Page:Cassell's Illustrated History of England vol 4.djvu/85

A.D. 1693.] long ago have ruined him. He could have put the deep river Gerte betwixt him and the enemy; it was just in the rear. His generals strongly urged him to do this, where he might have maintained his position till he had recalled his forces from Liege. But he would not listen to them. He was afraid of having to retreat before Luxembourg, and discouraging his men. He set about, therefore, instantly to strengthen his then position. It was naturally strong; on his right hand lay the village of Neer-Winden amongst a network of hedges and deep lanes, with a small stream winding through it; on his right lay the village of Romsdorff, on a brook named the Landen, whence the battle took its name. William ordered an entrenchment to be thrown up from one village to the other, and mounted with a formidable chevaux-de-frise of stakes. Batteries were raised along this breastwork, and the two villages, which had their walls and moats, were also made as strong as the time would allow.

This done, the king posted his troops. Brigadier Ramsay, with the regiments of O'Farrel, Mackay, Leven, and Monroe, lined the hedges and lanes on the right beyond Neer-Winden, near the village of Lare; betwixt Lare and Neer-Winden six battalions of Brandenburgers were posted; and general Dumont, with Hanoverians, occupied Neer-Winden itself. Six battalions of English, Danes, and Dutch covered Romsdorff, and a strong body of infantry extended along the breastwork from one village to the other. Behind, right and left were posted the cavalry and dragoons, one body of which covered the village Dormal, on a brook called the Beck. All these arrangements were made on the 28th of July, and the next morning at sunrise the French were seen advancing in order of battle. When Luxembourg saw the position which William occupied, with the deep river in the rear, making his situation in case of retreat most perilous, he is said to have exclaimed, "Now, indeed, I see that Waldeck is really dead" — Waldeck being noted for his skill in choosing his ground. When he drew near, however, he was surprised at the formidable defences which the allies had raised in so short a time.

The allies commenced immediately a cannonade with a hundred pieces of cannon on the ramparts, which did great execution; but the French soon returned the compliment, and about eight o'clock made a furious attack on the villages of Lare and Neer-Winden. These places were several times lost and regained. In one of the assaults the duke of Berwick was taken prisoner. Perceiving himself surrounded by the English, he plucked off his white cockade, and endeavoured to pass himself off as an English officer. His English tongue might have serve him, but he had fallen under the eye of his uncle, brigadier Churchill, who received him affectionately and conducted him to William, who addressed him with courtesy, but never saw him again, as he was immediately after the battle exchanged for the duke of Ormond, who was wounded and taken prisoner in the action.

Meantime the battle was raging fiercely all along the line. The French repeatedly rushed up to the breastworks, and were as often driven back by the slaughtering fire of the infantry. A fresh attack was made on Neer-Winden, supported by the division under the duke of Bourbon, but which was repulsed with terrible carnage. Then Luxembourg called together his staff to consult, and it was determined to try yet one more assault on Neer-Winden with the famous household troops, which had carried the day at Mons and Namur. William met the guards at the head of several English regiments, which charged the guards with such impetuosity that, for the first time, they were compelled to give back. But whilst William was exerting himself on the right with a desperation and exposure of his person which astonished every one, the centre had become much weakened, and a murderous fight was going on at Romsdorff, or Neer-Landen, on the left. There the prince of Conti renewed the flagging contest by bringing up some of the finest regiments of the French infantry, whilst Villeroi there encountered the Bavarian cavalry under coutt D'Arco. In this mêlée the duke of Chartres narrowly escaped being taken.

Whilst the battle was thus obstinately disputed, the marquis D'Harcourt brought up two-and-twenty fresh squadrons from Huy, which, falling on the English, Dutch, and Hanoverians struggling against the united onslaught of Luxembourg, Marsin, and marshal de Joyeuse, bore them down by actual numbers. The whole line gave way; and now was seen the folly of William leaving the river in his rear, instead of having it in front. The confusion became terrible to escape over the bridge, and a frightful carnage must have followed had not William, with the regiments of Wyndham, Lmuley, and Gahvay, borne the brunt of the pursuing host till the rest of his army got over the bridge of Neer-Hespen. As it was, the rout and disorder were dreadful; numbers flung themselves into the river, but found it too deep, and were drowned. The duke of Ormond was here severely wounded, and Solines mortally, and was seized by the enemy. Over his loss some of "the English bulldogs" grinned. If William by his want of judgment had led his troops into this trap, he did his best to get them out of it. He repeatedly dismounted to encourage his men, inciting them by voice and example to stand up to the enemy. He had two led horses shot close behind him; one bullet passed through his hat, another through his sleeve, and a third carried away the knot of his sash. At length he got his army over the bridge, and encamped on the other bank of the river. The French did not attempt to pursue; they were worn out with their violent exertion, and passed the night on the field of battle amongst the heaps of slain and wounded. The next morning presented the most appalling scene of butchery which has been witnessed in latter times, except those of Malplaquet and Waterloo. Twenty thousand men are said to have perished in this bloody struggle, about an equal number on each side. On the French side fell count Montehevruil and the duke D'Uzes, the premier peer of France.

Luxembourg, exhausted with this effort, remained fifteen days at Waren, reorganising his shattered forces; and William employed the time in a similar manner, recalling the troops from Liege and from other places; so that in a short time he was again ready for action, his head-quarters being Louvain.

The battle of Landen was the great event of the campaign of 1693. When Luxembourg was rejoined by Boufflers from the Rhine, he invested Charleroi and that with so