Abigail's Cousin (17 page)

Tallard turned to the Elector: "Shall we
ride over to Oberglau, monsieur
? You can show me how things should be done." Then turning
to the comte observed: "The English set you a trap, monsieur le
comte, and you fell right into it. More easy victories like that we
can ill afford."

-------------------------------------------------------------

Colonel
Cadogan, the duke's quartermaster, had already, through his laying
out of fascines and fodder made the potentially sodden ground
viable for the cavalry, and was also now engaged in another
pioneering task, that of clearing away dead horses which made the
terrain impossible for allied cavalry and Marlborough was close by
observing his men labour to carry out his orders, when beneath a
dead horse a human corpse was discovered. It proved to be a French
gens-d'armes which gave Marlborough an idea and he had dispatched
Captain Parker to Lord Orkney.

At the sight
of two horsemen galloping towards him, he spotted his own aide and
speculated that Orkney had reacted favourably to his idea. As the
two riders approached and reined their mounts, one spoke to the
duke:

"Your grace!" to which the duke returned
greeting and further outlined his plan: "Captain Masham. Observe
this unfortunate rifleman. French and English dragoons look
much
the same, would you
agree?"

Masham looked
at the dead soldier and more particularly at his uniform
dismounting to check precisely, whereupon Marlborough observed:

As you see captain; different coats, red
with blue cuffs, but identical pantaloons. Also, the bonnet is
different.
Pray, observe
where I point."

Masham
directed the glass towards Blentheim while the duke remarked: "I
want to surround the village, but I need to know how the perimeter
is defended. Que pensez-vous?"

In answer
Masham started to strip off his long military coat whereupon Parker
did the same to the corpse, handing the bloodstained garment to
Masham, who, unsmiling put it on. Then took the Frenchman's bonnet
and replaced his own. Masham turned to the duke:

"Je
l'essayerai monsieur. Ou reviendrai-je a rapporter.
Ici?"

In answer, the duke said: "Oui, monsieur
le lieutenant, ici.
Bonne chance!"

Masham was
soon lost to view as the battle for Blentheim was still raging with
Lord Cutts leading his cavalry in vain, almost vainglorious
attempts to capture more houses but it was a slow business and
costly in men and having conferred with the duke, believed the best
way to reduce the village was to surround it with batteries and
pound away. But what was the total perimeter. This was Masham's
mission. Meanwhile Cutts was losing a large number of his men
considering the situation so bad that he rode over in person to
consult the duke who turned to Parker:

"Scour the
rear, captain, I beg you. Any man who can handle a musket is
desperately needed: Wagon drivers, cooks, orderlies. If you see my
lord Churchill, ask him if he can spare a platoon. Off with
you!"

------------------------------------------------------------------

The village of Oberglau had not been
fortified in the manner of Blentheim partly because it possessed
natural defensive features such as perimeter walls built by the
inhabitants to prevent animals from invading their gardens and the
Bavarians esconced behind these stone walls were safe from attack
by cavalry and their positions were near impregnable to musketeers.
The Prince therefore had one route into the village and after three
attacks had failed to make much impression. When the Elector
intimated leaving the village for a while his French cavalry
commander le marec
hal
Marsin raised no objection.

Marsin was
bored. His cavalry had not seen action as Prince Eugene's attacks
had been successfully fended off by the Bavarian infantry. As far
as he was concerned the battle was already won though not knowing
what was happening on the right flank, he was happy to observe the
return of the Elector who might put him in the picture and was
pleasantly surprised to see him accompanied by his own esteemed
commander, le marechal Talllard and spurred his mount to greet the
two men. He had good news for him:

"We have just
beaten off the third attack from the Prince. He must be getting
rather desperate. I shouldn't be surprised were he to call for help
from le Malbrouk."

No sooner had
he spoken when they all hear a rider approaching at a gallop, who
loses no time in giving his message:

"Monsieur le
marechal! There are more escadrons on the way in support of the
Prince," and immediately Tallard aims his glass in the direction
indicated. He tells his fellow marshal: "They bear the standard of
the Prince Holstein-Beck. And there are more crossing the
Nebel."

