Marshal Luxembourg had captured Namur in June 1692 and wanted no more fighting that year. He positioned his army defensively between the Zenne river at Steenkerque and the town of Enghien, confident that William of Orange would not risk an assault. But William saw an opportunity. Before dawn on August 3, he set his plan in motion. Three hundred cavalry posed as foraging escorts while 800 pioneers quietly widened forest paths, filled ditches, and cut passages through hedges. A vanguard of 5,000 to 6,000 Dutch, English, Danish, and German infantrymen under the Duke of Wurttemberg would seize Steenkerque before the French knew what was happening. Three assault columns totaling 25,000 men would follow.

Wurttemberg's advance guard deployed silently at 5:00 a.m. and quickly seized a hill overlooking the French encampments. By 9:00 a.m., his artillery was methodically pounding the enemy. Everything depended on the main force arriving quickly. It did not. Lieutenant General Hugh Mackay finally appeared with the first assault column, but hours behind schedule. Worse, the cavalry meant to follow the infantry had somehow deployed in front of it, blocking the other two columns from reaching the battle. William, watching the advantage slip away, ordered the attack at 1:00 p.m. anyway. Wurttemberg and Mackay's men captured three lines of French trenches and came tantalizingly close to victory.

The experienced French commander Montal bought critical time, holding off the initial assault until Luxembourg could bring up reinforcements. With only 14,000 men in action and no sign of the missing columns, the Allied attack stalled. Mackay asked permission to withdraw and reorganize. William refused. Mackay reportedly said 'The Lord's will be done,' took his place at the head of his regiment, and was killed with many of his division. Over 8,000 of the 15,000 Allied troops engaged became casualties. Five British regiments were nearly wiped out. At 6:00 p.m., William finally called off the assault. Luxembourg committed the elite Maison du Roi to a pursuit, but the delayed columns had finally reached the field and covered the retreat.

Both sides claimed victory: the French for holding their ground and inflicting heavy casualties, the Allies for bloodying the French and possibly preventing an advance on Liege. The Allies suffered 10,000 casualties and 1,300 prisoners; the French lost 7,000 to 8,000 men. When Louis XIV learned his army would have lost if the Allied columns had arrived together, he ordered his infantry rearmed with flintlock muskets to match the Allied firepower. The transition took years. Meanwhile, Voltaire recorded how the disheveled cravats of French officers rushing to battle became the steenkirk, a lace neckpiece worn casually with dangling ends. The style spread from France to England, worn by both men and women, transforming military disorder into high fashion.