the military annals of England, and the one in which the extraordinary
capacity of the British general perhaps shone forth with the brightest
lustre. The vigour and talent of Vendôme, joined to the secret
communication which he had with those disaffected to the Austrian
government in Ghent and Bruges, procured for him, in the commencement
of the campaign, a great, and what, if opposed by less ability, might
have proved a decisive advantage. By the acquisition of these towns,
he gained the immense advantage of obtaining the entire command of the
water communication of Brabant, and establishing himself in a solid
manner in the heart of the enemy's territory. The entire expulsion of
the Allies from Austrian Flanders seemed the unavoidable result of
such a success, by so enterprising a general at the head of a hundred
thousand combatants. But Marlborough was not discouraged; on the
contrary, he built on the enemy's early successes a course of
manoeuvres, which in the end wrested all his conquests from him, and
inflicted a series of disasters greater than could possibly have been
anticipated from a campaign of unbroken success. Boldly assuming the
lead, he struck such a blow at Oudenarde as resounded from one end of
Europe to the other, struck a terror into the enemy which they never
recovered for the remainder of the campaign, paralysed Vendôme in the
midst of his success, and reduced him from a vigorous offensive to a
painful defensive struggle. While the cabinet of Versailles were
dreaming of expelling the Allies from Flanders, and detaching Holland,
partly by intrigue, partly by force of arms, from the coalition, he
boldly entered the territory of the Grand Monarque, and laid siege to
its chief frontier fortress, under the eyes of its greatest army and
best general. In vain was the water communication of the Netherlands
interrupted by the enemy's possession of Ghent and Bruges; with
incredible activity he got together, and with matchless skill
conducted to the besiegers' lines before Lille, a huge convoy eighteen
miles long, drawn by sixteen thousand horses, in the very teeth of
Vendôme at the head of an hundred and twenty thousand men. Lille
captured, Ghent and Bruges recovered, the allied standards solidly
planted on the walls of the strongest fortress of France, terminated
a campaign in which the British, over-matched and surrounded by
lukewarm or disaffected friends, had wellnigh lost at the outset by
foreign treachery all the fruits of the victory of Ramilies.
The glorious termination of this campaign, and, above all, the
addition made to the immediate security of Holland by the recovery of
Ghent and Bruges, sensibly augmented Marlborough's influence at the
Hague, and at length overcame the timidity and vacillation of the
Dutch government. When the English general repaired there in the
beginning of 1709, he quickly overawed the adherents of France,
regained his wonted influence over the mind of the Pensionary
Heinsius, and at length succeeded in persuading the government and the
States to augment their forces by six thousand men. This, though by no
means so great an accession of numbers as was required to meet the
vast efforts which France was making, was still a considerable
addition; and by the influence of Prince Eugene, who was well aware
that the principal effort of the enemy in the next campaign would be
made in the Netherlands, he obtained a promise that the Imperial
troops should winter there, and be recruited, so as to compensate
their losses in the preceding campaign. Great difficulties were
experienced with the court of Turin, which had conceived the most
extravagant hopes from the project of an invasion of France on the
side both of Lyons and Franche Comté, and for this purpose required a
large subsidy in money, and the aid of fifty thousand men under Prince
Eugene on the Upper Rhine. Marlborough was too well aware, by
experience, of the little reliance to be placed on any military
operations in which the Emperor and the Italian powers were to be
placed in co-operation, to be sanguine of success from this design;
but as it was material to keep the court of Turin in good-humour, he
gave the proposal the most respectful attention, and sent General
Palmer on a special mission to the Duke of Savoy, to arrange the plan
of the proposed irruption into the Lyonnois. With the cabinet of
Berlin the difficulties were greater than ever, and in fact had become
so urgent, that nothing but the presence of the English General, or an
immediate agent from him, could prevent Prussia from seceding
altogether from the alliance. General Grumbkow was sent there
accordingly in March, and found the king in such ill-humour at the
repeated disappointments he had experienced from the Emperor and the
Dutch, that he declared he could only spare _three battalions_ for the
approaching campaign.[9] By great exertions, however, and the aid of
Marlborough's letters and influence, the king was at length prevailed
on to continue his present troops in the Low Countries, and increase
them by fourteen squadrons of horse.[10]
But it was not on the Continent only that open enemies or lukewarm and
treacherous friends were striving to arrest the course of
Marlborough's victories. His difficulties at home, both with his own
party and his opponents, were hourly increasing; and it was already
foreseen, that they had become so formidable that they would cause, at
no very remote period, his fall. Though he was publicly thanked, as
well he might, by both houses of parliament, when he came to London on
1st March 1709, yet he received no mark of favour from the Queen, and
was treated with studied coldness at court.[11] Envy, the inseparable
attendant on exalted merit--ingratitude, the usual result of
irrequitable services, had completely alienated the Queen from him.
