It had been agreed that the Duke of Marlborough should cover the siege of Ingolstadt whilst it was carried on by Prince Louis of Baden. But as the Duke's army was much inferior to that of the enemy, he resolved to call in all his out-parties, and also to look for a position stronger and more convenient than that which he now occupied. For this end he went out early in the morning of the 7th, accompanied by Prince Eugene and several other general officers, as well to examine the avenues to the camp as to view the ground betwixt it and the river Lech. His Grace did not return until very late at night, when he gave orders for the army to march the next morning nearer to Nieuburg. Accordingly it marched on the 8th to Sandizel, whence it advanced the next day (9th) to Exheim; and on this day Prince Louis took away twenty-three battalions and thirty-one squadrons to form the siege of Ingolstadt.
The Duke now received intelligence that the enemy's whole army was in motion towards Lavingen and Dillingen with intent to pass the Danube; and Prince Eugene, who had taken leave of his Grace in order to return to his camp, came back about two hours after with a confirmation of this intelligence. Having conferred some time together, the Prince then went back to his army, encamped between Munster and Erlinghoffen, with the river Kessel before it. His Highness was followed at break of day by a detachment from my Lord Duke's army of twenty-seven Imperial squadrons, commanded by the Duke-Regent of Wirtemberg. His Grace also detached Gen. Churchill with twenty battalions, and ordered them with the train of artillery to pass the Danube over the bridge of boats, which had been laid a little below the confluence of the Lech with that river, over against the village of Marxheim.
Both these detachments were ordered to make the best of their way to join Prince Eugene, who, as soon as he arrived at his camp, ordered several battalions to march towards the Schellenberg and to repair the intrenchments which had been taken from the enemy on the 2nd of July. The rest of his army, with all the baggage, followed thither; his Highness remaining behind himself, however, with twenty squadrons of dragoons as well to observe the enemy as with the intention of maintaining the camp he was in, if it should be found possible to do so.
In the meantime the Duke of Marlborough marched with the troops that remained with him and encamped with the right near Standa and the left extending beyond Rain, which was in front. Near that place was the cloister of Schonefeldt, where the Duke took his quarters, and from thence he sent to inform Prince Louis of the enemy's movements and of all the detachments he had made, and assured his Highness that he should take care to keep himself always between the enemy and the siege of Ingolstadt, requesting him at the same time to relieve Brigadier Baldwyn and send him forthwith to join his Grace at Donawert. It was late before the Duke gave out any orders that night, being in hourly expectation of receiving further advices from Prince Eugene of the motions of the enemy. About eleven at night an express arrived from his Highness that the enemy were marching directly towards him. Upon this his Grace immediately sent orders to Gen. Churchill to march as soon as it was light with the twenty battalions and the train of artillery over the Schellenberg, and commanded the second line of foot to cross the Danube and follow the same route. His Grace with the first line of foot and all the cavalry passed the Lech at Rain and the Danube at Donawert, and they all came in sight of Prince Eugene's camp about nine the next morning. The generals who commanded Prince Eugene's army in his absence, ordered the tents to be struck immediately on our appearing, and marched to rejoin the Prince in the camp they had quitted the day before. His Grace followed, and having passed the Wernitz, he drew up the cavalry on a high ground by Ebermergen till Gen. Churchill and both lines of foot were come up. After a little halt the whole army resumed its march, and joining Prince Eugene about six in the evening, encamped with the right at Oppertzhofen and the left at Munster, the river Kessel being in the front and the Danube upon the left flank. The train of artillery did not, however, come up to the army this evening, having already made a march of eight hours, or twenty-four English miles. The enemy had not moved this day otherwise than to endeavour to gain intelligence of our strength and position.
His Grace gave no other orders this night, but that every regiment should make bridges over the Kessel so as to be able to pass as many in front as possible. He also ordered that the grand guard of both wings of the army, making it all thirty squadrons, should be drawn up by break of day at the head of the English Guards, there to halt till further orders.
