Date 11 August 1674 | Location Seneffe, Belgium | |
 | ||
30,000 infantry
14,200 cavalry
60 guns 40,000 infantry
22,000 cavalry
~70 guns 8,000 dead, wounded, or captured 11,000 dead,
7,000 wounded,
1,000 captured Result Tactical French victory; Allies retreat to fortified positions Combatants France, Dutch Republic, Spain, Holy Roman Empire, Early modern France Similar Battle of Saint‑Denis, Battle of Sinsheim, Franco‑Dutch War, Battle of Turckheim, Battle of Stromboli | ||
Battle of seneffe
The Battle of Seneffe was fought on 11 August 1674 between French army under the command of Louis II de Bourbon, Prince de Condé 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 manoeuvred 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 meantime, Condé tried to surround the 60,000 allied troops with the 45,000 men at his disposal.
The horsemen managed to keep the Dutch vanguard busy, but the envelopment of the main allied force failed. After ten hours Condé had 8,000 dead or wounded and William - 11,000, with the allied troops retreating from the battlefield.