War of the Spanish Succession

Ramillies, 1706.-1706 was a bad year for the French. At the very outset of the campaign in the Netherlands, Villeroy, hearing that some of the allied contingents that composed Marlborough's army had refused to join, ventured out from his new defensive lines along the Dyle and moved towards Namur. Marlborough hurried forward to intercept him before he could reach the shelter of the Meuse fortresses and was able (May 12) not only to win but also to profit by the glorious victory of Ramillies (q.v.) on the i 2th of May.

In Italy the campaign had, as before, two branches, the contest for Piedmont and the contest between the French forces in Lom bardy and the Austrian second army that sought to join Victor Amadeus and Starhemberg. The latter, repulsed by Vendome at Cassano, had retired to Brescia and Lake Garda, VendOrne fol lowed, and in April 1706, profiting by Eugene's temporary absence, attacked the Imperialists' camps. His onset broke up the defence completely (battle of Calcinato, April 19), and he hustled the fragments of the Imperialist army back into the mountains, where Eugene had the greatest difficulty in rallying them. Until the middle of June Vendome completely baffled all attempts of Eugene to slip past him into Piedmont. He was then, however, recalled to supersede Villeroy in Belgium, and his feeble successor entirely failed to rise to the occasion. Philip of Orleans, with Marsin, was besieging Turin. As soon as he knew of Vendome's departure Prince Eugene emerged afresh from the mountains, and, out-manoeuvring the French in Lombardy, hurried towards Turin.

Victor Amadeus, leaving the defence to the Austrian and Pied montese infantry, escaped through the besiegers' lines and joined his cousin with a large force of cavalry. On Sept. 7 they attacked the French lines round Turin. Owing to the disagreements of their generals, the various corps of the defenders, though superior in total numbers, were beaten in detail. Marsin was killed and Orleans retreated ignominiously to Pinerolo. The battle of Turin practically ended the war in Italy.

Both in the north and in the south the tide had now receded to the frontiers of France itself. But it is from this very point that the French operations cease (though only gradually it is true) to be the ill-defined and badly-joined patchwork of forays and cordons that they had hitherto been. In the place of Tal lards, Marsins and Villeroys Louis made up his mind to put his Villars, VendOmes and Berwicks, and above all the approach of the allied armies roused in the French nation itself a spirit of national defence which bears at least a faint resemblance to the great uprisings of 1792. For the gathering of this unexpected

moral force 1707 afforded a year of respite. Marshal Tesse formed a strong army for the defence of the Alpine frontier. In Germany Villars not only pricked the bubble reputation of the lines of Stollhofen, but raided into Bavaria, penetrating as far as Blenheim battlefield before he gave up the attempt to rouse the Bavarians again. The Imperialists and Piedmontese in the south succeeded in turning the Alpine barrier, but they were brought to a complete standstill by Tesse's gallant defence of Toulon (August) and finally retired over the mountains. In Belgium the elector of Bavaria, who was viceroy there for King Philip, and was seconded by Vendome, remained quiescent about Mons and Gembloux, while Marlborough, paralysed more completely than ever before by the Dutch, spent the sum mer inactive in camp on the Gheete.

Campaign of 1708.

In 1708 Eugene foresaw this shift of the centre of gravity and arranged with Marlborough to transfer his army which was ostensibly destined for the Rhine campaign to Brabant, since the French was markedly superior in numbers to Marlborough's and hardly inferior to Marlborough's and Eugene's combined. King Louis had put his young grandson and heir, the duke of Burgundy, at the head of the great army which assembled at Valenciennes, and gave him Vendome as mentor. But the prince was pious, mild-mannered, unambitious of military glory and also obstinate, and to unite him with the fiery, loose living and daring VendOme, was, as Saint-Simon says, "mixing fire and water." At the end of May Vendome advanced to en gage Marlborough before Eugene should join him. As the French came on towards Brussels, Marlborough, who had concentrated at Hal, fell back by a forced march to Louvain. VendOme having thus won the first move, there was a pause and then the French sud denly swung round to the west, and began to overrun Flanders, where their agents had already won over many of the officials who had been installed by the allies since 1706. Ghent and Bruges surrendered at once, and to regain for King Philip all the country west of the Scheldt it only remained to take Oudenarde. On the day of the surrender of Ghent Marlborough was moving to inter pose himself between the French and their frontier, and one long forced march brought his army almost within striking distance of the enemy. But though Eugene himself had joined him, Eugene's army was still far behind. Vendome soon moved on Oudenarde. But scarcely had he begun this investment when Marlborough was upon him.