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READING HALLTHE DOORS OF WISDOM |
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ANNALS OF WAR
1707.
1. WAR IN THE LOW COUNTRIES.—2. WAR IN GERMANY.—3. WAR
IN SPAIN.—4. THE BATTLE OF ALMANZA.—5. CONSEQUENCES OP THE VICTORY.—6. THE DUKE
OF SAVOY AND PRINCE EUGENE ENTER FRANCE.—7. THE AUSTRIANS UNDER COUNT DAUN
CONQUER NAPLES.— 8. SIR CLOUDESLY SHOVEL WRECKED OFF SCILLY. HIS CHARACTER. —9.
FRENCH NAVAL WAR.—10. WAR IN SCANDINAVIA.—11. DEATH AND CHARACTER OF MARSHAL DE
VAUBAN.
1. War in the Low Countries.
Marlborough returning from his interview with Charles
XII visited Berlin, Hanover, and the Hague, and about the middle of May
assembled the allied army at Anderlecht, near Brussels. The Duke de Vendome
commanded the French forces, having the Elector of Bavaria with him. Finding
that they had quitted their lines, the Duke advanced on the 24th to Soignies
with a design to engage them in the plain of Fleurus: but receiving
intelligence, that by the help of drafts from all the garrisons, the enemy was
too strong for him, Marlborough retired and took post on the 1st of June at Meldert, while the French advanced to Gembloux. Nothing
therefore was done until it was discovered in the month of August that the
French had sent away a large detachment to Provence; when the Duke and Overkirk
resolved to attack them, first at Genappe, and afterwards at Nivelles; but the
French retired behind the Scheldt, and through a variety of causes, the allies
were never able to attack them; so that the campaign closed in October without
a single battle.
2. War in Germany.
On the Upper Rhine the allies were not prosperous. By
very remarkable exertions the French were enabled to renew the war on the Rhine,
and even to cross that river into the empire. They still retained possession of
Strasburg and Kehl, and Marshal Villars crossing the line at that point drove
the Imperialists before him, took Radstadt, penetrated as far as the Danube,
and had some hope of recovering Bavaria for the unlucky Elector. On the 22nd of
May, Villars advanced to the lines of Bühl or Stollhofen with forty battalions
and ten squadrons, and attacked and entirely defeated the German advanced
guards. On the 23rd, on the clearing up of a fog, they prepared to force the
lines, but found that the allied forces, alarmed lest they should be attacked
in the rear by the Marquis de Vivans and the Count de Broglio, had abandoned
them. The Marshal accordingly I took possession of these lines, esteemed the
rampart of Germany, and prepared to follow the Imperialists with all possible
expedition. Radstadt, Stuttgart, and Schorndorf were
taken; 3000 Germans intrenched at Lorch, under the command of General Janus,
were routed, and the general made prisoner; and the duchy of Würtemberg was
laid under contribution. The contributions, which extended over a circle of
fifty leagues, amounted to an enormous sum. One million one hundred thousand
livres were raised in the imperial city of Ettlingen,
on the Neckar, and 600,000 were demanded of the city of Baden. These the
Marshal divided into three portions: one for the army, which accordingly cost
the King nothing; the other to the officers, in lieu of subsistence ; and the
third, as Villars himself wrote to his Majesty, “à engraisser mon veau, (to fatten my claf)” and Louis XIV approved of it. Marshal Villare was obliged to stop in the midst of his career, by
the necessity of sending off detachments to Provence to protect the south of
France, invaded by the Duke of Savoy, and accordingly he fell back on
Strasburg, and recrossed the Rhine.
The Margrave of Baden died on the 4th of January. He
had had great experience in war, but his extreme dilatoriness and his jealousy
of Marlborough marred all the better parts of his character, and engendered
chagrins, which destroyed his health and terminated his life. The supreme
command of the Imperialists accordingly devolved upon the Elector of Hanover,
afterwards George I, a brave and steady soldier, but no great general; he
restored military discipline, and acted with uncommon prudence and circumspection,
but had not force sufficient to undertake any enterprise of importance.
