Editing Battle of Fleurus (1690) (section)

==Aftermath==
[[File:Slag bij Fleurus, 1690, RP-P-OB-82.712 (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.0|Waldeck and Dutch soldiers after the battle.]]

Fleurus was one of the bloodiest battles of the age, with enormous losses on both sides, but casualty estimates vary greatly. According to Austrian historian [[Gaston Bodart]], the French had 3,000 men killed and another 3,000 wounded, and the allies suffered 6,000 killed, 5,000 wounded and 8,000 captured.{{sfn|Bodart|1908|p=112}} Périni writes that 612 officers and 3,000 soldiers were killed or wounded on the French side, and that the allies had 5,000 killed and 9,000 captured, but does not mention a number of wounded. Additionally, the French took 48 guns and 150 flags or standards.{{sfn|Périni|1906|p=274}} Van Nimwegen and [[John Childs (historian)|John Childs]], however, reduce allied casualties to 7,000 killed and wounded and argue that French losses were at least equal,{{sfn|Van Nimwegen|2020|p=201}}{{sfn|Childs|2003|p=190}} but do not provide an estimate for the number of prisoners, a number some Dutch sources bring down to 3,000.{{sfn|Bosscha|1838|p=274}} The Allies also captured 34 banners and standards, which was rare for a losing side.{{sfn|Van Lennep|1880|p=196}} Dutch historians have generally emphasized the bravery and skill of their infantry and like to quote Luxembourg, who is reported to have said that the Dutch foot soldiers surpassed those of the Spanish at [[Battle of Rocroi|Rocroi]] and that he wanted to remember them all his life.{{sfn|Van Lennep|1880|p=196}}{{sfn|Knoop|1861|p=51}} French historian [[François Guizot]] described Fleurus as a complete French victory, but one devoid of result.<ref>Guizot: ''A Popular History of France From The Earliest Times, Volume V''</ref> [[François-Michel le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois|Louvois]], Louis' war minister, wanted to order Luxembourg to immediately besiege [[Namur]] or [[Charleroi]], but [[Louis XIV of France|Louis]], concerned about the dauphin's forces on the Rhine, ordered Luxembourg to detach part of his forces and forgo a major siege. Louvois objected, but King Louis wanted to be sure that nothing 'disagreeable' happened to his son's command.<ref>Wolf: ''Louis XIV'', p. 560</ref> Nevertheless, Luxembourg was able to put much of the land east of Brussels under contribution.{{sfn|Lynn|1999|p=209}}

The French pressed the prisoners of war captured at Fleurus and in preceding events into their service. They sent the Germans to the army in Catalonia, the Walloons to Germany and the Dutch to Savoy. Many however escaped and made it back to allied territories.{{sfn|Ten Raa|1950|p=37}}

Waldeck eventually retired on Brussels, where his injured troops were replaced with men from fortress garrisons.<ref name=lynn209>Lynn: ''The Wars of Louis XIV 1667–1714,'' p. 209.</ref> 15,000 Spanish troops under the [[Francisco Antonio de Agurto, Marquis of Gastañaga|Marquis of Gastañaga]] joined the main Allied army, as did [[Alberto Octavio Tserclaes de Tilly|Tilly]] with troops from [[Prince-Bishopric of Liège|Liège]] and [[Brandenburg]] on 22 July. On 2 August, the Elector of Brandenburg's forces combined with Waldeck, whose Allied army now numbered 70,000 men.{{sfn|Van Nimwegen|2020|p=202}} With this force, the Allied army marched to [[Genappe]], proceeding on to Nivelles on 7 August. After the battle, there was modest satisfaction in the Dutch Republic. They believed that the French had suffered more soldiers killed or wounded and the French army was indeed in no better shape than that of the Allies to continue the campaign.{{sfn|Ten Raa|1950|p=27}}

The remainder of the campaign season in the Spanish Netherlands was relatively quiet. Boufflers temporarily combined his forces with Luxembourg, but in late August he returned to the area between the Sambre and Meuse rivers. After a series of minor skirmishes, both the Allies and the French returned to winter quarters in October; Luxembourg careful to station his men on enemy territory, while the Allies quartered in and around [[Maastricht]]. The Hanoverians returned home, while many from Brandenburg and [[Lüneburg]] found quarters in the fortresses of the Spanish Netherlands.{{sfn|Lynn|1999|p=210}}

Louis XIV had become so disillusioned with his infantry that he ordered Luxembourg to avoid infantry engagements in 1691. He believed such an engagement "involves heavy losses and is never decisive".{{sfn|Chandler|1995|p=113}}