Battle of Steenkerke

Battle of Steenkerke

Part of: War of the Palatinate Succession

date	August 3, 1692
place	Steenkerque (German: Steinkirchen)
output	French victory

Parties to the conflict
France	United Netherlands England Denmark Scotland Holy Roman Empire
Commander
François-Henri de Montmorency-Luxembourg	William of Orange Hugh Mackay
Troop strength
80,000 men	80,000 men
losses
8,000 killed or wounded	10,000 killed or wounded

The battle of Steenkerke on August 3, 1692 was a battle in the Palatinate War of Succession .

course

The French, under the command of the Maréchal de France Montmorency , occupied the city and fortress of Namur , and a French army camped near the city. On the opposing side, Wilhelm III. from Orange-Nassau just received supreme command of the army. His predecessor was the Count of Waldeck , who was defeated by Marshal Montmorency at Fleurus in 1690 .

The battle was opened around 9 o'clock by the artillery of the Duke of Württemberg . The French were completely surprised and had to form up first. Fortunately for them, the main Allied force had not yet arrived. Only at 12:30 p.m. could the actual attack begin with the first reinforcements. The march went over muddy terrain, which made the cavalry almost impossible to find. Nevertheless, English and Danish troops attacked. Despite massive resistance, the English managed to break through the right side of the French and eliminate the artillery. But the Allies did not receive enough support to take advantage of it. Montmorency sent the regiments of the Royal Guard and some Swiss regiments to stabilize the situation. This closed the gap again. In order to pave a way for the infantry, Wilhelm III tried. von Orange-Nassau and his General von Solms to withdraw the cavalry, which made the confusion complete.

At about 6 o'clock in the evening Wilhelm broke off the battle and withdrew.

consequences

The attempt to force the French out of Flanders had failed. Wilhelm's military reputation was dampened, as mistakes on the approach gambled away a clear advantage. The English regiments had to pay a high toll in blood. Your general Hugh Mackay was killed. That poisoned the climate between the English and the Dutch. But the French also suffered heavy losses. Both armies withdrew to the winter quarters.

One of the curious consequences of the battle was a new fashion. The French officers could not tie their ties correctly because of the necessary haste, but simply threw them around their necks. This is how the Steenkirk was invented, a fashion that reached the rest of Europe via Paris and later London.

Troop leader

The Bavarian troops were led by Elector Maximilian of Bavaria . Brandenburg troops were involved with the generals von Flemming , von Barfuß and Friedrich von Heiden .

literature

• A. Straehle: Lexicon of battles, meetings, skirmishes, recontres, sieges [et] c: in which Kurbrandenburg and royal Prussian troops took part since the middle of the seventeenth century . Neuwied 1853, p. 240 ( digitized in the Google book search).
• Erik Wauters: La Bataille de Steenkerque, dimanche, 3 août 1692 . Braine-le-Comte 2018.

Web links

• Map of the battle