Vienna threatened
Franco-Bavarian forces have advanced to the Danube and threaten the heart of the Habsburg monarchy.
Battle
Blenheim
13 August 1704
An Allied march concentrates the blow where the Franco-Bavarian line has become overstretched.
Military history
How did an Allied army coordinate two commands and turn an extended French line into a pocket?
Blenheim was a coalition victory that did not depend on a homogeneous army. Marlborough and Eugene coordinated a long march, pinned the French in villages, and concentrated their forces against the extended center.
A coalition on the march
Marlborough joins Eugene after a long march. Their success depends on fighting together before the French withdraw.
The Danube as a boundary
The river protects the Franco-Bavarian flank but also restricts escape if the villages become saturated with troops.
Military history
Sources
Contemporary sourceJohn Churchill, duc de Marlborough, dépêches de la campagne de 1704
Rapports sur Höchstädt et Blenheim
Objectives, movements, and the village’s surrender.
Military historyJohn A. Lynn, The Wars of Louis XIV
Chapitre sur la campagne du Danube
Coalition context and strategic significance.
Modern monographCharles Spencer, Blenheim
Chapitres sur la marche et la bataille
Tactical sequence, terrain, and consequences.
Institutional historical mapRoyal Collection Trust, plan de la bataille de Blenheim et Höchstädt
Plan militaire de la bataille du 13 août 1704
Courses of the Danube and Nebel, the village line, and axes of attack.
View ↗Institutional overviewNational Army Museum, Battle of Blenheim
Dossier pédagogique sur la bataille du 13 août 1704
Deployment of the wings, fixation at the villages, breakthrough in the center, and surrender.
View ↗