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

by G. A. Henty

  Chapter 27: Malplaquet, and the End of the War.

  During all the time that the allies had been employed upon thesiege of Tournai, Marshal Villars had laboured to form animpregnable line of entrenchments, barring all farther advance.Marlborough, however, a day or two previously to the fall ofTournai, sent off the Prince of Hesse Cassel, who by a rapid andmost masterly march fell upon the French lines, at a part where theFrench had no expectation of there being an enemy within thirtymiles of them. No opposition was made, and the prince marchingrapidly to the plateau of Jemappes, invested Mons on the Frenchside. The rest of the army followed. The effect caused throughoutFrance, and indeed through Europe, by the success of this masterlymovement, was immense; and it was evident that a great battle wasat hand.

  Villars moved his army rapidly up. A detachment of Eugene's troopswere left to watch Mons, and the allied army, 93,000 strong,advanced to meet them, and on the night of the 7th bivouacked in aline three miles long, and five from that occupied by the French.Marshal Villars had with him 95,000 men. The forces therefore wereas nearly as possible equal; but the allies had 105 guns, againsteighty of the French.

  The position taken up by Villars was of great natural strength;being a plateau, interspersed with woods and intersected withstreams, and elevated from a hundred and fifty to two hundred feetabove the meadowland of the Trouville, across which theirassailants must pass. Malplaquet stood on this plateau. On theslopes from the plateau to the plain, the woods were extremelythick, and the only access to the plateau, for troops, were twoclearings cut through the woods, known as the Trouees de laLouviere, and d'Aulnoit.

  On the morning of the 8th, when the French definitely took up theirposition, Marlborough and Eugene were in favour of making aninstant attack, before the French could add to the great naturalstrength of their position by entrenchments. The Dutch deputies,however, were altogether opposed to an assault on so formidable afront. Finally a compromise was adopted--a compromise which, as isoften the case, was the very worst course which could have beenadopted. The army should neither fall back, as the Dutch wished;nor attack at once, as Marlborough desired. It was resolved not toabandon the siege of Mons, and to attack the enemy if they wouldnot take the offensive; but to wait until Saint Ghislain, whichcommanded a passage on the Haine, was taken; and until twenty-sixbattalions on the march from Tournai arrived.

  It was two days before these conditions were fulfilled; and Villarshad used these two precious days in throwing up a series ofimmensely strong works. The heights he occupied formed a concavesemicircle, enfilading on all sides the little plain of Malplaquet,and this semicircle now bristled with redoubts, palisades, abattis,and stockades; while the two trouees, or openings, by which it waspresumed that the allies would endeavour to force an entrance, wereso enfiladed by cross batteries as to be well-nigh unassailable.Half the French army by turns had laboured ceaselessly at theworks, during the two days which the cowardly folly of the Dutchdeputies had given them; and the result was the works resembledrather the fortifications of a fortress, than ordinary field works.Marlborough and Eugene had seen from hour to hour the progress ofthese formidable works, and resolved to mask their front attack bya strong demonstration on the enemy's rear. The troops coming upfrom Tournai, under General Withers, were ordered not to join themain army; but to cross the Haine at Saint Ghislain, and to attackthe extreme left of the enemy at the farm of La Folie. BaronSchulemberg was to attack the left flank of the entrenchments inthe wood of Taisniere, with forty of Eugene's battalions, supportedby as many cannon; while Count Lottum was to attack the right flankof the wood with twenty-two battalions. The rest of the army was toattack in front; but it was from Eugene's attack in the wood ofTaisniere that success was chiefly hoped.

  At three o'clock on the morning of the 11th the men were got underarms, divine service was performed at the head of each regiment,and then the troops marched to the posts assigned to them in theattack. Both armies were confident, the French enthusiastic.

  The allies relied on their unbroken series of victories. Never oncesince the war begun had they suffered defeat; and with Eugene aswell as Marlborough with them, they felt confident of their powerto carry a position which, even to the eye of the least instructedsoldier, was yet formidable in the extreme.

  The French were confident in being commanded by their best and mostpopular generals, Villars and Boufflers. They were strong in theenthusiasm which the king's appeal had communicated to the wholenation, and they considered it absolutely impossible for any enemyto carry the wonderful series of works that they had erected.

