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cannon shot. Marlborough's own wish was for an immediate battle, but he was opposed by the Dutch deputies at his headquarters, and even by Eugene, so that it was only on August 31/September 11 that the attack actually took See also:

PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place. Villars had made full use of his See also:

RESPITE (O. Fr. respit, modern repit, Lat. respectus, regard, consideration, respicere, to look back at)

respite. The French right stood at the fringe of the See also:

wood of Laniere, the See also:

LEFT

left was strongly posted in the midst of the wood of Taisniere, and across the two and a See also:

HALF

half miles of open ground between the woods the position was en-trenched with several successive lines of See also:

WORKS

works. The troops were almost equally distributed along the whole See also:

LINE

line as usual, and the See also:

CAVALRY (Fr. cavalerie, Ger. Kavallerie or Reiterei, derived ultimately from late Lat. caballus, horse)

cavalry was massed in See also:

REAR

rear of the See also:

INFANTRY

infantry. In the Allied army the mounted troops were also kept back, but for the most See also:

PART

part distributed to the various infantry commands. The intention of Marlborough and Eugene, when on the See also:

MORNING

morning of the battle they examined this formidable position, was to deliver the See also:

main attack upon the French left wing, combining the assaults of several columns on its front and flanks.

In this See also:

QUARTER (through Fr. from Lat. quartarius, fourth part)

quarter the French not only held the interior of the wood but also were thrown forward so as to occupy the edges of its north-eastern salient, and upon the two faces of this, salient See also:

COUNT (Lat. comes, gen. comitis, Fr. comte, Ital. conte, Span. conde)

Count Lottum (1650-1919) with the Prussians, and Count von der Schulenburg (1661-1947) with the See also:

AUSTRIAN

Austrian infantry were to deliver a See also:

double attack, while farther to the Allied right a See also:

COLUMN (Lat. columna)

column under the See also:

ENGLISH

English General Withers was detached. to make a wide turning See also:

MOVEMENT

movement through the woods. Marlborough took command on the right, Eugene on the left. The centre, which was intended only to observe the enemy until the decision had been forced at the wood of Taisniere, consisted of See also:

Lord See also:

Orkney's See also:

BRITISH

British See also:

CORPS (pronounced as in French, from which it is taken, being a late spelling of tors, from Lat. corpus, a body; cf. " corpse ")

corps and the prince of See also:

Orange's Dutch contingent. These extended across the Trouee d'Aulnois as soon as the combined attack of Lottum and Schulenburg opened. The general advance was covered by a heavy cannonade, and the salient of the Taisniere wood was duly attacked on its two faces by the Prussians and Austrians about 9 a.m. They encountered a sterner resistance than in any of the battles and combats of the past seven See also:

CAMPAIGNS

campaigns, for on this See also:

field the defenders were fighting, not as hitherto for the interests of their See also:

king, but to defend their country, and the regiments of Picardie and See also:

CHAMPAGNE

Champagne which held the salient were the See also:

OLDEST

oldest and most famous of the French line. Lottum attacked the works on the eastern edge, again and again without success, until three British battalions had to be sent to reinforce him, and Marlborough placed himself with a corps of cavalry in close support. At last the entrenchments were stormed. Schulenburg, with the Austrians, had by this time fought his way through the woods and under-growth, and the See also:

UNITED

united force pressed back the French farther and farther into the wood. Still, so stubborn was the See also:

defence and so dense the wood that the impetus of the See also:

ASSAULT (from Lat. ad, to or on, and saltare, to leap)

assault died away and the troops on both sides See also:

broke up into small disconnected bodies, fighting too fiercely to be amenable to See also:

SUPERIOR

superior See also:

CONTROL (Fr. contrdle, older form contre rolle, from Med. Lat. contra-rotulus, a counter roll or copy of a document used to check the original; there is no instance in English of the use of " control " in this, its literal, meaning)

control. But the French were not reinforced from their right wing as Villars expected. The prince of Orange, far from merely observing the hostile right as he had been ordered to do,committed his corps, very See also:

early in the battle, to a serious assault upon it, which Boufflers repulsed with enormous loss.

The Dutch infantry never recovered from its casualties on this See also:

day, and the memory of Malplaquet was strong even at See also:

FONTENOY

Fontenoy nearly See also:

FORTY

forty years afterwards. Some Hanoverian troops which took part in this futile attack suffered equally heavily. The only See also:

ADVANTAGE

advantage to the Allies—an advantage which, as it happened, counted for much—was that Boufflers did not dare to send reinforcements to the hard-pressed left wing. Thanks to this the Austrians and Prussians, with the English detached to their aid, made steady progress in the wood of Taisniere. Villars launched the " Irish See also:

BRIGADE (Fr. and Ger. brigade, Ital. brigata, Span. brigada; the English use of the word dates from the early 17th century)

brigade " to check the advance of the Allies, and this famous corps charged into the See also:

FOREST

forest. Villars, Eugene and Marlborough personally led their troops in the encounter which followed. Eugene was wounded, but refused to quit the field. Villars was more seriously hurt, and after trying in vain to See also:

DIRECT

direct the fighting from a See also:

