Bombardment of Arras | |||||||
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Part of the War of the Spanish Succession | |||||||
![]() A 1712 print depicting the bombardment | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
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Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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Strength | |||||||
36 infantry battalions 44 cavalry squadrons (c. 17,400 men) 22 guns and mortars[1][2] | Unknown | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
20 killed and wounded[3] | Unknown |
The bombardment of Arras was an engagement of the War of the Spanish Succession which took place on 2–3 March 1712. A Grand Alliance army under the command of Arnold van Keppel, 1st Earl of Albemarle closed in on Arras with the aim of destroying the supplies held there. The Allies intended for this to prevent the French from fending off sieges of Arras and Cambrai. Although the Allied succeeded, the advantages gained to them were ultimately unexploited due to Austrian troops arriving too late to the Allied army.