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At the turn of the eighteenth century, power in Europe was balanced on a knife-edge. The French and Spanish Bourbon dynasty threatened to dominate the continent. A Grand Alliance was formed and stood against the might of the French army. The Duke of Marlborough led the British and allied armies to victory at the Battle of Blenheim, paving the way for Britain to gradually build up her influence in Europe and beyond.

Key Facts about the Battle of Blenheim

Key Dates

November 1700 Charles II of Spain dies, triggering the War of the Spanish Succession

19 May 1704 Allies start their march toward Vienna

13 August 1704 Battle of Blenheim

Key Figures

John Churchill 1 st Duke of Marlborough, Commander in Chief, Allied army

Duke of Marlborough, Commander in Chief, Allied army Prince Eugene of Savoy General of the Imperial Austrian Army

Prince Louis of Baden Chief Commander of the Imperial Austrian Army

Lord John Cutts Lieutenant General, British Army

Duc de Tallard Marshal of the French Army

Duc de Villeroi Marshal of the French Army

The Steadfast Scarlet Caterpillar

On 1 November 1700, Charles II of Spain died. He was childless and the last male member of the Spanish branch of the House of Habsburg. On his deathbed he passed his crown to the 16 year old Duke of Anjou, the grandson of Charles half-sister, Maria Theresa. Maria Theresa had married Louis XIV of France, so the Duke of Anjou was the grandson of the Bourbon King of France. Archduke Charles of Austria challenged the succession on the grounds that he had a better claim to the throne, but to no avail. The young Duke was proclaimed as Philip V of Spain on the condition that he renounced his claim to the French throne both for himself and any descendants.

The prospect of such a close bond between the crowns of the mighty France and Spain was alarming to other European nations. This alarm was heightened when France took occupation of several towns in the Spanish Netherlands since it seemed that Spain and her territories were being absorbed by France. The balance of power in Europe was shifting, with the French threatening to dominate, prompting the English, Dutch, and Austrians to form a Grand Alliance which sought to put Archduke Charles on the Spanish throne. The War of the Spanish Succession, which would be fought across Europe and into North America and the Caribbean, began.

Although the war was far-ranging, much of the fighting took place in the Low Countries of Europe. The Commander in Chief of the armies in Flanders was John Churchill. Churchill was an extremely influential man at court, his wife being the favourite of Queen Anne. However, his appointment was not simply due to favouritism; he had proved himself an able commander and administrator under previous monarchs. Early successes in the campaign saw the Queen reward him with the title of Duke of Marlborough in 1702.

Marlborough had a difficult job. Not only was he fighting the French, but he often had to deal with disagreements with his allies. In particular, he was frustrated by the unwillingness of the Dutch to commit to engaging the French army in a full-blown battle. By 1703, it became apparent that the French intended to turn their attention away from the Low Countries and strike the Austrian Habsburgs at their heart, in Vienna. If Vienna fell, the Grand Alliance would undoubtedly fail, hence Marlborough was determined to save the Austrian capital. Anticipating objections from the Dutch if he suggested moving the allied army from Flanders, Marlborough spent the winter of 1703 secretly formulating plans to counter the French. His plan was to intercept the French and their Bavarian allies before they had the chance to reach Vienna.

In the spring of 1704, Marlborough deliberately deceived the Dutch by telling them that he was moving his troops south to the Moselle River, a plan which the Dutch felt able to approve. Marlborough omitted to mention that he intended to carry on from the Moselle towards the Danube where he would rendezvous with the Austrians and together engage the French and Bavarian armies. It was a bold plan, but the threat to the Alliance called for desperate measures.

Marlborough and his army left the town of Bedburg on 19 May. He assured the Dutch that he would return if Marshal Villeroi’s nearby French force attacked them, though in fact, as Marlborough suspected, Villeroi instead turned south to shadow Marlborough’s troops. The British had a 250 mile march ahead of them, at the end of which they would engage the great French army in battle. It was a daunting prospect.

