Siege of Mons (1709)

Last updated
Siege of Mons
Part of the War of the Spanish Succession
Plan du siege de Mons... - btv1b8440656m.jpg
A plan of the siege of Mons in 1709
Date19 September – 23 October 1709
Location
Mons, Spanish Netherlands (Present-day Belgium)
Result Grand Alliance victory
Belligerents
Bandera de Espana 1701-1748.svg Bourbon Spain
Royal Standard of the King of France.svg France
Commanders and leaders
Bandera de Espana 1701-1748.svg Marquis de Grimaldi [1]
Strength
21,000 [3] 3,800–4,280 [3] [1]
Casualties and losses
1,450–2,200 [3] [4] 700 [5]

The siege of Mons took place between 19 September and 23 October 1709 during the War of the Spanish Succession. [6] It saw a Franco-Spanish garrison in the fortified town of Mons, then in the Spanish Netherlands, besieged by a force of the Duke of Marlborough's Grand Alliance army under the command of the Prince of Orange. [7]

Contents

The attempt of the French Duke of Villars to relieve the siege resulted in the costly Allied victory at the Battle of Malplaquet on 11 September 1709. [8] Following the battle, greater numbers of Allied soldiers under Eugene of Savoy joined the besieging army from late September. The Franco-Spanish garrison capitulated the following month. Owing to high Allied and French losses at Malplaquet, the capture of Mons was the final significant engagement of the campaign of 1709.

Background

After taking Tournai on 3 September in a costly and prolonged siege, Marlborough immediately marched his forces to the south-east to lay siege to Mons. [9] It was assessed that capture of the town and its fortress could open the way for an Allied advance into northern France. Villars had expected the Allies to move north-west against Ypres and hastily re-evaluated his plan, seeking permission from Louis XIV for offensive action. [10] The king, outraged at the loss of Tournai, ordered Villars to ensure Mons was not captured by the Grand Alliance. He wrote to Villars, "Should Mons suffer the same fate as Tournai, our cause is undone. You are by every means in your power to relieve the garrison. The cost is not to be considered". [10] [11]

The fortress had been placed under the command of the Marquis de Grimaldi. He commanded a force of approximately 4,280 soldiers, which was largely the remnants of the army of the Spanish Netherlands. [10] [1] The garrison was made up of mainly Spanish troops, with smaller numbers of Bavarians and French who Villars had ordered to join the defenders when Tournai fell. [10] The garrison was, however, understrength and insufficient to occupy the town's network of defences.

The fortifications at Mons were extensive; a wall with 18–20 ravelins, surrounded by a double ditch fed by two rivers. In addition, the town was partly situated on a hill with much swampy ground around it, which could be flooded using a system of water locks. [12]

On 3 September, while Tournai's surrender was still being negotiated, Marlborough sent a small force under the Earl of Orkney to probe Mons' defences. On 6 and 7 September, the Prince of Hesse-Kassel, with 60 squadrons of cavalry and several battalions of infantry, advanced to block the road to Mons. [13] They were soon joined by 40 further squadrons of cavalry under Earl Cadogan. By 8 September, Marlborough had established himself to the south-west of Mons, and Eugene had positioned himself to the west. [14]

On 9 September, Villars, assisted by Marshal Boufflers, took up positions to the southwest. [2] [14] In order to neutralise this threat to the Allied siege force, Marlborough ordered an assault on Villars and Boufflers' well-defended positions, resulting in the costly Allied victory at the Battle of Malplaquet on 11 September 1709. [15]

Siege

The Prince of Orange, who commanded the Dutch, British and Imperial force during the siege Anonymous - Portret van Johan Willem Friso van Nassau-Dietz - S2004-574 - Fries Museum.jpg
The Prince of Orange, who commanded the Dutch, British and Imperial force during the siege

Following the neutralisation of the French threat, Marlborough and Eugene directed a force under the Prince of Orange to surround the city of Mons, which was done on 19 and 20 September. [16] The Prince's force comprised approximately 30 battalions, of which at least 14 were Dutch and 4 were British, and 33 squadrons amounting to around 10,000 soldiers. [17] [1] On the orders of Boufflers, three French battalions had successfully slipped through the Allied lines from Malplaquet to reinforce Mons. [5] On 24 September, the Prince attacked the outer-works of the fortress. The following day, Eugene arrived at Mons with the main siege corps of the Allied army. [12] Boufflers received orders from Louis to not risk another battle, and therefore no attempt was made by the French to relieve Mons once the siege was underway. [5]