3. War in Spain.
The King of France, by virtue of his capitulation with
the Emperor in Italy, was enabled to send such reinforcements into Spain as
turned the fortunes of the war in that country. By the strange and selfish
treaty, above alluded to, the Emperor had consented to the undisturbed retreat
of a considerable French force under the Count de Medavi, who were shut up in
the Milanese, and these veteran troops were now sent to reinforce the Bourbon
King in Spain. On the side of the allies little had been done to strengthen
King Charles. It bad been resolved in the preceding winter that the allies
should unite all their forces and march against Madrid by way of Aragon. Lord
Rivers had disembarked his forces at Alicante in February, but at Oya de
Castile a battalion, under the Marquis de Montandre,
marching carelessly along the high road, was surprised and all taken prisoners
or cut to pieces by Ashfeldt. On the 13th of March Charles’s army was assembled
at Caudete, to the number of 16,000 men, under the
command of Las Minas, under whom Lord Galway served as second in command. They
marched but a little way before they received intelligence that an attack was
threatened by the French on the side of Roussillon, which induced them to halt
to defend the province of Catalonia. Galway and Las Minas now turned aside out
of consideration of supplies, hoping to get hold of some of the enemy’s
magazines; and arriving at Yecla, where the enemy had
their largest magazines, which they destroyed, they at length determined to lay
siege to the castle of Villena, in Valencia. The Duke de Berwick collected all
his forces and marched to Chinchilla, on the 18th of April, to impede its
capture, on which Galway and Las Minas raised the siege of Villena, and marched
boldly to meet Berwick. Lord Galway had ordered a new camp to be marked out not
far from Villena, designing to meet the enemy there, if they came to attack
them, but as they did not, it was resolved to go in search of them. News being
brought, that the enemy was near the town of Almanza, a council of war was
held, and it was unanimously agreed to go the next day and give them battle.
The whole confederate army under Lord Galway and the Marquis de Las Minas
consisted of 4500 horse and 11,000 foot, of which there were sixteen battalions
and 1200 cavalry British, and the rest Spanish. Berwick claims to have had
fifty-five battalions and ninety-nine squadrons. It is thought that the allied
generals were misled as to the enemy’s force, and supposed that the
reinforcements had not reached the army, but that the Duke of Orleans in person
had arrived; which was in both cases the reverse of the fact. The French are
computed to have been 25,000 men.
4. The Battle of Almanza.
The two armies met on the plain of Almanza on Easter
Monday, the 24th of April. The French were drawn up in two lines. The allies
appeared in order of battle, in columns of cavalry and infantry mixed. At three
o’clock in the afternoon they advanced under fire of the enemy to a great
ravine on the right of the position, and occupied the heights on which had been
placed the enemy’s artillery. Galway began the attack on the enemy’s right, and
dislodged them from the height on which they stood. About eight o’clock the
French cavalry charged the left of the position where Lord Galway commanded,
but the allied infantry stood firm, and obliged them to retire : the cavalry of
the allies were inferior to the French, but the fire of their infantry kept the
enemy’s cavalry in check. Berwick now seeing that it would be difficult to do
any thing on this flank without infantry, brought up his second line, under
Bulkeley, and by a combined attack of cavalry and infantry shook the left of
the allied position, and put them to the rout.
An equally obstinate fight was kept up on the other
flank. The French right, having driven back the enemy, turned to the left, and
aided in the destruction of the allied right wing. It was one of the hardest
fought battles of the war. The English and Dutch infantry kept the battle
undecided for six sanguinary hours. Charge after charge, on the part of the
French, was ineffectual, and even now, when the French and Spaniards were
victorious on both wings, their centre was cut through, and the main body of
their infantry completely broken. Ten battalions, English and Dutch, penetrated
both lines, and advanced even to the walls of Almanza. The Duke of Berwick
having now nothing to fear from the two flanks, where he was carrying all
before him, ordered up two squadrons under Don Joseph Amézoge to charge the
allies, and this gave courage to the French infantry, who immediately rallied.
Las Minas made the greatest personal exertions, such as are seldom witnessed in
a man of his rank and age; he was here, there, and every where. His mistress,
who had followed him in this campaign, and wore a soldier’s dress, was killed
fighting by his side. He himself was severely wounded. Galway received two
sabre cuts on the face, which proves that he also was not deficient in his own
personal endeavours to reassure the victory. This disabled him from the
command, and had no doubt an unfavourable influence upon the fortune of the
day. In the end, victory remained with Berwick. The allies finding their left
wing beaten and their right in disorder, attempted to retreat, but in doing so
many were cut to pieces. Thirteen battalions under Count de Dona gained a woody
mountain, but were in the end made prisoners. The allies lost 5000 killed and
nearly 10,000 prisoners, with all their artillery and baggage, and above 100
standards. The French lost about 2000 men. In the course of the following day
the greater part of the allied army, to avoid starvation, surrendered, and the
victory of Almanza was complete.
5. Consequences of the Victory.
The Duke of Orleans arrived in the camp the day after
the battle, deeply grieved at not sharing the glory of the day, and at his only
arriving at his command when there was no enemy’s force left to oppose him.
