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Don Juan José of Austria , together with the Prince of Condé, the Count of Funsaldaña, the Count of Marsín, the Prince of Ligné (in command of the cavalry), Don Fernando de Solis (in command of the artillery) and the Marquis of Caracena (Governor of the Arms of Flanders), gathered an army of , men including Spanish, Flemings, Walloons, Burgundians, Italians, Irish and Germans. The march of this army began in June, arriving in Douai on the th of that month, where the headquarters were located and from where they began to harass the French supply convoys. Valenciennes The siege of the city, situated astride the course of the Scheldt River , had begun when the French advanced on it on May The Gauls divided their troops into two camps: To the east of the Scheldt were the troops of Marshal Touraine, composed of the Swiss infantry regiments of Marine and Rabure, the regiments of Cardinal Mazarin, the King's regiments, the cavalry squadrons of the King's Guards and Mazarin and five others. cavalry squadrons.
Further south, on the left flank of Touraine, the Lorraine troops were placed under the command of the Count of Lignevilla (captain general of the troops). It totaled about , men. To the west of the river were the barracks of Marshal de La Ferté with th B2B Email List e thirds of Burgundy, Champagne and Bria, two cavalry regiments and the Guard of La Ferté. About , men. The works to circumvent the town began on June and at the beginning of July the siege ring, made up of a double trench, was completed. The bombardment of the city was carried out by cannons ( from Turena and from La Ferté). On July , the Spanish troops advanced on the city and placed their camp to the south of it, on a small elevation, a short distance from the left flank of Touraine. The Hispanic camp protected its flanks by resting the left on the Scheldt, building several bridges, and the right on the Rouelle. The main body of the troops was facing Touraine's camp, which made him think that the main attack would fall on his troops. The next day Condé, Caracena, Ligné and Marsin carried out a reconnaissance in force of the defenses of La Ferté, after some skirmishes the bulk of the Hispanic troops crossed the river, leaving a detachment as a bridgehead at the house of Urtebise.
The Hispanics had several skirmishes with the Touraine batteries that fired on the city without being able to silence them. Meanwhile, the defenders made frequent sorties, which, well supported by the city's militias, made the work of the French sappers difficult. Valenciennes Beleg en ontzet van Valenciennes, , anonymous, - (Rijksmuseum). The Battle of Valenciennes At ten o'clock at night on July , the Hispanics began to cross the Scheldt over eleven bridges that had been previously laid. Although one of them broke, the operation was carried out without opposition and without Turena noticing. A fire was lit in Urtebise that served as a meeting point for the columns that advanced in absolute silence. Meanwhile, the Hispanic artillery fired on the French positions to hide any noise and draw the attention of the besiegers. Once they crossed the river the army divided into four groups. In the vanguard of the deployment were selected riflemen and grenadiers, behind them the infantry: Don Juan José and Caracena on the right, with Spanish and Irish, on his left the Prince of Ligne with the Walloon thirds, the center was occupied by Condé and the left flank , the Count of Marsin with the so-called new forces, behind them the sappers, ready to fill the trenches and clear the way for the cavalry.
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發表於 2024-3-12 14:54:31