Battle of Landen The Battle of Landen ( or Neerwinden ) , in the current Belgian province of Flemish Brabant , was a battle in the Nine Years ' War , fought in present - day Belgium on 29 July 1693 between the French army of Marshal Luxembourg and the Allied army of King William III of England . The French assaulted the Allied position three times before the French cavalry finally penetrated the allied defences and drove William ' s army from the field in a rout . The battle was , however , quite costly for both sides , the French losing 9 , 000 men to the Allies ' 19 , 000 , the French failed to follow up on their victory , allowing William to escape . Details of the battle . Marshal Luxembourg , having with a series of feints induced William to detach portions of his army , rapidly drew together superior numbers in the face of the Allied camps , which lay in a rough semicircle from Eliksem on the right to Neerlanden , thence along the Landen brook on the left ( 18 – 28 July 1693 ) . William had no mind to retire over the Gete River and entrenched a strong line from Laar through Neerwinden to Neerlanden . On the right of this line ( Laar to Neerwinden ) , the ground was broken and gave plenty of cover to both sides ; this section , being regarded as the key to the position , was strongly garrisoned . In the centre the open ground between Neerwinden and Neerlanden was solidly entrenched ; in front of it Rumsdorp was held as an advance post . The left at Neerlanden rested upon the Landen brook and was difficult to access . William ' s right ( his line of retreat lay over the Gete ) was his dangerous flank , and Marshal Luxembourg was aware that the Allies ' front was somewhat long for the numbers defending it . The intervention of troops drawn from one wing to reinforce the other would almost certainly be too late . Under these conditions Luxembourg ' s general plan was to throw the weight of his attack on the Laar - Neerwinden section — especially on Neerwinden itself — and to economize his forces , as " economy of force " was understood before Napoleon ' s time . Elsewhere , delivering holding attacks or demonstrations , as might be necessary , would thus prevent the Allied centre and left from assisting the right . Marshal Luxembourg had about 80 , 000 men to William ' s 50 , 000 . Opposite the entrenchments of the centre he drew up nearly the whole of his cavalry in six lines , with two lines of infantry intercalated . A corps of infantry and dragoon s was held off for the attack on Neerlanden and Rumsdorp . The troops destined for the main attack , 28 , 000 of all arms , formed up in heavy masses opposite Neerwinden . This proportion of about one - third of the whole force to be employed in the decisive attack in the event proved insufficient . The troops opposite the Allied centre and left had to act with the greatest energy to fulfill their containinment mission . At Laar - Neerwinden the eventual success of the attack was bought only at the price of the utter exhaustion of the troops . After a long cannonade the French columns moved to the attack , converging on Neerwinden ; a smaller force assaulted Laer . The edge of the villages was carried , but in the interior a murderous struggle began , every foot of ground being contested . After a time William himself , leading a heavy counterattack , expelled the assailants from both villages . A second attack , pushed with the same energy , was met with the same determination . Meanwhile , the French in other parts of the field had pressed their attacks home . The six lines of cavalry in the centre , after enduring the fire of the Allies for many hours , trotted over the open ground and up to the entrenchments to meet with certain defeat . At Neerlanden and Rumsdorp there was severe hand - to - hand fighting . Meantime , the two intact lines of infantry in the French centre had been moved to their left and formed the nucleus for the last great assault on Neerwinden , which proved too much for the exhausted defenders . They fell back slowly and steadily , defying pursuit — the English Coldstream Guards even captured a colour . However , at this crisis the initiative of a subordinate general , the famous military writer Feuquières , converted the hard - won local success into a brilliant victory . William had begun to move troops from his centre and left to the right in order to meet the great assault on Neerwinden . Feuquières , observing this , led the cavalry of the French centre once again straight at the entrenchments . This time the French squadrons , surprising the Allies in the act of maneuvering , rode over every body of troops they met , nothing remained for the Allies but a hurried retreat over the Gete . Hundreds died crossing the river . A stubborn rearguard of English and Scottish troops led by William himself saved the Allied army , of which all but the left wing was exhausted and in disorder . Aftermath . It is during this battle that , seeing the French determination to gain the high ground in spite of the murderous Allied volleys , William exclaimed , " Oh ! That insolent nation ! " Marshal Luxembourg had won his greatest victory , thanks in no small measure to Feuquières ' exploit ; but had the assaults on Neerwinden been made as Napoleon would have done , with one - half or two - thirds of his forces instead of one - third , the victory would have been decisive and Feuquières would have won his laurels not for forcing the decision at the cost of using up his cavalry , but for annihilating the remnants of the Allied army in the pursuit . The material results of the battle were 19 , 000 Allied troops killed , wounded or taken prisoner , as opposed to 9 , 000 French casualties . Eighty guns and a great number of standards and colours were also taken by the French . Among the casualties on the French side were Among the casualties on the Allied side were William followed with a silver medal struck to commemorate his " victory " . It was designed by Jan Boskem and featured a Roman bust of William crowned with a laurel and an aerial battle between a falcon and a stork . The French commander , Marshal Luxembourg , captured so many flags that he could make a " tapestry " with them inside Notre - Dame Cathedral in Paris . For this reason he was nicknamed " le Tapissier de Notre - Dame " . English , Scottish and Irish Order of Battle . Infantry . Scotch Brigade ( Dutch mercenaries )