The action took place near the ancient walled town of Walcourt near Charleroi in the Spanish Netherlands, and brought to a close a summer of uneventful marching, manoeuvring, and foraging.

By moving into the Rhineland, Louis dispelled fears in the Dutch Republic of a possible attack upon them, thus facilitating Prince William of Orange's invasion of England in November.

William's success in the subsequent ‘Glorious Revolution’ – leading to his accession to the English throne in February 1689 (reigning jointly with his wife Mary) – enabled him to bring the full commercial and military power of England into the war against France, and rapidly led to the formation of the coalition he had long desired.

[9] On 14 May 1689, Humières assembled his army for the new campaign in the Spanish Netherlands near Boussières on the river Sambre, where he marshalled 24 battalions and 75 squadrons, totalling 24,000 men.

Waldeck moved from near Tienen and headed towards Fleurus; the two armies spent the next two months marching and counter-marching in an attempt to gain a strategic advantage.

For nearly two hours Hodges' regiment was able to prevent the development of the French vanguard, and covered the retreat of the surprised foragers before retiring his troops to a nearby mill (see map).

Noticing Hodges was under attack by several French batteries, the English commander ordered the embattled colonel to withdraw to a hill east of Walcourt, behind which the main Allied force was forming.

The victory at Walcourt had bolstered Allied confidence; but Humières, dubbed le maréchal sans lumière by his colleagues, found himself disgraced.

[13] Before Humières went into winter quarters, he detached four battalions of Gardes françaises to march to the Rhineland, where in 1689 Louis' outnumbered forces faced their greatest challenge.

For this campaign, however, King Louis entrusted command of the theatre to the duc de Luxembourg, who, on 1 July, fought his tactical masterpiece at the Battle of Fleurus.