The Battle of Ekeren, June 30, 1703 was a battle of the War of the Spanish Succession. The French surrounded a Dutch force, which could only just avoid total destruction. This battle ended all hopes for a decisive allied victory in the Spanish Netherlands in 1703. Charles II was the last Habsburg King of Spain. ... June 30 is the 181st day of the year (182nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 184 days remaining. ... Events February 2 - Earthquake in Aquila, Italy February 4 - In Japan, the 47 samurai commit seppuku (ritual suicide) February 14 - Earthquake in Norcia, Italy April 21 - Company of Quenching of Fire (ie. ... Ekeren is a northern suburb of Antwerp, Belgium. ... For other uses, see Antwerp (disambiguation). ... Map of Dutch Republic by Joannes Janssonius United Netherlands redirects here. ... Louis François, duc de Boufflers, comte de Cagny (January 10, 1644 - August 22, 1711) was a Marshal of France. ... François de Neufville, duc de Villeroi, by Alexandre-François Caminade François de Neufville, duc de Villeroi (April 7, 1644 - July 18, 1730), French soldier, came of a noble family which had risen into prominence in the reign of Charles IX. His father Nicolas de Neufville, marquis de... Charles II was the last Habsburg King of Spain. ... Combatants Austria France Commanders Prince Eugene of Savoy Nicolas Catinat Strength 30,000 25,000 Casualties unknown unknown The Battle of Carpi was a serie of manoeuvres in the summer of 1701, and the first battle of the War of the Spanish Succession that took place on July 9, 1701... The Battle of Chieri was a battle of the War of the Spanish Succession that took place on September 1, 1701 between France and Austria. ... The Battle of Cremona was a battle of the War of the Spanish Succession that took place on February 1, 1702 between France and Austria. ... Combatants Austria France Commanders Eugene of Savoy Duc de Vendôme Strength 25,000 30,000 Casualties 2,500 4,000 {{{notes}}} Battle of Luzzara was battle of the War of the Spanish Succession. ... Combatants Spain England United Provinces Commanders Francisco de Villadarias George Rooke James, Duke of Ormonde Strength 300 infantry 150 cavalry 50 ships 14,000 infantry Casualties Unknown Unknown The Battle of Cádiz was a siege of the Spanish city of Cádiz in 1702 by an Anglo-Dutch fleet... Combatants France Holy Roman Empire Commanders Claude-Louis-Hector de Villars Louis, Margrave of Baden-Baden Strength Casualties The Battle of Friedlingen was fought in 1702 between France and the Holy Roman Empire. ... The Battle of Vigo Bay, 23 October 1702 by Ludolf Bakhuizen, painted c. ... Combatants Austria France Bavaria Commanders Limburg Styrum Leopold I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau Claude de Villars Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria Strength 16,000 24,000 Casualties 5,000 dead, wounded and (mainly) prisoners. ... The Battle of Schellenberg was fought on 2 July 1704. ... Combatants England,[1] Austria, Dutch Republic, Prussia, Denmark, Hesse, Hanover France, Bavaria Commanders Duke of Marlborough, Eugene of Savoy Duc de Tallard, Maximilian II Emanuel, Ferdinand de Marsin Strength 52,000, 60 guns[2] 56,000, 90 guns Casualties 4,542 killed, 7,942 wounded 20,000 killed, drowned, or... Combatants France Spain England United Provinces Commanders Comte de Toulouse Victor-Marie dEstrées George Rooke Strength 50 warships 6 frigates (3,577 guns) 24,275 men 53 ships of the line 6 frigates 7 fireships (3,614 guns) 22,543 men Casualties no ships lost 1,600-3... Combatants France Austria Prussia Commanders Louis Joseph, duc de Vendôme Eugene of Savoy Leopold I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau Strength 30,000 29,000 Casualties unknown unknown The Battle of Cassano, fought on August 16, 1705, was a hard fought battle in the Italian theatre of the War of... Combatants France Austria Commanders Duc de Vendôme Reventlow Strength 41,000 19,000 Casualties unknown 6,000 The Battle of Calcinato was a battle of the War of the Spanish Succession. ... Combatants England Dutch Republic German states France