About daybreak Col. Blood brought up the artillery, and a little after his Grace, accompanied by Prince Eugene, put himself at the head of the grand guard and marched with it to gain intelligence of the enemy. They advanced towards Hochstett, and upon a rising ground about two miles on this side of that town they saw several of the enemy's squadrons appearing. But not knowing as yet whether the whole French army was behind them, or whether this was only a body of their horse sent out to reconnoitre, his Grace and Prince Eugene, the better to distinguish them, went up into the steeple of Dapfheim, from whence with their glasses they perceived the whole army of the enemy in full march towards the same hill where their squadrons of cavalry were, and that a camp was there marking out. Hereupon his Grace took a view of all the avenues to the enemy, and finding a ravine (or hollow way) running parallel with the Kessel above the village of Dapfheim, about two miles from our camp, he gave orders that a body of pioneers should be immediately employed to level it; and having commanded the piquet guard to draw up behind the ravine (or hollow way) to cover the workmen, he returned with Prince Eugene to his quarters at Munster. Just as they were sitting down to dinner, intelligence was brought that the enemy's squadrons had attempted to fall upon our workmen, but had been repulsed by the guard which covered them; whereupon the generals immediately ordered their horses, and taking some more squadrons with them, directed that all the rest of the cavalry should be ready when called for. The battalion of English Guards and Rowe's brigade of infantry were commanded to file off to the left of all, while Lord Cutts with twelve battalions more (taken out of the first line of the left wing) was ordered to march in two columns till he came to be on a line with the head of the village of Dapfheim, and there draw up. The Prince of Anhalt was ordered to march in the same manner with the Prussian infantry, close by a wood which was upon the right of the plain already possessed by our squadrons, where they were to halt till further orders. The rest of the army was commanded to be ready, and that in the mean time the soldiers should clean their arms.
By these arrangements his Grace made an admirable countenance against the enemy, and all under his command, as well officers as soldiers, showed an eager desire to come to an engagement; but as the enemy advanced no further, and as it began to be late, his Grace thought fit to defer the further advance of the army till the next morning. He ordered therefore that the Guards and all the troops he had brought out should return to their ground, except Rowe's brigade and four Hessian regiments of foot, the whole commanded by Major-Gen. Wilkes, which were ordered to continue in Dapfheim all night to maintain that post. Prince Eugene returned with the Duke to his quarters, and it was resolved by them to give the enemy battle on the following day.
This resolution having been taken, orders were given that the army should move before break of day and range itself in order of battle upon the plain between Gremheim and Unterglau. As Brigadier Baldwyn and several other parties were not come in, the army now consisted of 66 battalions and 160 squadrons. The right wing, commanded by Prince Eugene, was composed of seven Danish and eleven Prussian battalions, which was all the foot his Highness had under his orders, and of 74 squadrons of cavalry, in part composed of the Imperial and Prussian troops and in part of those of Suabia, Franconia, Wirtemberg, and other troops of the Empire.
In the left wing, under the Duke of Marlborough, there were 48 battalions, viz., 14 English, 14 Dutch, 7 Hessian, and 13 of Hanover, Lunenburg, Zell, and Swiss; and there were 86 squadrons, viz., 14 English, 22 Danes, 18 Dutch, 7 Hessian, and 25 of Lunenburg, Hanover, and Zell.
The army marched directly towards the enemy, then about four miles distant, in the following order, viz.:
The right wing in four columns, two of infantry and two of cavalry; the infantry being to the right of the cavalry upon a rising ground close by a wood which came down to the river Kessel before mentioned.
The left wing of the army moved off also in four columns, having to their right the two columns of Prince Eugene's cavalry and to their left successively the villages of Dapfheim and of Schwenningen, and the Danube. Major-Gen. Wilkes and Brig. Rowe, with their nine battalions which had been left in Dapfheim during the previous night, marched on the left of the whole by themselves next the Danube. The Imperial artillery followed the infantry of the right wing, and the English and Dutch artillery and the pontoons marched through the villages of Erlinghoffen, Dapfheim, and Schwenningen. All the baggage was sent back to Riedlingen, near Donawert, there to be parked till further orders.
His Grace having caused the whole army to halt, sent eleven battalions of the left wing to join the nine battalions already detached under Major-Gen. Wilkes near the Danube. The whole twenty were to be commanded by Lord Cutts, and under him were Majors-Gen. Wilkes and St. Paul, and Brigs.-Gen. Ferguson, Rowe, and Hulsen; and Major-Gen. Wood and Brig.-Gen. Ross were ordered with fifteen squadrons of dragoons to sustain them.
These twenty battalions and fifteen squadrons formed thus a ninth column of the army upon the left of all by itself next the Danube, and Lord Cutts had orders with these troops to attack the village of Blenheim, which was contiguous to that river.