On the night of 26 September, a two-pronged assault on the fortress was attempted. However, many Allied soldiers became lost in the darkness. The approach was only noticed by the garrison when moonlight illuminated the scene, resulting in heavy Allied loses. [12]

The Allies began the construction of trenches and artillery positions, but work was hampered by torrential rain and constant shelling from the defenders. Both Cadogan and Richard Molesworth were injured. On 10 October, Marlborough wrote to the Earl of Sunderland from his camp at Havré to express his frustration at the weather's impact on the siege's progress. [18] To combat the problem, Allied troops dug ditches to drain the water into the river Trouille and reinforced the ground with fascines. The Franco-Spanish defenders attempted a sortie with 300 soldiers, who engaged a British regiment before being driven back by reinforcements. [12] On 16 October, the Allies launched a successful but costly attack on the counterscarp at the Gate of Havre. [19]

On 19 October, construction of the Allied artillery redoubt was completed and breaching batteries had been established. [19] That morning the batteries began firing upon the town's defences, with great success. [19] At noon on 20 October, observing the Allied preparations for an assault supported by artillery, Grimaldi sounded the chamade and signalled his intention to surrender. [7] On 23 October, the Franco-Spanish accepted the Allied terms of capitulation and the garrison's remaining 1,500 men left Mons with the honours of war but without their cannon or mortars. [20] [21]

Aftermath

After losing Mons, the French and Spanish were forced to evacuate the area between the Sambre and Meuse rivers. [22] The States of the County of Hainaut, with its capital in Mons, recognised Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor as Charles III of Spain. Owing to heavy French and Allied loses at Malplaquet, the capture of Mons marked the final engagement of the 1709 campaign season in the war. The Allied armies dispersed into winter quarters until 1710. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prince Eugene of Savoy</span> Military commander in the service of Austria (1663–1736)

Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy-Carignano, better known as Prince Eugene, was a field marshal in the Army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty during the 17th and 18th centuries. He was one of the most successful military commanders of his time, and rose to the highest offices of state at the Imperial court in Vienna.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough</span> British soldier and statesman (1650–1722)

General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, 1st Prince of Mindelheim, 1st Count of Nellenburg, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, was an English soldier and statesman. From a gentry family, he served as a page at the court of the House of Stuart under James, Duke of York, through the 1670s and early 1680s, earning military and political advancement through his courage and diplomatic skill. He is known for never having lost a battle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Denain</span> 1712 battle

The Battle of Denain was fought on 24 July 1712 as part of the War of the Spanish Succession. It resulted in a French victory, under Marshal Villars, against Dutch and Austrian forces, under Prince Eugene of Savoy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Malplaquet</span> 1709 Spanish Succession War battle

The Battle of Malplaquet took place on 11 September 1709 during the War of the Spanish Succession, near Taisnières-sur-Hon in modern France, then part of the Spanish Netherlands. A French army of around 75,000 men, commanded by the Duke of Villars, engaged a Grand Alliance force of 86,000 under the Duke of Marlborough. In one of the bloodiest battles of the 18th century, the Allies won a narrow victory, but suffered heavy casualties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claude Louis Hector de Villars, 1st Duke of Villars</span> Marshal General of France

Claude Louis Hector de Villars, Prince of Martigues, Marquis then (1st) Duke of Villars, Viscount of Melun was a French military commander and an illustrious general of Louis XIV of France. He was one of only six Marshals to have been promoted Marshal General of France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis-François de Boufflers</span> French soldier

Louis François de Boufflers, Duke of Boufflers was a French soldier. He was created count of Cagny and duke of Boufflers and named marshal of France.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Namur (1695)</span> 1695 battle of the Nine Years War

The 1695 Siege of Namur or Second Siege of Namur took place during the Nine Years' War between 2 July and 4 September 1695. Its capture by the French in the 1692 siege and recapture by the Grand Alliance in 1695 are often viewed as the defining events of the war; the second siege is considered to be William III's most significant military success during the war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Bouchain (1711)</span>

