Enlightenment · Europe · War

1708

Battle of Oudenarde

July 11, 1708

Marlborough force-marched his army fifty miles in two days and caught a French army mid-crossing of the Scheldt. The fighting went on until moonrise. Prince Eugene and the Elector of Hanover, future George I, both fought in the line. Another French army destroyed; another winter of Louis XIV's despair. The victory opened the road to Lille, whose siege and capture would follow before the year was out.