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Blenheim, battle of
Blenheim, battle of, 1704. In early 1704 the French and Bavarians in the War of the Spanish Succession were threatening the imperial capital of Vienna. The duke of Marlborough marched from the Low Countries to the Danube to link up with his allies and force battle on the enemy. On 19 May 1704 Marlborough's multi-national army set off from Bedburg. He kept his objective secret, to deceive both the enemy and also his Dutch allies, who might have objected to such a risky strategy. The ploy worked and the Anglo-Dutch army united with the armies of the margrave of Baden and Eugene of Savoy. On 13 August 1704 Marlborough attacked the 60,000-strong Franco-Bavarian forces under Marshal Tallard at the village of Blindheim (or Blenheim) in Bavaria. Marlborough and Eugene attacked on the flanks of the enemy position, forcing Tallard to weaken his centre. A major French counter-attack was beaten off with the aid of Eugene's cavalry. The battle was decided by a major blow against Tallard's centre, which gave way as Eugene pushed forward on the right flank. The Franco-Bavarian force lost 38,000 men while the victors lost 12,000. The threat to Vienna was lifted and Bavaria fell to the allies.
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JOHN CANNON. "Blenheim, battle of." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN CANNON. "Blenheim, battle of." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-Blenheimbattleof.html JOHN CANNON. "Blenheim, battle of." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Retrieved May 25, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-Blenheimbattleof.html |
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battle of Blenheim
battle of Blenheim major engagement of the War of the Spanish Succession (see Spanish Succession, War of the ), fought on Aug. 13, 1704, at the village of Blenheim, near Höchstädt, Bavaria. Responding to appeals from Vienna, which was threatened by French and Bavarian forces, the English commander, John Churchill, duke of Marlborough, marched his army from the Netherlands to Bavaria and joined forces with the Austrian general, Prince Eugene of Savoy. At Blenheim their combined army overwhelmed a Franco-Bavarian force under Marshall Tallard and the elector of Bavaria. For the first time in two generations the French suffered a crushing defeat, and the results were immediate and far-reaching. Bavaria was conquered and Vienna saved. The territorial ambitions of Louis XIV beyond the Rhine were checked, and France was placed on the defensive. |
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"battle of Blenheim." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "battle of Blenheim." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-BlenheimBat.html "battle of Blenheim." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 25, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-BlenheimBat.html |
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Blenheim, battle of
Blenheim, battle of, 1704. In early 1704 the French and Bavarians in the War of the Spanish Succession were threatening the imperial capital of Vienna. The duke of Marlborough marched from the Low Countries to the Danube to link up with his allies under Eugene of Savoy. On 13 August 1704 Marlborough attacked the 60,000–strong Franco‐Bavarian forces under Marshal Tallard at the village of Blindheim (or Blenheim) in Bavaria. The battle was decided by a major blow against Tallard's centre, which gave way as Eugene pushed forward on the right flank. The Franco‐Bavarian force lost 38,000 men while the victors lost 12,000.
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Cite this article
JOHN CANNON. "Blenheim, battle of." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN CANNON. "Blenheim, battle of." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-Blenheimbattleof.html JOHN CANNON. "Blenheim, battle of." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Retrieved May 25, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-Blenheimbattleof.html |
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Blenheim, Battle of
Blenheim, Battle of (13 August 1704) A major battle of the War of the SPANISH SUCCESSION that took place in the Bavarian village of Blenheim on the north bank of the River Danube. John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, commanded a British and Austrian army that defeated the French forces of Louis XIV. Blenheim Palace, the Duke's seat at Woodstock in Oxfordshire, England, was named after this victory. Begun in 1705, the building was designed by the English architects Sir John Vanbrugh and Nicholas Hawksmoor. The park was laid out by ‘Capability’ Brown.
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Cite this article
"Blenheim, Battle of." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Blenheim, Battle of." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-BlenheimBattleof.html "Blenheim, Battle of." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Retrieved May 25, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-BlenheimBattleof.html |
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Blenheim, Battle of
Blenheim, Battle of (1704), at which the first duke of Marlborough defeated the French and Bavarians, was celebrated in poems by Addison (The Campaign, 1705) and Southey. Southey's version (‘The Battle of Blenheim’, 1798) is a sharply anti-militaristic ballad in which old Kaspar describes Marlborough's victory to his grandchildren, Peterkin and Wilhelmine; in spite of the bloodshed and carnage of the battle, it was (he repeatedly and ironically assures them) ‘a famous victory’.
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MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Blenheim, Battle of." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Blenheim, Battle of." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-BlenheimBattleof.html MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Blenheim, Battle of." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Retrieved May 25, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-BlenheimBattleof.html |
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Blenheim, Battle of
Blenheim, Battle of (1704) Decisive battle in the War of the Spanish Succession. The Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugène of Savoy defeated the French at Blenheim in Bavaria. Vienna was saved and Bavaria taken by the anti-French allies. Marlborough was rewarded with a royal manor near Oxford, where he built Blenheim Palace, birthplace of his descendant Winston Churchill.
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Cite this article
"Blenheim, Battle of." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Blenheim, Battle of." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-BlenheimBattleof.html "Blenheim, Battle of." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved May 25, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-BlenheimBattleof.html |
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