Battle of Fleurus ( 1690 ) The Battle of Fleurus , fought on 1 July 1690 , was a major engagement of the Nine Years ' War . In a bold envelopment the Duc de Luxembourg , commanding Louis XIV ’ s army of some 35 , 000 men , soundly defeated Prince Waldeck ’ s Allied force of approximately 38 , 000 men comprising mainly Dutch , German , and Spanish troops . Despite suffering some 6 , 000 casualties , the battle was a clear victory for the French commander ; yet typical of the period it proved far from decisive . Although the French War Minister , Louvois , wished to press ahead and secure further success , King Louis overruled him and ordered Luxembourg to reinforce the Dauphin ’ s army on the Rhine and forego any major siege . The Allies , meanwhile , withdrew to Brussels to recover and rebuild their army . Background . In 1690 the main theatre of the Nine Years ’ War moved to the Spanish Netherlands . Command of French forces now passed to the talented Marshal Luxembourg ( a position he would keep until his death in 1695 ) , superseding Marshal Humières who had suffered defeat at the Battle of Walcourt the previous year . Luxembourg ' s army consisted of 34 battalions and 94 squadrons ; if necessary he could call upon support from Marshal Boufflers ’ forces on the Moselle . Once again King William entrusted Allied forces in the region to Prince Waldeck ( William was himself busy in Ireland forestalling King James ' attempt to regain his throne ) . In other theatres Marshal de Lorge commanded French forces in the Rhineland , ( although the Dauphin held honorific command ) . De Lorge was opposed by the Elector of Bavaria , who had succeeded command of Allied forces in the region after the death of Charles of Lorraine . Meanwhile Marshal Catinat led the French forces in Dauphiné against the Duke of Savoy , whilst Marshal Noailles commanded forces deployed on the border of Catalonia . Prelude . Prince Waldeck had hoped to delay the campaign to enable the Elector of Brandenburg to move on the Moselle and tie down Boufflers , but Luxembourg ’ s early manoeuvres had allowed Boufflers to move between the rivers Sambre and Meuse to support the French commander . Waldeck , meanwhile , left his assembly point at Tienen ( Tirlemont ) and advanced to Wavre . After dispersing his troops to live off forage , the Allied army reassembled and advanced to Genappe on 8 June . In mid - June Luxembourg split his forces . Humières was relegated to supervise the garrison of the Lines of the Lys and the Scheldt , whilst the main French army left Deinze and marched south , crossing the River Sambre at Jeumont on 23 June . Meanwhile , detachments from Boufflers force under Rubantel had augmented Luxembourg ’ s army , which continued its march , camping at Boussu on 27 June . As Luxembourg manoeuvred south of Mons and Charleroi , Waldeck moved his camp between Nivelles and Pieton on 28 June . That same evening , Luxembourg personally led a detachment from Gerpinnes ( together with bridging pontoons ) , to establish a crossing of the Sambre at Ham . A fortified position at Froidmont ( garrisoned by about 100 men ) was soon compelled to surrender after artillery was brought across the river ; a simultaneous attack by French dragoons seized an enemy redoubt that had been abandoned at the approach of Luxembourg ’ s army . With the bridgehead secure , the rest of the French army ( apart from the heavy baggage that had remained on the south bank at Ham ) crossed the Sambre on 30 June . ( " See map " ) . Waldeck decamped and moved towards the French bridgehead . French and Dutch cavalry sent out to reconnoitre the area crossed swords in an inconclusive action near Fleurus , but by evening the French cavalry had withdrawn to Velaine where it was joined by the rest of their army , only 3 km ( < 2 miles ) from the Allies . Battle . On the morning of 1 July , Luxembourg marched his forces towards Fleurus . Waldeck had set up his 38 , 000 troops in the two customary lines on the high ground between the village of Heppignies on their right and past the chateau of St Amant on their left ; Waldeck ’ s front was covered by the Orme stream whose elevated banks made a frontal assault all but impossible . Luxembourg divided his forces to attack both flanks of the Allied army – an audacious plan that in order for it to succeed would require secrecy and deception . The columns of the first French line split to take position between Heppignies and Fleurus , with some troops moving up towards St Amant . The two columns of Luxembourg ’ s right veered off to the north across the Orme , their passage covered by the hedges and wheat fields , and by a screen of French cavalry . Forty cannon were positioned near the chateau of St Amant , and another 30 guns positioned between the chateau and Fleurus . Unnoticed by Waldeck , Luxembourg had enveloped his flanks . Had the Allied commander realised that Luxembourg had split his army in two , he might have overwhelmed the isolated French left before the right came into position , but he did not . After the French right wing was in position ( commanded by Luxembourg himself ) , their artillery opened fire at about 10 : 00 , striking the Allied infantry with great effect . The French left wing , commanded by Lieutenant - General Jean Christophe , comte de Gournay , opened their attack with a cavalry charge but Gournay was killed in the assault ; his death disordered his cavalry who retired to Fleurus to regroup . A cavalry charge on the right wing however , met with more success , driving the enemy cavalry back . On the heels of this attack , the French infantry now advanced against both flanks of Waldeck ’ s line which , finding itself enveloped by the enemy , finally broke . Some of the Allied troops managed to regroup on high ground near Fleurus , but were eventually overwhelmed . Despite being pressed by French cavalry , Waldeck was able to create a new line with his remaining forces further back . However , this line also collapsed , broken by French infantry flushed with confidence from their initial success . The remainder of Waldeck ’ s troops streamed towards Nivelles in the best order they could . Aftermath . The Battle of Fleurus was a complete success , but devoid of result . Louvois , Louis ’ war minister , wanted to order Luxembourg to immediately besiege Namur or Charleroi , but King 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 . Nevertheless , Luxembourg was able to put much of the land east of Brussels under contribution . Waldeck eventually retired on Brussels where his injured troops were replaced with men from fortress garrisons . Spanish troops under the Marquis of Gastañaga joined the main Allied army , as did the Count of Tilly with troops from Liège and Brandenburg on 22 July . On 2 August , the Elector of Brandenburg ’ s forces combined with Waldeck whose Allied army now numbered 55 , 000 men . With this force , the Allied army marched to Genappe , proceeding on to Nivelles on 7 August . 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 .