Marlborough wins the Battle of Blenheim
Citations (1)
- The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers whole source · open book
Marlborough’s decisive victory at Blenheim (1704) severely hurt the Franco-Bavarian armies and freed Austria from a French invasion threat. The later battle of Ramillies (1706) gave the Anglo-Dutch forces most of the southern Netherlands, and that at Oudenarde (1708) brutally stopped the French effort to regain ground there.52 At sea, with no enemy main fleet to deal with after the inconclusive battle of Malaga (1704), the Royal Navy and its declining Dutch equivalent could demonstrate the flexibility of superior naval power. The new ally, Portugal, could be sustained from the sea, while Lisbon in turn provided a forward fleet base and Brazil a source of gold.
chapter: The Winning of Wars, 1660–1763