Editing Battle of Ramillies (section)

==Background==
After their disastrous defeat at [[Battle of Blenheim|Blenheim]] in 1704, the French found some respite in next year. The [[John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough|Duke of Marlborough]] had intended the 1705 campaign{{snd}}an invasion of France through the [[Moselle]] valley{{snd}}to complete the work of Blenheim and persuade King [[Louis XIV of France|Louis{{nbs}}XIV]] to make peace but the plan had been thwarted by friend and foe alike.<ref name=barnett140>Barnett: ''Marlborough'', 140</ref> The reluctance of his Dutch allies to see their frontiers denuded of troops for another gamble in Germany had denied Marlborough the initiative<ref name=barnett140/> but of far greater importance was the [[Louis William, Margrave of Baden-Baden|Margrave of Baden]]'s pronouncement that he could not join the Duke in strength for the coming offensive. This was in part due to the sudden switching of troops from the Rhine to reinforce [[Prince Eugene of Savoy|Prince Eugene]] in Italy and part due to the deterioration of Baden's health brought on by the re-opening of a severe foot wound he had received at the [[Battle of Schellenberg|storming of the Schellenberg]] the previous year.<ref name=chandler154>Chandler: ''Marlborough as Military Commander'', 154</ref> Marlborough had to cope with the death of [[Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor|Emperor Leopold{{nbs}}I]] in May and the accession of [[Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor|Joseph{{nbs}}I]], which unavoidably complicated matters for the Grand Alliance.<ref name=chandler154/>

The resilience of the French king and the efforts of his generals also added to Marlborough's problems.<ref>Falkner: ''Ramillies 1706: Year of Miracles'', 18</ref> Marshal [[François de Neufville, duc de Villeroi|Villeroi]], exerting considerable pressure on the Dutch commander, Count [[Henry de Nassau, Lord Overkirk|Overkirk]], along the [[Meuse]], took [[Huy]] on 10 June before pressing on towards [[Liège]]. With Marshal Villars sitting strong on the [[Moselle]], the Allied commander{{snd}}whose supplies had by now become very short{{snd}}was forced to call off his campaign on 16 June. "What a disgrace for Marlborough," exulted Villeroi, "to have made false movements without any result!"<ref>Chandler: ''Marlborough as Military Commander'', 157</ref> With Marlborough's departure north, the French transferred troops from the Moselle valley to reinforce Villeroi in Flanders, while Villars marched off to the Rhine.<ref>Lynn: ''The Wars of Louis XIV, 1667–1714'', 298</ref>

The Anglo-Dutch forces gained minor compensation for the failed Moselle campaign with the success at [[Battle of Elixheim|Elixheim]] and the crossing of the [[Lines of Brabant]] in the Spanish Netherlands (Huy was also retaken on 11 July) but a chance to bring the French to a decisive engagement eluded Marlborough.<ref>Barnett: ''Marlborough'', 152</ref> The year 1705 proved almost entirely barren for the Duke, whose military disappointments were only partly compensated by efforts on the diplomatic front where, at the courts of [[Düsseldorf]], [[Frankfurt]], [[Vienna]], [[Berlin]] and [[Hanover]], Marlborough sought to bolster support for the Grand Alliance and extract promises of prompt assistance for the following year's campaign.<ref>Chandler: ''Marlborough as Military Commander'', 164</ref>