  At half-past seven all was ready, and the fog which had hithertohung over the low ground cleared up, and the two armies came intoview of each other, and the artillery on both sides opened a heavyfire. The whole line advanced; but the left was halted for awhile,while Count Lottum, with his twenty-two battalions formed in threelines, attacked the right of the wood of Taisniere; andSchulemberg, with whom was Eugene himself, attacked their left.

  Without firing a single shot, Schulemberg's men marched through thestorm of grape which swept them until within twenty paces of theentrenchments, when the musketry fire of the French troops was soterrible that the attacking columns recoiled two hundred yards;where they were steadied, and brought back to the charge by theheroic efforts of Eugene, who exposed himself in front of the line.

  While this conflict was raging, some Austrian battalions which hadformed the extreme right of Schulemberg's corps, but had beenunable to advance, owing to a deep marsh, stole round unperceivedinto the northeastern angle of the wood of Taisniere, and were soonin conflict with the French. Lottum's division had, with immensebravery, crossed a deep morass under a tremendous fire, and stormeda portion of the entrenchments; but Villars, who was directly inrear, led on a fresh brigade, who drove back the assailants.Marlborough then charged at the head of d'Auvergne's cavalry, andsome of Lottum's battalion again forced their way in.

  Meanwhile Withers was quietly making his way through the wood fromLa Folie, and had made considerable progress before the Frenchcould muster in force at this point. As this threatened the rear ofhis front position, Villars fell back from the entrenchments infront of the wood, and took up the second and far stronger positionhe had prepared on the high ground.

  On the left an even more desperate fight had been raging. ThePrince of Orange commanded here. The prince was full of courage andimpetuosity. The troops under him were Dutch, or auxiliaries in theDutch pay, among them a Scotch brigade under the Marquis ofTullibardin. The corps advanced in the most gallant manner, theScotch and Dutch rivalling each other in bravery. Two lines of theenemy's entrenchments were carried at the bayonet; and had therebeen a reserve at hand, the battle would have been won at thispoint.

  But the prince had thrown his whole force into the attack, and hisforty battalions were opposed by seventy French battalions, whilethe assailants were swept by the fire from the high ground.Tullibardin and General Spau were killed, and the assailants,fighting with extraordinary obstinacy, were yet driven back, with aloss of 3000 killed and twice as many wounded. The French salliedout to attack them, but the Prince of Hesse Cassel charged themwith his cavalry, and drove them back into their works.

  The news of the terrible slaughter and repulse on the right broughtEugene and Marlborough from the centre and left, where all wasgoing well. Reserves were brought up, and the battle restored.

  News now came that Villars, alarmed at the progress made on hisleft by Withers, had withdrawn the Irish brigade and some other ofhis best troops from his centre, to drive back the allies' right.

  Eugene galloped off with all haste to lead the right and hurry themforward, while Marlborough directed Lord Orkney to attack theweakened French centre with all his strength, and ordered thecavalry to follow on the heels of the infantry. The fight on theright was fierce indeed, for here Villars and Eugene alike ledtheir men. Both were wounded; Villars in the knee. He refused toleave the field, but insisted on being placed in a chair where hecou
ld see the battle and cheer on his men. The agony he suffered,however, and the great loss of blood, weakened him so that at lasthe fainted, and was carried off the field, the command devolving onMarshal Boufflers.

  Eugene was wounded in the head. In vain his staff pressed him toretire in order that the wound might be dressed.

  "If I am to die here," he said, "of what use to dress the wounds?If I survive, it will be time enough in the evening."

  So with the blood streaming over his shoulders, he kept his placeat the head of his troops, who, animated by his example andheroism, rushed forward with such impetuosity that the works werecarried.

  In the centre an even more decisive advantage had been gained. LordOrkney made the attack with such vigour, that the entrenchments,weakened by the forces which had been withdrawn, were carried; andthe horse, following close behind, broke through the openings ofthe works, and spread themselves over the plateau, cutting down thefugitives. The guns in the works were wheeled round, and opened atremendous fire on the dense masses of the French drawn up behindother parts of the entrenchments.

  Thrown into confusion by the fire, the French began to waver, andMarlborough gave the order for the great battery of forty guns inthe allied centre to advance. These advanced up the hill, passedthrough the entrenchments, and opened a fire right and left uponthe French.

