The Cornet of Horse: A Tale of Marlborough's Wars

by G. A. Henty

  Chapter 16: Ramilies.

  Neither Rupert Holliday nor Maria van Duyk would be troubled morewith Sir Richard Fulke. He was absolutely and unquestionably dead.He had fallen on his head, and death had been instantaneous. In theman whom Rupert shot through the window, Hugh and he recognized thefellow who had been his accomplice in the attempt to carry offMaria in London.

  Maria was wholly uninjured, although she was days before she wasable to speak with comfort, so roughly had the gag been thrust intoher mouth. She had not seen her chief abductor after she had beencarried off, as Sir Richard must have felt that it was in vaineither to threaten or to sue until he had got her in safety farfrom Dort.

  Leaving the rest of the gang to be dealt with by the authorities,Rupert with his followers left Dort two days later, happy in havingfinally freed his friends from the danger which had so long menacedthem. Mynheer van Duyk said but little; but Rupert knew how deepwere his feelings of gratitude; and he again sighed deeply over thefact that Rupert was still but little over eighteen. Maria herselfwas equally grateful.

  Van Duyk would have freighted a shipful of presents to Rupert'sfriends in England, but the latter would not hear of it. Heinsisted, however, on sending a pipe of magnificent old Burgundyfor the colonel's drinking; while Maria sent a stomacher of antiqueworkmanship, with valuable gems, to Madame Holliday.

  No adventure marked their homeward journey. Their ship took themrapidly with a fair wind to London Bridge; and Rupert and Hughstarted next day by the coach for Derby, the former having made JoeSedley a handsome present, to enable him to enjoy his holiday, andan invitation to come down to Windthorpe Chace when he was tired ofLondon.

  A letter had been written from Holland a few days before starting,to announce their coming, but it was, of course, impossible in thedays of sailing ships to fix a day for arrival.

  Hiring a chaise, they drove to Windthorpe Chace, where the delightboth of Mistress Holliday and of the colonel was unbounded. Hugh,too, was greeted very warmly by both, for Rupert had done fulljustice to the services he had rendered him. It was difficult torecognize in the dashing looking young officer and the stalwarttrooper the lads who but two years and a half before had riddenaway posthaste from the Chace. Hugh was driven off to the farm; andRupert remained alone with his mother and the colonel, whooverwhelmed him with questions.

  The colonel had changed but little, and bid fair to live to a greatage. His eye was bright, and his bearing still erect. He scarcelylooked sixty-five, although he was more than ten years older.

  Mistress Dorothy was, Rupert thought, softer and kinder than ofold. Her pride, and to some extent her heart, had met with a rudeshock, but her eyes were now fully open to the worthlessness of herformer suitor, who had lately been obliged to fly the country,having been detected at cheating at cards.

  Colonel Holliday rejoiced when he heard of the pipe of primeBurgundy, which started from London on the day Rupert left; whileMistress Dorothy was enchanted with the stomacher, which her sonproduced from his trunk.

  "Have you ever heard from Monsieur Dessin, grandfather? You told methat he said he would write and tell you his real name."

  "I doubt not that he did so, Rupert; but the carriage of lettersbetween this and France is precarious. Only smugglers or such likebring them over, and these, except when specially paid, care butlittle for the trouble. That he wrote I am certain, but his letterhas not reached me, which I regret much."

  The six months at home passed rapidly. Rupert fell into his oldways; rode and hawked, and occasionally paid state visits to thegentry of the neighbourhood, by whom, as one of Marlborough'ssoldiers, he was made much of.

  "I think this soldiering life makes one restless, Master Rupert,"Hugh said one day when the time was approaching for their start. "Ifeel a longing to be with the troop again, to be at work anddoing."

