The enemies of Marlborough were powerful around the queen, and also in the House of Commons. His military successes had given him a strength that it was necessary to take from him, at all hazards; his pecuniary avidity and the malversations of which he was suspected furnished a ready arm against him. He was accused before Parliament, and was at the same time deprived of all his offices, "in order," said the official note, "that the inquiry might be impartial and free." The Duke of Ormond, honest but feeble, and popular but without great military talents, was given the command of the army. The commotion was great among the allies. Prince Eugene himself came to England, eager to assist his companion-in-arms. The queen received him coldly, would accord him no private interview, excusing herself on the plea of ill-health, and sent him to her ministers. When the great Austrian general returned to the continent, recalled by the necessities of the war, which had recommenced in the spring of 1712, in spite of the negotiations, he soon learned that the Duke of Ormond had received orders to take no part in the military operations. St. John wrote to the duke, on the 10th of May: "Her Majesty has reason to believe that we shall come to an agreement upon the great article of the union of the two monarchies, as soon as a courier, sent from Versailles to Madrid, can return. It is therefore the queen's positive command to your grace, that you avoid engaging in any siege, or hazarding a battle, till you have further orders from her Majesty."
The duke was informed, at the same time, that these instructions were to be kept secret from Prince Eugene, but were nevertheless known to Marshal Villars.
It was virtually an armistice that England accorded to France, and this could not long be concealed. Prince Eugene began the siege of Quesnoy, and urged Ormond to take part; the latter finally consented. "My Lord Ormond was not authorized to risk a battle," said the Lord Treasurer Harley to the House of Commons, "but he could not refuse to sustain a siege." Marlborough arose: "I ask," said he, "how it is possible to reconcile the declaration of my Lord Treasurer with the laws of war, for it is impossible to undertake a siege without risking a battle; in case the enemy sought to succor the place, there would remain no other alternative than to shamefully raise the siege."
An armistice was signed with France. Orders were given to the Duke of Ormond to withdraw from the allied army, and to take possession of Dunkirk—placed as security in the hands of the English. The auxiliary regiments, recently in the pay of England, declared their intention of remaining in the service of the emperor. A certain discontent manifested itself among the English troops. The queen solemnly communicated to the two houses the conditions upon which she hoped to conclude peace. "I will neglect nothing to bring the negotiations to a happy and prompt issue," said her Majesty, "and I count upon your entire confidence and loyal co-operation."
The clever maneuvres of Harley and St. John, in Parliament, were crowned with success. Notwithstanding a protest from Marlborough, Godolphin, and some other peers, addresses favorable to the peace, were passed in both houses.
Louis XIV. had confided to Marshal Villars the last army and the last hopes of the French monarchy. When taking leave at Marley, the old king said: "You see my state. There are few examples such as mine, where one has lost in the same week, a grandson, a grand-daughter, and their child, all of very great promise and very tenderly loved. God punishes me, and I have well merited it. But I must suspend my griefs concerning my domestic misfortunes and see what can be done to prevent those which threaten the kingdom. If reverses happen to the army which you command, listen to what I propose; afterwards give me your opinion. I would go to Peronne or St. Quentin, mass there all my troops, and with you, make a last effort to save the state, or perish together. I will never consent to allow the enemy to approach my capital."
Louis XIV. was not deceived regarding the plans of his adversaries. Although enfeebled by the withdrawal of the English, Prince Eugene, who had taken Quesnoy on the 3rd of July, proposed to follow the former plan of the Duke of Marlborough, and to resolutely advance into the heart of France. Marshal Villars placed himself before him upon the road from Marchiennes to Landrecies, "the road to Paris," said the imperialists. He threw bridges over the Escaut, and on the 23rd of July, 1712, crossed the stream between Ponchain and Denain. The Duke of Albemarle, at the head of seventeen battalions of auxiliary troops, commanded this small town. Prince Eugene advanced by forced marches to relieve Denain. Villars lost no time in preparation: "We have only to make fascines," said he; "the first body of our men who shall fall in the trench, will hold the place for us."
Prince Eugene was unable to cross the Escaut, guarded by the French. Denain was taken under his very eyes. "I had not taken twenty steps in the town, when the Duke of Albemarle, and six or seven lieutenant-generals of the Emperor, halted my horse," says the Marshal in his Memoirs. The allies retreated. Marchiennes was invested by De Broglie, and Prince Eugene was unable to save it. His troops raised the siege of Landrecies. The Marshal seized Douai and recaptured Quesnoy and Ponchain. The imperialist, who had been unable to accomplish anything, retired towards Brussels. The fortune of war had once again inclined victory to the side of France; she profited by it to obtain an honorable peace. "The time to flatter the pride of the Dutch is past," wrote Louis XIV. to his plenipotentiaries at Utrecht; "but it is necessary, in treating with them, in good faith, that it be with a becoming dignity."