  Although the French still strove gallantly, the battle was nowvirtually over. The centre was pierced, the right turned, andBoufflers prepared to cover the necessary retreat with his cavalry.With 2000 picked horsemen of the royal horse guards, he charged theallied cavalry when scattered and blown by their pursuit, and drovethem back; but was himself repulsed by the fire of Orkney'sinfantry, and fell back, leaving half his force dead on the plain.

  Again and again Boufflers brought up fresh cavalry, and executedthe most desperate charges to cover the retreat of his infantry,who were now falling back along the whole line, as the Prince ofOrange, benefiting by the confusion, had now carried theentrenchments on the French left. Boufflers formed his infantryinto three great masses, and fell back in good order in thedirection of Bavai.

  Such was the victory of Malplaquet. A victory indeed, but won atsuch a cost that a few more such successes would have been ruin.The allies had gained the French position, had driven the enemyfrom the field, and had prevented the raising of the siege of Mons,the great object of the French; but beyond that their advantage wasslight, for the enemy retired in good order, and were ready to havefought again, if attacked, on the following day.

  The allies captured fourteen guns and twenty-five standards. TheFrench carried off thirty-two standards, principally Dutch. TheFrench lost 14,000 men in killed and wounded, the allies fully20,000.

  The French historians have done full justice to the extraordinarybravery of the allied troops. One of their officers wrote after thebattle:

  "Eugene and Marlborough ought to be well satisfied with us on thatday, since up to that time they had not met with a resistanceworthy of them. They may now say with justice that nothing canstand before them; and indeed what should be able to stay the rapidprogress of those heroes, if an army of 100,000 men of the besttroops, strongly posted between two woods, trebly entrenched, andperforming their duty as well as any brave men could do, were notable to stop them one day? Will you not then own with me that theysurpass all the heroes of former ages?"

  The siege of Mons was now undertaken, and after a month's gallantdefence, fell, and the two armies then went into winter quarters,there remaining now only the fortress of Valenciennes between theallies and Paris.

  Rupert Holliday was not present with the army at the siege of Mons.He had distinguished himself greatly in the desperate cavalry fightwhich took place upon the plateau after the British infantry hadforced their way in. More than once, fighting in front of hisregiment, he had been cut off and surrounded when the alliedcavalry gave way before the valiant charge of the French cavalry;but each time his strength, his weight, and the skill with which hewielded the long, heavy sword he carried, enabled him to cut hisway through the enemy's ranks, and to rejoin his regiment. He hadnot, however, come off scatheless, having received several severesabre cuts. Hugh had also been wounded, and Rupert readily obtainedleave to retire to England to be cured of his wounds, the Duke ofMarlborough raising him to the rank of colonel on the field ofbattle.

  He had, during the campaign, received many letters from Adele, whotold him that the marquis had taken a house; but to each inquirythat Rupert made as to its locality, she either did not answer thequestion at all, or returned evasive answers. All he knew was thatshe was staying at the Chace, and that the marquis was away, seeingto the renovation of his house.

  It was not until Rupert returned that he obtained the clue to thislittle mystery. The Marquis de Pignerolles had bought the Haugh,formerly the property of Sir William Brownlow, and intended theestate as a dowry for Adele. The Pignerolles estate was indeed verylarge; and two or three years of his savings were sufficient, notonly to purchase the estate, but to add to and redecorate andrefurnish the house.

  Madame Holliday handed over to Rupert the title deeds of the wholeof the Windthorpe estate owned by her, as the income from hersavings was more than enough to maintain her at Windthorpe Chace.One only condition the marquis exacted with the dowry, which wasthat the combined estates should, after Rupert finally came intopossession of the Chace, be known not as the Haugh, but asWindthorpe Chace.

  "It was at Windthorpe Chace, my dear Rupert, that you first knewand drew sword for Adele, and the name is dear to her as to you. Itis only right that I should unite the two estates, since Iprevented their union some ten years ago. I am in treaty now for asmall estate two miles on the other side of Derby, so that, untilthe king either forgives me or dies, I shall be near you."

  The wedding did not take place quite so soon as Rupert had hoped,for his wounds were more severe than he had at first been willingto allow, and it was not until the last week of the year that thewedding took place.

