BLENHEIM, a village of Germany, in the cir cle of Suabia, about 25 miles to the north-west of Augsburg, has been rendered memorable in history, in consequence of the decisive defeat which the French and Bavarians sustained in its neighbourhood ) from the British and their allies, on the 13th day of August l701. The two contending armies were composed of the best and bravest troops in the ser vice of their respective sovereigns, and were con ducted by the most distinguished generals of the age. The French and Bavarians, amounting to 80,000, were commanded by Marshal Tallard• and the Elector of Bavaria ; and the confederates, nearly equal in number, were led on by Prince Eugene and the Duke of Marlborough. The French army was posted, in a very advantageous manner, upon the eminence of Hochstet ; their right being covered by the Danube and the village of Blenheim, their left by the village of Lubzengen and the wood of Schel lenberg, and their front by a large valley, which extended nearly two leagues in length, and which was intersected by several rivulets, hemmed in at some places by banks extremely steep, and at others flowing freely over a marshy plain. As this position would soon, by daily fortifications, have been ren dered completely impregnable ; and, as the enemy would thus have been able to lay waste the neigh bouring circle of Franconia, as well as to prevent the confederates from procuring the necessary supplies of forage and provisions, as it appeared from an in tercepted letter of Marshal Villeroy, that lie was ad vancing to act in concert with the Elector of Bava ria, to ravage the country of Wirtemberg, and to obstruct the communication of the allied army with the Rhine ; and as the troops of the confederates were in the highest spirits, in consequence of the victory which they had recently gained at Schellen berg, and of their having been joined by a reinforce ment under Prince Eugene ;—by these reasons the Duke of Marlborough was induced to run some ha zard, in order to bring the enemy to a general en gagement, with the utmost possible expedition ; and he adapted his plan of attack, with wonderful skill, to meet the dispositions of the hostile army.
The French and Bavarians were formed into two distinct bodies. At. the head of the plain, half a mile from the marshy ground, through which the confederates had to pass, 48 squadrons and 10 bat talions were drawn up under the command of Mar shal Tallard. Marshal de Marsin, a general of great capacity and experience, with the rest of the French, and the Elector of Bavaria, with his own troops, were stationed upon the left, nearer to the woods, and close upon one of the rivulets which flowed through the valley. In the village of Blenheim, which stood in the front of the right wing, and where it was ex pected that the allies would direct their principal ef fort, 28 battalions and 12 squadrons were posted for the defence of the place, and for the purpose of attacking the confederates in the rear, should their left attempt to advance against Tallard. To be ready to join these troops, if necessary, or to act as a corps de reserve as exigencies might require, eight more battalions were ordered to the village of Oberk law ; and a few others, at a little distance from these, were stationed near to two mills, between Oberklaw and Blenheim.
On the right of the confederate army, Prince Eu gene, at the head of the Imperialists, advanced against the Bavarians, and the forces under Marsin ; while the Duke of Marlborough, with the British and Dutch troops on the left, directed his attack against Marshal Tallard. The Duke, being aware of the French general's design to entice him across the plain, and to receive him in front, while the troops in Blenheim should fall upon his rear, ordered a part of his division to make an attack upon that village. This detachment, which consisted chiefly of British troops, under Major General Wilkes, be gan the engagement at 10 o'clock, by making a most gallant assault upon the village of Blenheim ; and, though they failed in repeated attempts to dislodge the enemy, they succeeded in taking such a position in its front, as effectually blocked up the French troops which were stationed in the place, and which could only have come out in defile, through very narrow passages. The Duke of Marlborough ha ving thus secured his rear from molestation, instantly passed the rivulet, preceded by his cavalry ; ascend ed the hill in a firm compacted body, attacked the enemy's right wing with the utmost vigour, and, in a short time, compelled it to give way. The brave Tallard repeatedly rallied his troops as they re tired, . commanded ten battalions to fill up the inter. vals of his cavalry,• made a most determined effort to regain his ground ; and, by the tremendous fire of his infantry, succeeded, for a moment, in disordering the line of the. confederates, and obliging them to recoil about 60 paces. But Marlborough, with the utmost promptitude, ordered three battalions of the troops of Zell to sustain his horse, renewed the charge with redoubled ardour, completely routed the cavalry of the French, and entirely cut to pieces the 10 battalions of infantry, who had been sent to their support, but who were now abandoned by their retreat. Again did Tallard 'succeed in collect ing his broken cavalry, behind a few tents ; and re solved to make the attempt to draw off the troops that were posted in the village of Blenheim. With this view he dispatched an aid-de.camp to Marshal Marsin on the left, directing him, with the troops at Oberklaw, to face the confederates without delay, in order to favour the retreat of the forces in Blen heim. Informed by that commander, that, instead of being able to spare assistance, lie could with difficulty maintain his own ground ; Tallard was no longer able to sustain the pressing assaults of the victorious squadrons of Marlborough. His cavalry were totally dispersed ; his soldiers thrown into the utmost confusion and consternation ; and the misera ble fugitives driven into the Danube with dreadful carnage. Tallard himself, endeavouring to the last to rally •his disordered squadrons, was surrounded at the village of Sonderen, and made prisoner, toge ther with many officers of distinction in his army.