part of the English with an assault upon the intrenched village. It was too strong to be taken, and the assailants were driven back with some loss. But the vigour of the opposition his troops had met with showed Marlborough his enemy's mistake. He determined to direct his chief assault upon the centre of the line. The infantry which were attacking Blenheim were ordered to seek shelter behind some rising ground, and to keep up such a feigned attack upon the place as should give employment to the troops stationed there. Meanwhile, with considerable difficulty, the English army was brought across the marshes, and established in position upon the firm ground beyond. In the French line cavalry and infantry were interlaced; this arrangement was copied by the assailants. The first effort of the English to ascend the slope was defeated, but after a fierce interchange of fire, a second attempt broke the French cavalry, and destroying the infantry, pierced the centre of the French line. The battle was in fact won, no help could be sent to Tallard by the Elector, a decisive charge of cavalry drove the enemy's horse off the field, and the army fled in two bodies, one towards the river, the other towards Hochstädt. Both were hotly pursued, and of those who fled towards the river thousands perished in the stream. Blenheim still held out, but, cut off from all succour, surrounded by the whole English army, and threatened by the approaching artillery, the gallant garrison was compelled to capitulate, and 11,000 men laid down their arms. The right wing being completely destroyed, the Elector of Bavaria had found it necessary to withdraw his troops from the battle, although they had hitherto held their position against the fierce attacks of Eugene. In the confusion he managed to retire without much loss. The victory, however, was a very complete one; 60,000 strong in the morning of the 13th, on the 14th the French and Bavarian generals found themselves at the head of no more than 20,000 men. All their tents and baggage, and most of their artillery and colours, had fallen into the hands of the allies. The list of killed and wounded on the side of the allies was about 12,000. Marshal Tallard himself was among the prisoners. Again, even after this defeat, the Elector of Bavaria declined all terms, and his wife, as Regent, had to submit to such conditions as the German Emperor chose to impose. So great was the blow, that the French retreated with extreme rapidity; they gave up the strong fortress of Ulm, and withdrew beyond the Rhine, whither they were pursued by the allies, who, following separate routes, again assembled at Philipsburg; nor even there did Villeroi withstand them, but still falling back, allowed them to recapture Landau, during which operation Marlborough completed his work by rapidly marching into the valley of the Moselle and conquering Trèves and Trarbach. [Sidenote: Progress of the war in Spain, the Cevennes, and Italy.]