At Oudenarde, as at Ramillies, the British troops were not heavily engaged, their losses numbering 4 officers and 41 men killed, 17 officers and 160 men wounded. Lille, the capital of French Flanders, was Marlborough's next objective. The difficulties attendant on the siege were enormous, owing to the swampy nature of the neighbourhood and the strength of the fortifications. In spite of being some 10,000 men inferior to the French mobile army, Marlborough determined to essay the task, and from the month of August to October there were five British battalions actively employed in the siege, the rest of the army being engaged in covering the operations and holding in check 96,000 French who were endeavouring to find an opening to save the fortress. On October 11 the place was carried by assault, our losses during the operations having been 17 officers and 447 men killed, 82 officers and 1,093 men wounded. The Bedfords, Royal Irish, Royal Scots Fusiliers, Royal Welsh Fusiliers, and the South Wales Borderers, were the regiments which would be entitled to this distinction. To commemorate the capture of Lille, Queen Anne caused a medal to be struck, but the name is not on our colours. CASUALTIES AT THE BATTLE OF OUDENARDE, JUNE 30, 1708. +--------------------------+-----------+-----------+ | |_Officers._| _Men._ | | _Regiments._ +-----+-----+-----+-----+ | | K. | W. | K. | W. | +--------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+ |1st King's Dragoon Guards | | | | | |3rd Dragoon Guards | | | | | |5th Dragoon Guards | | | | | |6th Carabiniers | | | | | |7th Dragoon Guards | | | | | |Scots Greys | | | | | |5th Lancers | | | | | |Grenadier Gds. | 2 | - | - | - | |Coldstream Gds. | | | | | |Royal Artillery | | | | | |Royal Scots | | | | | |3rd Buffs | | | | | |8th Roy. Liverpool Regt. | | | | | |10th Lincoln | | | | | |15th E. Yorkshire | | | | | |16th Bedford | | | | | |18th Roy. Irish | 1 | - | 8 | 12 | |21st Roy. Scots Fusiliers | | | | | |23rd Roy. Welsh Fusiliers | | | | | |24th S. Wales Borderers | | | | | |26th Cameronians | | | | | |37th Hampshire | | | | | +--------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+ NOTE.--According to the published Diary of Private Deane, the Grenadier Guards lost 2 officers killed at Oudenarde, but no detailed list of casualties is forthcoming.