At three o'clock on the morning of the 11th September, the forces of the several nations which composed the army commanded by the Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene of Savoy, were under arms. The two battalions of the Royal Regiment appeared on parade on the ground where they had passed the night, and divine service was performed by the chaplain. The French camp was a short distance in front; but a thick mist overspread the woods and open grounds, and concealed the armies from each other. Under cover of the fog, the artillery was brought forward, and dispositions made for the attack: the French heard the din of hostile preparations, and seized their weapons, and two powerful armies, headed by commanders of renown, stood arrayed against each other. The troops of both armies had confidence in their leaders, and were anxious for the combat; the one to acquire new laurels under their favourite chiefs, and the other to retrieve the disasters of eight successive campaigns. The fog lingered on the ground until about half-past seven, when the sun broke forth. The fire of the artillery instantly opened on both sides, and the columns of attack moved forward, and commenced one of the most sanguinary and hard-contested battles on record, in which there was a greater sacrifice of life than at the battles of Blenheim, Ramilies, and Oudenarde, put together. "It is impossible to express the violence of the fire on either side. Besides the enemy's advantageous situation, they defended themselves like brave men, and made all the resistance that could be expected from the best of troops; but then nothing could be a finer sight than to see our foot surmount so many obstacles, resist so great a fire, force the enemy's entrenchments, beat them from thence, and drive them quite out of the wood, and after all, to draw up in good order of battle on the plain, in sight of our enemies, and before their third entrenchments[90]."
The Royals formed part of the division commanded by General Count Lottum, and were engaged in the assault of the entrenchments in the wood of Taisniere. Two battalions of Foot Guards led the attack, and, having overcome several local difficulties, they commenced ascending the enemy's breastwork, but were repulsed and driven back. The Royals seconded the Foot Guards; Argyle's regiment (3rd Buffs), and several other corps, prolonged the attack to the left; and these troops, rushing forward with the native energy and resolution of Britons, forced the entrenchments in gallant style, and the French fell back fighting and retreating into the woods. The Royals, and other corps, pressed forward: the trees and foliage being thick, the ranks were broken; every tree was disputed, and the wood echoed the turmoil of battle on every side.
When the fighting in the wood of Taisniere, where the Royals were engaged, had assumed the character of a series of skirmishes, a most sanguinary conflict was raging in other parts of the field, particularly in the centre, where the Prince of Orange led the Dutch infantry against the enemy's treble entrenchments, and at the points of attack allotted to the Germans. Eventually the enemy's position was broken, and a conflict of cavalry ensued, in which the allies proved victorious. Meanwhile the Royals, and other corps engaged in the woods, continued to gain ground, and the French were forced to retreat. The allies captured a number of prisoners, colours, standards, and cannon; but this victory was purchased at an immense expense of human life, especially of Germans and Dutch. The Royals having fought a great part of the day in the wood, where the men were partly covered by the trees, the regiment did not sustain a very severe loss. Lieutenant Haley and a few private men were killed; and Lieutenants J. Stratton, Dixon, and W. Stratton, were wounded[91].
The victory at Malplaquet was followed by the siege and capture of Mons, which was terminated by the surrender of the garrison on the 20th of October. The Royals formed part of the covering army during the siege, and afterwards marched back to Ghent.
1710
The regiment having passed the winter in its former quarters, quitted Ghent on the 14th of April, 1710, and directing its march towards the frontiers of France, arrived at the rendezvous of the army, in the vicinity of Tournay, on the 19th of that month. The allies, by a forced march, succeeded in passing the French lines at Pont-a-Verdun without opposition, and invested Douay. The Royals formed part of the covering army during the siege. The French army advanced and menaced the allies with an attack, but retreated after a sharp cannonade, and Douay surrendered on the 27th of June.
After the capture of Douay, the Royals marched in the direction of Aubigny, and formed part of the covering army encamped at Villers-Brulin during the siege of Bethune. This place having surrendered on the 28th of August, the Royals were afterwards detached from the main army, and sent under the command of the Prince of Anhault, to besiege the town of Aire, which is situated on the banks of the river Lys. The governor of this place made a vigorous defence; and the regiment was sharply engaged several times in carrying on the attacks and storming the outworks, and had a number of men killed and wounded. The garrison having surrendered on the 9th of November, the regiment afterwards marched back to its former winter-quarters at Ghent, where it arrived on the 23rd of November.
1711
The Royals again took the field towards the end of April, 1711, and, advancing up the country, joined the army near Douay, and were reviewed with the remainder of the British infantry, on the 8th of June, by the Duke of Marlborough, at the camp at Warde. On the 14th the army advanced to the plains of Lens. The enemy had thrown up a new line of entrenchments; and the French army, commanded by Marshal Villars, was posted behind these formidable works, which were deemed impregnable. But the British commander, by menacing the enemy's left, occasioned the French troops to be drawn to that quarter; then, by a forced march, passed the lines at an unguarded part at Arleux, and afterwards invested Bouchain, a fortified town of Hainault, situated on both sides of the river Scheldt. The Royals formed part of a division of twenty battalions, commanded by Lieut.-General the Earl of Orkney, which took post on the north and north-west side of the town and river.
The French, by a night march, gained possession of the heights of Wavrechin, from whence they expected to be able to relieve the town; and the Royals formed part of a division of infantry which advanced to dislodge the enemy; but the position was found too formidable to be attacked, and the regiment retired without firing a shot. During the night a series of works was constructed; a causeway was also made through the deep inundations which the enemy had, by means of sluices on the river, caused to overflow the low grounds near the town; and thus Bouchain was completely invested, and all communication with the troops on the heights of Wavrechin cut off. The siege was then prosecuted with vigour, and the Royals took their turn of duty in the trenches, and in carrying on the attacks, and had several men killed and wounded. The total loss of the British troops in this siege was 1,154 officers and men killed and wounded. The garrison agreed to surrender on the 13th of September. The Royals remained at Bouchain until the works were repaired, and afterwards went into quarters for the winter.