These arrangements being completed, the army again moved forwards, his Grace and Prince Eugene advancing before all with some squadrons of the grand guard. They discovered the advanced parties of the enemy before six o'clock in the morning, and these, as our squadrons came up, retired by degrees towards their encampment. About seven our generals halted and took a full view of the enemy's camp from a rising ground over against it, and found the situation of it to be as follows: their right was on the Danube, having the village of Blenheim (where were Marshal Tallard's quarters) in front; and their left extended to a wood which covered the village of Lutzingen, where were the quarters of the Elector of Bavaria. All along this front there ran a rivulet twelve feet broad in most places and very difficult to pass, and in several parts the ground near it was very marshy. About the centre was the village of Oberglau (the quarters of Marshal Marsin), situated upon the side of a hill about musket-shot from the rivulet. The enemy were encamped upon this hill, which reached from the Danube to the wood, being of a very easy ascent and having a command of the whole plain in front all the way. From that part of it which is nearest to Blenheim there runs a little stream in two branches through the middle of that village into the Danube. The other rivulet, which covered the enemy's front, divided itself also into two branches about half-way between Blenheim and another village there was on our side over against Oberglau, continuing from thence to run in two branches till within a few paces of where it falls into the Danube; the meadows between the two branches of the rivulet being soft and marshy. One of the branches had two mills upon it, at each of which there was an easy passage over.
Whilst viewing these features of the enemy's position at a short distance, his Grace was also more particularly informed of the nature of them by Major-Gen. Natzmer, of the King of Prussia's troops, who had been wounded the year before in the defeat at this place of Count Stirum by the Elector of Bavaria and M. d'Usson. All this while, the morning being a little hazy, the enemy might suppose that we had only small parties abroad, and might not be aware that the whole army was in motion. However this may have been, they remained quietly in their camp during the early part of the morning.
Our columns began to appear a little after seven, both officers and soldiers advancing cheerfully and showing a firm and glad countenance, and seeming to be confident to themselves of a victorious day.
The enemy now beat to arms, and fired the signal for their foragers to come in. They also set fire to the villages of Berghausen, Weilheim, and Unterglau, and to the two mills and some other houses near the rivulet, with a view to prevent our passage. They likewise brought forward their cannon, and planted several batteries along the hill which formed their position, as also in the villages of Blenheim, Oberglau, and Lutzingen. Their army was ranged in the following manner:
In the village of Blenheim were posted twenty-six battalions, commanded by Lieut.-Gen. the Marquis de Clerambault; and twelve squadrons of dragoons were drawn up behind it. The enemy had thrown up intrenchments all round the village, and had lined the palings and hedges with troops; and to give additional strength to their post, they had brought out all the tables, doors, planks, chests, &c. from the houses, and had placed them so as to afford cover from our shot. On that side of Blenheim which was next the Danube, and was the most open, they had made a barricade with waggons and with pieces of timber laid across to cover their retreat, against our horse, in case of their post beig forced. From the village of Blenheim to that of Oberglau were posted eighty squadrons in two lines, having two brigades of foot intermixed near their centre. The last of these two villages was also occupied by fourteen of the enemy's battalions, among which were three Irish regiments commanded by the Marquis De Blainville, who had made the famous defence at Kaiserwert. To the left of these were drawn up in two lines the Elector of Bavaria's cavalry and the rest of Marshal Marsin's; and from their left to the wood, the remainder of their infantry, having the village of Lutzingen behind them.
The Duke now sent for all the generals to give them his final instructions as to the disposition to be made for passing the rivulet. His Grace ordered General Churchill to draw up the two lines of foot so that their right should be near the village of Unterglau, which was then burning; and he directed the Prince of Hesse to place the two lines of horse between the two lines of infantry. Thus the first line of foot was in front, the first line of horse behind that, then the second line of horse, and then the second line of foot in the rear of all. The reason for drawing up the first line of foot in front of the horse was because it was to pass the rivulet first, and to march as far in advance on the other side as could be conveniently done, and then to form and cover the passage of the horse, leaving intervals in the line of infantry large enough for the horse to pass through and take their post in front.
Lord Cutts, with his twenty battalions, still continued on the left of all towards Blenheim, drawn up in four lines; and Major-Gen. Wood with his fifteen squadrons was in two lines behind that body of foot.
About eight o'clock, the enemy began to cannonade our army as it advanced. Upon which his Grace ordered Col. Blood to plant several counter batteries upon the most advantageous parts of the ground, and his Grace visited each battery, and stood by to observe the range of the guns and the effect of their fire.
In the mean time the Imperialists had been in march to take their post on the right; and his Grace, in taking leave of Prince Eugene, desired his Highness to give him notice when the right wing was formed, that they might begin the general attack together. But the ground upon the right being found less practicable than it had been represented to be, Prince Eugene was forced on that account to make a greater circuit through the woods upon his right, and had to extend his wing further than had been anticipated. This took up much time; and his Grace becoming impatient to know what was doing, sent Col. Cadogan to bring him exact information of the Prince's progress. After some time Col. Cadogan returned, and gave his Grace an account that Prince Eugene had posted his infantry in two lines to the right of all; that his cavalry was to the left of the infantry, drawn up in the same manner, and that his Highness's corps de reserve was allotted to fill up the interval which had been occasioned by the unavoidable extension of the line. (Continued on next page...)
|
