Battle of Landen

Battle of Landen
Part of the Nine Years' War
William III at the Battle of Landen, by Ernest Crofts
Date 29 July 1693 Location Neerwinden, present-day Belgium 50°46′21″N 05°02′06″E / 50.77250°N 5.03500°E / 50.77250; 5.03500 Result French victory
Belligerents
France	Dutch Republic  England  Holy Roman Empire  Spain  Scotland
Commanders and leaders
Luxembourg Berwick (POW) Villeroy Conti	William III Henry Casimir II Nassau-Usingen Maximilian
Strength
70,000[1][2][note 1] 70 guns[1]	50,000[3][2][4][note 2] 80[8]-100 guns[1]
Casualties and losses
8,000 to 10,000 killed or wounded[9][10][11][7] 15,000 killed or wounded[12][4][13][14]	9,500 killed, wounded or captured, plus 80 guns[12] 12,000 to 14,000 killed, wounded or captured plus 60 guns[4][13][11] 16,500 killed, wounded or captured, plus 84 guns[14] 18,000[10] to 20,000 killed, wounded or captured, plus 80 guns[9][7]

The Battle of Landen,^[a] took place on 29 July 1693, during the Nine Years' War near Landen, then in the Spanish Netherlands, now part of Belgium. A French army under Marshal Luxembourg defeated an Allied force led by William III.

By 1693, all combatants were struggling with the financial and material costs of the conflict. Hoping to end the war with a favourable negotiated peace, Louis XIV of France decided first to improve his position by taking the offensive. Having achieved local superiority in numbers, Luxembourg attacked the main Allied army, which was holding positions around Landen.

Most of the fighting took place on the Allied right, which the French assaulted three times before finally breaking through. Although forced to abandon their guns, most of the Allied army retreated in good order as the French were too exhausted to initiate a pursuit.

Although the French forced the Allies from the field, as with the Battle of Steenkerque the previous year, both sides suffered heavy casualties and Louis failed to achieve the decisive result that would force the Allies to negotiate peace. William quickly replaced his losses and in 1694 achieved numerical superiority in Flanders for the first time in the war.

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