John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough

The Most Noble John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough (May 26, 1650 – June 16, 1722), in full The Most Noble Captain-General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, Earl of Marlborough, Baron Churchill of Sandridge, Lord Churchill of Eyemouth, KG, PC (in addition to these English and Scottish titles he was also Prince of Mindelheim and a Prince of the Holy Roman Empire), was an English military officer during the War of the Spanish Succession. Churchill is generally considered the greatest military genius that Britain has produced. Historian Sir Edward Creasy wrote that " never fought a battle that he did not win, and never besieged a place that he did not take."

Military service on the continent

The War of Spanish Succession begins

He returned to the forefront with events leading up to the War of the Spanish Succession in 1701. Philip, Duke of Anjou, the grandson of the King of France, Louis XIV, was put forward as heir to the throne of Spain, and rather than allow France to expand its power to such a great extent, a coalition of European powers including Britain, the Netherlands, Austria, and most of the smaller states and principalities of the Empire prepared for war, backing the rival Austrian claimant, the Archduke Charles. Portugal and Savoy joined the alliance ere long. William died in 1702, but not before he had successfully organized the anti-French alliance, and the war was prosecuted without him. Now came Marlborough's finest hour, for he proceeded to distinguish himself in the field of battle as no English general had done before him. His position and career at home also reached an apex.

Related Topics:
War of the Spanish Succession - 1701 - Philip, Duke of Anjou - King of France - Louis XIV - Spain - Netherlands - Austria - Empire - Archduke Charles - Portugal - Savoy - 1702

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William's successor, his sister-in-law Queen Anne, was completely under the domination of Marlborough's wife, and he enjoyed the new queen's confidence and favour; immediately upon her succession to the throne he was knighted as a member of the Order of the Garter (hence the postnominal abbreviation "K.G."), appointed captain-general of the English troops, and made Master-General of the Ordnance. The same year, the War of the Spanish Succession with France finally broke out into the open and Captain-General Lord Marlborough was made commander-in-chief of the Allied armies.

Related Topics:
Anne - Order of the Garter - Master-General of the Ordnance - War of the Spanish Succession

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Early campaigns

The campaign of 1703 was indecisive overall, but Marlborough gained a substantial advantage in preempting Louis XIV's plans to invade the Netherlands by capturing the North Eastern fortresses of the Spanish Netherlands, Venlo and Roermond, and by overrunning the Electorate of Cologne and the Bishopric of Liège, two German allies of Louis. For these victories, he was made Duke of Marlborough, the title by which he is best known. He is also credited with founding a new school of military strategy. European generals up to his time were of the old school, which subscribed to headlong pitched engagements with armies properly arrayed opposite each other in a "gentlemanlike" fashion, where victory was usually bought with heavy loss. On the field of battle he was vigilant and energetic, yet he was even more vigorous in pre-battle operations to secure the best advantages, such as circumventing flanks and positions, and deceiving and attacking an enemy when he was least expected. In one instance, he drove a French army of 60,000 men before him and seized half the duchy of Brabant (in modern day Belgium) with the loss of a mere 80 men. Yet when bloody and pitched battles were necessary, he never shrank from them, and personally lead his men into the hottest fray with a cool-headed courage that won him universal admiration.

Related Topics:
1703 - Spanish Netherlands - Venlo - Roermond - Electorate - Cologne - Bishopric of Liège - Duke of Marlborough

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Blenheim, and other victories

1704 brought the first notable campaign wherein Marlborough was able to show his full abilities. At the outset, his army lay on the Meuse and Lower Rhine, protecting the Netherlands from the French. However, Louis XIV had brought up another army into South Germany and united it with his Bavarian allies, and the combined force held the valley of the Upper Danube, seriously threatening Austria. Marlborough quickly realized that the more strategic theater lay in Bavaria, not on the Meuse. Accordingly he rapidly marched his force, including the reluctant Dutch, across Germany to Bavaria, whilst along the route he performed a series of brilliant feints that led the French to believe he was preparing to attack Alsace. While they scrambled to meet him there, he quickly struck across Wurtemburg using forced marches and arrived in the valley of the Danube. He then stormed the fortified Bavarian camp at Schellenberg, placed himself between the enemy and Austria, and thwarted any further advance on Vienna. He was then joined by a small Austrian army under Prince Eugene of Savoy, and the combined force was strong enough to take on the whole Franco-Bavarian army, which were 56,000 strong. He accordingly attacked, and won a great victory at the Battle of Blenheim. He captured all of Bavaria, and Austria was saved. The defeat was so crushing that Louis XIV was forced to retire behind the Rhine, and was never again able to threaten Germany. As quickly as he came, Marlborough hurried back to the Dutch Frontier, and was again on the Meuse by spring, threatening the Spanish Netherlands on their eastern front.

