Re: Battle of Oudenaarde -- The Spanish Succession

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Date Posted: 01:05:27 06/27/06 Tue
Author: Chas
Subject: Re: Battle of Oudenaarde
In reply to: Karel Tavernier 's message, "Battle of Oudenaarde" on 12:09:45 11/08/05 Tue

>I read with great interest the account of the Battle
>of Oudenaarde.
>
>However, one thing puzzles me. At the end of the
>account, it is written "At dusk about 50,000 French
>troops were encircled." and later "Thus the French
>army retreated on Gent in utter confusion. A confusion
>best illustrated by the fact that 10,000 French troops
>retired to France in stead of Gent."
>
>What happened to those encirled French troops? Did
>they break out or something?
>
>Karel

See Churchill's account in the biography of Marlborough.

A. Although there were allied forces on all sides of the French, they were not fully surrounded in the sense of completing a full circle. The French troops filtered away through all the gaps in the surrounding troops, under cover of darkness, in whichever direction was possible e.g. those that retreated towards the south (France) rather than the north (Ghent etc.)

B. The French left wing, including particularly a lot of cavalry, was never fully engaged in the battle, was not part of the forces surrounded, and formed the major component of those forces that retreated in good order to Ghent.

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