Battle of Blenheim
13 August 1704 · in Battle View, played out step by step on the ground where it was fought
The sides
- Grand Alliance, led by Marlborough: about 52,000 men
- France and Bavaria, led by Tallard: about 56,000 men
States that fought: Kingdom of France, Duchy of Bavaria, Kingdom of England, Habsburg Monarchy, Dutch Republic.
How it went
Battle of Blenheim
Louis XIV's armies are marching on Vienna with Bavaria's help, and the Habsburg emperor seems lost. The Duke of Marlborough marches an Anglo-Dutch army 400 km from the Low Countries to the Danube, joins Prince Eugene of Savoy, and finds the French and Bavarians camped behind a marshy stream, the Nebel.
The surprise
At dawn the Allies march out of the mist. Tallard is so sure they will not attack that he has let his foragers go out. The French form up behind the Nebel: infantry crowded into the villages, cavalry in the open middle.
Blenheim village
Cutts's column attacks Blindheim and is thrown back. The French commander there, Clérambault, panics and crams in more and more battalions, until 12,000 men stand packed in the village, too tight to fight.
Oberglauheim
At Oberglauheim the Irish brigades in French service throw Holstein-Beck's men back across the stream. Marlborough rides over himself and restores the line, borrowing cavalry from Eugene, who is holding off the Elector to the north.
Across the Nebel
In the centre the Allies cross the Nebel on bridges and fascines and form up on the far side, horse in front and foot behind. Tallard's cavalry charges and is stopped by infantry fire.
The centre breaks
At half past five Marlborough sends 8,000 horsemen up the slope. Tallard's centre breaks. His cavalry scatters, many driven into the Danube to drown, and Tallard himself is taken prisoner.
Blenheim surrounded
The 12,000 in Blindheim are cut off. After a last fight in the streets, at nine in the evening, they surrender. The Elector and Marsin march away to the west.
Blenheim
Marlborough scribbles to his wife on the back of a bill: "Monsieur Tallard and two other generals are in my coach." The Franco-Bavarians lose some 34,000 killed, wounded or taken; the Allies 12,000. Vienna is saved, Bavaria is out of the war, and Blenheim Palace is built for the victor.
Numbers after the usual modern counts. The armies are drawn as their main bodies; the real lines were longer and more broken.
People and wars
- War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714 CE): A European war over who would inherit the Spanish throne after the childless Charles II died in 1700. The Bourbon Philip V kept Spain, but Britain and Austria gained territories.