A highly illustrated study of the battle of Malplaquet, the last and
bloodiest of Marlborough's victories in the 18th century War of the
Spanish Succession.
In 1709, after eight years of war, France was on her knees. There was
not enough money left in the treasury to pay, equip, or feed the army
and a bad harvest led to starvation throughout the kingdom. Things were
so bad that King Louis XIV was forced to offer to end the War of Spanish
Succession on humiliating terms for his country. However, the allied
powers-Britain, the Dutch Republic, and the Holy Roman Empire-refused
Louis' offer, believing that one more successful campaign would utterly
destroy French power.
This book examines the campaign of 1709, culminating in the battle of
Malplaquet, which would prove Louis' enemies disastrously wrong. Led by
the Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene of Savoy, the allied armies
achieved a tactical victory-but it was a hollow one. The allies suffered
23,000 casualties to the French 11,000 in what was the bloodiest battle
of the 18th century. The scale of casualties shocked Europe and led to a
reversal of fortunes, with the dismissal of Marlborough and a newly
confident King Louis resolving to fight on. When the war finally ended,
it did so on terms favorable to France.
In this illustrated title, Simon MacDowall examines the campaign in full
and shows how, though it is generally accepted that Marlborough was
never defeated, the Battle of Malplaquet was ultimately a French
strategic victory.