Berwick entered Valencia, and captured a number of other towns. He now suffered
greatly, like the enemy he had recently defeated, for want of provisions. Count
de Las Minas and Galway retired at his approach, and, leaving Ashfeldt in
Valencia, the Marshal arrived at Tortosa on the 23rd of May. Ashfeldt laid
siege to Xativa, into which a body of 600 English had
thrown themselves, and defended themselves with such obstinacy, that after
being driven from the breach, they fought from house to house for eight days,
after the enemy had possession of the town ; at length the English commandant
in the castle asked for terms, which being refused, the garrison shut
themselves up, leaving the town at Berwick’s mercy. With a paltry revenge he
ordered all the inhabitants to leave the town, and not to presume to return;
and then destroyed the whole town, with the exception of the principal church.
This was unworthy of Berwick, and served to justify the charge that his
personal character was that of a harsh man. It may have been more the act of
Ashfeldt, who was deemed to be a man as relentless in peace as brave in war,
but we have Berwick’s own authority that he “gave the orders.” A new town was
afterwards built upon its ruins by King Philip, and called after him San
Felipe. This new town remains and is a noble monument of a feat of arms, which
confers lustre on the English character for firmness, bravery, and resolution.
Saragossa capitulated without firing a shot on the 25th, and on the 10th of
June Berwick and the Duke of Orleans crossed the Ebro. On the 1st of July they
crossed the Cinca and advanced upon Lerida. From this time to the middle of
August they were unable to undertake any thing. On the 18th the Duke de Berwick
received orders by a courier to repair instantly to Provence, to serve under
the Duke of Burgundy, who was marching to the assistance of Toulon, besieged by
the Duke of Savoy, who had gallantly carried the war into the French territory.
The Marshal instantly departed; but learning on the road, that the siege of
Toulon had been raised without his assistance, he immediately returned to
Spain, and rejoined the Duke of Orleans near Lerida in the month of September.
The Duke would have opened the trenches immediately, though he had got together
but fifteen pieces of cannon, and very little ammunition and siege material,
but Lerida had been regarded, since the days of the great Condé, as one of the
strongest places in Europe : it was difficult to approach on account of its
rocky soil, and the distance from thence to obtain fascines and gabions : it
was now garrisoned by 4000 British and 2000 Spaniards, under the Prince of
Darmstadt. On Berwick’s persuasion, this siege was deferred till the 2nd of
October, when the trenches were opened against the town, which was taken by
assault and subjected to all the horrors of war on the 12th; the castle still
held out, but was forced to capitulate, unconditionally, on the 11th of
November. The Duke of Orleans was very alert throughout the siege, visiting the
trenches, encouraging the soldiers, and exposing his own person freely. After
his troops had made good their entry upon the rampart, he maintained such
discipline that he would not permit the soldiers to enter the town till
morning, when he gave it up to a systematic pillage for eight hours. The Prince
of Darmstadt commanded in the town and Colonel Wills in the castle, but there
was no concert between them, and they were worse supplied within the place than
the French were without. There was a kind of army under the banner of Charles
in the neighbourhood, which it was intended should succour Lerida,—consisting
of about twenty battalions and seventy squadrons ; but as soon as they heard
that the place was taken, they retired to Cervera. The campaign ended, on the
side of the French, with the capture of Morelia, on the 17th of December.
6. The Duke of Savoy and Prince Eugene enter France.
The attempt upon Toulon, by the Duke of Savoy and
Prince Eugene, might have succeeded, if the Emperor had not divided his army in
Italy, by detaching a considerable body towards Naples, of which he took
possession without any difficulty. The project had been concerted between the
courts of St. James and Turin, that Prince Eugene and the Duke of Savoy should
cross the Alps with an army of 30,000 men, by the Col de Pende, while Sir
Cloudesly Shovel, with a combined fleet of English and Dutch, was to co-operate
off the coast of Provence. On the 10th of July their forces reached the Var.
The French had raised works, which they deemed impregnable, to prevent the
passage of this river. Sir John Norris, however, a gallant British seaman,
ascended that river from the sea, with boats and gun-boats, and 600 sailors and
marines, who were rowed within musket shot of the enemy’s intrenchments. They
immediately landed, and made such a vigorous and desperate attack, that they
carried the French works sword in hand, and compelled the defenders to fly with
the utmost precipitation. This affair was directed by Sir Cloudesly in person;
and the Duke of Savoy, taking advantage of the success, passed the river on the
11th without much further opposition, and marched directly towards Toulon,
whither the battering train and ammunition were conveyed on board the allied
squadrons.
