The war expands
The Italian, Rhineland and Spanish fronts mobilize the powers’ resources. France retains local initiative but must protect several axes.
- Home
- Gunpowder & Empires
- War of the Spanish Succession
War
War of the Spanish Succession
1701 — 1714
A dynastic crisis becomes a global coalition war
Military history
The strategic problem
The War of the Spanish Succession pits the French wish to preserve the Bourbon inheritance against European fear of a concentration of crowns. Campaigns unfold in Flanders, Germany, Italy, Spain and at sea. Blenheim matters because it prevents France and Bavaria from closing the Danubian theatre.
The march to the Danube
Marlborough and Eugene of Savoy converge to prevent the Franco-Bavarian junction. Blenheim destroys an enemy coalition army and saves Vienna from a direct threat.
Attrition and compromise
The Allies win further successes, but costs and political changes make total victory impossible. The treaties separate the crowns without restoring the old balance.
Explore
1 published battles, in chronological order
Military history
Sources
Contemporary sourceJohn Churchill, duc de Marlborough, dépêches de 1704
Allied objectives, marches to the Danube and account of the Battle of Blenheim.
Military historyJohn A. Lynn, The Wars of Louis XIV
Coalitions, taxation, standing armies and the limits of French power.
MonographCharles Spencer, Blenheim
Tactical sequence, terrain and strategic significance of the Allied victory.