Marsin pleads
with Tallard: "Allow me monsieur to attack those crossing at the
river." But Tallard advises him he will soon have action closer to
home whereupon Marsin excuses himself and rides into the village
calling for Blainville, his aide-de-camp, who is soon addressing
him.

"I have a job
for our Irishmen, Blainville. Look!" He hands him his glass and
Blainville spots the cavalry crossing which Marsin has been denied
permission to attack. Blainville says: "What are your orders,
monsieur!"

"Fetch
Fitzgerald, hurry!"

He heard the
name pass from mouth to mouth in the village until a few minutes
later, he saw a rider approach.

"Fitzgerald!"
The rider assented and Blainville told him: "Marshal Marsin's
compliments, captain. He wants your Wild Geese to mount an attack
at the river where the English are now trying to cross to bring up
support for Prince Eugene."

Blainville pointed far off beyond the
bluff and Fitzgerald screwed his eyes against the sun but, apart
from the movement of animals and men could see little of
t
he uniform they
wore.

"They are
English!" Fitzgerald demanded.

"Yes, they're
all English," Blainville lied and without further talk Fitzgerald
wheeled his horse yelling: "Lads, come on! The English are trying
to cross the Nebel. It's the chance you've been waiting for. Come
on now!"

There was a
rush towards him from all sides, horses and men jostling in an
undisciplined manner and when Fitzgerald saw he had a good crowd he
led the way from the village towards the bluff plunging down the
steep sides and were soon out of sight disappearing below the edge
of the cliff and for moments all were lost to sight.

Then Blainville saw Fitzgerald reappear
from below the bluff turning and waving his men to follow, and
Blainville saw he had stopped about three hundred yards away from
the river urging his foot to come forward and form up. Blainville
could imagine what he was saying having listened to Fitzgerald's
rantings in Oberglau. Most of it washed over him but monsieur le
marechal had kindly given him the gist of his
utterances.

Le marechal
had learned English at school and later had been posted to the
Court of St James when the restored English King Charles needed
French money. Louis had placed him there as a spy and go-between
and came to learn of the Irish problem. He could understand their
hatred of the English, yet would the French have been any better?
Nonetheless there had been atrocities, both on the Irish and
English side, and Fitzgerald's rallying cry would stay with him for
ever:

"Remember,
Drogheda! No quarter! Death to the English!"

Tallard's
translation echoed in Blainville's head as he watched Fitzgerald
harangue his Irish 'Wild Geese' and order them forward, and looked
towards the river was astonished to see the red cross of St George.
His intelligence was not wholly correct and his lie had come
true.

The Irishmen
had also seen it and they seemed to go berserk rushing forward and
paying no heed to Fitzgerald until about fifty yards from the first
of the foot and horse at the Nebel. Fitzgerald ordered them to
halt, aim and fire, and Blainville saw there were many casualties,
both of horses and men.

Fitzgerald shouted to his men: "Reload!
Kill all the English bastards." While his men were reloading which
meant cleaning the barrel, dropping in the charge and ball, blowing
the chamber to blow away black powder, dusting the chamber with new
powder, cocking the weapon and then waiting for t
heir slower comrades to finish.

Marshal Marsin now rode
u
p to Blainville and
gave a running commentary of the gist of the Fitzgerald
harangue:"Don't let a single mother-fucker survive. Cut their
hearts out. Revenge the Boyne." He added in a malicious voice: "If
Fitzgerald had spent more time training his men, they might have
sent more of the English into the fires of the Inferno."

But one person
was pleased for the commander-in-chief himself rode up, shouting:
"Excellent, excellent monsieur le marquis. I have dispatched
Zurlauben's escadrons in support of the Irish. There is Colonel
Fouchard waving. Away they go!"

