The War of the Spanish Succession.
The War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714) was a conflict, fought primarily in Europe, between two multinational alliances of different states, over the right to succeed the late King Charles II of Spain.
Leading the Grand Alliance, which was composed of England (later Great Britain), the Netherlands, Austria, Hungary[1], Portugal, Hanover and Prussia, were a multitude of tacticians, generals and kings. Some of the more famous commanders were Prince Eugene of Savoy, the Duke of Marlborough, Sir George Rooke, the Earl of Galway, Anthoine Heinsius, Lord Overkirk, the Marquess of Albenarle and the Marquis of Minas. Opposing this alliance was the league of France and her allies, including Bavaria. Some of their notable military minds were the Duke of Berwick, the Duc de Villairs, the Duc de Vendôme, the Comte de Tesse and the Marquis de Bay. The Spanish Empire was divided into supporters of the Grand Alliance, and supporters of the French League.
The aims of the Grand Alliance were to protect English and Dutch interests in Spanish trade, through trying to install Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria, as Spanish Emperor, in the name of his son, the Archduke Charles of Austria. Leopold was the late King Charles' brother-in-law and maternal uncle. The aims of the French League were to expand it's global and regional influence through the use of Spain as essentially a puppet state. They intended to do this by securing the right of the Dauphin's second son, Philip[2], and thereafter the right of his Bourbon descendants, to the Spanish throne. Since becoming King of France constitutionally required one to not be upon the throne of any other nation, the first in line and the second in line were not judged fit for potential King of Spain. As such, the third-in-line to the French throne, Philip, was selected as the figurehead of the French involvement.
The war started surprisingly slowly; Prince Eugene of Savoy led the Austrian Army to victory in Northern Italy at the Battle of Carpi, July 9th, and a string of victories followed in the surrounding areas, but for a while this was the only front. Then, in early 1702, the English and Dutch launched an offensive in Flanders and the Rhineland. They were joined by the Imperial Army of the Holy Roman Empire (Austria & Hanover), and they fought numerous battles with the French- sometimes they were victorious, and sometimes they lost.
The war continued in much the same way as this; equal, until a turning point in the Battle of Blenheim in 1704. The French League's aim in these early years was to capture the city of Vienna, the capital of Austria, to hold the Holy Roman Empire to ransom, gain a favourable peace treaty and obliterate the Grand Alliance. It had a force in Northern Italy pushing through from the southwest, and had made arrangements with a group of Hungarian rebels who planned to attack the city from the east, but their main host was still in France, at the village of Blenheim. The Duke of Marlborough figured out France's plan, and recognised that the force needed to be stopped, or else the war would, in all likelihood, have been lost. In just five weeks, he marched his entire army from Cologne to the village of Blenheim on the River Danube, and met with an Austrian Army there. The Austrians were waiting for reinforcements and refused to attack without them, but the Duke realised that the French would soon attack them. He launched the offensive without the Austrian reinforcements, and, despite not winning the village the first time around, it startled the French and was an important step in eventual victory. In the actual battle that ensued, England and Austria had 52,000 soldiers and 60 guns, whilst France and Bavaria went in with a slight advantage of 56,000 soldiers and 90 guns. The battle was a victory for the Grand Alliance, and it showed the French Army was not invincible, as some had previously thought. It protected Vienna from attack, and, ultimately, upheld the Grand Alliance and the power balance in Europe. In this same year, the Allies took Gibraltar - the war seemed to be turning in favour away from the French.
Other major battles included the Battle of Ramillies, in the Spanish Netherlands,in which the French force in Flanders was reduced from 60, 000 to 10, 000, and the Battle of Ooudenarde, when the French presence in the aforementioned region was almost completely dissolved. Following is a timeline of the War, explaining all the events.
1702
Battle of Carpi & the Northern Italy Campaign of Prince Eugene of Savoy.
Marlborough takes the strongholds of Venloo, Ruremonde, and Liége, in the Spanish Netherlands.
France cut off from Holland and Lower Rhine.
Battle of Vigo won by Sir George Rooke.
Louis of Baden, a commander, defeated at Freidlingen by the French.
Eugene stops the French from taking the Tyrol.
1703
Portugal joins the Alliance.
Marlborough takes the city of Bonn and, as a result, command of the Upper Rhine.
1704
Battle of Blenheim.
Gibraltar taken by the English Navy.
1705
Barcelona taken by Lord Peterborough, an English commander; Catalonia favours the Archduke Charles' claim to the throne.
1706
Battle of Ramillies.
The Alliance takes Antwerp, Brussels, Ghent, Bruges, Ostend, a line of fortresses cutting off the French from Holland.
Turin besieged by the French.
1707
The Duchy of Milan and the Kingdom of Naples favours the Archduke Charles.
Minorca captured by General Stanhope, for the English.
Spain defeats the Grand Alliance at Almanza.
Ghent and Bruges retaken by the French.
1708
Battle of Ooudenarde.
Lille secured by the Grand Alliance. French are forced out of the Spanish Netherlands.
1709
Peace Conference at The Hague. The French refuse to remove Philip from the throne of Spain, and the war goes on.
Mons taken.
Queen Anne dies.[3]
1710
Stanhope defeats the French and Spanish in Spain twice.
1711
The Archduke Charles dies, and his son is named as the heir to the Spanish throne by the Grand Alliance, although France disagrees.
1712
Peace Conference at Utrecht.
1713
Treaty of Utrecht.
[1] They were not, as of yet, in political union, only personal.
[2] Whom the late Charles had named as his heir.
[3] Meaning the Duke of Marlborough was never dismissed from the battlefield, as his wife didn't fall out of favour with the Queen. This has a longer change, as well; it means the Whigs stay in power and, in contrast to the more pacifist Tories, this Government is not shy of conflict or aggression. Expect interesting butterflies.
Comments and anything are all welcomed.