Mrs Masham omitted nothing which could alienate her royal mistress
from so formidable a rival; and it was hard to say whether she was
most cordially aided in her efforts by the open Opposition, or the
half Tory-Whigs who formed the administration. Both Godolphin and the
Duke speedily found that they were tolerated in office merely: while,
in order to weaken their influence with the people, every effort was
made to depreciate even the glorious victories which had shed such
imperishable lustre over the British cause. Deeply mortified by this
ingratitude, Marlborough gladly embraced an offer which was made to
him by the government, in order to remove him from court, to conduct
the negotiation now pending at the Hague with Louis XIV. for the
conclusion of a general peace.[12]
The pride of the French monarch was now so much humbled that he sent
the President Rouillé to Holland, with public instructions to offer
terms to the Allies, and private directions to do every thing possible
to sow dissension among them, and, if possible, detach Holland from
the alliance. His proposals were to give up Spain, the Indies, and the
Milanese to King Charles; and cede the Italian islands, reserving
Naples and Sicily for his grandson. In the Netherlands and Germany, he
offered to restore matters to the state they were at the peace of
Ryswick; and though he was very reluctant to give up Lille, he offered
to cede Menin in its place. These terms being communicated to the
court of London, they returned an answer insisting that the whole
Spanish monarchy should be restored to the house of Austria, the title
of Queen Anne to the Crown of England, and the Protestant succession
acknowledged, the Pretender removed, the harbour of Dunkirk destroyed,
and an adequate barrier secured for the Dutch. In their ideas upon
this barrier, however, they went much beyond what Marlborough was
disposed to sanction, and therefore he maintained a prudent reserve on
the subject. As the French plenipotentiary could not agree to these
terms, Marlborough returned to England, and Lord Townsend was
associated with him as plenipotentiary. They were instructed to insist
that Furmes, Ipres, Menin, Lille, Tournay, Condé, Valenciennes, and
Maubeuge, should be given up to form a barrier, and that Newfoundland
and Hudson's Bay should be restored. Alarmed at the exaction of such
rigorous terms, Louis sent M. de Torcy, who made large concessions;
and Marlborough, who was seriously desirous of bringing the war to a
conclusion, exerted all his influence with the States to induce them
to accept the barrier offered. He so far succeeded, that on the very
day after his return to the Hague, he wrote both to Lord Godolphin and
the Duchess of Marlborough, that he had prevailed on the Dutch
commissioners to accede to the principal articles, and that he had no
doubt the negotiation would terminate in an honourable peace.[13]
These flattering prospects, however, were soon overcast. The Dutch
renewed their demand of having their barrier strengthened _at the
expense of Austria_, and insisted that the Flemish fortresses of
Dendermonde and Ghent, forming part of the _Imperial_ dominions,
should be included in it. To this both Eugene and Marlborough
objected, and the Dutch, in spite, refused to stipulate for the
demolition of Dunkirk. So violent an altercation took place on the
subject between the Pensionary Heinsius and Marlborough, that it had
wellnigh produced a schism in the grand alliance. M. de Torcy at first
endeavoured to mitigate the demands of the Dutch government; but
finding them altogether immovable, he addressed himself privately to
Marlborough, offering him enormous bribes if he could procure more
favourable terms for France. The offers were 2,000,000 livres
(£80,000) if he could secure Naples and Sicily, or even Naples alone,
for the grandson of the King of France; and 4,000,000 livres
(£160,000) if, in addition to this, he could save Strasburg, Dunkirk,
and Landau, for France. Marlborough turned away from the disgraceful
proposal with coldness and contempt;[14] but enforced in the most
earnest manner on the French king, the prudence and even necessity of
yielding to the proffered terms, if he would save his country from
dismemberment, and himself from ruin. His efforts, however, to bring
matters to an accommodation with France proved ineffectual; and after
some weeks longer spent in proposals and counter-proposals, the
ultimatum of the Allies was finally delivered to the French
plenipotentiary by the Pensionary of Holland.[15]
By this ultimatum, Charles was to be acknowledged King of Spain and
the Indies, and the whole Spanish monarchy was to be ceded by France.
