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The Battle of Ekeren, June 30, 1703 was a battle of the War of the Spanish Succession. The French surrounded a Dutch force, which barely avoided destruction. This battle ended hope of a decisive allied victory in the Spanish Netherlands in 1703. ==Prelude== After taking Bonn on May 15, Marlborough now wanted to conquer Ostend, Antwerp, or force the French to an open battle. He ordered the Dutch general, Coehoorn, to march to Ostend and lay siege to it. Dutch general Van Sparre would march south west of Antwerp, Dutch general Obdam would march south from Bergen op Zoom, and Marlborough himself would march on Lier. The United Provinces, however, were not keen to open the ports of Antwerp and Ostend to English commerce and thus to their competition with the Dutch. Therefore, Coehoorn did not besiege Ostend, but plundered the countryside between Ostend and Antwerp. Obdam marched on June 28 from Bergen op Zoom to Antwerp, arriving the next day at Ekeren, seven kilometres from Antwerp. Villeroi was not misled by Marlborough's diversionary manoeuver, and sent all his troops from Diest to Antwerp to protect it. After hearing of this Marlborough tried to warn Obdam, ordering a withdrawal to Lillo, but he was too late. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Battle of Ekeren」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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