On 13 August 1704, the Battle of Blenheim was fought between the Grand Alliance under the Duke of Marlborough and Eugene of Savoy against the French under Marshal Tallard and Maximillian II during the War of the Spanish Succession.
Why did it happen?Â
The War of the Spanish Succession's origins can be traced to France's rise during the seventeenth century. France’s defeat of Spain at the Battle of Rocroi in 1643 initiated half a century of French dominance on the battlefields of Europe. When Charles II of Spain died in 1700 without an heir, his throne was claimed by Louis XIV’s grandson, Philip of Anjou. The other European powers, particularly Britain, Austria, and the Netherlands, became alarmed by the prospect of France and Spain being so closely united together. These three powers subsequently formed the Grand Alliance and declared war on France and Spain in 1701. The first two years of the war were marked by a series of French successes in the upper Rhine and southern Germany, threatening to cause the Grand Alliance to collapse. Then, in 1704, the Duke of Marlborough, John Churchill, took command of the Allied forces and brought the French army to battle at Blenheim in southern Germany.
Who was involved?Â
The Allied army at Blenheim numbered 39,000 infantry, 13,000 cavalry and 60 artillery. Marlborough was supported by Prince Eugene of Savoy, who was instrumental in the defeat of the Ottoman Turks at the Battle of Zenta in 1697. A brilliant military commander in his own right, Eugene commanded the Allied right wing at Blenheim, while Marlborough positioned himself in the centre, and John Cutts led the left wing. The French army at Blenheim numbered 40,000 infantry, 16,000 cavalry and 90 artillery. While taking overall command of the French army from the centre, Tallard was supported by the Bavarians under Maximilian II, who commanded the left wing opposite Eugene. Philippe Marquis de Clerambault led French forces on the right wing near Blenheim.
What happened?Â
After a four-hour artillery duel, at 12.30pm, Marlborough ordered Cutts to attack the French positions in Blenheim with 10,000 men. Cutt managed to pin Clerambault’s 12,000 men in and around Blenheim despite being forced back by musket fire. Eugene launched repeated attacks against the French left wing at the opposite end of the battlefield. However, a combination of difficult terrain and French resistance hampered his attacks. Meanwhile, Marlborough attacked the French positions at Oberglau, where, after the first attack was repulsed, he managed to wrest the village on the second assault. At 5.30pm, with both wings of the French army pinned in place, Marlborough’s centre attacked and routed the French centre, which was made up of unsupported cavalry. At the same time, Eugene routed the French left wing under Maximillian II. As Marlborough’s forces penetrated the French centre, they hinged left and trapped the French against the Danube River, inflicting heavy casualties before the French garrison inside Blenheim surrendered at 11pm. While the Grand Alliance lost 12,000 killed or wounded, French casualties numbered 20,000 killed or wounded and 14,000 captured.
What changed as a result?Â
The Battle of Blenheim was a decisive Allied victory. Marlborough’s victory at Blenheim not only saved the city of Vienna from a French attack. It also ended half a century of French domination in Europe – a position it would not regain until the Napoleonic Wars. Austria would also occupy Bavaria two months after the Treaty of Ilbersheim, using its resources for the rest of the war. Marlborough would continue to command Allied forces during the rest of the War of the Spanish Succession, with notable victories at Ramillies (1706) and Malplaquet (1709). The war ended in 1713 with the Peace of Utrecht, which allowed Philip of Anjou to become Philip V of Spain while compensating the Grand Alliance with territorial gains in Gibraltar and Menorca.
Bibliography
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