284 



A HISTORY OF CAVALRY. 



[period in. 



position, with oach wing resting upon a hill, the centre 

 being covered by the village of Allcrheim, which lay 

 about three hundred yards in front of their line, and 

 which, being entrenched and loopholed, made a strong 

 position. General Merci himself (commanded the centre 

 of the Bavarians, General Glcen the right wing, and the 

 famous cavalry officer Jean de Wert the left wing. 



The Marshal de Grammont commanded the French 

 right wing, Turenne the left, and the Count de Marsin 

 the centre, CDndd being in supreme command. An 

 attack was made by the French upon the village of 

 Allerheim, which was unsuccessful, but General Merci 

 was slain in repelling it. At the same time Jean de 

 Wert had attacked the French right with such vigour 

 that he defeated it. The Marshal de Grammont, who 

 received the attack at the halt, and with a fire of carbines 

 or musketry, was at once overthrown and taken prisoner. 

 The second lire suffered the same fate, and Jean de Wert, 

 following the fugitives, allowed his men to get out of 

 hand and scattered pillaging the camp, instead, of using 

 them to fall upon the exposed flank of the French line. 

 In the meantime, Turenne, after a most obstinate struggle, 

 had succeeded in defeating the Bavarian right, and, 

 falling upon their flank, had driven them back and 

 enclosed them in the village of Allerheim, where great 

 numbers surrendered. 



Jean de Wert, with his victorious wing, at last re- 

 turned, but too late ; and then, instead of moving across 

 to the rear of Turenne, he first went back to his original 

 position, losing by that more time, so that all he could 

 do was to cover the retreat and lead the broken remnants 

 of the army from the field.* This battle is instructive to 

 the cavalry officer as another illustration of the importance 

 of keeping victorious horsemen well in hand. 



The battle of Dunes, fought on the 14th June, 1658, 

 to cover the siege of Dunkirk, was a remarkable action, 

 showing a great advance in the military art. The skill 

 displayed by Turenne was very striking, and the influence 



^ Ramsay's Histoire de Turenne, i. 132, 133, 134; also Turenne's 

 Memoirs. 



