Battle of Seneffe

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Battle of Seneffe

Date	August 11, 1674
Location	near Seneffe, present-day Belgium
Result	Indecisive

Belligerents

Commanders

William III of Orange

Strength

30,000 infantry
14,200 cavalry
60 guns

40,000 infantry
22,000 cavalry
~70 guns

Casualties and losses

10,000 dead, wounded, or captured^[1]

10,000 dead,
15,000 wounded,
5,000 captured^[1]

v • d • e Franco-Dutch and Third Anglo-Dutch War

Solebay – Schooneveld – Texel – Maastricht – Seneffe – Turckheim - Konzer Brücke - Stromboli - Agosta - Palermo - Utrecht – Groningen - Cassel - Saint-Denis

The Battle of Seneffe was fought on August 11, 1674 and resulted in a draw.The armies were under the command of Louis II de Bourbon, Prince de Condé (France) and the Dutch-German-Spanish army under William III of Orange.

During the Franco-Dutch war, William III commanded a Dutch-German-Spanish army through the southern Netherlands into the territory of Northern France. France defended this area with an army under Louis II de Bourbon, Prince de Condé. For five weeks the two armies manoeuvered without getting into combat with each other. On the 10th of August William III decided to head for Paris in order to force the enemy into fighting.

Condé sent a detachment of about 500 horsemen to keep the Dutch vanguard busy near the village of Seneffe, blocking the advance of William. In the mean time, Condé tried to surround the 60,0000 allied troops with the 45,000 men at his disposal.

The horsemen managed to keep the Dutch vanguard busy, but the surrounding of the allied main force failed. After ten hours more than 8,000 people had died. Condé had 8,000 dead or wounded and William 11,000. Both armies retreated from the battlefield and although the battle was indecisive both sides claimed victory.