Excellent Account of this Great Battle | BLENHEIM: Battle for Europe

A very readable "popular history" of an important but neglected battle | BLENHEIM: Battle for Europe - How two men stopped the French Conquest of Europe (Cassell Military Paperbacks) | Charles Spencer

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	• BLENHEIM: Battle for Europe - How two men stopped the French Conquest of Europe (Cassell Military Paperbacks) Charles Spencer Cassell, 2005 - 368 pages average customer review:based on 4 reviews view larger image
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Blenheim, Marlborough's masterpiece.

At the end of the 17th century Louis XIV of France was at the peak of his power, the most powerful sovereign in Europe whose power was enforced by an victorious army with a reputation for being unbeatable. With the rise of his relative to the throne of Spain and his coercion of Bavaria into his sphere of influence it seemed that total dominance of Europe was within his grasp.

The fact that this did not come to pass was the result of the formation of the Grand Alliance by William III of England, combining the forces of England, the Holy Roman Empire and the Dutch free states.

The leadership of the Anglo Dutch forces was entrusted to John Churchill the Duke of Marlborough a handsome dashing General of only limited military experience. It was Marlborough who devised and implemented the daring plan to march across Europe to attack Frances ally Bavaria thereby relieving the threat of invasion from Vienna the capital of the Holy Roman Empire. A march which would ultimately see him join forces with the Imperial army commanded by the proven and driven General Eugene of Savoy to confront the Franco Bavarian forces near the village of Blenheim.

The resulting battle displayed the qualities of both of the allied commanders, Marlborough's dash and daring, his command of the battlefield, his husbanding of resources and the judgment which allows him to unleash them to the greatest effect and Eugene's tactical genius, charisma and steely resolve to achieve victory no matter the odds or the cost.

Overall this book provides a well written narrative of a battles which has been largely forgotten, which changed the face of Europe.

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Excellent Account of this Great Battle

"Blenheim: Battle for Europe" by Charles Spencer is a riveting account of that great battle fought between Allied forces under the command of John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, and the French Army of Louis XIV on August 13, 1704. This is a splendidly told story, not only covering this pivotal battle but the events leading up to it and the main characters involved, including my favourite, Prince Eugene of Savoy.

This battle possibly changed the course of European history with the near destruction of Louis XIV's army. Up to this point the French Army under the command of many capable marshals had never been beaten. It was virtually unstoppable until it met Marlborough, the Captain-General of the armies fighting against France. In this book Charles Spencer describes the outcome of that meeting at Blenheim.

The story telling is first-rate, the narrative flows fast and smoothly, is packed full of information but never over-loads the reader with too much. The colour plates are excellent and the maps sufficient for the story however I would have appreciated maybe a few more.

The account of the fighting is excellent and once you start reading it's hard to stop. The narrative drags you into the fighting as the allied infantry assaults the villages of Blenheim and Oberglau and then mass in the centre for the decisive offensive that was to break the back of the French forces. In the end the allies lost 12,000 men killed and wounded but the French lost more than three times that number.

This is an excellent account and adds much to the military history of this period, no decent library should be without a copy on their shelves.

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A very readable "popular history" of an important but neglected battle

The two greatest land battles of English/British arms are universally thought to be Waterloo and Agincourt. Charles Spencer and others (including Winston Churchill) would add Blenheim as the third greatest battle in the list. Louis XIV (the "Sun King" of France) was dominant in European power and had been for a couple of decades. He was an imperialist at heart, taking land when it suited him, on the flimsiest of pretexts. When the inbred and sickly Hapsburg king of Spain died without direct heir, Louis decided it was time to put a Bourbon king (i.e. his own family line) on the throne of Spain. This naturally angered the other Hapsburg monarch - the Holy Roman Emporer (leader of what was later known as Austria-Hungary) and would result in Louis's power increasing significantly, both in Europe and the Americas. Thus, the Emporer and the British, whose Dutch-descended King William III had long fought Louis as Prince William of Orange, formed an alliance to combat this new threat from Louis.