  For many years after the event the marriage of Rupert Holliday withMademoiselle de Pignerolles was talked of as the most brilliantevent which had taken place in the county of Derby during thememory of man. The great Duke of Marlborough himself, and hisduchess, came down to be present at the ceremony. From Holland cameover Major Dillon, and four or five others of the officers of the5th dragoons. Lord Fairholm was also there, and Hugh was not theleast welcome to Rupert of those assembled at the wedding.

  Hugh was still a private, for although he could long ere this havebeen a sergeant had he chosen, he had always refused promotion, asit would have removed him from service as Rupert's orderly.

  There was also present at the wedding a young Dutch lady engaged tobe married to Major Dillon, and her father. Rupert had written overto say how glad he should be to see them at his marriage, but thathe could not think of asking them to come so far. Mynheer van Duykhad, however, written to say that he and his daughter wouldcertainly come, for that regarding Rupert as a son it would beextraordinary indeed for him to be absent. And so they arrived atthe Chace two days before the wedding, and on the morning beforegoing to church he presented Rupert with a cheque which simplyastounded the young soldier.

  At first, indeed, he absolutely refused to accept it. The merchant,however, insisted so strongly upon it--urging that his own wealthwas so large, that, as he had only Maria to inherit it, it wasreally beyond his wants, or even his power to spend; and that hehad, ever since Rupert saved Maria from the attempts of Sir RichardFulke, which but for him must have succeeded, regarded him as hisadopted son--Rupert saw that his refusal would really give pain andtherefore, with warm gratitude, he accepted the cheque, whose valueexceeded that of the united estates of the Haugh and the Chace.Maria brought a magnificent set of jewels for Adele--not indeedthat that young lady in any way required them, for the marquis hadhad all her mother's jewels, which were superb, reset for theoccasion. They were married first at the Roman Catholic chapel atDerby, for Adele was of course a Cath
olic, and then at the churchin the village of Windthorpe. After which there was a great dinner,and much rejoicing and festivity at it.

  Rupert Holliday went no more to the wars. He obtained leave toreside on his estate for a year. That year, 1710, little was donein Flanders. The duke's enemies at home had now gained the upperhand, and he was hampered in every way. The allies, seeing that achange of government was imminent in England, and that the newparty would in all probability make peace at any cost and leavethem to themselves, carried on quiet negotiations with France; andso throughout the summer no great battle took place, although theallies gained several material advantages.

  In the following year envy, intrigue, and a woman's spite,conquered. Godolphin fell, and the new ministry hastened to makethe most disgraceful peace recorded in the annals of the history ofthis country. By it the allies of England were virtually deserted,and the fruits of ten years of struggle and of victory for the mostpart abandoned. Marlborough refused to sign the disgraceful peaceof Utrecht and, exiled and disgraced, lived quietly on thecontinent until the death of Anne, a living monument of nationalinjustice. When George the First ascended the throne, the hero wasrecalled, and remained the war minister of the country until withina year or two of his death, honoured and loved by the people forwhom he had done so much.

  There is little more to tell about Rupert Holliday. His grandfatherlived until past ninety years of age, and Madame Holliday diedsuddenly a few weeks after her father in law. Rupert was now one ofthe largest landowners in the country, and was one of the mostpopular men. The home farm round the Chace was held for generationsby the Parsons, for Hugh married not many months after his master.

  At the death of Louis, the Marquis de Pignerolles passed over againto France, and there, at least when England and France were atpeace, Colonel Rupert Holliday and his wife paid him long visits.As his daughter had married a foreigner she could not inherit theestates, which went to a distant relation; but at the death of themarquis, at a good old age, he left a fortune to his daughter,which enabled her husband still further to extend his estates. HadRupert desired it, he could have been raised to the peerage, but hepreferred remaining one of the wealthiest private gentlemen inEngland.

  From time to time they received visits from Major Dillon and hiswife, both of whom were great favourites with the young Hollidays.Between Rupert and Hugh a real affection prevailed all throughtheir lives, and the latter was never so happy as when the childrenfirst, and, years after, the grandchildren, of Rupert and Adelecame down to the farm to eat cake, drink syllabub, and listen towonderful tales about the doings of the "Cornet of Horse."