Editing Battle of Malplaquet (section)

==Prelude==
[[File:BattleOfMalplaquet.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Disposition of forces; allied (upper right), French (lower left)]]

Knowing Villars had been instructed to fight for Mons, Marlborough and his deputy Eugene were confident of winning a decisive victory.{{sfn|Lynn|1999|p=331}} Villars, bolstered by his undefeated record, was confident that he could secure a victory that would shift the war in France's favour. Louis attempted to temper Villars' confidence with caution, suggesting that the difficult terrain warranted limiting operations to disrupting the siege but Villars was determined to force a battle.{{sfn|Dee|2024|p=188-189}}

While conscious of the implications of defeat, Villars informed Louis XIV his army would dissolve if he did not fight.{{sfn|Lynn|1999|p=331}} This decision gave him the advantage of choosing the battlefield, while his presence nearby prevented the allies from beginning the siege of Mons, since he could either launch a relief attack, or cut their supply lines to [[Brussels]] by crossing the Trouille River.{{sfn|Nimwegen|1995|p=265}}

The allies delayed their attack pending the arrival of 21 battalions from Tournai under [[Henry Withers]]. This decision was criticised at the time and later, one analyst arguing "the battle should have taken place on 10 September, or not at all".{{Sfn|Burton|1968|pp=134–135}} This gave Villars an extra day to construct defensive positions, including [[Redan|earthworks]] covering the open ground in the centre, and additional entrenchments extending into the woods on either side.{{sfn|Lynn|1999|p=331}}

Marlborough's plan was the same as that employed at [[Battle of Blenheim|Blenheim]], [[Battle of Ramillies|Ramillies]] and [[Battle of Oudenarde|Oudenarde]]. On each occasion, frontal assaults on the French flanks forced them to move troops from the centre, which was then broken by mass cavalry attacks. Although the leading units suffered many casualties, allied losses were substantially less than those they inflicted. At Malplaquet the French held strong defensive positions, were better led, and highly motivated.{{Sfn|Bergin|2001|pp=138–139}}{{Efn|One suggestion is that this was partly due to the mixing of regular troops with militia units who had not been demoralised by past defeats.{{Sfn|Drévillon|Fonck|2017|p=36}}}}

Villars had also learned from Ramillies, where [[François de Neufville, 2nd Duke of Villeroy|Villeroy]] arguably contributed to his own defeat by over-extending his line.{{sfn|Chandler|Beckett|1996|p=71}} He was helped by the fact that the battlefield at Malplaquet was much more restricted, allowing him to concentrate his infantry in defensive positions. It also prevented Marlborough from quickly shifting troops between wings, a tactic he often adopted to keep opponents off balance.{{Sfn|Burton|1968|p=135}}

The French army consisted of 80 guns and 75,000 to 90,000 men,{{sfn|Ivonina|2010|p=174}} including significant numbers of Bavarian and [[Swiss mercenaries]], as well as the [[Irish Brigade (France)|Irish Brigade]]. Villars commanded the left, de la Colonie led the centre, with the right, where Villars had placed the bulk of the infantry, led by 67-year-old Marshal [[Louis-François de Boufflers]], who was senior to Villars in rank but volunteered to serve under him. The infantry held a continuous line of entrenchments supported by artillery, with the cavalry massed in the rear.{{sfn|Lynn|1999|p=332}}

The allied forces, in turn, ranged from 86,000 to 110,000,{{sfn|Ivonina|2010|p=174}} with the right wing formed of 30,000 German and Danish infantry led by Prince Eugene. Marlborough positioned himself in the centre, where he placed 8,000 mostly British infantry commanded by the [[George Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney|Earl of Orkney]], with the bulk of the 30,000 cavalry to their rear.{{Sfn|Holmes|2008|p=426}} Finally, the allied left was held by the Dutch, with 18,000 infantry under the [[John William Friso, Prince of Orange|Prince of Orange]], plus 10,000 cavalry under the Prince of Hesse-Kassel. Control was exercised by [[Claude Frédéric t'Serclaes, Count of Tilly|Count Tilly]], who had succeeded [[Henry de Nassau, Lord Overkirk|Lord Overkirk]] as senior Dutch commander.{{efn|Tilly's anti-[[Dutch States Party|Orangist]] sympathies meant his largely pro-Orangist senior officers allegedly took their orders from the Prince of Orange and as a result seems to have had little influence on the battle.{{sfn|Van Lennep|1880|p=280}}{{sfn|De Graaf|2021|p=153}}}}{{sfn|Van Nimwegen|2020|p=313}}{{sfn|Van Lennep|1880|p=280}}