Marlborough Wars and the Battle of Blenheim  William

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The Marlborough wars were fought between 1702 and 1713 and are famous for the Battle of Blenheim and being the last and the bloodiest of the wars fought against the French King Louis XIV and the French General Tallard but also for being the first of many wars in which Britain played a major military role in the affairs of Europe. The leader of these campaigns was John Churchill, also known as the Duke of Marlborough who was famed for being a brilliant soldier in all aspects of the military. He embodied strong values of courage, skill, deception, cunning and was very handsome, and all of this gained him a spot from Queen Anne as the commander of the English/ Dutch armies and even a proposal from the French military. The war was caused by Louis signing a prohibition on all English imports and by the Spanish succession crisis whereby Britain, Austria, Holland, Prussia and the Hapsburg Empire intended to prevent Franco-European dominance. However, this was opposed by the French army with this war being ended with the legendary Battle of Blenheim.

During the lead up to the battle of Blenheim, Marlborough had never lost a battle or even a skirmish whilst launching 10 successful campaigns and besieging more than 30 towns by using his admirable and strategic tactics that fed and cared for a huge army. Later in his campaign, after numerable successes in the Netherlands, the French threatened Vienna and as a result Marlborough marched 250 miles in order to confront the enemy in the central southern German town of Blindheim or Blenheim. Only a few people knew the real destination for this journey whilst in the act to keep the surprise against the French army. The battle took place on the 13th of August 1704 where Marlborough led an outnumbered army of 56,000 men (51 on-foot batallions,92 horse squadrons and 52 guns) to the town of Blenheim on the Danube river where he was opposed by an army that was thought to be 60,000 men with 90 guns.

To begin the battle, the French began with cannon fire towards the neat, packed regiments of English soldiers with the fire being almost immediately returned though this still caused great destruction in the British ranks. During this pre battle momentum of drums and cannon fire, many French battalions headed towards Blenheim where they were given enough cover fire to heavily fortify the town then fill men and defences inside the makeshift walls. Soon a raid of 20 battalions were sent to destroy the makeshift fort, however, this was in vain as the army was shortly sent back after heavy fire and many casualties against the British squadron. As a result, the French sent their prestigious ‘gendarmery’ cavalry to defeat the retreating raid, which hadn’t lost a battle in 60 years. To combat this, Marlborough sent his cavalry as cover and support and, to the French surprise, the traditionally trained British cavalry sword strategies hacked away at the French who in only a few minutes were forced to return to the safety of the French line after a monumental change in the tides. As a panic response, even more of Tallard’s men were sent into the village for support until it was so full that men could barely even return fire and were sitting ducks in the packed defence which were then mowed down by tactical volley fire and the burning of the village.

Later on, on the other side of the battlefield, as an attempt to attack the left wing of the French army, a cavalry charge of three ranks were sent over the river. However, they were suppressed after two attempts and then retreated back to their line. During this ‘distraction’, Marlborough sent his main army across the marshy stream expecting a tough assault. However, being untouched by the French, they were able to create two formations after crossing the river, and even though this was tactical by the French, as they aimed for a mass onslaught with nowhere to retreat for the British, it didn’t quite go to plan.

In order to prevent this, the Dutch prince sent his army over the river for cover but they were defeated by a perfectly timed attack from the (French) Irish catholic cavalry. Marlborough then pushed an attack on the main village at the centre of the French army which then came to a similar conclusion to Blenheim where the French were so packed that they could barely resist and were savaged by the allies. At 4 pm, Marlborough had more than 22,000 men over the river and had a new formation, composed of four ranks with two cavalry (back and front) then two infantry in the middle. Then as the French cavalry charged as planned, the two-infantry moved to the front with the cavalry retiring to the back meaning the French charge was now met by a regiment of bayonets. It led to a convincing defeat for the French that later led to the victory of the battle.

After this success, Marlborough ordered the rest of his army to cross the river then set up infantry on the brave remaining soldiers ordered to stand their ground, who were then extinguished by the fearsome cannon partridge shot. These soldiers were the final stand whilst the remains of the French army fled from the scene. Finally, the battle had been won and soon the war would be in the allies’ hands. This convincing battle was the major pivoting factor for the allies’ victory over the war and is a huge landmark in British history.

This war was vital to the peace and alliance of Britain because it united much of Europe but also quenched the forces that were stepping out of line such as France and Spain. However, it came at an extreme financial cost for England and therefore, this subject was heavily discussed in parliament due to the costs of £1,000,000 per year with a total military cost of £9,000,000, which is equivalent to almost 1 billion pounds nowadays. The victory was also thought to have kickstarted the Great British Empire’s expansion under Queen Anne as it proved to Europe the incredible strength and tactical dominance of the British military whilst also rapidly decreasing its two main competitors’ chances of global colonisation and mass empire expansion. Finally, due to the roughly equal numbers and weapon technology, this victory was a true image of the British strategic dominance on the battlefield. It proved to be a necessary war that was tactically won whilst also displaying the rise of British military power and the beginning of a new era of British imperial reign.