Marlborough S Battlefields

Three hundred years ago Queen Anne's Captain-General, John Churchill 1st Duke of Marlborough, led the Allied armies in an epic struggle against the powerful French forces of Louis XIV, in campaigns that stretched across wide areas of the Low Countries, France and Germany. Marlborough's victories at the Schellenberg, Blenheim, Ramillies, Oudenarde and Malplaquet are among the most remarkable feats in all of British military history. Marlborough broke France's military power for a hundred years. As James Falkner demonstrates in this, the first full-scale guide to the subject, the story of these famous campaigns makes compelling and exciting reading, and the sites associated with them are evocative places that can easily be visited today. His battlefield guide is essential reading for anyone who is keen to understand the military history of the era, and it is an invaluable companion for visitors to the many battlefields associated with Marlborough's triumphs.

Of all the books Ive read on Malborough, this work really does stand out. (The Officer.) The battles of the greatest military commander Britain has ever produced, John Churchill, the First Duke of Malborough, during the War of the Spanish Succession the war that shaped Europe to the present day..

In 1709, after eight years of war, France was on her knees. There was not enough money left in the treasury to pay, equip or feed the army and a bad harvest led to starvation throughout the kingdom. Circumstances had worsened to the point that King Louis XIV was forced to offer to end the War of Spanish Succession on humiliating terms for his country. However, the allied powers – Britain, the Dutch Republic and the Holy Roman Empire – refused Louis' offer, believing that one more successful campaign would utterly destroy French power. This book examines the campaign of 1709, culminating in the battle of Malplaquet, which would prove Louis' enemies disastrously wrong. Led by the Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene of Savoy, the allied armies achieved a tactical victory – but it was a hollow one. The allies suffered 23,000 casualties to the French 11,000 in what was the bloodiest battle of the 18th century. The scale of casualties shocked Europe and led to a reversal of fortunes, with the dismissal of Marlborough and a newly confident King Louis resolving to fight on. When the war finally ended, it did so on terms favourable to France. In this illustrated title, Simon MacDowall examines the campaign in full and shows how, though it is generally accepted that Marlborough was never defeated, the Battle of Malplaquet was ultimately a French strategic victory.

The author of The War of the Spanish Succession analyzes the inner workings of the army led into battle by General John Churchill. Blenheim, Ramilles, Oudenarde, Malplaquet—much has been written about the brilliant victories of the Duke of Marlborough’s Anglo-Dutch army over the armies of Louis XIV of France during the War of the Spanish Succession. Less attention has been focused on the men and the military organization that made these achievements possible—the soldiers, the commanders, the army structure and administration, the logistics, engineering, weapons and finance. That is why James Falkner’s penetrating account of the composition and operation of Marlborough’s army is of such value. His clear analysis gives a fascinating insight into Marlborough’s war machine and into the conduct of war in Europe 300 years ago. “I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it, particularly if you are embarking on a visit to the battlefields of the War of the Spanish Succession.”—Army Rumour Service “This perceptively written book tells us about the war machine that backed up Marlborough’s strategic and tactical genius . . . An excellent book.”—Classic Arms and Militaria “The author, having written a number of books on the period, knows his subject and this certainly shows in this, his latest contribution to the history of the British army in the early 18th century.”—Military Modelling Magazine

An account of the pivotal victory for the Grand Alliance forces during the War of the Spanish Succession, from a leading authority on eighteenth-century warfare. On Sunday, May 23 1706, near the village of Ramillies in modern Belgium, the Anglo-Dutch army commanded by John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, inflicted a devastating defeat on the French army of the Duke de Villeroi. Marlborough’s triumph on that day ranks alongside Blenheim as one of the great feats of his extraordinary military career. The French army was shattered physically and morally and, as a result, Marlborough’s army overran almost all of the Spanish Netherlands in the next six weeks, and gained an unshakeable advantage over the armed might of Louis XIV’s France during the long War of the Spanish Succession. In this expert guide to the battle and the battlefield, James Falkner offers a gripping and authoritative account of the campaign and the action, and he takes the reader across the battleground itself, relating the course of the fighting to the terrain as it can be viewed today.

This detailed guidebook tells the story of the Duke of Marlborough's victory at the Battle of Blenheim in 1704 and takes the reader across the Bavarian battlefield, rediscovering the lanes and by-ways tramped by the soldiers of 300 years ago.

This is the story of one of the great battles which forged the reputation of the Duke of Marlborough as one of history's greatest captains. His tactical intuition on the field of Ramillies led to perhaps his finest battlefield performance and paved the way for a campaign that would see much of Flanders, including vital cities such as Bruges, Brussels, Antwerp and Louvain, come under Allied control. This title, with vivid illustrations and detailed consideration of the disposition, strength and plans of the opposing forces, examines the context and consequences of the battle. It also illuminates the intense fighting at the height of the engagement, including two enormous cavalry melees in which Marlborough was unhorsed and very nearly killed.

John Churchill was born in 1650, the son of a defeated Cavalier captain, in a household which had been ravaged and rendered almost destitute by the English Civil War. Yet by the time of his death in 1722 he was among the richest men in the country, with a dukedom, a palace and a principality to call his own. His rise to power came through a combination of good luck, astute political manoeuvring, and a brilliance on the battlefield that made him easily the most successful general of his time. In this concise biography of the man and his military genius, John Hussey describes in detail the campaigns that made Marlborough famous: the 1704 campaign to save the Austrian empire, which culminated in the great victory of Blenheim, and the audacious invasion across Louis XIV's Ne Plus Ultra lines in 1711. These campaigns are put in the context of the times, to create a portrait of a man who is still celebrated as one of the world's greatest ever military commanders.