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Villeroi still believed ( on 22 May ) the Allies were a full day ’ s march away when in fact they had camped near Corswaren waiting for the Danish squadrons to catch up ; for his part, Marlborough deemed Villeroi still at Jodoigne when in reality he was now approaching the plateau of Mont St. André with the intention of pitching camp near Ramillies ( see map at right ).
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Villeroi and still
Villeroi meanwhile, was still moving more reserves of infantry in the opposite direction towards his left flank ; crucially, it would be some time before the French commander noticed the subtle change in emphasis of the Allied dispositions.
Villeroi and on
" There will be no campaign on the Moselle ", wrote Villeroi who had taken up a defensive position on the river, " the English have all gone up into Germany.
Marlborough skillfully encouraged this apprehension by constructing bridges across the Rhine at Philippsburg, a ruse that not only encouraged Villeroi to come to Tallard's aid in the defence of Alsace, but one that ensured the French plan to march on Vienna remained paralysed by uncertainty.
At conference it was decided that Eugene would return with 28, 000 men to the Lines of Stollhofen on the Rhine to keep an eye on Villeroi and Tallard, and prevent them going to the aid of the Franco-Bavarian army on the Danube.
Knowing Marlborough's destination, Tallard and Villeroi met at Landau in Alsace on 13 June to rapidly construct an action plan to save Bavaria, but the rigidity of the French command system was such that any variations from the original plan had to be sanctioned by Versailles.
" Approval from Louis arrived on 27 June: Tallard was to reinforce Marsin and the Elector on the Danube via the Black Forest, with 40 battalions and 50 squadrons ; Villeroi was to pin down the Allies defending the Lines of Stollhofen, or, if the Allies should move all their forces to the Danube, he was to join with Marshal Tallard ; and General de Coignies with 8, 000 men, would protect Alsace.
Marshal Villeroi, exerting considerable pressure on the Dutch commander, Count Overkirk, along the Meuse, took Huy on 10 June before pressing on towards Liège.
" Accordingly, on 18 May, Villeroi set off from Leuven at the head of 70 battalions, 132 squadrons and 62 cannon – comprising an overall force of some 60, 000 troops – and crossed the river Dyle to seek battle with the enemy.
Spurred on by his growing confidence in his ability to out-general his opponent, and by Versailles ’ determination to avenge Blenheim, Villeroi and his generals anticipated success.
Villeroi ’ s right rested on the villages of Franquenée and Taviers, with the river Mehaigne protecting his flank.
Along the Ramillies – Offus – Autre Eglise ridge-line, Villeroi positioned Walloon and Bavarian infantry, supported by the Elector of Bavaria's 50 squadrons of Bavarian and Walloon cavalry placed behind on the plateau of Mont St. André.
Tactically, it was imperative for Villeroi to occupy Taviers on his right and Autre-Eglise on his left, but by adopting this posture he had been forced to over-extend his forces.
Although Villeroi had the option of enveloping the flanks of the Allied army as they deployed on the plateau of Jandrenouille – threatening to encircle their army – the Duke correctly gauged that the characteristically cautious French commander was intent on a defensive battle along the ridge-line.
Villeroi, posting himself near Offus, watched anxiously the redcoats ' advance, mindful of the counsel he had received on 6 May from Louis XIV – " Have particular care to that part of the line which will endure the first shock of the English troops.
Vendôme formally took over command in Flanders on 4 August ; Villeroi would never again receive a major command – " I cannot foresee a happy day in my life save only that of my death.
In 1702, Eugene fought in Italy, where the French were led by the Duc de Villeroi, whom Eugene captured at the Battle of Cremona on 1 February.
Villeroi and May
The stalemate was broken in 1706, as Marlborough drove the French out of most of the Spanish Netherlands, decisively defeating troops under Villeroi in the Battle of Ramillies in May and following up with the conquest of Antwerp and Dunkirk.
Vauban and Catinat ( now with troops freed from the Italian font ) invested the town on 15 May while Marshals Boufflers and Villeroi covered the siege ; after an assault on 5 June the Count of Roeux surrendered and the garrison marched out two days later.
In May 1706, Villeroi, pressured by King Louis XIV to atone for France's earlier defeats, initiated an offensive in the Low Countries by crossing the Dyle river.
