Battle of Saint-Denis (1678) 1678
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 15 August 1678 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1678 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | Early modern (1500–1799) | derived from year |
| Location | Belgium | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Franco-Dutch War | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 50.4833, 4.0167 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Saint-Denis was the last major action of the 1672 to 1678 Franco-Dutch War. It took place on 14 August 1678, four days after Louis XIV of France had agreed the Treaty of Nijmegen with the Dutch Republic, but before he finalised terms with Spain. The Dutch and Spanish initiated the battle to prevent the French capturing the Spanish-held town of Mons, then on the border between France and the Spanish Netherlands. The result was disputed, as both sides claimed victory.
Leaving a small force to maintain the siege of Mons, French commander Luxembourg concentrated 40,000 to 50,000 men around the nearby villages of Saint-Dénis and Casteau, where they were attacked by a combined Dutch-Spanish army of 35,000 to 45,000 men led by William of Orange.
In the early stages, the Allies overran the French flanks and forced Luxembourg out of his headquarters in the abbey of Saint-Dénis, but were then pushed back by a series of counter attacks, with many positions changing hands several times. Fighting continued late into the evening, when William pulled his troops back to regroup, leaving the French occupying most of their original lines.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Saint-Denis (1678) (revision 1370588020), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Battle of Mons 1914 · 5 km
- Siege of Mons (1746) 1746 · 6 km
- Siege of Mons (1572) 1572 · 6 km
- Siege of Mons (1691) 1691 · 6 km
- Battle of Jemappes 1792 · 10 km
- Battle of Steenkerque 1692 · 17 km
Other battles of the Franco-Dutch War
- Battle of Cassel (1677) 1677
- Battles of Tobago 1677
- Siege of Cambrai (1677) 1677
- Siege of Freiburg (1677) 1677
- Siege of Valenciennes (1676–1677) 1677
- Siege of Ypres (1678) 1678
All 28 battles of the Franco-Dutch War →
Browse more: battles in Belgium · Europe · Early modern battles