  "I feel the same, Hugh; but you would not find it so, I think, ifyou had come home for good. Then you would have your regularpursuits on the farm, while now you have simply got tired of havingno work to do. When the war is over, and we have done soldiering,you will settle down on one of the farms of the Chace. Madame saysyou shall have the first that falls vacant when you come home. Thenyou will take a wife, and be well content that you have seen theworld, and have something to look back upon beyond a six milescircuit of Derby."

  The next campaign may be passed over briefly. The parsimony ofEngland and Holland, and the indifference of Germany, spoiled allthe plans of Marlborough, and lost the allies all the benefits ofthe victory of Blenheim. The French, in spite of their heavylosses, took the field in far greater force than the allies; andinstead of the brilliant offensive campaign he had planned,Marlborough had to stand on the defensive.

  The gallantry of his English troops, and the effect which Blenheimhad produced upon the morale of the French, enabled him to hold theground won, and to obtain several minor successes; one notably atthe Dyle, where Villeroi's troops were driven out of linesconsidered impregnable, but where the pusillanimity and ill will ofthe Dutch generals prevented any substantial results beingobtained; but no important action took place, and the end of 1705found things in nearly the same state that 1704 had left them.

  The non success of the campaign undid some of the harm which thesuccess of that of 1704 had effected. In Flanders the genius of theduke had enabled the allies to maintain their ground; but on theRhine they had done badly, and in Italy the French had carried allbefore them. Therefore while after Blenheim an apathy had fallen onthe victors, so now the extent of the danger moved them to freshexertions.

  Marlborough, after seeing his army into winter quarters, visitedthe capitals of Vienna, Berlin, and the Hague, and again by thecharm of his manner succeeded in pacifying jealousies, in healingquarrels, and in obtaining the promises of vigorous action andlarger armaments in the spring.

  The bad conduct of the Dutch generals had created such a generalcry of indignation through Europe, that the States General werecompelled, by the pressure of public opinion, to dismiss several ofthe men who had most distinguished themselves by thwarting theplans of Marlborough, and interposing on every occasion between himand victory. Consequently the campaign of 1706 seemed likely toopen with far brighter prospects of success than its predecessorshad done.

  Suddenly, however, all the arrangements broke down. TheImperialists had just suffered another reverse in Italy; andmatters looked so desperate there, that Marlborough proposed topass the Alps with an army of 40,000 men to their assistance, andthere, as he would have the warm cooperation of Prince Eugeneinstead of the cowardice of the Dutch generals, and the incapacityand obstinacy of the Prince of Baden, he anticipated the completediscomfiture of the French.

  In these hopes, however, he was thwarted. The Prince of Baden woulddo nothing beyond defending his own dominion. The cabinets ofBerlin and Copenhagen fell to quarrelling, and both refused tosupply their promised contingents. The Hanoverians and Hessians hadalso grievances, and refused to join in any general plan, or tosend their troops to form part of the allied army. Thus all ideasof a campaign in the south were destroyed; but Marlboroughpersuaded the Dutch to send 10,000 of the troops in their payacross the Alps to assist Prince Eugene, under the promise that hewith the English and Dutch troops would defend Flanders.

  So the campaign commenced; and on the 19th of May Marlboroughjoined his army, which lay encamped on the Dyle, on the Frenchfrontier. On the 22nd a Danish contingent, which had at the lastmoment been dispatched in answer to an urgent appeal of the duke,arrived; and his army now consisted of 73 battalions and 123squadrons, in all 60,000 men, with 120 guns. Marshal Villeroi'sforce, which lay on the other side of the Dyle, consisted of 74battalions and 128 squadrons--62,000 men, with 130 guns. They hadalso, as at Blenheim, the advantage that the troops were all of onenationality, and accustomed to act together, while Marlborough'sarmy consisted of troops of three nations, at least half of themnew to war, and unused to act with each other.

  Marlborough opened the campaign by moving toward
s Tirlemont, with aview of laying siege to Namur, where many of the citizens wereanxious to throw off the French yoke. Villeroi, anxious to coverNamur, moved his troops out from their quarters on the Dyle to stopthe advance of the allies, and bring on a battle in the open field.

