Battle of Leuze

Battle of Leuze

Part of: War of the Great Alliance

Battle of Leuze (painting by Joseph Parrocel )

date	September 18, 1691
place	Leuze-en-Hainaut
output	French victory

Parties to the conflict
France	United Netherlands
Commander
François de Montmorency-Luxembourg	Georg von Eisenberg
Troop strength
28 squadrons cavalry (4,000 men in total)	72 cavalry squadrons, 5 infantry battalions (12,000 men in total)
losses
700 men dead or wounded	1,500 men dead or wounded, 400 men captured.

The information on troop strength and losses can differ significantly in the literature.

The Battle of Leuze (also known as the Meeting of Leuze ) took place on September 18, 1691 near Leuze-en-Hainaut in what is now Belgium during the war of the great alliance between French and Allied troops. In addition to the Dutch, Spaniards and Brandenburgers were also involved on the Allianz side. Essentially, it was a major cavalry battle in which the French remained victorious over their outnumbered opponents. The conflict had no notable influence on the course of the war.

prehistory

During the War of the Great Alliance in 1691 , Louis XIV stationed three strong armies on the French eastern borders. In the area of ​​the Netherlands, François-Henri de Montmorency-Luxembourg commanded the French army. He besieged the city of Mons in March . King Ludwig was there himself at times. The city had to surrender on April 8th, which is how the French gained a foothold in Brabant for the first time . In June the French and Allied armies faced each other near Sombere . In vain tried William III. to force the French to battle. Both armies held the position for a fortnight until the lack of supplies became noticeable. William of Orange withdrew and the French army followed. Various maneuvers on both sides followed for months in order to put the opponent in a bad position.

course

Near Leuze in September 1691, the Duke of Luxembourg still assumed that William of Orange would seek a decisive battle and sent the train back across the River Schelde . However, Wilhelm only intended to persuade the French to retreat across the Scheldt. On the night of September 17, he had a position at Leuze. He considered the campaign over and believed that the French would withdraw to winter quarters. He left for England and handed the command over to the Prince of Waldeck.

For the Duke of Luxembourg the situation seemed favorable for an attack. He divided his army into two meetings. When he received the news that the opposing army was about to leave, he attacked their rearguard with 28 squadrons of cavalry, which comprised 15 squadrons. The enemy was surprised by the massive attack and the Prince of Waldeck formed his cavalry, which gradually arrived, in five lines behind the rearguard. The cavalry was supported by five battalions of infantry.

In the meantime most of the French army had also advanced. The royal household troops were brought forward and formed the first meeting. Since the Duke saw that the strength of the enemy would continue to grow, he did not wait for the formation of the second meeting, but let the guard cavalry attack. This threw back the first opposing line. Occasionally harassed by opposing squadrons, it advanced to the fifth opposing line. Since the guards had gotten into disarray by the advance, the duke had them reassembled and had the enemy pursued by other cavalry units that had meanwhile arrived.

The allied infantry had meanwhile regrouped and awaited the attack of the French. The Duke refrained from attacking, and both armies withdrew.

consequences

The Allies in particular suffered considerable losses, totaling 1,900 dead, wounded and prisoners. Among the fallen was a Prince of Anhalt and a Count of Nassau. A short time later, both armies moved into their winter quarters.

literature

• Gaston Bodart: Military-historical war lexicon, (1618-1905). Vienna 1908, p. 115.
• Military Conversation Lexicon. Vol. 4. Leipzig 1834, p. 645 ff. Digitized