on the 6th of June, this magnificent fortress, which it had cost the Prince of Parma so vast an expenditure of blood and treasure to reduce, and which Napoleon said was itself worth a kingdom, was gained without firing a shot. Oudenarde, which had been in vain besieged in the last war by William III., at the head of sixty thousand men, immediately followed the same example; and Ghent and Bruges, besides, speedily opened their gates. Flanders, bristling with fortresses, the possession of which in the early part of the war had been of such signal service to the French, was, with the exception of Ostend, Dunkirk, and two or three smaller places, entirely gained by the consternation produced by this single battle. Well might Marlborough say, "The consequences of our victory are almost incredible. A whole country, with so many strong places, delivered up without the least resistance, shows, not only the great loss they must have sustained, but likewise the terror and consternation they are in."

47. Marlborough's

hopes for a speedy peace.

At this period, Marlborough hoped the war would be speedily brought to a close, and that a glorious peace would reward his own and his country's efforts. His thoughts constantly reverted, as his private correspondence shows, to home, quiet, and domestic happiness. To the duchess he wrote at this period, "You are very kind in desiring I would not expose myself. Be assured, I love you so well, and am so desirous of ending my days quietly with you, that I shall not venture myself but when it is absolutely necessary; and I am sure you are so kind to me, and wish so well to the common cause, that you had rather see me dead than not do my duty. I am persuaded that this campaign will bring in a good peace; and I beg of you to do all that you can, that the house of Woodstock may be carried up as much as possible, that I may have the prospect of living in it." But these anticipations were not to be realized; and before he sank into old age, the hero

554.

* Marlborough to Mr. Secretary Harley, 3d June, 1706. Marl. Disp., ii., + Marlborough to Duchess of Marlborough, May 31, 1706. N

was destined to drain to the dregs the cup of envy, jealousy, and ingratitude.

His first step of importance, after consolidating these im

capture of

48. portant conquests, and preventing the cupidity of the Siege and Dutch from forcing contributions on the inhabitants, Ostend. which would only have endangered his conquests before they were well secured, was to undertake the siege of Ostend, the most considerable place in Flanders which still held out for the French interest. This place, celebrated for its great strength and the long siege of three years which it had stood against the Spanish under Spinola, was expected to make a very protracted resistance; but such was the terror now inspired by Marlborough's name, that it was reduced much sooner than had been anticipated. Every preparation had been made for a vigorous defense. A fleet of nine ships of the line lay off the harbor, and a formidable besieging train was brought up from Antwerp and Brussels. Trenches were opened on the 28th of June; the counterscarp was blown in on the 6th of July; and the day following, the besieged, after a fruitless sally, capitulated, and the Flemish part of the garrison entered the service of the allies. The garrison was five thousand strong when it surrendered; two ships of the line were taken in the harbor; and the total loss of the besiegers was only five hundred men.

49. Commence

ment of the siege of Me

nin, and its great difficulties.

Menin was next besieged; but it made a more protracted resistance. Its great strength consisted in the means which the governor of the fortress possessed of flooding at will the flat and extensive plains in which it is situated. Its fortifications had always been reckoned among one of Vauban's masterpieces; the garrison was ample; and the governor, who was a man of resolution, was encouraged to make a vigorous resistance by assurances of succor made to him by the French government. In short, Louis XIV. had made the greatest efforts to repair the consequences of the disaster at Ramillies. Marshal Marsin had been detached from the Rhine with eighteen battalions and

fourteen squadrons; and, in addition to that, thirty battalions and forty squadrons were marching from Alsace. These great re-enforcements, with the addition of nine battalions which were in the lines on the Dyle when the battle of Ramillies was fought, would, when all assembled, have raised the French army to one hundred and ten battalions and one hundred and forty squadrons, or above ninety thousand men ; whereas Marlborough, after employing thirty-two battalions in the siege, could only spare for the covering army about seventy-two battalions and eighty squadrons. The numerical superiority, therefore, was very great on the side of the enemy, especially when the allies were divided by the necessity of carrying on the siege; and Villeroi, who had lost the confidence of his men, had been replaced by one of the best generals in the French service, the Duke de Vendôme, already illustrious by his recent victory over the Imperialists in Italy. He openly avowed his intention to raise the siege, and, as if with that view, he approached the covering army closely. But Marlborough persevered in his design; for, to use his own words, "the Elector of Bavaria says, he is promised a hundred and ten battalions, and they are certainly stronger in horse than But, even if they had greater numbers, I neither think it is their interest nor their inclination to venture a battle, for our men are in heart, and theirs are cowed."*

we.