  The ground taken up by the French marshal was exceedingly strong.Marlborough was aware of the great importance of the position, andhad made every effort to be the first to seize it; but the Frenchhad less distance to march, and when the allied troops arrivedwithin sight of the ground, the French were already in camp uponMont Saint Andre.

  Mont Saint Andre is an extensive and elevated plateau, being,indeed, the highest ground in Brabant. From it four rivers taketheir rise--the Great Gheet, the Little Gheet, the Dyle, and theMehaigne. The French camp was placed immediately above the sourcesof the two Gheets.

  The plan of the battle should be examined carefully, and the eventsof the great battle will then be understood without difficulty.

  The descents from the plateau to the Great Gheet are steep andabrupt. The other rivers rise in wet marshes, in some placesimpassable. The French left was on the crest of the ridge, abovethe marshes of the Little Gheet, and extended to the village ofAutre Eglise; while the extreme right stood on the high groundoverlooking the sources of the Mehaigne. The village of Tavieres,in front of the right, was strongly held; while in the villages ofOffuz and Ramilies, opposite their centre, were numerous infantry,no less than twenty battalions occupying Ramilies.

  The great bulk of the French cavalry were arranged in two lines ontheir right, the extreme right of their cavalry being in front ofthe tomb, or barrow, of the ancient German hero Ottomond; thehighest part of the ridge, and commanding the whole field ofbattle.

  Marlborough, having with the Dutch General Overkirk, a loyal andgallant old man, reconnoitred the ground, immediately formed hisplan of attack.

  The French position was somewhat in the form of a bow, the endsbeing advanced. They would therefore have more difficulty insending troops from one end to the other of their line than wouldthe allies, who could move in a direct line along, as it were, thestring of the bow; and the ground was sufficiently undulating toenable the movements of troops to be concealed from the enemy onthe plateau.

  The commanding position of Ottomond's tomb appeared the key of thewhole battleground; and Marlborough determined to make his mainattack on this point, first deceiving the enemy by a feigned attackon their left. Accordingly, he formed, in a conspicuous position, aheavy column of attack, opposite the French left, and menacing thevillage of Autre Eglise.

  Villeroi, believing that the main attack would be made there, moveda considerable body of his infantry from his centre behind Offuz,to reinforce Autre Eglise.

  As the column of attack advanced, a large portion was withdrawn bya dip behind the rising ground on which the others advanced, andmoved rapidly towards the left centre; the Danish horse, twentysquadrons strong, being directed to the same spot. The smoke of theadvance towards Autre Eglise, and the nature of the ground,concealed all these movements from the French, who directed a veryheavy artillery fire on the column advancing against Autre Eglise.

  Suddenly the real attack began. Five Dutch battalions advancedagainst Tavieres; twelve battalions under General Schultz,supported by a strong reserve, moved to attack Ramilies.

  The vehemence of their attack showed Villeroi that he had beendeceived; but he had now no infantry available to move to reinforcethe troops in the threatened villages. He therefore orderedfourteen squadrons of dragoons to dismount, and with two Swissbattalions to advance to the support of Tavieres. They arrived,however, too late, for before they could reach the spot, the Dutchbattalions had, with great gallantry, carried the village; and theDuke of Marlborough, launching the Danish horse on the supports asthey came up, cut them up terribly, and threw back the remnant inconfusion upon the French cavalry, advancing to charge.

  Overkirk now charged the French cavalry with the first of theallied horse, broke and drove them back; but at this moment, whenthe allied cavalry were in disorder after their success, the secondline of French cavalry, among whom were the Royal life guards,burst upon them, drove them back in great confusion, and restoredthe battle in that quarter.

