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Osprey Campaign #141
Blenheim 1704: The Duke of Marlborough’s masterpiece
Osprey's study of the Blenheim campaign, Britiain's defining battle of the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714). Combining one of history's most audacious strategic manoeuvres with perhaps the greatest military victory ever won by a British commander, the Blenheim campaign is rightly considered the pinnacle of the career of John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough. On 13 August 1704, Marlborough and Prince Eugene of Savoy faced a Franco-Bavarian army threatening to knock Austria out of the War of the Spanish Succession. In a hard-fought battle Marlborough won a resounding victory, capturing Marshal Tallard and over 14,000 men. In this book John Tincey describes how Marlborough's victory crushed his enemies, shattered the myth of French invincibility and laid the foundations for two centuries of British world dominance.
96 pages, Paperback
First published July 25, 2004
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May 13, 2015
Marlborough worship brought to an extreme, in evidence by the fact that many pictures in this volume feature the duke. His biography is 6 paragraphs long. His fellow commanders are barely mentioned (Eugene seems all but ignored). Marlborough is said to have surpassed the accomplishiments of Turenne (a dubious contention). The rape of Bavaria is hardly mentioned because it shows Marlborough at his most ruthless.
The text is super dry, damn near lifeless.
So why two stars? Tincey correctly points out that Tallard was no fool. He won a brilliant victory at Speyerbach and his crossing of the Black Forest was among the finest maneuvers of the era. He failed at Blenheim in part because there was no clear overall commander. Tallard was constantly being questioned by the quarrelsome Maximilian II. Also he was a talented but rather conventional commander. Lastly, Tincey makes clear the battle's importance without the usual "French decline was inevitable from here on out" rubbish.
The text is super dry, damn near lifeless.
So why two stars? Tincey correctly points out that Tallard was no fool. He won a brilliant victory at Speyerbach and his crossing of the Black Forest was among the finest maneuvers of the era. He failed at Blenheim in part because there was no clear overall commander. Tallard was constantly being questioned by the quarrelsome Maximilian II. Also he was a talented but rather conventional commander. Lastly, Tincey makes clear the battle's importance without the usual "French decline was inevitable from here on out" rubbish.
Displaying 1 of 1 review