The Battle of Malplaquet

The Battle of Malplaquet, fought on September 11, 1709 in what is present-day Belgium at the height of the War of the Spanish Succession, was the bloodiest battle of the eighteenth century with over 22,000 dead and wounded. Swiss mercenaries faced each other on the battlefield; 8,000 lost their lives.

James Blake Wiener

James Blake Wiener is a world historian, Co-Founder of World History Encyclopedia, writer, and PR specialist, who has taught as a professor in Europe and North America.

Website: worldhistory.org

The catalyst for the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714) was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain. Charles' heir had been his grandnephew, Joseph Ferdinand of Bavaria, until the latter died under mysterious circumstances. Upon Joseph Ferdinand's death, the nearest claimant to the Spanish throne was Louis XIV of France's eldest surviving son, Prince Louis, the "Grand Dauphin.” However, the rulers of France, Great Britain, and the Netherlands agreed that Archduke Charles of Austria would be the most suitable, alternative candidate to the Spanish throne in order to ensure the balance of power in Europe. Charles II initially acquiesced to their demand, but he abrogated his will shortly before his death with the encouragement of the Francophile Cardinal-Archbishop of Toledo, Luis Manuel Fernández de Portocarrero. Louis XIV's teenage grandson, Philip of Anjou, according to Charles II’s new will, was to inherit the Spanish crown.

**The French fought with the rest of Europe over his inheritance: King Charles II of Spain.** Wikimedia

**Philip V, around 1700. His proclamation as King of Spain triggered the War of the Spanish Succession. Painting by Hyacinthe Rigaud.** Wikimedia

**Philip's opponent, Archduke Charles of Austria, later Emperor Charles VI, at a young age.** Wikimedia

On November 16, 1700, the Spanish proclaimed the young Philip as king to the consternation of many across Europe. Although Spain no longer was the preeminent power it had been a century earlier, its empire remained colossal – the Spanish Netherlands, much of Italy, most of the Americas, and the Philippines continued to acknowledge Spanish suzerainty. French dominance over Spain and its colonies was a prospect that would directly threaten the international and commercial interests of Great Britain, the Netherlands, and Austria. The fact that Philip of Anjou forfeited his and the claims of his heirs to the French throne did little to assuage suspicions. The War of the Spanish Succession began on July 9, 1701 after diplomacy failed to solve the question of whether a French or Austrian candidate would succeed the Spanish throne.

There is little that can withstand the man who can conquer himself.

Louis XIV

Away from the ballet stage but with the graceful posture of a dancer in fourth position: Louis XIV in a portrait by Hyacinthe Rigaud, 1701. — **This iconic portrait of Louis XIV was painted around 1701, at the beginning of the War of the Spanish Succession.** Wikimedia

Prelude to a Bloody Battle

In spite of the fact that thousands of Swiss mercenaries flocked to serve various European armies during the War of the Spanish Succession, the Old Swiss Confederation remained ostensibly neutral as Europe descended into chaos. Great Britain, Austria, and the Netherlands coordinated their efforts to form a Grand Alliance against the forces of France and Spain. In 1702, other polities – Portugal, Savoy, and Prussia – would join their alliance. Led by the most-brilliant military generals and strategists of the era, John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene of Savoy, the Grand Alliance achieved celebrated victories at Blenheim (1704), Gibraltar (1704), Ramillies (1706), Oudenarde (1708), and Menorca (1708). Anti-French political sentiment ran high across the continent as a result of Louis XIV’s constant warmongering, the expulsion of the Huguenots, and France’s aggressive mercantilist policies in the decades prior to the conflict. While Bavaria had supported France from 1701-1704, Louis XIV failed to woo any other continental ally to his cause. Sweden, Denmark, Imperial Russia, Saxony, and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth were, moreover, engaged in the Great Northern War (1700-1721) and therefore unable to lend any potential assistance. France, nevertheless, remained the most powerful nation in Europe due to its extensive revenues and enviable geography. The French retained enough military might to defend their borders and political interests in Spain, securing impressive victories of their own at Nice (1706), Almansa (1707), Toulon (1707), and Alicante (1709).