  The danger was great, for the victorious cavalry might have sweptround, and fallen upon the rear of the infantry engaged in theattack upon Ramilies. Marlborough saw the danger, and puttinghimself at the head of seventeen squadrons of dragoons, and sendingan aide-de-camp to order up twenty squadrons still in reserve,charged the French life guards. The French batteries on the heightsbehind Ramilies poured in so dreadful a fire that the cavalryhesitated, and some French troopers, recognizing the duke, made adash at him as he rode ahead of the troops.

  In an instant he was surrounded; but before any of his troops couldride to his rescue, he cut his way through the French troopers,sword in hand. As his horse tried to leap a wall it fell, and theenemy were again upon him. At this moment Rupert Holliday, whosetroop was in the front line, arrived on the spot, followed by Hughand half a dozen other troopers, and some of the Duke's personalstaff.

  A desperate fight raged round the general, until the cavalrycharged heavily down to the rescue of their beloved leader. Butthey were still over matched and pressed backwards by the Frenchguards. At this critical time, however, the twenty squadrons of thereserve arrived on the ground, and charged the French cavalry infront, while the Danish cavalry, who had been detained by morasses,fell at the same moment on their flank, and the French cavalry fellback in confusion. Forming the allied cavalry in two lines,Marlborough led them forward in person, and sweeping aside allresistance, they halted not until they reached the summit ofOttomond's tomb, where they were visible to the whole army, while atremendous shout told friend and foe alike that the key of thewhole position had been gained, and victory in that part of thefield secured.

  All this time the twenty French battalions in Ramilies under theMarquis Maffie had fought obstinately, although far removed fromsuccour. Gradually, however, they were driven out of the village.The British had fresh battalions of infantry available, and thesewere sent against them, and the victorious horse charging them inflank, they were almost all made prisoners or destroyed.

  The fight had lasted but three hours, and the victory was completeon the right and left. The confusion was, however, great, andMarlborough halted his troops and reformed them, before advancingto the final attack; while Marshal Villeroi strove on his part alsoto reform his troops, and to take up a new front. The roads, were,however, choked with baggage waggons and artillery, and before thetroops could take up their fresh posts, the allies were ready. Thecharge was sounded, and horse and foot advanced to the attack onthe centre, while the troops who had commenced the battle by theirdemonstration against Autre Eglise joined in the general attack.

  Confused and disheartened, the French did not await the onslaught,but broke and fled. The Spanish and Bavarian horse guards made agallant attempt to stem the tide of defeat, but were cut to pieces.The battle was now over. It was a rout and a pursuit, and theBritish horse, under Lord Orkney, pursued the fugitives until theyreached Louvain, at two o'clock in the morning.

  In the battle of Ramilies the French lost in killed and wounded7000 men, and 6000 were taken prisoners. They lost 52 guns, theirwhole baggage and pontoon train, and 80 standards. Among theprisoners were the Princes de Soubise and Rohan, while among thekilled were many nobles of the best blood of France.

  The Allies lost 1066 killed, and 2567 wounded, in all 3633 men.

  But great as was the victory itself, the consequences were evenmore important. Brussels, Louvain, Mechlin, Alost, Luise, and allthe chief towns of Brabant, speedily opened their gates to theconqueror. Ghent and Bruges, Darn and Oudenarde, followed theexample. Of all the cities of Flanders, Antwerp, Ostend, Nieuport,and Dunkirk, with some smaller fortresses, alone held out for theFrench.

  The Duke of Marlborough issued the most stringent orders for theprotection and fair treatment of the inhab
itants, and so won suchgeneral goodwill among the populations, that when he advanced onAntwerp the local troops and citizens insisted on a surrender; andthe French troops capitulated, on condition of being allowed tomarch out with the honours of war, and to be escorted safely to theFrench frontier. Ostend was then besieged, and captured after abrave resistance; and then, after a desperate resistance, theimportant and very strong fortress of Menin was carried by assault,1400 of the storming party, principally British, being slain at thebreach. Dindermande and Ath were next taken, and the allied armythen went into winter quarters, after a campaign as successful, andfar more important in its results, than that of Blenheim.