Great Britain, Holland, Austria, and most of the smaller states of Germany were soon leagued in arms against France, and in 1703 Lewis found armies arrayed against him in the Spanish Netherlands, in South Germany, in North Italy, and Spain. Marlborough was in command of the allied British, Dutch, and Germans in the Netherlands. Though he had not yet displayed his superb military genius, he had already exhibited his unrivalled powers of conciliating the jarring elements which formed his army. In North Italy the Austrian forces were under Prince Eugene of Savoy, a man of extraordinary courage and talent, who was worshipped by his soldiers, and still lives as a hero in song. No two such generals had ever commanded armies against Lewis before.
The beginning of the war was uneventful. Marlborough, however, managed to capture a number of fortresses along the line of the Meuse, and by doing so cut off the French from the Lower Rhine and made the invasion of Holland impossible. For the rest, the campaign was indecisive. On his return to England he was created Duke of Marlborough, the title by which he is best known.
Marlborough was now on the threshold of his great career. He was fifty-four years old, and was about to win victories at an age when the work of most men is done. Like his predecessor William, he owed little to early training and much to his natural abilities. The keynote of his greatness as a general was the vigour and audacity of his plans. His greatest obstacle was the slowness and timidity of the Dutch, who refused again and again to co-operate in the brilliant movements which he suggested. Calm and unruffled, patient and tactful, he composed all the differences of his allies, and proved himself even greater in the council chamber than on the battlefield.
Lewis now began a campaign on a scale of grandeur which was only equalled by Napoleon himself. He sent the flower of his army into Bavaria, where the local troops joined them. Then the army of the Danube, in massed and irresistible might, began its march on Vienna. Marlborough saw that Austria was bound to be conquered unless prompt action was taken, so, early in 1704, he made a dash for the Danube. To do this he had to march right across Germany from the Lower Rhine, while Prince Eugene had to cross the Alps from Italy. Both undertakings were full of difficulty, but the difficulties were overcome. By his boldness and secrecy he completely deceived his enemy, and not until he had crossed the Neckar and united his forces with those of Eugene was his real object revealed.
Marlborough was bound to fight a battle speedily, though his chances of success were doubtful, and the consequences of defeat fatal. If Lewis won, beyond all doubt “a universal despotic dominion would be established over the bodies, a cruel spiritual thraldom over the minds of men.” France and Spain, united in a close family alliance, would prove irresistible. Protestantism would be destroyed, a despotism worse than that of the Roman Empire would be set up, and the British race would be arrested in its mission to overspread the earth. Marlborough was not unaware of the consequences of defeat. “I know the danger,” he said, “yet a battle is absolutely necessary; and I rely on the bravery and discipline of the troops, which will make amends for our disadvantages.”
On August 13, 1704, the armies faced each other. The enemy, numbering fifty-six thousand men, was posted in a strong position, with the Nebel, a marshy stream, in front, hill country on the left, and the Danube on the right. A short distance from the great river stood the village of Blenheim, which had been strongly defended by a palisade and trench, and was occupied by Marshal Tallard’s infantry. At sunrise the allies were in motion, but their movements were covered by a thick haze, and not until the allied right and centre were nearly within cannon-shot of the enemy was Tallard aware of their approach. Eugene, with twenty thousand men, marched through broken and wooded country towards the Nebel, which had to be crossed before he could attack the Bavarians opposed to him. Not until midday did his troops cross the stream, and when they faced the enemy they were so weary that they could do little more than hold their own.
While Eugene was struggling on the right, the remainder of the allies were inactive. During this interval, Marlborough ordered divine service to be performed by the chaplains at the head of each regiment, for with all his faults he was sincerely religious. Then he rode along the lines and found officers and men in the highest spirits, waiting impatiently for the signal to attack. At length an aide-de-camp galloped up from the right with the welcome news that Eugene was across the stream. At once a strong brigade of infantry under Lord Cutts was sent to assault the village of Blenheim, and Marlborough himself led the main body down the eastward slope of the valley of the Nebel, and crossed the stream.
Brigadier Rose led the British infantry to the assault of Blenheim under a shower of grape and musketry. He ordered his men to reserve their fire until he struck his sword against the palisades. The troops advanced with great steadiness, but they were repulsed with severe loss; and Marlborough, finding how strongly Blenheim was held, gave up the attempt to capture it, and bent all his energies to breaking through the centre. The ground which he had to traverse was very swampy; but he constructed something like an artificial roadway, and late in the afternoon, despite artillery fire and cavalry charges, he crossed the blood-stained stream with eight thousand horsemen. The infantry were then brought across to “hold up” the French troops in Blenheim.
Marlborough chiefly relied on his cavalry, and by means of this arm Blenheim was won. Leading two furious charges in person, he completely broke the squadrons of the enemy. They discharged their carbines, wheeled round, and spurred from the field, leaving the infantry to be ridden down by the victorious allies. Marlborough then drove the French southward to the Danube, where they were obliged to drown or yield. The troops in Blenheim, after several gallant but unsuccessful attempts to cut their way out, laid down their arms. The French army was almost entirely destroyed. About twelve thousand men were killed and fourteen thousand taken prisoners; all the cannon, a vast number of colours and standards, tents and equipages, were captured; and the French general and twelve hundred officers of rank were in the hands of the conqueror.
“It was a famous victory.” Austria was saved, the French were driven out of Germany, and the Elector of Bavaria was forced to make peace. The moral effect of the battle, however, was still greater. For half a century the French had been considered invincible; now the spell was broken, and the prestige of France had vanished. For the rest of the war Lewis had to act on the defensive, and “Malbrook” became a name of fear to every child in France. The British nation in gratitude presented Marlborough with £500,000, with which to purchase the manor of Woodstock, and erect a house which should be named after the battle. Blenheim Palace still remains one of the most magnificent of England’s “stately homes,” and a not unworthy monument to Marlborough’s great military genius.