Blainville
suddenly espies a rider galloping towards them from the left but
it's not for them. He turns off to his left. Tallard
speculates:

"No doubt it’s from le Malbrouk.
Rescue
my poor army
being massacred."

Marshal Marsin yells flattering words to
Tallard: "He'll be too late.
Colonel Fouchard's dragoons are giving the Holsteiners a
drubbing."

Blainville
reports: "Even so, the Prince has detached some of his cuirassiers.
About a hundred, I think. What say you, le marechal?"

There was no
answer from either marechal as Tallard's glass was pointing down
the valley. He points and says to his fellow marechal:

"D'you see!
There is le Malbrouk himself. That's his white horse. We must be
threatening to breach his centre."

"Indeed,
monsieur. You're right, le grand duc soi-meme."

Tallard
observed: "It's now a straight fight between cavalry. Whoever wins
here will win the day."

Blainville
begs Marsin to borrow his glass and he hands it to the marquis who
studies the position now a hundred paces in width and as broad but
with the Nebel behind the allies which perhaps gives them the edge
for they fight desperately knowing retreat is impossible. There is
no sign of Fitzgerald or his men. Evidently they have been caught
up in the general melee. Then he is diverted by another galloping
rider who joins the rider of the white charger and wonders what he
is saying before handing the glass back to Marsin with a curt:
"Merci bien, monsieur!"

---------------------------------------------------------------

It is Captain
Parker who has ridden up to the duke on the white charger
commenting: "Fugger's making himself felt, sir. Marsin's dragoons
are no match for Fugger's cuirassiers. Some of them are getting out
of the fray and riding back up the hill which is too steep for a
horse anyway."

"That's the
Irish for you, Parker." Commented the duke acidly, "It's not their
fight. They're here to kill Englishmen but they're just a badly
trained rabble. In fact, they might well have handed me victory.
Their sortie was ill-timed and called in reserves they don't have.
I must thank the Prince for his help. It has been invaluable."

Parker watched
the Irish horsemen struggle up the bluff they had careered down
just a few moments before baffled why they could not make it and
Parker was about to make a scathing comment when he noticed the
duke riding towards a solitary horseman and heard the duke's
words:

"You are in
error, Mister Hill; the enemy is that way," pointing with his baton
to the melee now breaking up as more beaten Irish and Bavarians
withdraw and gallop away. The duke tells Lieutenant Hill: "You have
nothing to do but face this way and the day is yours."

Parker watches
as Hill points to his torn sleeve but does not hear what he says
because another voice intrudes:

"Mess
age from my Lord Cutts, captain. Says he's spared a few of
his men to join Captain Masham's irregulars."

Parker is rejoined by the duke who puts
his glass to his right eye and points towards Blentheim and says to
his aide: "We're too far away. Let's gallop. You too lieutenant.
The three horses break into a sustained gallop which Marlborough's
charger enjoys as until now he has cantered, chafing at the bit.
Now the duke puts distance between himself and the other two and
when Blentheim comes back into view, or rather the thick pall of
smoke hanging
over the
village, he reins in.

Now the
cannonading is much louder as there was little around Oberglau, the
opportunity for the deployment of batteries much reduced. This
would change as the Blentheim position improved. The duke re-aimed
his glass in order to scan the perimeter. Until this moment the
elation which had overcome him upon the realisation of saving the
centre was now dissipating as he viewed the perimeter and realised
neither Orkney nor Cutts had enough foot to surround the village
as, at this moment, cavalry had limited scope. He switched his
glass to the right of Blentheim and noted with horror a body of
tirailleurs moving down the hill clearly intending to reinforce the
marquis de Clerambault, in the village and lowered the glass.

A heavy load
seemed to weigh him down as he had no reserves to call on cursing
the loss of the two thousand men at Schellenberg. How useful would
they be! Parker called his attention to something white on their
left and putting glass to eye he realised they were soldiers many
with bandages trooping single file across the pontoon bridge, but
realised they would arrive too late to resist the French
tirailleurs who were now within a hundred paces of Blentheim and
safety.