Related Topics:
1704 - Meuse - Lower Rhine - Upper Danube - Bavaria - Alsace - Schellenberg - Vienna - Prince Eugene - Savoy - Battle of Blenheim

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Later battles

In 1705 Marlborough was obliged to forgo an ambitious attack on the French via the valley of the Moselle, owing to the fact that Prince Eugene had been sent to fight in Italy. He therefore decided on an offensive in the Spanish Netherlands. The French, under Marshal Villeroi, had ranged themselves in a long line from Antwerp to Namur, covering every vulnerable point with fortifications. Marlborough wanted to fight a pitched battle at Waterloo, but the Dutch government withdrew their forces and prevented any decisive engagements. His opportunity came in the spring, however, when he induced Villeroi to concentrate all of the French forces in the Spanish Netherlands to defend the fortress of Namur. The consequent Battle of Ramillies (1706) was a crushing defeat for the French, and resulted in Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent, Bruges, all of Flanders and Hainaut falling into Marlborough's hands. All that remained to the French in the territory were the fortresses of Mons and Namur.

Related Topics:
1705 - Moselle - Marshal Villeroi - Antwerp - Namur - Waterloo - Battle of Ramillies - 1706 - Brussels - Ghent - Bruges - Flanders - Hainaut - Mons

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Marlborough was almost as able a diplomat as a general. No other personage within the anti-French alliance could keep together so divergent and fractious an assortment of armies. Without his astute guidance, they would have fallen into quarrelsome disunion. He had all the abilities of a statesman: patient, genial, sophisticated and practical. In 1707, Charles XII of Sweden, an old ally of France, invaded Germany from the rear, pursuing a quarrel with the Elector of Saxony. In great apprehension lest Sweden should interfere in the war and aid the French, Marlborough hastened to Saxony, visited Charles in his camp, and flattered and coaxed him into retiring without firing a shot. He also routinely weathered the periodic intransigence of his Dutch troops, and the Herculean task of leading so many armies and nationalities to victory. Marlborough's successes continued to mount, and led to his creation within the Empire as a Prince of the Empire and Prince of Mindelheim.

Related Topics:
Charles XII of Sweden - Empire

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Prince Eugene was equally successful in Italy, capturing Milan and Piedmont in September 1707 and forcing the French to evacuate behind the Alps. Louis also suffered reverses in Spain itself, with risings by the Catalans in favour of the Archduke Charles, and Anglo-Austrian invasions resulting in the loss of most of eastern Spain, including Madrid and Barcelona. He finally sued for peace, offering to give up his grandson's claim to the Spanish Crown, as well as all of the Spanish Netherlands, if he were allowed to keep the Spanish possessions in Italy. While the Dutch and the Germans were in favour of accepting, he was rejected partly because the Emperor was set on gaining Milan, and also because Marlborough loved the wealth and glory the war brought him, and convinced London to reject the French offer. The resulting French counter-offensive in 1708 cost the allies most of their holdings in Spain and a fresh invasion in Flanders which managed to recapture Ghent for Louis. At the same time, the Duchess of Marlborough's hold on the Queen was slipping, and the Duke's position at court became tenuous. Nevertheless, Marlborough rallied his forces and fell upon the French and defeated them at the Battle of Oudenarde. On July 11, 1708, what was left of the French army retreated into France. Marlborough, reinforced by Eugene's Austrian troops, pursued them, thrusting into France and capturing the northern stronghold of Lille after a long siege (December 9, 1708). Louis was humiliated, even more than in 1706. Yet again he offered terms for peace, but the Allies made impossible demands of him, requiring him to surrender Strasbourg and several border fortresses, as well as guaranteeing to send an army to Spain to evict his own grandson if the latter refused to resign the Spanish crown. Louis could not brook fighting his own blood, and appealed to the nation to stand firm and resist the invaders. His armies were starving and his treasury was empty, but with a mighty effort France answered his call and a new army of nearly 100,000 men under Marshall Villars was collected and sent to relieve Marlborough's siege of Mons. Despite the strong entrenchment of the French, he attacked and defeated them at the Battle of Malplaquet in 1709, though with heavy losses. Consequently, Mons fell, and Marlborough proceeded to lay siege to the fortresses of Artois and French Flanders.

Related Topics:
Milan - Piedmont - 1707 - Catalans - Madrid - Barcelona - 1708 - Battle of Oudenarde - Lille - Villars - Battle of Malplaquet - 1709 - Artois

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