The siege of Bouchain, following the Passage of the Lines of Ne Plus Ultra, was a siege of the War of the Spanish Succession, and the last major victory of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough. Marlborough and François Nicolas Fagel broke through the French defensive lines and took Bouchain after a siege of 34 days. Its capture left Cambrai the only French-held fortress between the allied army and Paris.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Ekeren</span> Part of the War of the Spanish Succession (1703)

The Battle of Ekeren, which took place on 30 June 1703, was a battle of the War of the Spanish Succession. A Bourbon army of around 24,000 men, conisting of troops from France, Spain and Cologne, surrounded a smaller Dutch force of 12,000 men, which however managed to break out and retire to safety.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Mons (1691)</span> 1691 battle of the Nine Years War

The siege of Mons, 15 March–10 April 1691, was a major operation fought during the Nine Years' War, and was the main French objective for the 1691 campaign in the Spanish Netherlands. The city was besieged and captured before the normal commencement of the campaigning season with minimal losses. The outcome was not in doubt, but in a conflict dominated by siege warfare, neither the French army of King Louis XIV, nor the forces of the Grand Alliance under King William III, could bring about a decisive battle. After the siege the duc de Boufflers bombarded the neutral city of Liège, whilst the duc de Luxembourg captured Halle, and scored a minor victory against the Prince of Waldeck at the Battle of Leuze in September. Strategically, however, little had changed in the war, and both combatants returned to winter quarters at the end of the campaigning season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Lille (1708)</span>

The siege of Lille was the salient operation of the 1708 campaign season during the War of the Spanish Succession. After an obstinate defence of 120 days, the French garrison surrendered the city and citadel of Lille, commanded by Marshal Boufflers, to the forces of the Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">French Royal Army</span> Principal army of the Kingdom of France

The French Royal Army was the principal land force of the Kingdom of France. It served the Bourbon dynasty from the reign of Louis XIV in the mid-17th century to that of Charles X in the 19th, with an interlude from 1792 to 1814 and another during the Hundred Days in 1815. It was permanently dissolved following the July Revolution in 1830. The French Royal Army became a model for the new regimental system that was to be imitated throughout Europe from the mid-17th century onward. It was regarded as Europe's greatest military force for much of its existence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">François Nicolas Fagel</span> Dutch general

François Nicolas Baron Fagel was a talented infantry general serving the Dutch Republic. He was a nephew of Gaspar Fagel and took part in many battles during his career. He played an important role in battles such as the Siege of Bonn, the Battle of Malplaquet and the Siege of Bouchain. He was the son of Nicolaas Fagel, mayor of Nijmegen, and Elisabeth Robbé.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Bouchain (1712)</span>

The siege of Bouchain, was a siege of the War of the Spanish Succession, and a victory for the French troops of the Duc de Villars. A French army of 20,000 men besieged and captured the Allied-controlled fortifications after an 18-day siege, with the 2,000-strong Dutch-Imperial garrison under Major-General Frederik Sirtema van Grovestins capitulating on 19 October.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Withers</span> British general and politician

Henry Withers was a British army officer and politician, who began his career in 1674 during the Franco-Dutch War and reached the rank of Lieutenant General in 1707. A close associate of the Duke of Marlborough during the War of the Spanish Succession, he served in a number of actions, including the 1704 battles of Schellenberg, Blenheim, and Malplaquet in 1709.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claude Frédéric t'Serclaes, Count of Tilly</span> Dutch General

Claude Frederic t'Serclaes, Count of Tilly, was a soldier and later general in the Dutch States Army. In the Dutch army he took part in the Franco-Dutch War, Nine Years' War and the War of the Spanish Succession and became its supreme commander in 1708.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Tournai (1745)</span> Siege during the War of the Austrian Succession

The siege of Tournai was a two-month siege of the city and citadel of Tournai, then part of the Austrian Netherlands, in 1745 during the War of the Austrian Succession. The allied Pragmatic Army's attempt to relieve the siege resulted in the decisive French victory at the Battle of Fontenoy on 11 May. The largely Dutch garrison of the city subsequently surrendered to French forces on 22 May, while the garrison of the citadel surrendered on 19 June 1745. It was one of the longest sieges of the war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Tournai (1709)</span> Siege during the War of the Spanish Succession

The siege of Tournai was a siege of the city of Tournai, then part of the Kingdom of France, between 28 June and 3 September 1709. A Grand Alliance army under the British Duke of Marlborough successfully forced the surrender of the French garrison during the War of the Spanish Succession.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniël van Dopff</span>