CHAIR (in. Mid. Eng. chcere, through O. Fr. chaire or chaiere, from Lat. cathedra, later caledra, Gr. xaOi3pa, seat, cf. "cathedral"; the modern Fr. form chaise, a chair, has been adopted in English with a particular meaning as a form of carriage; chaire

chair was carried insensible from the field. At this crisis General Withers, who commanded the force that had After Hon. J. W. See also:

Fortescue, See also:

HISTORY

History of the British Army, by permission of See also:

MACMILLAN

Macmillan & Co., Ltd.

been ordered to turn the French extreme left, and had fought his way through the forest, appeared on the scene. The British 18th See also:

REGIMENT (from Late Latin regimentum, rule, regere, to rule, govern, direct)

regiment (Royal Irish), encountering the French Royal Irlandais, put it to the rout, and Villars's counterstroke was at an end. The French maintained themselves on this side only by the aid of troops See also:

DRAWN

drawn from the centre and right, and this gave the Allied centre the opportunity which the prince of Orange had so rashly anticipated. The See also:

GREAT

great attack over the open was carried out, in spite of the previous repulse, with the greatest determination. Preceded by forty guns, the corps of the prince of Orange and Lord Orkney swiftly carried the first line of works. The Allied cavalry then pushed out to the front, and See also:

HORSE (a word common to Teutonic languages in such forms as hors, hros, ros; cf. the Ger. ross)

horse, See also:

FOOT

foot and See also:

ARTILLERY (the O. Fr. artiller, to equip with engines of war, probably comes from Late Lat. articulum, dim. of ars, art, cf. " engine " from ingenium, or of artus, joint)

artillery were combined in the last advance. Boufflers's cavalry masses, coming into See also:

PLAY

play for the first time, fought hard, and the struggle fluctuated with the arrival of successive reserves on either side, but in the end, shortly before 3 p.m., Boufflers (who had been in command since Villars's fall) decided to See also:

RETREAT (O. Fr. retrete, mod. retraite, from Lat. retrahere, to draw back)

retreat. The Allies had no troops left intact for the pursuit, and those engaged had expended their last efforts. Moreover Boufflers, experienced soldier as he was, See also:

drew off his men before they had lost their See also:

order and discipline. See also:

SKETCH (directly adapted from Dutch schets, which was taken from Ital. schizzo, a rough draft, Lat. schedium, something hastily made, Gr. oxE&os, sudden, off-hand, axeb6v, near by; Ger. Skizze and Fr. esquisse are from the same source)

Sketch See also:

plan of MALPLAQUET See also:

Scale of., Mile 9 a i French Allies .lta .nn.*. '1 /.. n dr) Thus this " very murdering battle " as Marlborough called it—the last and greatest pitched battle of the See also:

war—was almost barren of results. The Allies lost not less than twenty thousand men, or nearly a quarter of the whole force, the See also:

THIRTY

thirty battalions of the Dutch infantry losing half their See also:

numbers.

On the French side there were some twelve thousand casualties. If further See also:

EVIDENCE (Lat. evidentia, evideri, to appear clearly)

evidence were necessary to prove that the French fought their hardest, it could be found in the fact that whereas in almost every other battle, from 166o to 1792, there were deserters and prisoners by the thousand, at Malplaquet only 500 of the French See also:

fell into the hands of the victors unwounded. MALSTATT-BURBACH, a See also:

TOWN

town of See also:

Germany, in the Prussian See also:

RHINE (Lat. Rhenus, Ger. Rhein, Fr. Rhin, Dutch Rhyn, or Rijn)

Rhine See also:

province on the right See also:

BANK

bank of the See also:

SAAR

Saar (Sarre), which separates it from See also:

SAARBRUCKEN

Saarbrucken. Pop. (1900), 31,195. It lies in the midst of an important See also:

COAL

coal-See also:

MINING

mining and See also:

INDUSTRIAL

industrial See also:

DISTRICT

district, and is itself little more than a See also:

long and narrow See also:

ROW, JOHN (c. 1525—1580)

row of manufactories and workmen's houses. The largest factories are engaged in the See also:

PRODUCTION (Lat. productionem, from producere, to pro-duce)

production of See also:

IRON [symbol Fe, atomic weight 55.85 (0=16)]

iron, See also:

STEEL, FLORA ANNIE (1847– )

steel and See also:

CEMENT (from Lat. caementum, rough pieces of stone, a shortened form of caedimentum, from caedere, to cut)

cement. There is a large See also:

WHARF

wharf on the See also:

RIVER

river for the export of coal. Malstatt received municipal rights in 1321. These, however, were afterwards resigned to the newer town of Saarbrucken, and in 1818 Malstatt and Burbach were two small villages with a See also:

JOINT (through Fr. from Lat. junctum, jungere, to join)

joint See also:

POPULATION (Lat. populus, people; populare, to populate)

population of only about 800. About the See also:

MIDDLE

middle of the See also:

CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century the population began to increase rapidly, in consequence of the development of the mining See also:

INDUSTRY (Lat. industria, from indu-, a form of the pre, position in, and either stare, to stand, or struere, to pile up)

industry of the district and the See also:

EXTENSION (Lat. ex, out ; tendere, to stretch)

extension of the railway See also:

SYSTEM

system, and in 1874 the two villages were united to See also:

FORM (Lat. forma)

form a town.

End of Article: MALPLAQUET

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