Commanders Duke of Marlborough Hendrik van Nassau-Ouwerkerk Duc de Villeroi Strength 14,000 (initially) 3,000 - 15,000 Casualties 50 - 200 3,000 The Battle of Elixheim, 18 July 1705, also known as the Passage of the Lines of Brabant was a... The Battle of Ramillies was a major battle in the War of Spanish Succession, May 23, 1706. ... The Battle of Turin took place on 7 September 1706 west of the city of Turin during the War of the Spanish Succession. ... Combatants Philippists Kingdom of France Kingdom of Spain Austriacists Britain Portugal United Provinces Commanders Duke of Berwick Marquis de Ruvigny Marquês das Minas Strength 25,000 22,000 Casualties 3,500 dead or wounded 5,000 dead or wounded 12,000 captured The Battle of Almansa, fought on April... Combatants Britain Austria United Provinces Savoy France Spain Commanders Victor Amadeus II of Savoy Prince Eugene of Savoy René de Froulay de Tessé Strength 35,000 15,000 Casualties 10,000 dead or wounded Unknown The Battle of Toulon took place in 1707 in the War of the Spanish Succession. ... The Battle of Oudenarde (or Audenaarde) was a key battle in the War of the Spanish Succession. ... The Battle of Malplaquet was a battle of the War of the Spanish Succession that took place on September 11, 1709 between France and a British–Austrian alliance (known as the Allies). ... Combatants Spain Austria Britain United Provinces Cataluña Commanders Marquis de Bay Guido Starhemberg Lord Stanhope Strength 20,000 23,000 - 30,000 Casualties 7,000 - 10,000 dead or wounded 4,000 - 5,000 captured Unknown, probably 1,500 dead or wounded The Battle of Saragossa (Spanish: Zaragoza) took... Combatants Spain Austria Britain United Provinces Commanders Francisco de Villadarias Guido Starhemberg Lord Stanhope Strength 22,000 18,000 Casualties 1,000 dead 3,000 captured 400 dead The Battle of Almenara took place on July 27, 1710 in the War of the Spanish Succession. ... Combatants France Spain Britain Commanders Louis Joseph de Vendôme James Stanhope Strength 20,000–24,000 16,000–18,000 (4,000 present) Casualties 1,000 dead 600 dead 3,400 wounded or captured The Battle of Brihuega took place on December 8, 1710 in the War of the... Combatants France Spain Austria United Provinces Portugal Commanders Louis Joseph de Vendôme Guido Starhemberg Strength 20,000 12,000–14,000 Casualties 2,000–3,000 dead or wounded 2,000–3,000 dead or wounded The Battle of Villaviciosa took place on December 10, 1710 in the War... Combatants England Dutch Republic German states France Commanders Duke of Marlborough Claude Villars de Ravignau Strength 85,000 90,000 Casualties 4,080 2,500 killed and wounded 2,500 captured The Siege of Bouchain (9 August - 12 September 1711), following the Passage of the Lines of Ne Plus Ultra... Combatants Austria United Provinces Britain France Commanders Eugene of Savoy Claude de Villars Strength 105,000 120,000 Casualties 18,000 dead or wounded 5,000 dead or wounded The Battle of Denain was fought on July 24, 1712, as part of the War of the Spanish Succession, and resulted... The Siege of Barcelona was a battle at the end of the War of Spanish Succession (1701-1714), which pitted Archduke Charles (backed by Britain, Austria, and the Netherlands), against Philip V, backed by France and Spain in a contest for Spanish lands. ... June 30 is the 181st day of the year (182nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 184 days remaining. ... Events February 2 - Earthquake in Aquila, Italy February 4 - In Japan, the 47 samurai commit seppuku (ritual suicide) February 14 - Earthquake in Norcia, Italy April 21 - Company of Quenching of Fire (ie. ... Charles II was the last Habsburg King of Spain. ... This article or section should be merged with Seventeen Provinces The Spanish Netherlands was a portion of the Low Countries controlled by Spain from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century. ... Events February 2 - Earthquake in Aquila, Italy February 4 - In Japan, the 47 samurai commit seppuku (ritual suicide) February 14 - Earthquake in Norcia, Italy April 21 - Company of Quenching of Fire (ie. ...