The French army was professional, well-supplied and undefeated. Marlborough’s army was, to a degree, an unknown quantity. After the Restoration, Charles II had set about reforming the army but it still lagged behind by European standards. Officers received no formal training, instead building their ability through experience on the battlefield. Worse, many commissions were up for sale, so wealthy young men, who might be incompetent, were able to advance to positions of authority. The issue of social versus military rank was another stumbling block since there could be problems when men of title tried to outrank their military superiors causing confusion and delay. Finally, Marlborough had to overcome the lack of a support system for the army. A great body of men on a long march required supplies as well as assistance for those who would inevitably fall victim to illness and fatigue. Marlborough’s chances of success hinged not only on his ability to do battle, but his ability to organise the army in getting to the battlefield. Fortunately, his planning during the previous winter had taken into account the movement of his army and he was able to execute a fast-paced and well-supported five-week progress through the Low Countries to Germany. Marlborough’s descendant, Sir Winston Churchill, was to describe the long column of the British army as a “scarlet caterpillar” that began to “crawl steadfastly day by day across Europe… dragging the whole war with it.”

Villeroi, like the Dutch, had assumed that Marlborough was planning to campaign on the Moselle. Marlborough knew that his true intentions would become clear once he turned towards the Danube, so he indulged in some trickery to further confuse the French. When he reached the Coblenz, where the Moselle meets the Rhine, he had his men construct bridges across the river. This convinced Villeroi that the British were intending to cross the river and advance into Alsace for an attack on Strasbourg. Villeroi turned his army towards Alsace in order to reinforce the army of Marshall Tallard in preparation for an attack by the British.

In early June, with the French directing their attention in the wrong direction, Marlborough halted his army for a few days at Ladenburgh. Once rested, and reinforced by more allied troops, Marlborough turned the army away from the Rhine and on towards the Danube. His intentions were now plain to both his Dutch allies and his French enemies.

Within a few days, Marlborough met Prince Eugene of Savoy and Prince Louis of Baden. Between them, the three generals formulated their strategy. Prince Eugene was to take his force back to the Rhine to hold up Marshals Villeroi and Tallard to prevent them from joining the main body of the joint French-Bavarian army on the Danube. Marlborough and Prince Louis agreed to combine their armies, continue along the Rhine in search of the Franco-Bavarian army and engage them before they could be reinforced.

The two sides met for the first time at the fortress of Schellenberg on 2 July. After a bloody battle, the Alliance forced a surrender. Not only had the Elector of Bavaria lost his fortress, but he had lost many of his best troops in its defence. He retired to the fortress of Augsburg, from where he was forced to endure news of Marlborough’s troops wreaking havoc on Bavaria. The Grand Alliance hoped to force the Elector to abandon his support for France and he did indeed waiver, but when news reached him that Marshall Tallard was en route with reinforcements, he stayed loyal to the French. However, Marlborough’s harrying of his country obliged him to send out more of his own troops, depleting the reserve that he could offer to the French.

Tallard reached the Elector on 5 August. He had been tracked by Prince Eugene, who linked up with Marlborough and Prince Louis, whilst Tallard met the Elector and Marshall Marsin. The French generals and the Elector formed the opinion that the Allies would not dare attack their well-defended and superior force. They surmised that after a time their enemy would run short of supplies and retire north. Marlborough was planning the opposite: a swift and decisive attack.

The Franco-Bavarian force, with around 56,000 troops with 90 guns, was positioned near the village of Blenheim. Marlborough had approximately 52,000 men and 66 guns. Even his own officers cautioned him against an attack due to his smaller force, but he was adamant that his troops would prove a match for the French. On 12 August, Marlborough and Prince Eugene agreed to join battle the following day.