All the conquests of Louis in the Low Countries were to be given up;
the Duke of Anjou was to surrender Spain and Sicily in two months, and
if not delivered, Louis was to concur with the Allies for his
expulsion. The barrier towns, so eagerly coveted by the Dutch, were to
be given up to them. Namur, Menin, Charleroi, Luxembourg, Condé,
Tournay, Maubeuge, Nieuport, Fismes, and Ipres, were to be put into
the possession of the Allies. De Torcy objected to the articles
regarding the cession of the whole Spanish monarchy in two months;
though he declared his willingness to go to Paris, in order to
persuade the French monarch to comply with them, and actually set off
for that purpose. On the way to the French capital, however, he was
met by a messenger from the French king, who rejected the proposals.
"If I must continue the war," said Louis, with a spirit worthy his
race, "it is better to contend with my enemies than my own family." So
confidently had it been believed, both at the Hague and in London,
that peace was not only probable, but actually concluded, that letters
of congratulation poured in on the duke from all quarters, celebrating
his dexterity and address in negotiation not less than his prowess in
arms. So confident, indeed, was Marlborough that peace would be
concluded, that he was grievously disappointed by the rupture of the
negotiations; and never ceased to strive, during the whole summer, to
smooth away difficulties, and bring the Allies to such terms as the
French king would accept. He was overruled, however, by the ministry
at home, who concluded the celebrated barrier treaty with the Dutch,
which Marlborough refused to sign, and was accordingly signed by
Townsend alone, without his concurrence! And it is now decisively
proved by the publication of his private correspondence with Lord
Godolphin, that he disapproved of the severe articles insisted upon by
the Allies and his own cabinet; and that, if he had had the
uncontrolled management of the negotiation, it would have been brought
to a favourable issue on terms highly advantageous to England, and
which would have prevented the treaty of Utrecht from forming a stain
on its annals.[16]
The rigorous terms demanded, however, by the Allied cabinets, and the
resolute conduct of the King of France in rejecting them, had an
important effect upon the war, and called for more vigorous efforts on
the part of the confederates than they had yet put forth, or were even
now disposed to make. Louis made a touching appeal to the patriotic
spirit of his people, in an eloquent circular which he addressed to
the prelates and nobles of his realm. He there set forth the great
sacrifices which he had offered to make to secure a general peace;
showed how willing he had been to divest himself of all his conquests,
abandon all his dreams of ambition; and concluded by observing, that
he was now compelled to continue the contest, because the Allies
insisted upon his descending to the humiliation of joining his arms to
theirs to dispossess his own grandson. The appeal was not made in vain
to the spirit of a gallant nobility, and the patriotism of a brave
people. It kindled a spark of general enthusiasm and loyalty: all
ranks and parties vied with each other in contributing their property
and personal service for the maintenance of the war; and the campaign
which opened under such disastrous auspices, was commenced with a
degree of energy and unanimity on the part of the French people which
had never hitherto been evinced in the course of the contest.[17] As
afterwards, in the wars of the Revolution, too, the misfortunes of the
state tended to the increase of its military forces. The stoppage of
commerce, and shock to credit, threw numbers out of employment; and
starving multitudes crowded to the frontier, to find that subsistence
amidst the dangers of war which they could no longer find in the
occupations of peace.
