Battle of Oudenarde - Battle

Battle

Cadogan, a superb Irish cavalry commander, ordered some dragoons, under Danish General Jørgen Rantzau, to take prisoners from the French advance guard. Many of those troops escaped and alerted Lieutenant General Charles-Armand de Gontaut, duc de Biron, who commanded the vanguard, of the presence of Allied troops on the west bank.

When de Biron advanced, he was disagreeably surprised by the large number of Allied cavalry already across the river, along with the approaching Allied infantry. Although he was ordered to attack by Vendôme, he hesitated upon seeing the reinforced line of 20 battalions (including the four that had been left to guard the pontoon bridges). Biron's own forces comprised only 7 battalions and 20 squadrons. He had been given reliable advice that cavalry could not negotiate the marshy terrain in the area, and therefore decided not to attempt a crossing. At this time, Eugène, along with 20 squadrons of Prussian cavalry, moved across the river, and occupied crucial positions.

While Biron's troops were manoeuvring, the leading British infantry brigade had arrived, under the inexperienced but gifted John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll. Cadogan, with authority from Marlborough, attacked Biron's 7 battalions (of Swiss mercenaries) with his soldiers (mainly cavalry). The isolated Swiss mercenaries were immediately pushed back, and the Allied force destroyed Biron's squadrons, until they reached a large mass of French cavalry, at which point they were forced to retire, outnumbered. The force who performed this action was Rantzau's cavalry, with the future King George II of England among them.

Burgundy, making another critical mistake, decided to attack (over protests by Vendôme). The French right wing began to attack the Allied positions near Eine, while the left wing (for an unknown reason) remained stationary near Huise. Meanwhile, a very strong position was held by the Allied left wing. 28 cavalry squadrons protected the right flank of Cadogan's infantry, which would receive the attack (which proceeded at about 4 pm).

Burgundy ordered the assault, which landed on Prussian cavalry squadrons under Dubislav Gneomar von Natzmer. Although hard fighting ensued, the attack was dispersed. Then, Vendôme made a dubious decision. He personally led an attack of twelve regiments, fighting hand-to-hand with a half-pike. This meant that while one commander (Burgundy) was in his headquarters, with no view of the battle, the other was fighting personally, with no possibility of control.

Most historians agree that the weakened Allied right flank would have been destroyed, had the French left wing attacked. Vendôme realized this, asking Burgundy for permission to attack with the left wing. Burgundy sent a messenger with a negative reply; however, this messenger failed to deliver the message. Therefore, the situation worsened with Vendôme believing that an attack would support his hard-fighting troops. His troops were lengthening, threatening to envelop the Allied left flank. As Argyll's regiments approached, they lengthened the Allied line; however, this was not quick enough to prevent the French from threatening.