Daniël Wolf baron van Dopff was a prominent soldier in the Dutch Republic. He was, among other things, general of the cavalry of the Dutch States Army in the War of the Spanish Succession, Quartermaster general of that army, and later commander and governor of the fortress of Maastricht.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Douai (1710)</span>

The siege of Douai, which lasted from 22 April 1710 until the capitulation of the garrison under lieutenant-general François Zénobe Philippe Albergotti on 25 June 1710 was part of the Allied Campaign of 1710 in the War of the Spanish Succession. The siege was conducted under the joint command of the Princ of Orange and Leopold I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau and successfully concluded despite the fact that halfway through the French army under marshal Claude Louis Hector de Villars, 1st Duke of Villars made an attempt to relieve the fortress city, which led to an indecisive stand-off for four days with the Allied Army under John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene of Savoy. After Douai the Allies went on to besiege Béthune.

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Bodart 1908, p. 161.
  2. 1 2 Lanning 2005, p. 304.
  3. 1 2 3 Nimwegen 1995, p. 101.
  4. ↑ Atkinson 1934, p. 204.
  5. 1 2 3 4 MacDowall 2020, p. 91.
  6. ↑ Lynn 1999, pp. 334–335.
  7. 1 2 Beek 1709.
  8. ↑ MacDowall 2020, pp. 39–42.
  9. ↑ Holmes 2008, p. 422.
  10. 1 2 3 4 MacDowall 2020, p. 39.
  11. ↑ Churchill 1938, p. 127.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Ziegler und Kliphausen 1718.
  13. ↑ MacDowall 2020, p. 41.
  14. 1 2 MacDowall 2020, p. 42.
  15. ↑ Holmes 2008, p. 423.
  16. ↑ Lediard 1736, p. 199.
  17. ↑ Atkinson 1946, p. 85.
  18. ↑ Marlborough 1709.
  19. 1 2 3 Lediard 1736, p. 202.
  20. ↑ Lediard 1736, p. 203.
  21. ↑ Lynn 1999, p. 335.
  22. ↑ MacDowall 2020, p. 89.

Sources

  • Atkinson, C.T. (1934). "Marlborough's Sieges". Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research. 13 (52): 195–205. JSTOR   44226096 . Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  • Atkinson, C.T. (1946). "Marlborough's Sieges: Further Evidence". Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research. 24 (98): 83–87. JSTOR   44220043 . Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  • Beek, Anna (1709). "Siege of Mons, 1709". Military Maps. Royal Collection Trust. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  • Churchill, Winston S. (1938). Marlborough: His Life and Times, Volume IV. London: George G. Harrap & Co., Ltd.
  • Holmes, Richard (2008). Marlborough: England's Fragile Genius. Harper. ISBN   978-0-00-722572-9.
  • Bodart, Gaston (1908). Militär-historisches Kriegs-Lexikon (1618-1905). Wien und Leipzig, C. W. Stern.
  • Lanning, Michael Lee (2005). Battle 100: The Stories Behind History's Most Influential Battles. Sourcebooks.
  • Lediard, Thomas (1736). The Life of John, Duke of Marlborough, Prince of the Roman Empire (Volume 2). Great Britain: J. Wilcox.
  • Lynn, John A. (1999). The Wars of Louis XIV: 1667–1714. Longman. ISBN   0-582-05629-2.
  • MacDowall, Simon (2020). Malplaquet 1709: Marlborough's Bloodiest Battle. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN   9781472841216.
  • Nimwegen, Olaf van (1995). De subsistentie van het leger: Logistiek en strategie van het Geallieerde en met name het Staatse leger tijdens de Spaanse Successieoorlog in de Nederlanden en het Heilige Roomse Rijk (1701-1712)[The subsistence of the Allied and especially the Dutch army during the War of the Spanish Succession] (Thesis) (in Dutch). Universiteit Utrecht.
  • Marlborough, Duke of (1709). "Marlborough to the Earl of Sunderland: progress of the siege [of Mons]". The National Archives. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  • Ziegler und Kliphausen, Heinrich Anselm von (1718). Belagerung von Mons (1709). Verlegts Johann Friedrich Gledischens seel. Sohn. pp. 1268–1275.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.