Skilfully availing themselves of this burst of patriotic fervour, the
ministers of Louis were enabled to open the campaign with greater
forces than they had yet accumulated since the beginning of the war.
The principal effort was made in Flanders, where the chief danger was
to be apprehended, and the enemy's most powerful army and greatest
general were to be faced. Fifty-one battalions and forty-nine
squadrons were drawn from the Rhine to Flanders; and this great
reinforcement, joined to the crowds of recruits whom the public
distress impelled to his standards, enabled the renowned Marshal
Villars, who had received the command of the French, to take the field
at the head of 112,000 men. With this imposing force, he took a
position, strong both by nature and art, extending from Douay to the
Lye; the right resting on the canal of Douay, the centre covered by
the village of La Bassie, the left supported by Bethune and its
circumjacent marshes. The whole line was strengthened by redoubts and
partial inundations. Marlborough was at the head of 110,000 men, and
although his force was composed of a heterogeneous mixture of the
troops of different nations, yet, like the _colluvies omnium gentium_
which followed the standards of Hannibal, it was held together by the
firm bond of military success, and inspired with unbounded confidence,
founded on experience, in the resources and capacity of its chief.
Events of the greatest and most interesting kind could not but be
anticipated, when two armies of such magnitude, headed by such
leaders, were brought into collision; and the patriotic ardour of the
French nation, now roused to the uttermost, was matched against the
military strength of the confederates, matured by so long and
brilliant a series of victories.[18]
Though relying with confidence on the skill and intrepidity of his
troops, Marlborough, according to his usual system, resolved if
possible to circumvent the enemy by manoeuvring, and reserve his hard
blows for the time when success was to be won in no other way. His
design was to begin the campaign with a general battle, or the
reduction of Tournay, which lay on the direct road from Brussels by
Mons to Paris, and would break through, in the most important part,
the barrier fortresses. To prepare for either event, and divert the
enemy's attention, strong demonstrations were made against Villars'
intrenched position, and if it had been practicable, it would have
been attacked; but after a close reconnoitre, both generals deemed it
too hazardous an enterprise, and it was resolved to besiege the
fortress. On the 23d June, the right under Eugene crossed the lower
Dyle below Lille; while the left, with whom were the whole English and
Dutch contingents, crossed the upper Dyle, and Marlborough fixed his
headquarters at the castle of Looz. So threatening were the masses
which the Allies now accumulated in his front, that Villars never
doubted he was about to be attacked; and in consequence he
strengthened his position to the utmost of his power, called in all
his detachments, and drew considerable reinforcements from the
garrisons of Tournay and other fortresses in his vicinity. Having thus
fixed his antagonist's attention, and concentrated his force in his
intrenched lines between Douay and Bethune, Marlborough suddenly moved
off to the left, in the direction of Tournay. This was done, however,
with every imaginable precaution to impose upon the enemy. They
decamped at nightfall on the 27th in dead silence, and advanced part
of the night straight towards the French lines; but at two in the
morning, the troops were suddenly halted, wheeled to the left, and
marched in two columns, by Pont à Bovines and Pont à Tressins, towards
Tournay. So expeditiously was the change in the line of march managed,
and so complete the surprise, that by seven in the morning the troops
were drawn round Tournay, and the investment complete, while a half of
the garrison was still absent in the lines of Marshal Villars, and it
was thereby rendered incapable of making any effectual defence.