**The Battle of Almansa, painted by Ricardo Balaca around 1862, is considered one of the most decisive battles of the War of the Spanish Succession.** Museo del Prado

The winter of 1708 was perhaps the coldest on record in 500 years; France faced the twin calamities of famine and bankruptcy. Louis XIV thus decided to reopen diplomatic negotiations with the Grand Alliance. The terms of peace dictated were stiff: Philip of Anjou had to give up the Spanish throne in favor of Archduke Charles, and Louis XIV had to ensure his grandson’s compliance, by force, if necessary. Louis XIV rejected this – the thought of making war on his grandson was too much to bear – and the French recommenced military operations. Throughout the summer of 1709, the armies of the Grand Alliance, accompanied by Swiss regiments serving the Dutch, placed considerable pressure on France in an attempt to break through a series of tightly-guarded fortresses along the northern French frontier. Marlborough took the seemingly impregnable fortress and garrison of Tournai in early September 1709, but at the cost of 5,000 allied soldiers. Louis XIV was furious when he received word that Marlborough had not only taken Tournai but was moving in the direction of Mons. He ordered Marshal Claude de Villars to defend the city at any cost.

I find the troops in a deplorable condition – without clothes, arms or bread.

Marshal Claude de Villars on the state of the French army in 1709.

The Swiss at the Battle of Malplaquet

De Villars and his 90,000-strong French army would meet an army of 100,000 allied soldiers from Austria, Great Britain, the Netherlands, and Prussia commanded by the Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene of Savoy at Malplaquet, located roughly 15 km south of Mons and 50 km west of Charleroi. There were two battalions of Swiss guards led by the French, composed of the Salis, Machet, Stuppa, Zurlauben, Chandieu, and Pyffer companies. Several Swiss regiments – Greder, Brändle (Brendlé), Villars-Chandieu, and Hans Rudolf von May – also served the French army. Assisting Dutch forces were the Swiss Hirzel, Mestral, Stürler, Schmid von Grüneck, Chambrier, and Gabriel von May regiments. The majority of the Swiss mercenaries in French service positioned themselves in the center right flank, whereas the Swiss assisting the 30 Dutch battalions were concentrated primarily in reserve on the right flank. On the morning of September 11, 1709, between 7:00 and 8:00 AM, the battle began with the discharge of artillery fire from the Allies. With determination and eagerness to defeat the French on the battlefield, Marlborough and Prince Eugene ordered the allied infantry and calvary into full assault.

**Battle of Malplaquet, Swiss against Swiss in bloody turmoil.** ETH-Bibliothek Zürich

Swiss mercenaries in the service of the Netherlands soon found themselves in direct opposition to Swiss soldiers in the service of France. This was due to the allied strategy of targeting the French right flank. Although the Swiss mercenaries fighting with the Dutch aimed to undertake a swift advance, Swiss mercenaries serving France, in addition to theSwiss guard, prevented them from penetrating enemy lines. They not only held their ground, but they fought fiercely. Men from Bern, Basel, and Vaud massacred former neighbors, colleagues, friends, and relatives as hostilities continued throughout the morning. The encounter between the Brändle and May regiments in French service with the Stürler and May regiments in Dutch service became a veritable bloodbath. Both May regiments owed their allegiance to Bern, and both sought to demonstrate superior martial valor. Adding to the human misery was the fact that de Villars had overseen the construction of an elaborate labyrinth of guarded obstacles, boobytraps, and entrenchments in the hours preceding the battle. Little mercy was shown on either side: de Villars’ trenches soon overflowed with the mutilated bodies of Swiss soldiers.

