nly
have been a march altogether without a parallel.

Finding that his colleagues would not consent to so daring and
adventurous a march, Marlborough determined to enter France, and
lay siege to the immensely strong fortress of Lille. This was in
itself a tremendous undertaking, for the fortifications of the town
were considered the most formidable ever designed by Vauban. The
citadel within the town was still stronger, and the garrison of
15,000 picked troops were commanded by Marshal Boufflers, one of
the most skillful generals in the French army. To lay siege to such
a fortress as this, while Vendome, with this army of 110,000 men,
lay ready to advance to its assistance, was an undertaking of the
greatest magnitude.

In most cases the proper course to have taken would have been to
advance against and defeat Vendome before undertaking the siege of
Lille; but the French general had entrenched his position with such
skill that he could not be attacked; while he had, moreover, the
advantage, that if the allies stood between him and France, he
stood between them and their base, commanded the Scheldt and the
canals from Holland, and was therefore in position to interfere
greatly with the onerous operation of bringing up stores for the
British army, and with the passage to the front of the immense
siege train requisite for an operation of such magnitude as was now
about to be undertaken, and for whose transport alone 16,000 horses
were required.

Chapter 23: The Siege of Lille.

The British cavalry suffered less severely at Oudenarde than did
those of the other allied nationalities, as they were during the
greater portion of the day held in reserve; and neither Rupert nor
any of his special friends in the regiment were wounded. He was,
however, greatly grieved at the death of Sir John Loveday, who was
killed by a cannonball at the commencement of the action. Two of
the captains in the 5th were also killed, and this gave Rupert
another step. He could have had his captain's rank long before, had
he accepted the Duke's offer, several times repeated, of a post on
his staff. He preferred, however, the life with his regiment, and
in this his promotion was, of course, regular, instead of going up
by favour, as was, and still is, the case on the staff.

The train for the siege of Lille was brought up by canal from
Holland to Brussels; and although the French knew that a large
accumulation of military stores was taking p