Blenheim 1704

At Blenheim Marlborough found himself confronting a superior Franco-Bavarian force in a strong defensive position. Like Hannibal's great victory at Cannae, Blenheim was won by the successful implementation of a bold and imaginative plan. The flanks of the Franco-Bavarian forces were pinned by furious attacks at unfavourable odds which denuded their centre of troops re-deployed to buttress the hard-pressed wings. Then Marlborough released his cavalry to smash what was left of Franco-Bavarian centre and cleave Tallard's army into two. The threat that Louis XIV's France would come to dominate Europe was over.