Blenheim, Battle of

In the War of the Spanish Succession, decisive victory on 13 August 1704 of Allied troops under Marlborough over French and Bavarian armies near the Bavarian village of Blenheim (now in Germany) on the left bank of the Danube, about 25 km/18 mi northwest of Augsburg. Although the war was to continue for a further eight years, Blenheim marked the turning point at which the power of France was first broken.

Background The French planned to send an army to unite with the Bavarians and then march down the Danube to capture Vienna. To prevent this, the British under the Duke of Marlborough and the Austrians under Prince Eugène of Savoy decided on a joint attack on Bavaria. Several groups of German troops joined the Austro-British force during its advance and the opposing armies met at the village of Blindheim, better known as Blenheim.

Battle The French had fortified the village, where they based their right flank with their line extending some 5 km/3 mi along a ridge protected to the front by marshy ground bisected by a stream. The Allies marched overnight to gain the element of surprise and attacked at about noon on 13 August 1704. Eugène attacked the Bavarians on the French left flank, while Marlborough attacked Blenheim directly, without immediate success. Assuming that the attacks against the flanks would also have weakened the French centre, Marlborough drove a massive force – 90 squadrons of horse, 23 battalions of infantry, and supporting artillery – straight through the centre of the French line. Eugène moved his advance in turn, taking the French in their flank and splitting them from the Bavarians so that both could be dealt with separately. Marlborough then completed the move against Blenheim and captured most of the garrison, although most of the Bavarian forces were able to escape.