moved them in three columns, hidden by the Selle River, towards Denain. At five in the morning, Villars and his main commanders made their attack plan at Avesnes-le-Sec. They used a windmill there to watch the area. About 24,000 French soldiers would attack the 10,500 Dutch soldiers defending Denain.
The Attack on Denain
At seven o'clock, the French soldiers reached Neuville-sur-Escaut. They were immediately ordered to capture the bridges over the Scheldt River. By eight o'clock, the Allies were surprised to see so many French troops. The Earl of Albemarle, leading the Dutch troops in Denain, warned Prince Eugene. But Prince Eugene was not too worried at first.
By one o'clock in the afternoon, the attack had become a full assault on the defenses at Denain. French engineers led the soldiers forward under heavy fire. They took Denain using their bayonets. Many defenders were killed. The remaining Dutch soldiers tried to escape across the mill bridge. But the bridge collapsed during their retreat. Hundreds of Allied troops drowned in the river.
Prince Eugene's Efforts
Prince Eugene realized how serious the situation was. He tried to cross the Scheldt River at Prouvy to help Albemarle. But French regiments, led by the Prince de Tingry, held the bridge at Prouvy. They fought off repeated Austrian attacks. As the day ended, the French destroyed the bridge. This stopped the enemy from taking it.
This left Prince Eugene's army stuck on the left side by the Scheldt. The Allies could not counterattack to retake Denain. There, Albemarle and his officers were captured. About 4,100 soldiers were also taken prisoner. The Allies lost about 6,500 soldiers, mostly Dutch. The French lost about 2,100 soldiers.
What Happened Next
At first, people did not realize how important the Battle of Denain was. Most of Prince Eugene's army was still mostly intact. However, after losing Denain, the Allied position started to fall apart. Over the next few months, the French took back most of the towns they had lost in the region in previous years.
French Gains
Almost right away, Villars began to attack Marchiennes. This was a key Allied supply base. The French captured its 100 cannons, along with up to 9,000 prisoners. They also took large amounts of supplies and equipment. This move threatened Eugene's supply lines. It forced the Austrians to stop their attack on Landrecies and move north. Villars then quickly captured Douai (on July 31) and Le Quesnoy (on October 8) after short attacks. The loss of Le Quesnoy alone cost the Allies 3,000 soldiers killed or wounded.
Villars then moved against Bouchain. This was the place of Marlborough's last big win. Villars took the city on October 19. This effectively gave Louis XIV back the land he had before the war in Flanders. This also rebuilt the pré carré, which was a very important double line of forts protecting Paris. This ended any remaining Allied hopes of forcing Louis XIV to agree to their terms by marching on the French capital.
Joy in France
When the news of the victory reached Versailles, the French court was filled with joy. It is said that Louis XIV was so moved that he thanked his courtiers for their support. This was the first time he had done so in his sixty-year reign.
With France's land losses in the north recovered and Louis XIV's kingdom safe, the decade-long war in Flanders ended. Other parts of the war were not going well for the Allies either. In the Alps, Marshal Berwick kept 50,000 Austrians and Savoyards contained with his 35,000 men. In Catalonia, the Allies were struggling after defeats. On the Portuguese border, the remaining Anglo-Portuguese army was retreating. On the Rhine, the Duke of Württemberg could only attack French lines. The French responded with cavalry raids into Germany. Both sides then settled into winter camps.
Peace Negotiations
Because of this, the Dutch government joined the British in negotiating a separate peace with Louis XIV. This forced Eugene to march the Imperial army back to Germany. He had to continue the war in the Rhineland. When Villars and Eugene started fighting again in this new area the next season, the Frenchman won again. He captured the strong forts of Freiburg and Landau. This forced the Emperor to ask for peace. The two men were then given the power to negotiate a peace agreement. They eventually wrote the terms of the Treaty of Rastatt. This treaty finally brought an end to the last of the fighting. Eugene's reputation soon got better when he won a big victory against the Turks at the 1717 Siege of Belgrade.
