The Bombardment of Arras took place during the War of the Spanish Succession on 2 and 3 March 1712. An Allied army under Arnold van Keppel, Earl of Albemarle closed in on Arras with the aim of destroying the supplies held there. In this way, they hoped that the French would not be able to prevent the sieges of Arras and Cambrai. Although the action succeeded, the advantage had to go entirely unused because the Emperor's troops arrived too late to the Allied army.
Prelude
The beginning of the year of 1712 during the War of the Spanish Succession was marked by disunity in the Allied camp. In Britain the Tories had taken over power from the Whigs. They accused the Duke of Marlborough and the Whigs of enriching themselves with war. Marlborough, the general who had led the Allies in the Low Countries from 1702, was thus removed from office by Queen Anne under the influence of the Tories.
The Tories also had a bone to pick with their Dutch allies. In The Conduct of the Allies Jonathan Swift argued that the Dutch were ungrateful allies and a threat to England. The Dutch were, according to Swift, in 'a condition to strike terror into us, with 50,000 veterans ready to invade us from the country which we have conquered for them'. However, when the British House of Commons passed a resolution stating that the Dutch Republic had not fulfilled the agreements made, regarding mutual military contributions, Anthonie Heinsius and his fellow regenten decided they could not let this go unchallenged. The thorough reply in which they refuted every accusation by the Tories point for point, greatly embarrassed the British government under the Earl of Oxford.
This did not stop the Tories from continuing their secret peace's negotiations with France. To keep their allies in the dark and to maintain a stronger negotiating position with France, the English government nevertheless decided to participate in a new campaign in 1712 in appearance. The Duke of Ormonde was chosen to lead British troops in this campaign. Although Ormonde had gained experience under William III in the Nine Years' War, he was relatively inexperienced. Oxford saw this as an advantage, as he could therefore control him more easily. Ormonde had been given secret instructions to thwart the Allied war effort as much as possible, which would make the Dutch and the Holy Roman Emperor more inclined towards peace. However, the Dutch States General had no intention of allowing Ormonde to lead their soldiers. They asked the Emperor to send Eugene of Savoy back to the Netherlands instead. The Emperor agreed to this and also sent an additional 20,000 men.
The Duke of Marlborough, having conquered Bouchain in the previous year, had left most of his troops to occupy the outermost border towns, so that the French would be prevented from building up lines to cover their remaining lands during the winter. In January, this prompted a plan in The Hague to burn down a large hay storehouse, set up by the French within Arras, which would prevent them from getting their armies into the field early in the year. This would then allow Eugene to lay siege to Arras or Cambrai without the threat of a French army under the Duke of Villars. The Earl of Albemarle, Dutch general and governor of Tournai, was appointed to lead the mission to Arras.
The bombardment
In Februari, Albemarle, with 36 battalions and 44 squadrons, supported by the generals Hompesch, Grovestins and Cadogan, launched a series of diversions that led the French to believe he wanted to undertake some along the river Sambre. Instead, he ordered the garrisons of Oudenaarde, Courtrai, Menen, Ath, Aire, Lille, Bethune, and Tournai to move towards Douai, where they would cross the Scarpe towards Arras. 2,000 labourers were added to this force. With this army, he left 4 o'clock in the afternoon on 1 March towards Arras. In the evening they crossed the Scarpe at Fampoux. After marching all night, Albemarle's army arrived at the plain before Arras 4 a.m. on 2 March.
There he ordered the workers to dig trenches and erect two artillery batteries. This went so smoothly that the garrison of Atrecht under Pierre de Montesquiou d'Artagnan did not realise the encirclement of the city until the Anglo-Dutch army was fully covered and peasants brought the news to the city. D'Artagnan immediately decided to launch an attack then on Bapaume, a suburb of Arras taken by the Allies, but this attack was unsuccessful. Albemarle, on the contrary, had to wait for the heavy artillery to arrive. This arrived at 11 a.m., but it would take until 5 p.m. until the artillery barrage started. Bombs and glowing cannonballs were shot into the city.