Prelude

After taking Bonn on May 15, Marlborough now wanted to conquer Ostend, Antwerp, or force the French to an open battle. He ordered the Dutch General Coehoorn to march to Ostend and lay siege to it. Dutch general Van Sparre would march south west of Antwerp, Dutch General Obdam would march south from Bergen op Zoom, and Marlborough himself would march on Lier.
Like the year before, the United Provinces were not keen to engage the French in an open battle, nor to open the ports of Antwerp and Ostend to English commerce and thus competition to Dutch trade. Therefor they Coehoorn didn't besiege Ostend, but plundered the country side between Ostend and Antwerp. Obdam marched on June 28 from Bergen op Zoom to Antwerp, arriving the next day at Ekeren, 7 km from Antwerp. Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany, located about 20 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia. ... May 15 is the 135th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (136th in leap years). ... John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, in his Garter robes John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough (May 26, 1650 - June 16, 1722), in full The Most Noble Captain-General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, Earl of Marlborough, Baron Churchill of Sandridge, Lord Churchill of Eyemouth, KG, PC (in addition... Menno, baron van Coehoorn (1641 - March 17, 1704), Dutch soldier and military engineer, of Swedish extraction. ... The esplanade with the Thermae Palace, the former Royal Residence and the casino For other uses, see Ostend (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Antwerp (disambiguation). ... Bergen op Zoom is a municipality and a city in the southern Netherlands. ... Lier can refer to the municipalities: Lier, Norway Lier, Belgium This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

Villeroi wasn't misled by Marlborough's diversionary manoeuver, and sent all his troops from Diest to Antwerp.
Then Marlborough tried to warn Obdam and ordered a withdrawal to Lillo, but Obdam reacted too slowly. François de Neufville, duc de Villeroi, by Alexandre-François Caminade François de Neufville, duc de Villeroi (April 7, 1644 - July 18, 1730), French soldier, came of a noble family which had risen into prominence in the reign of Charles IX. His father Nicolas de Neufville, marquis de... Diest is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. ...

The Battle

Early in the morning of June 30 , French dragoons marched from Merksem and Ekeren in the direction of Kapellen to cut of the escape route near Hoevenen for the Dutch back to Breda and Bergen-op-Zoom.
The Marquis of Bedmar and his Spanish troops were positioned near Wilmarsdonk.
The Dutch were surrounded on all sides. A light dragoon from the American Revolution A dragoon is a soldier trained to fight on foot, but transport himself on horseback. ... A district of the city of Antwerp. ... Ekeren is a northern suburb of Antwerp, Belgium. ... Kapellen is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. ... Grote Kerk (main church) or Onze Lieve Vrouwe Kerk (Church of Our Lady) Breda ( (help· info)) is a municipality and a city in the southern part of the Netherlands. ... Bergen op Zoom is a municipality and a city in the southern Netherlands. ...

Soon Dutch reconnaissance discovered the French dragoons and Obdam immediately sent his cavalry to Hoevenen, but it was too late, the village was packed with French troops.
An attempt to conquer neighboring Muisbroek also failed.
Then the French attacked and Obdam tried to conquer Oorderen, which succeeded for just a short time, before the French retook the village. Oorderen was a small Belgian village near the city of Antwerp until 1965. ...

The fighting went on all day. By eight o'clock there was no more sign of Obdam, and Slangenburg decided to attempt an ultimate attack on Oorderen, this time by a surprise bayonet charge led by Friesheim. Friesheim sent his men wading through the water, appearing where the French hadn't expected them.

This conquest enabled the remaining Dutch troops to escape in the darkness towards the Netherlands.

Aftermath

The battle was a clear victory for the French, but Boufflers wasn't congratulated at all, he was blamed to let the chance of a total victory slip through his fingers.

Obdam wasn't killed at all, he escaped south in the afternoon with 30 horsemen, disguising themselfs as Frenchmen. When he arrived in the Netherlands he wrote a letter admiting the total destruction of his army.

It needs no further explaining that Obdam's behavior wasn't forgiven and that his military career was finished after this battle.

Slangenburg for his part, was acclaimed Dutch hero.
Slangenburg was furious on Marlborough for being outmanoeuvered by the French or not coming to their aid.

The Dutch lost 1,717 killed, 1,003 wounded and 694 prisoners or missing.
The French and Spaniards lost 1,750 men.

Trivia

A large part of the battlefield, including the villages of Oorderen, Wilmarsdonk and Lillo , has disappeared under the Port of Antwerp expansion in the 1960's. Oorderen was a small Belgian village near the city of Antwerp until 1965. ... The Port of Antwerp is one of the biggest ports in the world. ...

Links

Detailed description of the battle (in Dutch)