The French King was extremely alarmed at this attempt,
as 5000 pieces of cannon, vast magazines, and the best part of his fleet were
in that harbour; and the whole kingdom was terrified at finding an enemy in the
bosom of their country. The Monarch set to work forthwith to repair all
deficiencies, and to draw in troops from all parts. His subjects exerted
themselves in the most exemplary manner to assist him; the nobility marched
into the town at the head of their servants and tenants; they coined their plate
and pawned their jewels to pay for work on the fortifications; and such
exertions were employed that, in a few days, the town and harbour were in a
good state of defence. The allies took post on the eminences that commanded the
city, and erected batteries, from which they began to cannonade and bombard the
city, while the fleet attacked and reduced two forts at the entrance of the
Mole. The garrison defended the place with great vigour. They sunk ships at the
entrance of the Mole, and made desperate sallies. The French King had
countermanded the forces that were on their way to Spain, and recalled a great
part of the army on the Rhine, under Villars, and, as we have seen, determined
to intrust the command of the force to the Duke de Berwick. A fortified camp,
in which were forty battalions, had already been constructed ; and on the 15th
of August the French sallied out of it and recovered the position of St.
Catharine, which they had lost on the 29th of July. Marshal de Tessé also now arrived with twenty battalions, and the Duke
of Savoy, seeing little hope of reducing the place, and fearful of being
intercepted on his passage back to Italy, resolved to raise the siege and
abandon the enterprise ; but in retaliation for the ruin of his capital the
previous year, he gave directions for bombarding the town, and he and Prince
Eugene viewed from one of the heights “the dreadful blaze,” which was all the
consolation they received for their disappointment. The destruction on the side
of the harbour was, however, indeed terrible. The arsenal, and two batteries,
and eight ships-of-the-line lying in the harbour, were totally destroyed by the
Dutch and English fleet. On the night of the 25th of August the confederates
retired in haste, and reached the Varon the 31st, whence they continued their
retreat by the maritime Alps. As the detachments from the different French
armies could not be spared, there was no pursuit, and Eugene was therefore in a
condition to undertake the reduction of Susa, an ancient town at the foot of
the Alps, and one of the best defences of Turin, on the side of France. The
garrison resisted for a fortnight, and then capitulated ; and, by this
conquest, the Duke of Savoy not only secured the key to his own dominions, but
opened to himself a free passage into Dauphiné. The loss in this expedition,
however, to the invading army has been put down at 10,000 men, between the 1st
of July and 1st of September.
7. The Austrians under Count Daun conquer Naples.
Had the Emperor assisted Eugene with all his
disposable troops, and had he acted with more promptness and vigour, Toulon
might probably have been taken; but Joseph cast an avaricious eye on the
Spanish possessions at the southern extremity of the Italian peninsula, and
looked to the easy conquest of the kingdom of Naples, instead of aiding his
allies. Count Daun, with 5000 foot and 3000 horse, crossed the Neapolitan
frontier without resistance, and advanced to the strongly fortified city of
Capua, which commands the passage of the river Volturno.
That important city opened its gates and welcomed the Austrian without a blow;
the city of Aversa did the same, and at length they entered the capital, amidst
the joyful shouts of the people, who were exasperated at the Spanish viceroy
for his impositions and arbitrary levies. They presented the keys of the city
to Daun, and overthrew the statue of King Philip, which he had caused to be
erected; while the three castles which command Naples surrendered without
firing a shot. The Prince of Castiglione, with 1000 horse, took the road to
Apulia, with the intention of preserving these provinces for King Philip; but
he found the passes of the Apennines occupied by the Imperialists, and was
obliged to retreat in the direction of Salerno. The flag of the Bourbon still
floated at Gaeta, but the place was besieged by the Austrians, and carried by
storm in the month of September. At this easy rate the fairest kingdom in
Europe was secured to Austria in the course of a few months, not without
serious injury to the more important movements of the confederates.
8. Sir Cloudesly Shovel wrecked off Scilly. His
Character.
This distinguished Admiral having finished with
Toulon, left a squadron with Sir Thomas Dilkes for the Mediterranean service,
and set sail for England with the rest of the fleet; he was in soundings on the
22nd of October, when a storm arose in which his own ship, the “Association”,
foundered, on the rocks of Scilly, with himself, his sons-in-law, many persons
of distinction, and every soul on board; two other men-of-war also perished.
The Admiral’s body was recovered and conveyed to London, where it was interred
in Westminster Abbey with all the pomp and magnificence suitable to the
reputation of such a brave officer. He had been the artificer of his own
fortune, and by his personal merit alone from the lowest beginnings raised
himself to almost the highest station in the navy. He was one of the greatest
sea commanders of the age; of undaunted courage and resolution; and at the same
time eminent for generosity, frankness, and integrity.