Villeroi and were
" The Bavarian Horse Grenadiers and the Electoral Guards withdrew and formed a shield about Villeroi and the Elector but were scattered by Lumley ’ s cavalry.
John Millner ’ s memoirs – Compendious Journal ( 1733 ) – is more specific, recording 12, 087 of Villeroi ’ s army were killed or wounded, with another 9, 729 taken prisoner.
Her judgment was not infallible and mistakes were undoubtedly made: replacing Catinat by Villeroi in 1701 may be attributed to her, but not entire policies ( according to Saint-Simon, certainly not the policy with regard to the Spanish Succession ).
Villeroi and day
The following day, at 01: 00, Marlborough dispatched Cadogan, his Quartermaster-General, with an advanced guard to reconnoitre the same dry ground that Villeroi ’ s army was now heading, country that was well known to the Duke from previous campaigns.
Villeroi and ’
" With Marlborough ’ s departure north, the French now transferred troops from the Moselle valley to reinforce Villeroi in Flanders, while Villars marched off to the Rhine.
Nevertheless, the Duke could think of no circumstances why the French would leave their strong positions and attack his army, even if Villeroi was first reinforced by substantial transfers from Marsin ’ s command.
The French moved first to Tirlemont, ( as if to threaten Zoutleeuw, abandoned by the French in October 1705 ), before turning southwards, heading for Jodoigne – this line of march took Villeroi ’ s army towards the narrow aperture of dry ground between the Mehaigne and Petite Gheete rivers close to the small villages of Ramillies and Taviers ; but neither commander quite appreciated how far his opponent had travelled.
With a short lift in the mist, Cadogan soon discovered the smartly ordered lines of Villeroi ’ s advance guard some four miles ( 6 km ) off ; a galloper hastened back to warn Marlborough.
On the French side of the stream the ground rises to Offus, the village which, together with Autre-Eglise farther north, anchored Villeroi ’ s left flank.
The Battle of Ramillies was Villeroi ’ s last command.
Villeroi ’ s right flank fell into chaos and was now open and vulnerable.
" De La Colonie managed to rally some of his grenadiers, together with the remnants of the French dragoons and Greder Suisse battalions, but it was an entirely peripheral operation, offering only fragile support for Villeroi ’ s right flank.
Sweeping forwards, virtually without resistance, the 21 Danish squadrons reformed behind the French around the area of the Tomb of Ottomond, facing north across the plateau of Mont St André towards the exposed flank of Villeroi ’ s army.
What was left of Villeroi ’ s army was now broken in spirit ; the imbalance of the casualty figures amply demonstrates the extent of the disaster for Louis XIV ’ s army: ( see below ).
In The Collins Encyclopaedia of Military History, Dupuy puts Villeroi ’ s dead and wounded at 8, 000, with a further 7, 000 captured.
Trevelyan estimates Villeroi ’ s casualties at 13, 000, but adds, ‘ his losses by desertion may have doubled that number ’.
The submarine pioneers of the 19th century however-de Villeroi, Monturiol, Hunley and others-were well aware of Bauer ’ s invention and derived inspiration and many ideas from it.
Villeroi and when
In keeping with French royal tradition that princes should be put in the care of men when they reached their seventh birthdays, Louis was separated from his governess, Madame de Ventadour, in February 1717, and placed in the care of the Duke of Villeroi, who had been designated as his governor in Louis XIV's will of August 1714 and whose secretary was the young Pierre-François Godard de Beauchamps.
Villeroi and had
Villeroi had given his personal attention to that wing and strengthened it with large bodies of horse and foot that ought to have been taking part in the decisive struggle south of Ramillies.
Her son had little interest in the property as he preferred to be much closer to the royal court so in 1736 he sold the château to the Duc de Villeroi.
By now Marshal Villeroi had replaced Boufflers as commander in the Spanish Netherlands, but although Marlborough was able to take Bonn, Huy, and Limbourg in 1703, continuing Dutch hesitancy prevented him from bringing the French to a decisive battle.
The feint convinced Villeroi to divert troops from the centre, while Marlborough had to use representatives to repeatedly instruct Orkney not to continue the attack.
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