Battle Of Malplaquet, 1709, In The War Of The Spanish Succession

By André Geraque Kiffer

The War of the Spanish Succession, fought from July 1701 to September 1714, and triggered by the November 1700 death of Charles II of Spain, was a conflict for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Philip of Anjou – grandson of the French king. Louis XIV – and Archduke Charles of Austria. On September 11, 1709 the Battle of Malplaquet was fought in the area of the present French city of Tasnières-sur-Horn. Marlborough and Prince Eugene knew that Villars had been instructed to fight by Mons and tried to induce him into a pitched battle, hoping to gain a decisive victory. In the battle simulation, I will try to correct the flaws presented in the historical analysis, testing improvements in the maneuvers. And then we will prove which maneuver will prevail, both being instructed with the best and maximum effort.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Clube de Autores
• Release date: May 2, 2024

Book preview

Battle  of  Malplaquet, 1709,  in  the  War  of  the Spanish  Succession A  historical  simulation

André  Geraque  Kiffer

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---  Kiffer,  André  Geraque.

Battle  of  Malplaquet,  1709,  in  the  War  of  the  Spanish Succession.  A  historical  simulation.  André  Geraque  Kiffer.

Author’s  Edition,  Rio  de  Janeiro,  2024. Bibliography:  110  p.  58  img.  21  cm..

1.  History.  2.  Art  of  War.  3.  Science  of  War.  4.  War Games.  I.  Author.  II.  Title.

ISBN  978-65-01-01770-9

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As  a  Military  Historian  I  rely  on  a  summary  of  the historical  fact,  I  analyze  and  highlight  the  decisive  factors, before  simulating  hypotheses  what  if…  hypotheses through  a  board  game.  In  the  simulation,  all  possibilities of  the  purpose  of  the  study  are  completed,  when  the  past of  history  is  analyzed  based  on  the  theory  of  the  present and  projected  for  similar  situations  in  the  future.  Since 2010  I  have  published  the  following  series  of  simulations: I.  Historical  Simulation  of  the  Wars  of  the  First  Empires; II.  Historical  Simulation  of  the  Wars  in  Classical  Greece; III.  Historical  Simulation  of  the  Roman  Wars;  IV.  Historical Simulation  of  Wars  in  the  Medieval  Era;  V.  Historical Simulation  of  Wars  in  the  Modern  Era  (1453  to  1774);  VI. Historical  Simulation  of  Wars  in  the  Age  of  Revolutions (1775  to  1860);  VII.  Historical  Simulation  of  Wars  in  the Industrial  Age  (1861  to  1913);  VIII.  Historical  Simulation of  the  First  World  War;  IX.  Historical  Simulation  of  World War  II;  X.  Historical  Simulation  of  the  Cold  War  (1917  to 1991);  and  XI.  Historical  Simulation  of  Contemporary Wars  (1991  to  ...). Keywords:  History.  Art  of  War.  Science  of  War.  War

Games.

Battle  of  Malplaquet,  1709.  A  historical  simulation  by  André  Geraque  Kiffer

HISTORICAL  FACT

War  of  the  Spanish  Succession  (1701-1714)

Img  1:  Europe  before  the  war.

The  War  of  the  Spanish  Succession,  fought  between  1701 and  1714,  and  triggered  by  the  death  in  November  1700 of  Charles  II  of  Spain,  was  a  conflict  for  control  of  the Spanish  Empire  between  his  heirs,  Philip  of  Anjou  – grandson  of  the  French  king  Louis  XIV  –  and  Archduke Charles  of  Austria. The  conflict  drew  in  many  European  powers,  including Spain,  Austria,  France,  the  Dutch  Republic,  Savoy,  and Great  Britain.

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Battle  of  Malplaquet,  1709.  A  historical  simulation  by  André  Geraque  Kiffer

Although  weakened  by  more  than  a  century  of  continuous conflict,  Spain  remained  a  global  power  whose  territories included  the  Spanish  Netherlands,  much  of  Italy,  the Philippines,  and  much  of  the  Americas,  which  meant  that their  acquisition  by  France  or  Austria  potentially threatened  the  balance  of  power  in  Europe.

Img  2:  Family  tree  of  claimants  to  the  throne.

Attempts  by  Louis  XIV  of  France  and  William  III  of England  to  resolve  the  issue  through  diplomacy  were rejected  by  the  Spanish  and  Charles  II  named  Louis' grandson  Philip  of  Anjou  as  his  heir.  His  proclamation  as king  of  an  undivided  Spanish  empire  on  November  16, 1700  led  to  war,  with  France  and  Spain  on  one  side  and  a Grand  Alliance  on  the  other. The  French  maintained  the  advantage  in  the  early  stages, but  were  forced  onto  the  defensive  after  1706;  however,

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Battle  of  Malplaquet,  1709.  A  historical  simulation  by  André  Geraque  Kiffer

by  1710  the  Allies  were  unable  to  make  any  significant progress,  while  Bourbon  victories  in  Spain  secured  Philip's position  as  king. When  Austrian  Emperor  Joseph  I  died  in  1711,  Archduke Charles  succeeded  his  brother,  and  a  new  British government  began  peace  negotiations.  As  only  British subsidies  kept  their  allies  in  the  war,  this  resulted  in  the Utrecht  peace  treaties  of  1713-15,  followed  by  the  1714 treaties  of  Rastatt  and  Baden. Philip  was  confirmed  as  king  of  Spain  in  exchange  for renouncing  his  or  his  descendants'  right  to  inherit  the French  throne;  the  Spanish  Empire  remained  largely intact,  but  ceded  territories  in  Italy  and  the  Low  Countries to  Savoy  and  Austria. Britain  retained  Gibraltar  and  Minorca,  which  it  captured during  the  war,  acquired  significant  commercial concessions  in  the  Spanish  Americas,  and  replaced  the Dutch  as  the  leading  European  maritime  and  commercial power. France  withdrew  support  for  the  exiled  Jacobites  and recognized  the  Hanoverian  as  heirs  to  the  British  throne; securing  a  friendly  Spain  was  a  great  achievement,  but  it left  her  financially  exhausted. The  decentralization  of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire  continued, with  Prussia,  Bavaria  and  Saxony  increasingly  acting  as independent  states.  Combined  with  victories  over  the

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Battle  of  Malplaquet,  1709.  A  historical  simulation  by  André  Geraque  Kiffer

Ottomans,  this  meant  that  Austria  increasingly  shifted  its focus  to  southern  Europe.

Img  3:  Europe  after  the  war.

Battle  of  Malplaquet

The  start  of  the  campaign  was  delayed  by  the  harsh winter  of  1708/1709,  which  made  gathering  supplies difficult,  combined  with  peace  negotiations  in  The  Hague. Although  Louis  XIV  was  willing  to  accept  most  of  the terms  offered,  the  demand  that  he  provide  troops  to  expel his  own  grandson,  Philip  V  of  Spain,  was  a  humiliation  to which  he  could  not  agree  and  negotiations  broke  down  at the  end  of  April.  from  1709.

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Battle  of  Malplaquet,  1709.  A  historical  simulation  by  André  Geraque  Kiffer

Img  4:  Campaign  before  the  battle.

For  both  sides  the  strategy  was  dictated  by  these negotiations;  the  French  state  was  bankrupt,  lack  of  food or  pay  caused  the  garrisons  of  Tournai,  Arras,  St  Omer, Valenciennes  and  Cambrai  to  mutiny. To