Battle of Walcourt
| Battle of Walcourt | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Nine Years' War | |||||||
|
|||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 France
|
 Dutch Republic England Scotland Holy Roman Empire Spain
|
||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Duc de Humières
|
Prince of Waldeck John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough
|
||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 24,000 | 35,000 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| ~600–2000 killed or wounded | ~100–300 killed or wounded | ||||||
The Battle of Walcourt was fought on 25 August 1689 during the Nine Years' War. The action took place near the ancient walled town of Walcourt near Charleroi in the Spanish Netherlands, and brought to a close a summer of uneventful marching, manoeuvring, and foraging. The battle was a success for the Grand Alliance – the only significant engagement in the theatre during the campaign of 1689.
The Allied army was commanded by the Prince of Waldeck; the French army by the duc de Humières. The battle incurred some 2,000 French casualties against the Allied losses of less than 300. The Allied victory had been an auspicious opening of the war for King William III and the Alliance, but for Humières, his military reputation received a fatal blow; in the following campaign of 1690, Humières was replaced by the duc de Luxembourg.
In September 1688, King Louis XIV’s forces invaded the Rhineland and besieged the German town of Philippsburg. Louis had hoped to compel the powerful German princes, and their Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold I, into converting the 1684 Truce of Ratisbon into a permanent peace, thus confirming Louis' territorial gains of the ‘Reunions’. Other German towns fell in quick succession, including Oppenheim, Kaiserslautern, Heidelberg, and the key fortress of Mainz, but instead of cowering under French aggression, the German princes united against Louis’ forces. What was supposed to be a campaign lasting only months, evolved into the Nine Years' War.
...
Wikipedia