Marlborough began his advance in the early hours of 13 August. Tallard was completely taken by surprise when nine columns of troops were sighted marching towards his position. He was still convinced that Marlborough would retreat to the north. In the event, Marlborough was advancing on Tallard on the left of the French position, whilst Prince Eugene was preparing to attack the combined forces of the Elector and Marsin on the right wing at the village of Lutzingen. The French scrabbled to organise themselves in battle order and the artillery began firing on their enemy at about 8.00 am.

At 1.00 pm, Marlborough ordered his third in command, Lord John Cutts, to attack Blenheim. Prince Eugene advanced on Lutzingen. Neither of the commanders were successful, but Marlborough noticed that the French were reinforcing their men in the village of Blenheim, which depleted Tallard’s reserve, so that he no longer had advantage of numbers over Marlborough. Taking advantage of this turn of events, Marlborough ordered Cutts to contain the French in the village and made his own attack on Tallard’s ranks.

With many of the French penned inside the village, Marlborough was in a position to launch a concerted attack on Tallard’s line. The Alliance at last made a breakthrough. The exhausted French cavalry was routed and the infantry finally fell, their colleagues unable to escape the village to support them. Despite attempts to rally their troops, the French were forced to retreat. Tallard was captured and delivered to Marlborough, who welcomed him graciously. The French marshal was to spend seven years as a prisoner of the British.

The Battle of Blenheim was a decisive victory for Marlborough and the Grand Alliance. The Allied army had performed beyond expectations – Prince Eugene claimed that all of his units had charged at least four times in the course of battle. The French suffered enormous losses – anywhere up to 20,000 men killed and wondered – whilst the Allies lost around half that number. In addition, approximately 15,000 French and Bavarians were taken prisoner. The French, so sure of their own invincibility, had suffered a dreadful blow and their hopes of smashing the Habsburg Empire were dashed. Although the War of the Spanish Succession was to continue for a further 10 years, the Battle of Blenheim was the turning point in the fortunes of the Grand Alliance.

Legacy

The Battle of Blenheim demonstrated that the hitherto invincible French army was vulnerable to defeat. The Habsburg Empire survived and the danger of France dominating Europe dissipated. Bavaria came under the rule of the Habsburgs, although the Elector did escape to the Spanish Netherlands.

For the British, Blenheim established her army as a force to be reckoned with. Not since the Medieval years had the English fought on the continent with such overwhelming dominance.

On a personal note, John Churchill launched a dynasty that has maintained a position of influence to the present day. Winston Churchill and Diana, Princess of Wales were members of the extended Churchill family. Winston Churchill took great inspiration from the victories of his ancestor and even wrote a sprawling biography about him.

Sites to Visit

The magnificent Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire was built as a gift for John Churchill from a grateful nation in recognition of his victory over the French. The palace is still in the ownership of the dukes of Marlborough and is a designated World Heritage site. The 1st Duke is buried in the chapel at the Palace. Also notable for being the birth place of Sir Winston Churchill.

The World Service Restaurant, Newdigate House, Nottingham, is housed in the building where Marshal Tallard lived during his imprisonment.

The battlefield was near the town of Blindheim in Bavaria, Germany.

Film and TV

Leaders in Battle – The Duke of Marlborough is a documentary of the Duke’s military career. Available on DVD.

Further Research

Written by one of John Churchill’s descendants, Lord Charles Spencer, Blenheim: Battle for Europe, How two men stopped the French conquest of Europe (2005), is a very readable account of the battle and its consequences.

Richard Holmes considered the Duke of Marlborough to be Britain’s greatest military commander and his biography of the great leader explains why. Marlborough, Britain’s Greatest General: England’s Fragile Genius (2009).

Iain Gale’s hero Jack Steel fights with Marlborough at Blenheim in Man of Honour (2008).

Related YouTube Videos

War of the Spanish Succession explained in 3 minutes!

Blenheim: Battle for Europe. Presented by Charles Spencer

Blenheim Palace