William took the offensive and sought to bring on a battle by outflanking the French positions, but the broken ground forced him to divide his army into three separate columns.

Of the two other battles in Flanders before the war ended in 1678, Cassel was sparked by an Allied attempt to relieve Saint-Omer, and Saint-Denis to prevent the French capture of Mons.

Since both Louis XIV of France and the Dutch Republic viewed control of the Spanish Netherlands as essential for security and trade, it was a contested area for much of the later 17th century.

The unexpected success of his offensive had encouraged Louis to make excessive demands, while concern at French gains brought the Dutch support from Brandenburg-Prussia, Emperor Leopold, and Charles II of Spain.

[8] In January 1674, Denmark–Norway joined the anti-French coalition, while in February the Treaty of Westminster ended the Third Anglo-Dutch War, depriving Louis of a key ally against the Dutch.

Condé remained on the defensive in the Spanish Netherlands, while a Dutch-Spanish army led by William of Orange and Count Monterrey spent June and July attempting to bring him to battle.

Having occupied Franche-Comté, Louis sent Condé substantial reinforcements, and by early August he had 45,000 men entrenched along the Piéton river, which joined the Sambre at Charleroi.

By doing so, they hoped to tempt Condé into an attack, but when he simply shifted his troops to face the threat, the Allied leaders decided to bypass Seneffe, and advance straight into the French rear.

The terrain they were crossing was marshy and broken up by numerous hedges, walls and woods, with limited exit points; gambling these factors would negate their superior numbers, Condé decided to attack.

[10] William halted his march and established a defensive line, mainly composed of Dutch infantry, centred on the nearby Priory of St Nicolas.

[24] Many soldiers slept on the battlefield, and both armies held their positions, expecting to renew the battle next morning, but an intense burst of firing broke out around midnight, with men killed on both sides.

[10] Both sides claimed victory on the basis of "holding their ground" at the end of the fighting, but neither gained a clear advantage, and the overall strategic position remained largely unchanged.

[38][39][30] [d] The dead included Sir Walter Vane, deputy commander of the elite Scots Brigade, François Palm, Colonel of the Dutch Marines, [42] and Assentar, whose body was later returned by Condé for burial.

[44] French military engineer and strategist Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban argued Seneffe showed siege warfare was a better way to achieve victory than costly battles, and Louis ordered Condé to avoid a repeat.

The Dutch and Spanish redoubled efforts to breach the walls before his arrival, but without advising his colleagues, de Souches sent the Imperial artillery off to Ghent.

In the longer term, Seneffe confirmed Louis' preference for positional warfare, ushering in a period where siege and manoeuvre dominated military tactics.

[50] Knoop's detailed article on Seneffe translated into English 'I never heard anything else than: but: it's nothing, children, plug in; - and in an instant, the rank which had been cut down by the cannon was replenished.