Battle of Blenheim 1704
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Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 13 August 1704 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1704 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | Early modern (1500–1799) | derived from year |
| Location | Germany | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | War of the Spanish Succession | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Bavaria, Dutch Republic, Electorate of Bavaria, Habsburg monarchy, Holy Roman Empire, Kingdom of England, Kingdom of France, Kingdom of Prussia, Landgraviate of Hesse-Homburg, Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel, Prussia | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 48.6450, 10.6000 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Blenheim (German: Zweite Schlacht bei Höchstädt; French: Bataille de Höchstädt; Dutch: Slag bij Blenheim) fought on 13 August [O.S. 2 August] 1704, was a major battle of the War of the Spanish Succession. The overwhelming Allied victory ensured the safety of Vienna from the Franco-Bavarian army, thus preventing the collapse of the reconstituted Grand Alliance.
Louis XIV of France sought to knock the Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold, out of the war by seizing Vienna, the Habsburg capital, and gain a favourable peace settlement. The dangers to Vienna were considerable: Maximilian II Emanuel and Marshal Ferdinand de Marsin's forces in Bavaria threatened from the west, and Marshal Louis Joseph, Duke of Vendôme's large army in northern Italy posed a serious danger with a potential offensive through the Brenner Pass. Vienna was also under pressure from Rákóczi's Hungarian revolt from its eastern approaches. Realising the danger, the Duke of Marlborough resolved to alleviate the peril to Vienna by marching his forces south from Bedburg to help maintain Emperor Leopold within the Grand Alliance.
A combination of deception and skilled administration – designed to conceal his true destination from friend and foe alike – enabled Marlborough to march 400 km (250 mi) unhindered from the Low…
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Blenheim (revision 1375002774), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- First Battle of Höchstädt 1703 · 5 km
- Battle of Höchstädt (1800) 1800 · 6 km
- Battle of Wertingen 1805 · 12 km
- Battle of Donauwörth 1805 · 16 km
- Battle of Schellenberg 1704 · 16 km
- Battle of Nördlingen (1634) 1634 · 20 km
Other battles of the War of the Spanish Succession
- Battle of Speyerbach 1703
- First Battle of Höchstädt 1703
- Siege of Bonn (1703) 1703
- Siege of Guadeloupe 1703
- Siege of Kehl (1703) 1703
- Battle of Málaga (1704) 1704
- Battle of Schellenberg 1704
- Capture of Gibraltar 1704
- Siege of Colonia del Sacramento 1704
- Siege of Landau (1704) 1704
All 61 battles of the War of the Spanish Succession →
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