Meanwhile, that commander was so deceived, that he was congratulating
himself that the enemy had "fixed on the siege of Tournay, which
should occupy them the whole remainder of the campaign; when it is
evident their design had been, after defeating me, to thunder against
Aire la Venant with their heavy artillery, penetrate as far as
Boulogne, and after laying all Picardy under contribution, push on
even to Paris."[19]
Tournay is an old town, the ancient walls of which are of wide
circuit; but it had a series of advanced works erected by Vauban, and
its citadel, a regular pentagon, was considered by the great Condé as
one of the most perfect specimens of modern fortification in
existence. So little did the governor expect their approach, that many
of the officers were absent, and a detachment of the garrison, sent
out to forage, was made prisoners by General Lumley, who commanded the
investing corps. The fortifications, however, were in the best state,
and the magazines well stored with ammunition and military stores. It
was the ancient capital of the Nervii, so celebrated for their valour
in the wars with Cæsar; and an inscription on its walls testified that
Louis XIV., after taking it in four days, had assisted in the
construction of the additional works which would render it
impregnable. The attempt to take such a place with a force no greater
than that with which Villars had at hand to interrupt the operations,
would have been an enterprise of the utmost temerity, and probably
terminated in disaster, had it not been for the admirable skill with
which the attention of the enemy had been fixed on another quarter,
and the siege commenced with half its garrison absent, and what was
there, imperfectly supplied with provisions.[20]
The heavy artillery and siege equipage required to be brought up the
Scheldt from Ghent, which in the outset occasioned some delay in the
operations. Marlborough commanded the attacking, Eugene the covering
forces. By the 6th, however, the approaches were commenced; on the
10th, the battering train arrived and the trenches armed; repeated
sallies of the enemy to interrupt the operations were repulsed, and
several of the outworks carried, between that time and the 21st, on
which last occasion the besiegers succeeded in establishing themselves
in the covered ways. The breaching batteries continued to thunder with
terrible effect upon the walls; and on the 27th, a strong horn-work,
called of the Seven Fountains, was carried, and the Allies were
masters of nearly the whole line of the counterscarp. Meanwhile,
Villars made no serious movement to interrupt the besiegers,
contenting himself with making demonstrations between the Scarfe and
the Scheldt to alarm the covering forces. Eugene, however, narrowly
watched all his proceedings; and in truth the French marshal, far from
really intending to disquiet the Allies in their operations, was
busied with an immense army of pioneers and labourers in constructing
a new set of lines from Douay along the Scarfe to the Scheldt near
Condé, in order to arrest the progress of the Allies in the direction
they had now taken. Seeing no prospect of being relieved, the governor
on the 29th surrendered the town, and retired with the remains of the
garrison, still four thousand strong, into the citadel.[21]
On the surrender of the town, no time was lost in prosecuting
operations against the citadel, and the line of circumvallation was
traced out that very evening. But this undertaking proved more
difficult than had been expected, and several weeks elapsed before any
material progress was made in the operations, during which Villars
made good use of his time in completing his new lines to cover
Valenciennes and Condé. The garrison of the citadel, though unequal to
the defence of the town of Tournay, was quite adequate to that of the
citadel: and the vast mines with which the whole outworks and glacis
were perforated, rendered the approaches in the highest degree
perilous and difficult. The governor, M. De Surville, proposed, on the
5th August, to capitulate in a month if not relieved; and to this
proposition, Marlborough and Eugene with praiseworthy humanity at once
acceded: but the King of France refused to ratify the terms proposed,
unless the suspension of arms was made general to the whole
Netherlands, to which the allied general would not accede. The
military operations consequently went on, and soon acquired a degree
of horror hitherto unparalleled even in that long and bloody contest.
The art of countermining, and of counteracting the danger of mines
exploding, was then very imperfectly understood, though that of
besieging above ground had been brought to the very highest degree of
perfection. The soldiers, in consequence, entertained a great and
almost superstitious dread of the perils of that subterraneous
warfare, where prowess and courage were alike unavailing, and the
bravest, equally as the most pusillanimous, were liable to be at any
moment blown into the air, or smothered under ground, by the
explosions of an unseen, and therefore appalling, enemy. The Allies
were inferior in regular sappers and miners to the besieged, who were
singularly well supplied with that important arm of the service. The
ordinary soldiers, how brave soever in the field, evinced a repugnance
at engaging in this novel and terrific species of warfare: and it was
only by personally visiting the trenches in the very hottest of the
fire, and offering high rewards to the soldiers who would enter into
the mines, that men could be got who would venture on the perilous
service.[22]