The Battle of Fleurus, fought on 1 July 1690, was a major engagement of the Nine Years' War. In a bold envelopment the Duc de Luxembourg, commanding Louis XIV’s army of some 35,000 men, soundly defeated Prince Waldeck’s Allied force of approximately 38,000 men comprising mainly Dutch, German, and Spanish troops. Despite suffering some 6,000 casualties, the battle was a clear victory for the French commander; yet typical of the period it proved fa...
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The Battle of Fleurus, fought on 1 July 1690, was a major engagement of the Nine Years' War. In a bold envelopment the Duc de Luxembourg, commanding Louis XIV’s army of some 35,000 men, soundly defeated Prince Waldeck’s Allied force of approximately 38,000 men comprising mainly Dutch, German, and Spanish troops. Despite suffering some 6,000 casualties, the battle was a clear victory for the French commander; yet typical of the period it proved far from decisive. Although the French War Minister, Louvois, wished to press ahead and secure further success, King Louis overruled him and ordered Luxembourg to reinforce the the Dauphin’s army on the Rhine and forego any major siege. The Allies, meanwhile, withdrew to Brussels to recover and rebuild their army.
In 1690 the main theatre of the Nine Years’ War moved to the Spanish Netherlands. Command of French forces now passed to the talented Marshal Luxembourg (a position he would keep until his death in 1695), superseding Marshal Humières...
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