'The Battle of Blenheim', 13 August 1704

Line engraving, published 1704 (c).

The Battle of Blenheim was the first major allied victory of the War of the Spanish Succession (1702-13). In order to stop the French advance on Vienna, the Duke of Marlborough marched his army 350 miles in five weeks from the Spanish Netherlands (modern day Belgium) to the upper Danube. Here he joined up with the Imperial army of Prince Eugene to intercept the French advance on Vienna. The allies engaged the Franco-Bavarian army at Blenheim, about 60 miles north-west of Munich. The French suffered their greatest defeat for a generation, losing about 30,000 dead and wounded, and a further 12,000 prisoners. The Allies lost about 12,000 men.