Blenheim – ‘spoils of war’ - and the birthplace of the
‘Greatest Briton of all time’
By the
summer of 1704 the French King Louis XIV's vast armies dominated mainland
Europe. In his endeavours to create a French controlled super-state,
the Sun King had defeated every alliance that had been thrown against him.
Louis was now set to extend his frontier northwards to the Rhine, and to
the south by installing a French prince on the throne of Spain.
The
French also had plans to send an army to unite with Bavarian forces and
then march down the Danube to capture Vienna. In an attempt to pre-empt
this, the British under the command of John Churchill, Duke of
Marlborough, and the Austrians under Prince Eugene of Savoy, decided upon
a joint attack on Bavaria.
In one
of the greatest military manoeuvres of history, Marlborough marched his
army 200 miles from the Netherlands to Bavaria in near secrecy.
The
Austro-British-Danish army had marched overnight in order to gain the
element of surprise and arrived at the north bank of the river Danube. At
a small village called Blenheim, near Höchstädt in Bavaria they faced the
Franco-Bavarian lines under the command of the French leader, Marshall
Tallard.
It was
at Blenheim just after noon that the rival armies clashed on 13th August
1704. The French had fortified the village and their line extended almost
4 miles along a ridge. Prince Eugene attacked the Bavarians on the French
left flank, whilst Marlborough attacked Blenheim directly, driving his
cavalry and infantry straight through the centre of the French line and
effectively splitting the enemy forces.
On the battlefield Marlborough’s calm and courage is said to have inspired
those around him and for much of the day the armies remained locked in a
close and deadly conflict for control of Blenheim village. Eugene
reported:
“I have not a squadron or a battalion which did not charge four times at
least.”
It was not until darkness fell that Marlborough’s highly disciplined
troops handed Louis XIV and France such a defeat as to rival that of
Agincourt and Crécy.
The cost of the battle was staggering, with more than 9,000 men from
Marlborough’s wing either killed or wounded and a further 5,000 from
Eugene’s smaller wing. The loss to the French and Bavarian army was even
worse with some 20,000 soldiers killed or wounded.
14,000 prisoners and 7,000 horses, along with scores of senior officers,
129 infantry colours, 110 cavalry standards and over 100 guns and mortars
fell into British hands as did Marshall Tallard. Tallard was taken back to
England and held prisoner where, disappointed by the food on offer in
Nottingham, he introduced his gaolers to French bread and celery.
For the
first time in two generations the French had suffered defeat and the
results were immediate, with Bavaria conquered and Vienna saved. It would
be Blenheim that would establish Britain as a world power, create the
enduring reputation of the British redcoat and
would
shatter the Sun King's vision of a French controlled Europe.
The news of this great victory was brought to England by Colonel Daniel
Parke, who flogged his horse for eight days, to deliver a scribbled note
on the back of a bar bill addressed to Marlborough's wife, Sarah Churchill
in London:
“I have not time to say more but to beg you will give my duty to the
Queen and let her know that her Army has had a glorious victory.”
In
reward for his services in defending Holland and Austria from invasion by
the French, a grateful Queen Anne granted to Marlborough the Royal Manor
of Woodstock near Oxford, and signified that she would build him, at her
own expense, a great house to be called Blenheim.
The
building of the great house began in 1705, and an inscription on the East
Gate reads:
“Under
the auspices of a munificent sovereign this house was built for John Duke
of Marlborough, and his Duchess Sarah, by Sir J Vanbrugh between the years
1705 and 1722.
And this Royal manor of Woodstock, together with a grant of £240,000,
towards the building of Blenheim was given by Her Majesty Queen Anne and
confirmed by Act of Parliament...”
While
the Duke remained busy giving his Queen and country victory after victory
overseas, his continued absence saw him fall from the Queen's favour. As a
result, the money which had been promised for building Blenheim Palace
failed to arrive, leaving the Duke owing £45,000 to masons, carvers, etc,
including Vanbrugh the architect.
In the
summer of 1712 all work on Blenheim Palace ceased. Following the death of
Queen Anne in 1714, the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough negotiated with
the unpaid builders and the Palace was eventually completed at their own
expense.
It
was at Blenheim Palace on the 30th November 1874 at 1.30am that Winston
Churchill the ‘Greatest Briton of all time’ was born. Typical of the
impatience that he was to demonstrate in later life, he arrived several
weeks early.
It was
also in the gardens of Blenheim at the Temple of Diana that Winston
Churchill proposed to Miss Clementine Hozier during the summer of 1908.
Sir
Winston Churchill’s love of Blenheim remained to his dying day. When he
passed away in 1965, he chose to be buried beside his parents Lord and
Lady Randolph Churchill, in the nearby churchyard at Bladon. And when Lady
Clementine Churchill died in 1977, her remains were laid to rest beside
those of her husband.
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