The Allied victory at Blenheim halted French plans to seize Vienna and eliminated Habsburg collapse, shifting momentum in the War of the Spanish Succession.
Key Facts
- Date
- 13 August 1704
- Conflict
- War of the Spanish Succession
- Marlborough's march distance
- 400 km from the Low Countries to the Danube km
- March duration
- Five weeks
- Notable captive
- Marshal Tallard, Franco-Bavarian commander-in-chief
- War's end
- 1714, a decade after the battle
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Louis XIV sought to force Emperor Leopold out of the war by capturing Vienna, the Habsburg capital. Franco-Bavarian forces threatened from the west, a large French army in northern Italy threatened through the Brenner Pass, and Rákóczi's Hungarian revolt pressed from the east, placing Vienna in serious danger of falling.
On 13 August 1704, the Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene of Savoy led Allied forces against the Franco-Bavarian army of Marshal Tallard, Maximilian II Emanuel, and Marshal Marsin near the village of Blindheim on the Danube. The Allies won a decisive victory, capturing Tallard and inflicting catastrophic casualties on the French and Bavarian forces.
The Allied victory secured Vienna and preserved the Grand Alliance. French momentum in the war was broken, and plans to eliminate the Habsburg emperor collapsed. The Allies subsequently captured Landau, Trier, and Trarbach, though a planned offensive into France was abandoned when they had to defend Liège. The war continued until 1714.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Duke of Marlborough, Prince Eugene of Savoy.
Side B
1 belligerent
Marshal Tallard, Maximilian II Emanuel, Marshal Ferdinand de Marsin.