Battle of Neerwinden (1693): The French Victory at Landen Explained

The War Behind the Battle By the summer of 1693, Europe had been at war with Louis XIV of France for five years. The conflict was known as the Nine Years’ War, or the War of the Grand Alliance, and it had begun as a struggle to contain French expansion under the ambitious Sun King. Against France stood a broad coalition: the Dutch Republic, England, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire, Savoy, Bavaria, Brandenburg, Saxony, and several other German states. At the centre of the Allied resistance stood William III, King of England and Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic. William had spent much of his life confronting France. In 1672, French armies had nearly overwhelmed the Dutch Republic, and since his seizure of the English throne during the Glorious Revolution of 1688, Louis XIV had supported William’s rival, the exiled James II. For William, the war was not simply about territory. It was about preventing France from becoming so powerful that no European state could stand against it. The fighting in the Spanish Netherlands — roughly modern Belgium — was especially important. This region formed the invasion route between France and the Dutch Republic, and its fortified towns were the locks and gates of western Europe. French victories at Fleurus in 1690 and Steenkerque in 1692 had strengthened Louis XIV’s position, but neither had destroyed the Grand Alliance or forced it to accept peace. Louis wanted something more decisive. The Year of Decision The French king entered the 1693 campaign determined to improve his position before negotiating. He assembled enormous armies across several fronts and reportedly regarded the year as a campaign of crisis — a chance to break the alliance before France’s enemies could recover. In Flanders, command fell to François-Henri de Montmorency, Duke of Luxembourg — the famous Marshal Luxembourg, one of Louis XIV’s most talented and aggressive commanders. Luxembourg had already defeated William at Steenkerque, but he now faced a larger problem than winning another battle. He needed to turn victory into something permanent. His opportunity came in July. French forces captured Huy on 23 July, threatening the approaches to Liège and placing pressure on William’s communications. William immediately marched to relieve it, but Huy fell before he could arrive. He now had to decide whether to retreat, move west toward the Duke of Württemberg’s detached corps, or remain in the region and protect Liège and Brussels. Luxembourg helped make the decision for him. French movements suggested that Liège itself was about to be attacked. William began moving east, hoping to cover the city. But this was exactly what Luxembourg wanted. On 28 July, the French commander suddenly reversed direction and forced his army into a rapid march toward the Allied position. By evening, roughly 80,000 French troops had reached the area around Landen, while William had only about 50,000 effectives immediately available. William had been caught with his back toward the Little Gete River, a tributary of the larger Gete. Crossing it at night would have been dangerous, especially without enough cavalry to protect the retreat. William chose to stand and fight. A Defensive Line Built in the Dark William’s army had little time to prepare. During the night of 28–29 July, the Allied soldiers turned the villages along their position into a connected defensive line. The main position stretched from Neerwinden on the Allied right, across the centre, to Neerlanden on the Allied left. The army faced south toward the approaching French. The villages were not isolated strongpoints; they formed the key points of a long defensive position several kilometres wide. Neerwinden and the nearby village of Laar guarded the Allied right, where William expected the heaviest fighting. The centre consisted of open ground strengthened by earthworks, while the left rested around Neerlanden and the surrounding sunken roads and fields. Rumsdorp stood forward of the centre-left as an exposed position that could delay a French advance before it reached the main line. The Allied troops worked throughout the night. They dug trenches and shallow ditches, raised banks of earth, built barricades across roads, and strengthened the walls and hedges around the villages. Houses, gardens, lanes, and farm buildings were turned into defensive positions. Artillery was placed behind the earthworks, where the guns could fire over the infantry and sweep the approaches. By dawn, the villages had become fortified anchors, linked together by trenches and fieldworks. The position was not perfect. The Little Gete River lay behind the Allied army, meaning that the main line of retreat ran toward the bridges and crossings behind them. If the French broke through the right, the Allies could be pushed back against the river. William therefore had to hold Neerwinden and Laar at all costs. He placed himself in the centre of the army, where he could move reserves toward whichever sector came under the greatest pressure. Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria, commanded the Allied right around Neerwinden and Laar. Henry Casimir II of Nassau-Diez held the Allied left around Neerlanden. The deployment gave William a strong defensive position, but it also created a danger: the army was spread across a wide front, and any major attack could force him to move troops from one sector to another. Luxembourg understood this weakness immediately. Luxembourg’s Plan The French marshal did not intend to attack the entire Allied line with equal strength. Instead, he planned to pin William’s army in place while concentrating his main assault against the Allied right. The French centre and right would launch supporting attacks toward the Allied centre-left and Neerlanden. These attacks did not necessarily need to break through. Their purpose was to keep the Allied troops occupied and prevent William from sending too many reinforcements toward Neerwinden. The decisive attack would come from the French left, directed against Laar and Neerwinden. Luxembourg massed the greater part of his infantry in this sector, supported by powerful artillery batteries positioned to bombard the Allied defences before the infantry advanced. Once the guns had weakened the earthworks, French battalions would attack the villages directly, where the fighting would have to be done at close quarters with musket, bayonet, grenade, and sword. Luxembourg also kept a large cavalry force near the centre. Its task was not to lead the first attack against the fortified villages. It was to wait for a breach. If the French infantry captured Neerwinden and broke through the Allied line, the cavalry could pass through the gap, form up behind the defences, and strike the Allied army during its retreat. The plan was simple but dangerous: hold the Allies in place across the front, batter the right with artillery and infantry, seize the villages after repeated assaults, and then send the cavalry through the opening before William could reorganize. By sunrise, the Allied army stood behind its new earthworks. Across the fields, Luxembourg’s army was forming for battle. The villages were ready. So were the guns. National Army Museum — “Nine Years’ War. Wikipedia — “Battle of Neerwinden. Wikipedia — “Battle of Landen. Belgium Battlefield — “First Battle of Neerwinden, 1693.” De vergeten veldslagen van de lage landen Mart de Kruif, Théon Minten, Tom de Kruif (book)