Battle of Ramillies 1706
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 23 May 1706 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1706 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | Early modern (1500–1799) | derived from year |
| Location | Belgium | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | War of the Spanish Succession | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Dutch Republic, Electorate of Bavaria, Kingdom of England, Kingdom of France, Kingdom of Spain | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 50.6364, 4.9153 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Ramillies (), fought on 23 May 1706, was a battle of the War of the Spanish Succession. For the Grand Alliance – Austria, England, and the Dutch Republic – the battle had followed an indecisive campaign against the Bourbon armies of King Louis XIV of France in 1705. Although the Allies had captured Barcelona that year, they had been forced to abandon their campaign on the Moselle, had stalled in the Spanish Netherlands and suffered defeat in northern Italy. Yet despite his opponents' setbacks Louis XIV wanted peace, but on reasonable terms. Because of this, as well as to maintain their momentum, the French and their allies took the offensive in 1706.
The campaign began well for Louis XIV's generals: in Italy Marshal Vendôme defeated the Austrians at the Battle of Calcinato in April, while in Alsace Marshal Villars forced the Margrave of Baden back across the Rhine. Encouraged by these early gains Louis XIV urged Marshal Villeroi to go over to the offensive in the Spanish Netherlands and, with victory, gain a 'fair' peace. Accordingly, the French Marshal set off from Leuven (Louvain) at the head of 60,000 men and marched towards Tienen (Tirlemont), as if to threaten Zoutleeuw (Léau).
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Ramillies (revision 1377855945), 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
- Battle of Jodoigne 1568 · 10 km
- Battle of Hannut 1940 · 12 km
- Battle of Gembloux (1578) 1578 · 15 km
- Battle of Neerwinden (1793) 1793 · 17 km
- Battle of Landen 1693 · 17 km
- Battle of Elixheim 1705 · 18 km
Other battles of the War of the Spanish Succession
- Battle of Elixheim 1705
- Siege of Badajoz (1705) 1705
- Siege of Haguenau (1705) 1705
- Siege of Nice (1705) 1705
- Siege of Zoutleeuw 1705
- Battle of Calcinato 1706
- Battle of Murcia 1706
- Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (1706) 1706
- Siege of Turin 1706
- Action of 2 May 1707 1707
All 61 battles of the War of the Spanish Succession →
Browse more: battles in Belgium · Europe · Early modern battles