John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough (26 May 1650–16 June 1722) was a general of Great Britain and the brother-in-law of James II of England. He was famed for his victories at the Battle of Blenheim, Ramilles, Oudenarde, and Malplaquet in the War of the Spanish Succession. He was dismissed in 1711 by his political opponents. However, his descendant Winston Churchill would bring the family back to Britain's political spotlight.
Biography[]
Churchill at the Siege of Maastricht, 1673
The future Duke of Marlborough was born John Churchill, son of an impoverished rural gentleman. Ambitious and handsome, he forged a position for himself at the court of Charles II through luck and charm. His sister, Arabella, became the mistress of the king's Catholic brother, James, Duke of York. In 1677, Churchill married Sarah Jennings, a close friend of James' daughter, Princess Anne. When James came to the throne in 1685, Churchill was elevated to the House of Lords.
Shifting Loyalties[]
Churchill in 1705
Churchill had picked up a measure of military experience during this period and he soon proved his ability. Leading the king's troops, he crushed an invasion by James' nephew, the Duke of Monmouth, making a bid for the throne. But barely three years later, when William of Orange landed in England to claim the throne, Churchill shamelessly deserted James to serve the new king. William rewarded him with the title of Earl of Marlborough, yet trust was not so easily gained. In 1692, he was dismissed for alleged treasonable contacts with James.
It was a trick of fate that Sarah's friend Anne became queen in 1702, the year the War of the Spanish Succession began. Suddenly enjoying strong royal support, Marlborough took overall command of the allied forces fighting France. It was a task that would have crushed a man of lesser ability. He had to lead armies on a scale far surpassing his previous experience, as well deal with the commanders and governments of the Grand Alliance: primarily the United Provinces, Austrian Empire, and Britain itself. They also had to back his operational decisions. The cautious Dutch, always obsessed with national defense, were especially suspicious of his offensive instincts.
It is a tribute to Marlborough's personal charm that, in 1704, he persuaded his allies to back bold action to save the Austrian Empire from defeat by France and Bavaria. Seizing the strategic initiative, Marlborough marched his main forces from Cologne to the Danube River, a movement conducted with exemplary efficiency. It denuded the defenses of the Netherlands, but he rightly gambled that the French would follow him southward. Finding a fellow spirit in Austria's prince Eugene of Savoy, Marlborough inflicted a shattering defeat on the Franco-Bavarian army at Blenheim.
In contrast to the prudent warfare of sieges and fortified lines favored by most of his contemporaries, Marlborough was always seeking the opportunity to bring his enemy to battle. In May 1706, he led an Anglo-Dutch army against the French army at Ramillies. The forces were roughly equal in number and the French had an apparently solid defensive position. Marlborough was often in the thick of the fighting - he was even unhorsed in a cavalry melee - but once more carried the day with his tactical genius. He tricked the French marshal Villeroi into reinforcing his left wing, while covertly shifting his own men in the center, where they powered a breakthrough. The crushing French defeat was followed by the fall of a string of fortresses to his army,
Marlborough's last outright victory was at Oudenarde in July 1708. At Malplaquet the following year, the French fought in what he called a "very murdering battle", inflicting 25,000 casualties on the allied army before conceding the field. The war was proving too costly for Marlborough in every sense. His wife's hold on the queen was waning, his political enemies in London were on the rise, and the Grand Alliance was wavering. In 1711, still a fine general, he brilliantly maneuvered the French out of their supposedly impregnable defensive lines with a mix of deception and a night march. But as a peace deal was sought, his political fall became more inevitable. He was dismissed from command and accused in parliament of illegal profiteering, probably with some justice. After a period of exile, Marlborough was rehabilitated, but never commanded in battle again.