50. It is at length

carried by assault, Aug. 22.

Considerable difficulties were experienced in the first instance in bringing forward the siege equipage, in consequence of the inundations which the governor had let loose; but a drought having set in in the beginning of August, before the blockade began, these obstacles were soon overcome, and on the 9th of August the besiegers' fire opened, while Marlborough took post at Helchin to cover the siege. On the 18th, the fire of the breaching batteries had been so effectual, that it was deemed practicable to make an assault on the covered way; and as a determined re

* Marlborough to Secretary Harley, Helchin, 9th of August, 1706. Disp., iii., 69.

sistance was anticipated, the duke repaired to the spot to superintend the attack. At seven in the evening, the signal was given by the explosion of two mines, and the troops, with the English in front, rushed to the assault. They soon cut down the palisades, and, throwing their grenades before them, ere long got into the covered way; but they were there exposed to a dreadful fire from two ravelins which enfiladed it. For two hours they bore it without flinching, laboring hard to erect barricades so as to get under cover; but this was not accomplished before fourteen hundred of the brave assailants had been struck down. The success, though so dearly purchased, was decisive. The establishment of the besiegers in this important lodgment, in the heart, as it were, of their works, so distressed the enemy, that on the 22d they hoisted the white flag, and capitulated on the following day, though still four thousand three hundred strong. The reduction of this strong and celebrated fortress gave the most unbounded satisfaction to the allies, as it not only materially strengthened the barrier against France, but, having taken place in presence of the Duke de Vendôme and his powerful army, drawn together with such diligence to raise the siege, it afforded the strongest proof of the superiority the allies had now acquired over their enemy in the field.*

siege and dermonde,

fall of Den

September

Upon the fall of Menin, Vendôme collected his troops, and took up a position behind the Lys and the Dyle, in 51. order to cover Lille, against which he supposed the intentions of Marlborough were next to be directed. But the duke had another object in view, for he im- 5. mediately sat down before Dendermonde, still keeping post with his covering army at Helchin, so as to bar the access to that fortress. Being situated on the banks of the Scheldt, it was so completely within the power of the governor to hinder the approaches of the besiegers, by letting out the waters, that the King of France said, on hearing they had commenced its

* Marlborough to Duke of Savoy, Helchin, 25th of August, 1706. Marl. Disp., iii., 101.

siege, "They must have an army of ducks to take it." An extraordinary drought at this period, however, which lasted seven weeks, had so lowered the Scheldt and canals, that the approaches were pushed with great celerity, and on the 5th of September the garrison surrendered at discretion. Marlborough wrote to Godolphin on this occasion, "The taking of Dendermonde, making the garrison prisoners of war, was more than could have been expected; but I saw they were in a consternation. That place could never have been taken but by the hand of God, which gave us seven weeks without rain. The rain began the day after we had taken possession, and continued without intermission for the three next days.”*

52.

And of Ath,

cludes the campaign, October 4.

Ath was the next object of attack. This small but strong fortress was of great importance, as lying on the direct road from Mons to Brussels by Halle; and, in which conconsequence of that circumstance, it was rendered a fortress of the first order, when the barrier of strongholds, insanely demolished by Joseph II. before the war of the Revolution, was restored by the allies, under the direction of Wellington, after its termination. Marlborough intrusted the direction of the attack to Overkirk, while he himself occupied, with the covering army, the position of Leuze. Vendôme's army was so much discouraged that he did not venture to disturb the operations of Marlborough, but, retiring behind the Scheldt, between Condé and Montagne, contented himself with throwing strong garrisons into Mons and Charleroi, which he apprehended would be the next objects of attack. The operations of the besiegers against Ath were pushed with great vigor till the 4th of October, when the garrison, eight hundred strong, all that remained out of two thousand who manned the works when the siege began, surrendered as prisoners of war. Marlborough was very urgent after this success to undertake the siege of Mons, which would have completed the conquest of Brabant and Flanders; but he could not persuade

Marlborough to Godolphin, September 4, 1706. COXE, iii., 10.