Battle of Walcourt

Battle of Walcourt
Part of the Nine Years' War
Battle of Walcourt 1689
Date 25 August 1689[1] Location Walcourt, Spanish Netherlands (Present-day Belgium) 50°15′0″N 04°25′0″E / 50.25000°N 4.41667°E / 50.25000; 4.41667 Result Allied victory
Belligerents
Dutch Republic  England  Scotland  Holy Roman Empire  Spain	France
Commanders and leaders
Prince of Waldeck Lord of Slangenburg Aylva Duke of Marlborough	Duke of Humières Villars
Strength
30,000[2]-35,000[3]	24,000[4]-30,000[5]
Casualties and losses
~100–700 killed or wounded[6][7]	2,000[7] 600 killed 1,400 wounded or captured

The Battle of Walcourt was fought on 25 August 1689 during the Nine Years' War. The action took place near the ancient walled town of Walcourt near Charleroi in the Spanish Netherlands, and brought to a close a summer of uneventful marching, manoeuvring, and foraging. The battle was a success for the Grand Alliance – the only significant engagement in the theatre during the campaign of 1689.

The Allied army was commanded by the Prince of Waldeck; the French army by the duc de Humières. The battle incurred some 2,000 French casualties against the Allied losses of less than 700. The Allied victory had been an auspicious opening of the war for King William III and the Alliance, but for Humières, his military reputation received a fatal blow; in the following campaign of 1690, Humières was replaced by the duc de Luxembourg.