In 1705 Leopold I. relieved Germany, by his death, of the dead weight of his incapacity. He was succeeded by his son, Joseph I., who possessed, at least, a little ordinary common sense. He manifested it at once by making Prince Eugene his counsellor, instead of surrounding him with spies, as his jealous and spiteful father had done. Both sides were preparing for new movements, and the principal event for the year took place in Spain, where the Archduke, who had been conveyed to Barcelona by an English fleet, obtained possession of Catalonia and Aragon, and threatened Philip V. with the loss of his crown. The previous year, 1704, the English had taken Gibraltar. In 1706 operations were recommenced, on a larger scale, and with results which were very disastrous to the plans of France. Marlborough's great victory at Ramillies, on the 23d of May, gave him the Spanish Netherlands, and enabled the Emperor to declare Max Emanuel and the Archbishop of Cologne outlawed. The city of Turin, held by an Austrian garrison, was besieged, about the same time, by the Duke of Orleans, with 38,000 men. Then Prince Eugene hastened across the Alps with an army of 24,000, was reinforced by 13,000 more under Victor Amadeus of Savoy, and on the 7th of September attacked the French with such impetuosity that they were literally destroyed. Among the spoils were 211 cannon, 80,000 barrels of powder, and a great amount of money, horses and provisions. By this victory Prince Eugene became also a hero to the German people, and many of their songs about him are sung at this day. The "Prussian" troops, under Prince Leopold of Dessau, especially distinguished themselves: their commander was afterwards one of Frederick the Great's most famous generals. The first consequence of this victory was an armistice with Louis XIV., so far as Italian territory was concerned: nevertheless, a part of the Austrian army was sent to Naples in 1707, to take possession of the country in the name of Spain. The Archduke Karl, after some temporary successes over Philip V., was driven back to Barcelona, and Louis XIV. then offered to treat for peace. Austria and England refused: in 1708 Marlborough and Prince Eugene, again united, won another victory over the French at Oudenarde, and took the stronghold of Lille, which had been considered impregnable. The road to Paris was apparently open to the allies, and Louis XIV. offered to give up his claim, on behalf of Philip V., to Spain, Milan, the Spanish-American colonies and the Netherlands, provided Naples and Sicily were left to his grandson. Marlborough and Prince Eugene required, in addition, that he should expel Philip from Spain, in case the latter refused to conform to the treaty. Louis XIV.'s pride was wounded by this demand, and the negotiations were broken off. [Sidenote: 1708. PEACE REJECTED BY JOSEPH I.]