Charles Spencer is known to most as the 9th Earl Spencer, sister of the late Diana, Princess of Wales. His well-spoken and eloquent eulogy of his sister is an indication of his ability as a narrator. Fortunately, Spencer does not herein rely on his titles, nor on the fact he is a descendant of the winning British general: John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough. Instead, knowing the book will only be judged by his ability as a writer and historian, he presents a very readable and enjoyable depiction of the battle between the two Allied armies - commanded by Marlborough and the Imperial general Prince Eugène, and the opposing Franco-Bavarian forces. Taking place in and around the Bavarian village of Blindheim (Anglicised to Blenheim), the Austro-British forces are outnumbered and facing a foe that has not lost a major engagement for a generation. Included in the French ranks are a number of highly-decorated regiments (both of infantry and cavalry). Unfortunately for the French, they are badly outgeneralled, especially in the centre of the line where Marshall Tallard faces Marlborough. The English general has rapidly gained a reputation for initiative, timing, and daring only equalled by Prince Eugène, who is left to pin down the flank against a second French army and the Bavarians.

Spencer wisely takes a third of the book to set the scene - i.e., the politics of the age. No account of the battle would be complete without a detailed look at the people involved, of course, so much of the narrative alternates between the setup of the political situation and the personalities of the people involved. John Churchill was much maligned by both parliament (because his anscestors fought for the crown in the Civil War) and the protestant King William III (because he so easily switched allegiances to himself from the Catholic Charles II after Charles was deposed). It was not until Anne, protestant daughter to Charles II and sister-in-law to William III, came to the throne that Churchill rose to become commander of the British army. This did nothing to placate his detractors, of course, and he was dogged continually by his enemies. Spencer manages to avoid sounding the champion of his anscestor, instead presenting these facts in a straightforward but very readable fashion.

Similarly, when we move into the campaign phase of the book, and that of the Battle of Blenheim itself, we get to see the conflict from all sides - in the camps of all five armies present, and from the generals to the non-commisioned officers, many of whom kept diaries of the events (presumably many in the lowest ranks were illiterate and couldn't keep diaries).

There aren't a lot of accounts of the Battle of Blenheim (compared to, say, Waterloo), but this is a good read for anyone interested in the era, or in European history in general. Especially for those shy about tackling Winston Churchill's mammoth biography of Marlborough (which is also hard to find), this book gives a good description of the man, his age, and the battle he is most famous for winning.

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AN EXCELLENT ACCOUNT OF AN IMPORTANT BATTLE

Based on diaries and letters of the participants and other sources, Charles Spencer gives a very readable, informative account, not only of the Battle of Blenheim, but of a whole period of history. BLENHEIM, BATTLE FOR EUROPE, is the story of how two friends and military geniuses, the Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene of Savoy spoiled the Sun King's splendor. Louis XIV's army, considered invincible for forty years, was crushed at Blenheim, a small Bavarian village on the Danube, signaling that the Sun King would not conquer the Continent. Mr Spencer describes not only the everyday lot of the common soldier: his arms, medical treatment and food, but he also delves into the personalities of the major participants involved, from the Sun King to the field generals to Sarah, Marlborough's wife. This is popular history at its best, although the term "popular history" somehow seems dismissive; would it be that all history was written as well and as entertainingly. The book comes with color reproductions of portraits, three maps, including two battle maps showing positions and movements of troops, and order of battle and unit strength tables, useful for those who might like to recreate the battle as a simulation. He also describes the battlefield terrain quite well and the morale and quality of certain troops. Valuable as a reference, once read for pleasure, I recommend BLENHEIM highly.

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By the summer of 1704 Louis XIV's vast armies dominated Europe. France defeated every alliance formed against her and Louis was poised to extend his frontier to the Rhine and install a French prince on the throne of Spain.

Two men saved Europe from French military domination: the Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene of Savoy.

Marlborough masterminded a brilliant campaign, working with Eugene to surprise the French invaders inside Germany. The rival armies clashed in August and the hitherto unbeaten French were utterly destroyed. Blenheim was a major turning point in European history.

Charles Spencer's narrative is drawn from original sources and moves seamlessly from the deliberations of Kings and princes to the frontline soldiers.

This is the battle that creates the enduring reputation of the British redcoat and shatters the image of the 'Sun King' and his mighty army.

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