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numbers) took up their position facing eastward, their right flank resting on the Danube, their left in the under-features of the hilly ground, and their front covered by the Nebel, on which were the villages of Oberglau, Unterglau and Blenheim. The imperialist See also:

army of Eugene and the See also:

ALLIES, THOMAS WILLIAM (1813-1903)

allies under Marlborough (52,000 strong) encamped 5 M. to the eastward along another stream, their flanks similarly protected. On the 2nd-13th of August 1 704 Eugene and Marlborough set their forces in See also:

motion towards the hostile camps; several streams had to be crossed on the See also:

march, and it was seven o'See also:

CLOCK

clock (five See also:

HOURS, CANONICAL

hours after moving off) when the See also:

BRITISH

British of Marlborough's left wing, next the Danube, deployed opposite Blenheim, which Tallard thereupon garrisoned with a large force of his best See also:

INFANTRY

infantry, aided by a See also:

BATTERY (Fr. batterie, from battles, to beat)

battery of 24-pounder guns.

The French and Bavarians were taken somewhat by surprise, and were arrayed in two See also:

SEPARATE

separate armies, each with its See also:

CAVALRY (Fr. cavalerie, Ger. Kavallerie or Reiterei, derived ultimately from late Lat. caballus, horse)

cavalry on the wings and its See also:

FOOT

foot in the centre. Thus the centre of the combined forces consisted of the cavalry of Marsin's right and of Tallard's left. Here was the only See also:

GOOD, JOHN MASON (1764-1827)

good ground for mounted troops, and Marlborough followed Tallard's example when forming up to attack, but it resulted from the dispositions of the French See also:

MARSHAL (med. Lat. marescalcus, from O.H.Ger. marah, horse, and scalc, servant)

marshal that this weak point of junction of his two armies was exactly that at which decisive See also:

ACTION

action was to be expected. Tallard therefore had a few See also:

HORSE (a word common to Teutonic languages in such forms as hors, hros, ros; cf. the Ger. ross)

horse on his right between the Danube and Blenheim, a See also:

mass of infantry in his centre atBlenheim itself, and a See also:

long See also:

LINE

line of cavalry supported by a few battalions forming his left wing in the plain, and connecting with the right of Marsin's army. This army was similarly See also:

DRAWN

drawn up. The cavalry right wing was in the open, the French infantry near Oberglau, which was strongly held, the Bavarian infantry next on the left, and finally the Bavarian cavalry with a force of foot on the extreme left in the hills. The elector of Bavaria commanded his own troops in See also:

PERSON, OFFENCES AGAINST THE

person. Marlborough and Eugene on their See also:

PART

part were to attack respectively Tallard and Marsin. The right wing under Eugene had to make a difficult march over broken ground before it could See also:

FORM (Lat. forma)

form up for battle, and See also:

MARL (from O. Fr. marle, Late Lat. margila, dim. of marga; cf. Du. and Ger. Mergel)

Marl-See also:

borough waited, with his army in See also:

order of battle between Unterglau and Blenheim, until his colleague should be ready. At 12.30 the battle opened. See also:

Lord Cutts, with a detachment of Marlborough's left wing, attacked Blenheim with the utmost fury. A third of the leading See also:

BRIGADE (Fr. and Ger. brigade, Ital. brigata, Span. brigada; the English use of the word dates from the early 17th century)

brigade (British) was killed and wounded in the vain See also:

ATTEMPT (Lat. adtemptare, attentare, to try)

attempt to break through the strong defences of the village, and some French squadrons charged upon it as it retired; a See also:

COLOUR (Lat. color, connected with celare, to hide, the root meaning, therefore, being that of a covering)

colour was captured in the melee, but a See also:

HESSIAN

Hessian brigade in second line drove back the cavalry and retook the colour.

After the repulse of these squadrons, in which some British cavalry from the centre took part, Cutts again moved forward. The second attack, though pressed even more fiercely, fared no better than the first, and the losses were heavier than before. The duke then ordered Cutts to observe the enemy in Blenheim, and concentrated all his See also:

ATTENTION (from Lat. ad-tendo, await, expect; the condition of being " stretched " or " tense ")

attention on the centre. Here, between Unterglau and Blenheim, preparations were being made, under See also:

COVER (from the Fr. convert, from couvrir, to cover, Lat. cooperire)

cover of See also:

ARTILLERY (the O. Fr. artiller, to equip with engines of war, probably comes from Late Lat. articulum, dim. of ars, art, cf. " engine " from ingenium, or of artus, joint)

artillery, for the See also:

CROSSING

crossing of the Nebel, and farther up-stream a See also:

CORPS (pronounced as in French, from which it is taken, being a late spelling of tors, from Lat. corpus, a body; cf. " corpse ")

corps was sent to attack Oberglau. This attack failed completely, and it was not until Marlborough himself, with fresh battalions, drove the French back into Oberglau that the allies were See also:

FREE

free to See also:

CROSS

cross the Nebel. ` In the meanwhile the first line of Marlborough's infantry had crossed See also:

LOWER

lower down, and the first line of cavalry, following them across, had been somewhat severely handled by Tallard's cavalry. The squadrons under the Prussian general Bothmar, however, made a dashing See also:

charge, and achieved considerable temporary success. Eugene was now closely engaged with the elector of Bavaria, and both sides were losing heavily. But Eugene carried out his holding attack successfully. Marsin dared not reinforce Tallard to any extent, and the duke was preparing for the See also:

GRAND

grand attack. His whole force, except the detachment of Cutts, was now across the Nebel, and he had formed it in several lineswith the cavalry in front. Marlborough himself led the cavalry; the French squadrons received the attack at the See also:

HALT

halt, and were soon broken.

Marsin's right swung back towards its own army. Those squadrons of Tallard's left which retained their order See also:

fell back towards the Danube, and a See also:

GREAT

great See also:

gap was opened in the centre of the See also:

defence, through which the victorious squadrons poured. See also:

WHEELING

Wheeling to their left the pursuers drove hundreds of fugitives into the Danube, and Eugene was now pressing the army of Marsin towards Marlborough, who re-formed and faced northward to cut off its See also:

RETREAT (O. Fr. retrete, mod. retraite, from Lat. retrahere, to draw back)

retreat. Tallard was already a prisoner,, but in the dusk and confusion Marsin slipped through between the duke and Eugene. General See also:

Churchill, Marlborough's See also:

BROTHER

brother, had meanwhile surrounded the French See also:

garrison of Blenheim; and after one or two attempts to break out, twenty-four battalions of infantry and four regiments of dragoons, many of them the finest of the French army, surrendered. The losses of the allies are stated at 4500 killed and 7500 wounded (British 67o killed and 1500 wounded). Of the French and Bavarians 11,000 men, zoo guns and, 200 See also:

COLOURS, MILITARY

colours and See also:

STANDARDS

standards were taken; besides the killed and wounded, the numbers of which were large but uncertain—many were drowned in the Danube. Marsin's army, though it lost heavily, was drawn off in good order; Tallard's was almost annihilated.

End of Article: BLENHEIM (Ger. Blindheim)

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