Tango01 | 11 Sep 2016 3:21 p.m. PST |
"Ramillies is the second of Marlborough's four big victories (oops; spoiler), his first big battlefield victory after Blenheim two years before. And he very nearly got himself killed, the damn fool. In 1705 war to determine whose relative was to be the King of Spain was going into its fourth year and no end seemed to be in sight. As decisive as Blenheim had seemed at the time, while it did stop a mortal blow aimed at the heart of the Austrian Empire, it was not so mortal a blow to Louis XIV or his designs on hegemony in Europe. Though the war was proving to be ruinously expensive to Louis' treasury and the French economy, the effect of that would not tell for several years. It was also ruinous to the economies of the British, Dutch, and the Habsburg allies. This thing wasn't going to be over for a long time…"
More here obscurebattles.blogspot.com.ar Amicalement Armand |
Beloved Leader | 11 Sep 2016 4:27 p.m. PST |
Armand, you are the best. Thank you for recommending. |
Midway Monster | 12 Sep 2016 4:22 a.m. PST |
It is a stunning post and one worthy of a wider audience. |
basileus66 | 12 Sep 2016 6:54 a.m. PST |
Excellent blog. Good find, Raul. |
Hafen von Schlockenberg | 12 Sep 2016 9:43 a.m. PST |
Yes,plenty on Blenheim,not nearly enough on the other battles. Thanks. |
Tango01 | 12 Sep 2016 10:01 a.m. PST |
Happy you enjoyed it my good friends!. (smile) Amicalement Armand |
Beloved Leader | 12 Sep 2016 2:35 p.m. PST |
Vincent, that was also my impression. As I was re-reading Churchill's biography of his ancestor, and started researching Ramillies for this article, I was frustrated with how hard it was to find reliable and detailed information, like OOBs. Even though several scholars (Chandler, Falkner, etc.) have rated it as his most perfect victory. |
Gunfreak | 13 Sep 2016 5:29 a.m. PST |
This was perfect! I have for weeks tried to find detailed OOB on Ramillies, with no luck. So this comes at just the right time. And wonderful maps too! |
Beloved Leader | 13 Sep 2016 10:54 a.m. PST |
Thanks, Truls. But please read my earnest caveat at the beginning of the OOB section. I derived these mostly from the single most comprehensive source I could find, McNally's excellent Osprey book on the battle. I could not corroborate these with a second source. As long as you're only using them for wargame fun and not scholarly reference. |
Hafen von Schlockenberg | 13 Sep 2016 11:33 a.m. PST |
About time for Osprey to get to work on a comprehensive MAA series,too (way past time,IMO). The two old books just don't cut it. Maybe if we keep dunning them in their suggestion box. . . |
Gunfreak | 13 Sep 2016 11:40 a.m. PST |
Thanks, Truls. But please read my earnest caveat at the beginning of the OOB section. I derived these mostly from the single most comprehensive source I could find, McNally's excellent Osprey book on the battle. I could not corroborate these with a second source. As long as you're only using them for wargame fun and not scholarly reference. Given that, that was the exact book I was planing on buying just for the OOB I have no complaints! You did a alot of hard work on that one! |
Beloved Leader | 13 Sep 2016 4:07 p.m. PST |
Oh, I still recommend buying that book. He's done some great research. |
Maxshadow | 02 Oct 2016 3:35 a.m. PST |
Fantastic explanation of the battle. Thanks Tango |