Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) THE BATTLE OF BLENHEIM [Illustration: Plate I. _The Battle of Blenheim._ _Frontispiece._] THE BATTLE OF BLENHEIM BY HILAIRE BELLOC LONDON STEPHEN SWIFT & CO., LTD. 10 JOHN STREET, ADELPHI 1911 CONTENTS PAGE PART I. THE POLITICAL OBJECTIVE 9 " II. THE EARLY WAR 16 " III. THE MARCH TO THE DANUBE 28 " IV. THE SEVEN WEEKS--THE THREE PHASES 68 " V. THE ACTION 109 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE The General Situation in 1703 27 Map showing the peril of Marlborough's March to the Danube beyond the Hills which separate the Rhine from the Danube 45 Map illustrating Marlborough's March to the Danube 59 Map illustrating the March of Marlborough and Baden across Marcin's front, from the neighbourhood of Ulm to Donauwörth 71 Map showing how Donauwörth is the key of Bavaria from the North-West 76 Map showing Eugene's March on the Danube from the Black Forest 92 Map showing the Situation when Eugene suddenly appeared at Hochstadt, August 5-7, 1704 95 The Elements of the Action of Blenheim 118 THE BATTLE OF BLENHEIM PART I THE POLITICAL OBJECTIVE The proper understanding of a battle and of its historical significance is only possible in connection with the campaign of which it forms a part; and the campaign can only be understood when we know the political object which it was designed to serve. A battle is no more than an incident in a campaign. However decisive in its immediate result upon the field, its value to the general conducting it depends on its effect upon the whole of his operations, that is, upon the campaign in which he is engaged.