9. French Naval War.
The French Admiral de Forbin commanded a squadron at Dunkirk, consisting of ten ships-of-war, one frigate,
and four privateers, which had considerable successes against the English
ships-of-war and merchantmen this year. In the month of May the British ships
“Royal Oak,” “Grafton,” and “Hampton Court,” with about forty coasters under
convoy, being about six leagues to the westward of Beachy, fell in with this
squadron. The “Grafton,” after the loss of her captain, Acton, was boarded by
three men-of-war, who carried her after a warm dispute of about half an hour.
The “Hampton Court” was attacked and boarded by three others, and struck; but
not before her captain, Clements, was mortally wounded. The “Royal Oak,” under
the English commodore, Baron Wylde, received several shots under water, but she
plied her assailants so warmly, that they were at length forced to sheer off
with their captures and leave her; but, while the men-of-war were thus engaged,
the enemy's frigates and their privateers took twenty-one of the merchant ships
: the rest got away. In July the same active officer captured fifteen ships
belonging to the Russian company, off the coast of Lapland. In September he
joined the Brest squadrons off the Lizard, under the command of Duguay-Trouin,
having in all twelve or fourteen sail-of-the-line; and on the 10th of October
they encountered the British squadron, consisting of the “Cumberland,” 80,
“Devonshire,” 80, “Chester,” 50, “Ruby,” 50, and “Royal Oak,” 76, with the
escort of the outward bound Lisbon fleets. Duguay-Trouin, in “Le Lys,” 74, and
two others, attacked and captured the flag-ship “Cumberland Count de Forbin, in “L’Achille,” captured
the “Ruby”, the “Chester” fell into the power of “Le Jason”, the “Devonshire”
was burned, and about sixty merchant vessels were captured. The “Royal Oak,”
under its old commodore, Baron Wylde, alone escaped. His conduct under two such
singular escapes was investigated by a court- martial, and he was sentenced to be
dismissed the service. Since the battle of Malaga the French King had not dared
to keep the sea with such a fleet, but it is thought he was enabled to have
such successes against the trade and convoys of England by the intelligence he
was enabled to obtain privately from the Admiralty and other public offices.
These successes very much gratified Louis XIV, and he
used to take pleasure in hearing Duguay-Trouin himself recount his many gallant
exploits. One day, eagerly describing a combat, he said to the King, “J’ordonnai à ‘la Gloire,’ (c’était le nom d’un de ses frigates) de me suivre.” “ Et elle fut fidele, reprit le Roi en l’interrompant.” The same gallant
commander captured this year, on the 6th of November, another British
sixty-four gun ship, the “Gloucester,” after an hour and a half’s combat.
Admiral de Forbin had, in the latter part of this
year, taken on board Charles Stuart, the Pretender, with the intention of
landing him in Scotland, and sailed with that object on the 19th of March, but
the vigilance of Sir George Byng foiled the enterprise, and one of their ships
was boarded and taken ; but they got safely back to Dunkirk, having been tossed
about for a whole month in very tempestuous weather. It was on this occasion
that Louis XIV. at parting gave the Prince a sword, studded with valuable
diamonds, saying that the best wish he could give him was, that he might never
see him again.
10. War in Scandinavia.
Charles XII set off from Saxony in September with
43,000 men. Besides this army, Löwenhaupt, one of his best generals, awaited
his arrival in Poland with 20,000 more men. He had, moreover, an army of 15,000
in Finland, and recruits daily arriving from Sweden. With such a force he had
no doubt that he should be able to dethrone the Czar, the only object of his
ambition at this time. As he marched his army towards Russia he was overtaken
by an ambassador from Turkey, who sent him 100 Swedish soldiers, rescued by the
Calmuck Tartars, as the most agreeable offering the Sultan could render to the
King, being the enemy of the Russians in common with themselves. Peter had
advanced as far as Leopold, but had again retired to Grodno, in Lithuania, to
which place the Swedish King marched in the midst of ice and snow, and arrived
there on the 1st day of January. He left Stanislaus in Poland, with 10,000
Swedish troops to uphold his influence and his throne.
11. Death and Character of Marshal de Vauban.
This year died this celebrated engineer of France, whose character is thus portrayed by Fontenelle, “Un sens droit et étendu qui
s’attachait au vrai par une espéce de sympathie et
sentait le faux sans le discuter, lui épargnait les longs circuits par ou les
autres marchent.” As a military engineer he carried the
art of fortifying, attacking, and defending towns to a degree of perfection
unknown before his time. He improved 300 citadels, erected thirty-three new
ones—had the management of fifty-three sieges, and was present in 140
engagements.
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