Battle of Ramillies their disastrous defeat at Blenheim in 1704, the next year brought the French some respite. The Duke of Marlborough had intended the 1705 campaign – an invasion of France through the Moselle valley – to complete the work of Blenheim and persuade King Louis XIV to make peace but the plan had been thwarted by friend and foe alike. The reluctance of his Dutch allies to see their frontiers denuded of troops for another gamble in Germany had denied Marlborough the initiative but of far greater importance was the Margrave of Baden’s pronouncement that he could not join the Duke
Battle of Blenheim Sir Edward Shepherd Creasy considered one of the pivotal battles in history, writing – "Had it not been for Blenheim, all Europe might at this day suffer under the effect of French conquests resembling those of Alexander in extent and those of the Romans in durability." However, military historian John A. Lynn consider this claim unjustified as Louis XIV never laboured such objective, as the campaign in Bavaria was intended to bring only a favourable peace settlement and not domination over Europe. Battle of Blenheim The Battle of Blenheim (German: "Zweite Schlacht bei Höchstädt"; French "Bataille de Höchstädt"), fought on