left of that advance through the channel marked A
upon the map over page. As will be seen, the Dutch advanced too early and
in too great strength through this narrow gap, and the check they
suffered, which was of such effect upon the battle, would not have been
nearly so severe had not the little wood cut them off from the support of
the centre.

V

THE ACTION

On the morning of Wednesday, the 11th of September, the allied army was
afoot long before dawn, and was ranged in order of battle earlier than
four o'clock. But a dense mist covered the ground, and nothing was done
until at about half-past seven this lifted and enabled the artillery of
the opposing forces to estimate the range and to open fire. In order to
understand what was to follow, the reader may, so to speak, utilise this
empty period of the early morning before the action joined, to grasp the
respective positions of the two hosts.

[Illustration: The Elements of the Action of Malplaquet, September 11th,
1709.]

The nature of the terrain has already been described. The plan upon the
part of the allies would naturally consist in an attempt to force both
woods which covered the French flank, and, while the pressure upon these
was at its strongest, the entrenched and fortified centre. Of course, if
either of the woods was forced before the French centre should break,
there would be no need to continue the central attack, for one or other of
the French flanks would then be turned. But the woods were so well
garnished by this time, and so strongly lined with fallen tree-trunks and
such entrenchments as the undergrowth permitted, that it seemed to both
Eugene and Marlborough more probable that the centre should be forced than
that either of the two flanks should first be turned, and the general plan
of the battle depended rather upon the holding and heavy engagement of the
forces in the two woods to the north and south than in any hope to clear
them out, and the final success was expected rather to take the form of
piercing the central line while the flanks were thus held and engaged. The
barren issue of the engagement led the commanders of the allies to excuse
themselves, of course, and the peculiar ill-success of their left against
the French right, which we shall detail in a moment, gave rise to the
thesis that only a "feint" was intended in that quarter. The thesis may
readily be dismissed. The left was intended to do serious work quite as