Malplaquet

Background
The Campaign
Disposition
The Battle.
Battlefield Today
Some Thoughts
General Withers.
Bibliography.
Photographs

Background

The War of Spanish Succession (1701-1714) came about as a result of the uncertain health of the childless Spanish King, Charles II. The three main claimants who contested the right to the throne of Spain were Louis XIV of France, on the behalf of his eldest son, Philip of Anjou, who was a grandson of King Philip IV of Spain; the Prince Elector of Bavaria, Joseph Ferdinand, a great grandson of Philip IV; and the Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold I, who claimed the succession on behalf of his son, The Archduke Karl. Both Holland and England were opposed to any union that would make France even more powerful than she already was, but like France, were also not willing to see the Archduke Karl on the throne of Spain for fear of seeing the re-assertion of Hapsburg power in Spain.

Of the three claimants, Bavaria was by far the weakest, and therefore the most likely to be accepted by the English and Dutch as it seemed to offer the best guarantee of preserving the balance of power in Europe. Louis XIV, also not wishing to see a resurgence of Austrian control across the Pyrenees, signed the Treaty of Partition with England and Holland in 1698, in which the young Bavarian prince, Joseph Ferdinand should inherit the throne of Spain, together with her empire in the Indies. The unexpected death of Joseph Ferdinand the following year (1699) caused the Second Treaty of Partition (1700) to be negotiated, whereby France, Holland and England agreed that France was to receive Naples, Sicily and Milan, with the rest of the Spanish dominions going to the Archduke Karl. This arrangement proved to be unacceptable to the Austrian Emperor, who claimed the whole of the inheritance for his son.

When Charles II died in November 1700, it was discovered that he had left a will in which he bequeathed his Empire to Philip of Anjou, with the provision that if the bequest was not accepted in its entirety the throne would be transferred to the Archduke Karl of Austria. Since no side would now consider stepping back in order to rearrange a more prudent transference of the whole Spanish Succession, Europe found herself once more plunged into war, as Louis XIV now set his mind on military aggrandizement and still more territorial gains. He flouted convention, and poured troops into the Spanish Netherlands, he took possession of Dutch towns, and forced the Spanish to hand over all of their African slave trade with the Spanish Indies to France. His aggressive acts caused the Dutch and English to realize that they would have to fight for their commercial existence, and propelled the Austrian Emperor into their arms as a welcome ally.

The first round of the war was fought in Italy in 1701, where Prince Eugene of Savoy, in command of the imperial forces, brilliantly outmanoeuvred and defeated Marshal Nicolas Catinat and Marshal Francois de Neufville, Duke of Villeroi. The dilatory behaviour of the Dutch caused Marlborough to begin his campaign in the Low Countries with caution, but during 1702-1703 he managed to capture a number of important towns including Huy, Limburg and Bonn. However the French were compensated by successes in Alsace, which enabled them to threaten Vienna.

In the spring of 1704 Marlborough embarked on his famous March to the Danube, successfully transferring his army from the Netherlands into Bavaria. Here he was joined by Prince Eugene and together they defeated the French and Bavarian forces at the battle of Blenheim (August 13th 1704). The battle cost the French Bavaria, and the capture of Gibraltar, also in 1704,was another body blow to Louis XIV's ambitions.

In 1705 Eugene was defeated at the battle of Cassano in Italy by Marshal Louis Joseph Vendome, while Marlborough gained only limited success in the Netherlands. The tables were turned once again in 1706 when Marlborough scored a resounding victory at Ramillies (May 23rd), and Eugene crushed the army of Marshal Marsin and the Duke of Orleans at the battle of Turin (September 7th).

The year 1707 was one of misfortune and disappointment for the allied cause. Eugene was checked in Provence, and Marlborough made little progress in the north. Both commanders did however score another brilliant victory over the French in 1708 at Oudenarde (11th July), which opened the way for the capture of Lille and drove the French back within their own borders. 

The Siege of Tournai 1709