The brothers were in front of the brothers… These men silencing nature, approached with fury, thinking only of proving their fidelity… A madness of carnage had replaced the enthusiasm of the battle; the blues [Swiss mercenaries fighting for France] and the reds [Swiss mercenaries fighting for the Dutch] tore the palisades with their butts, in bloody clinch, the ditches filled with corpses…

Swiss Historian Paul de Vallière reimagines the internecine butchery at Malplaquet (Honneur et fidélité, 1940)

**Marlborough and his troops enter enemy entrenchments at the Battle of Malplaquet. Painting by Louis Laguerre, around 1713.** Wikimedia

The first assault ended in failure for the Dutch and allied Swiss as they were unable to force the French into retreat around 10:30. Though appalled by the carnage around them, Marlborough and Prince Eugene ordered a regroup followed by a surprise second assault upon the central French flank around 13:30. In the second phase of battle, the Swiss regiments fighting for the Dutch were largely absent from combat. This time, the Dutch, in addition to their German allies from Hanover, managed to break through French lines. Firepower provided a much-needed advantage as they faced the convergence of French and Swiss guards originally positioned within the right and left flanks. The Swiss battalions of Brändle, May, and Greder, endeavored to stem the breakthrough by moving closer to the French artillery battery as the allied and French cavalries fought one another in close proximity. The French army and Swiss battalions failed to persevere. The battle was over by the late afternoon, and the Grand Alliance achieved a pyrrhic victory after more than seven hours of bloodshed. The French army, now led by Louis-François de Boufflers due to an injury sustained by Villars in combat, would retreat to the safety of their fortified towns – Le Quesnoy, Valenciennes, Bavay, Maubeuge, and Avesne – along with a sizable number of surviving soldiers and cannons in tow. Swiss survivors in French service guarded the rear in this retreat. They need not have worried – the armies of Prince Eugene and Marlborough were too exhausted to pursue them.

**Plan of the Battle of Malplaquet.** ETH-Bibliothek Zürich

Aftermath & Treaty of Baden

Eyewitnesses to the battle describe the death toll as incalculable. The figures from the Battle of Malplaquet are indeed astonishing. Using contemporary and eyewitness sources, modern historians place French losses and injuries between 8,000 to 11,000, while estimates for the Allies range anywhere from 18,000 to 24,000 dead and wounded. If these estimates are to be believed, the Dutch suffered nearly half of the allied losses even though they only constituted about a quarter of the total number of allied troops. Swiss losses were also severe, totaling around 8,000 dead.

Has God forgotten all I have done for him?

Louis XIV of France upon learning of the French defeat at Malplaquet.

If it pleases God to give your enemies another such victory, they are ruined.

Alleged reply from the French commander Claude de Villars to Louis XIV.

When news of the battle reached the Swiss Diet, it provoked widespread condemnation. Across the Old Swiss Confederacy, there was a profound sense of shock and sadness over the slaughter at Malplaquet. The Swiss Diet enacted proactive measures designed to prevent Swiss mercenaries fighting one another abroad, but these only held for a century. At the Battle of Bailén in 1808, Swiss mercenaries fighting respectively for the Spanish and the French would face off during the Napoleonic Wars.

**Federal Diet in Baden, 18th century etching.** Zentralbibliothek Zürich

The bloodbath at Malplaquet facilitated the undoing of the Grand Alliance against Louis XIV. Although Marlborough was able to take Mons on October 20, 1709, Queen Anne later dismissed him as general in 1711. Fatigued by the years of interminable warfare, the Grand Alliance began to unravel, and the negotiation of an advantageous peace with France became the chief priority of its former members.

**Delegates to the Baden Peace Congress in 1714, painted by Johann Rudolf Huber.** Wikimedia

The Battle of Malplaquet ranks among the bloodiest days in Swiss history, but the battle remains rather unknown in Switzerland. Curiously, the battle almost coincides with the anniversary of the Swiss defeat at the Battle of Marignano on September 13, 1515. Another irony lies in the fact that the third in a series of peace treaties signed by the belligerents to end the War of the Spanish Succession would be sealed in Baden in 1714. This was the first international treaty signed within the Old Swiss Confederacy. The French and Austrians choose Baden due to its reputation as a pleasant spa town, and ability to host excess numbers of diplomats and generals. At Baden, the French and the Austrians agreed to the following: France would retain Alsace and Landau, but Austria would receive Breisgau; Austria would also receive the Spanish Netherlands as well as Spanish territories in Italy; former territories belonging to Bavaria and Cologne would be restored; and Charles VI (formerly Archduke and now Holy Roman Emperor) could retain the title "King of Spain," despite the fact that Philip of Anjou (now reigning as Philip V of Spain) would continue to rule that country.

More of: Baroque Modern Age Politics War/battle