Editing War of the Spanish Succession (section)

==Military campaigns; 1701–1708==

===Italy===
[[File:North Italy 1700.png|thumb|right|upright=1.35|Northern Italy; Milan, Savoy, and Mantua were the primary areas of conflict]]

The war in Italy primarily involved the Spanish-ruled [[Duchy of Milan]] and the French-allied [[Duchy of Mantua]], considered essential to the security of Austria's southern borders. In 1701, French troops occupied both cities and [[Victor Amadeus II]], Duke of Savoy, allied with France, his daughter [[Maria Luisa of Savoy|Maria Luisa]] marrying Philip V.{{sfn|Dhondt| 2015|pp=16–17}} In May 1701, an Imperial army under [[Prince Eugene of Savoy]] moved into Northern Italy; by February 1702, victories at [[Battle of Carpi|Carpi]], [[Battle of Chiari|Chiari]] and [[Battle of Cremona|Cremona]] forced the French behind the [[Adda (river)|Adda]] river.{{sfn|Lynn|1999|pp=270–271}}

[[Louis Joseph, Duke of Vendôme]], one of the best French generals, took command and was substantially reinforced; Prince Eugene managed a draw at the [[Battle of Luzzara]] but the French recovered most of the territory that it had lost to Prince Eugene the year before.{{sfn|Lynn|1999|pp=276–277}} In October 1703, Victor Amadeus declared war on France; by May 1706, the French held most of Savoy except [[Turin]] while victories at [[Battle of Cassano (1705)|Cassano]] and [[Battle of Calcinato|Calcinato]] forced the Imperialists into the [[Trentino]] valley.{{sfn|Falkner|2015|p=1302}}

In July 1706 Vendôme and all the forces that could be spared were sent to reinforce France's northern frontier after the defeat at [[Battle of Ramillies|Ramillies]]. Reinforced by German auxiliaries led by [[Leopold I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau|Leopold of Anhalt-Dessau]], Prince Eugene broke the [[siege of Turin]] in September; despite a minor French victory at [[Battle of Castiglione (1706)|Castiglione]], the war in Italy was over. To the fury of his allies, the 1707 [[Convention of Milan]] Emperor Joseph gave French troops in Lombardy free passage to Southern France.{{sfn|Sundstrom|1992|p=196}}

A combined Savoyard-Imperial attack on the French base of [[Toulon]] planned for April was postponed when Imperial troops were diverted to seize the Spanish Bourbon [[Kingdom of Naples]]. By the time they [[Siege of Toulon (1707)|besieged Toulon]] in August, the French were too strong, and they were forced to withdraw. By the end of 1707, fighting in Italy ceased, apart from minor attempts by Victor Amadeus to recover Nice and Savoy.{{sfn|Symcox|1985|p=155}}

===Low Countries, Rhine, and Danube===
[[File:Low Countries 1700 and entrenched lines.png|thumb|left|upright=1.3|[[Low Countries]]; note the location of [[Prince-Bishopric of Liège]] (in pink). Red lines show the {{lang|fr|[[pré carré]]}}, a double line of fortresses guarding the French border.]]

The first objective for the Grand Alliance in this theatre was to secure the Dutch frontiers, threatened by the alliance between France, Bavaria, and [[Joseph Clemens of Bavaria]], ruler of [[Prince-Bishopric of Liège|Liège]] and [[Electorate of Cologne|Cologne]]. During 1702, the Grand Alliance repelled an [[Assault on Nijmegen (1702)|assault on Nijmegen]], [[Siege of Kaiserswerth|captured Kaiserswerth]], a strong town on the eastern side of the Dutch Republic, and took [[Siege of Venlo (1702)|Venlo]], [[Roermond]], [[Stevensweert]] and Liège along the [[Meuse]].{{sfn|Lynn|1999|p=275}} The 1703 campaign was marred by Allied conflicts over strategy. Despite capturing [[Siege of Bonn (1703)|Bonn]], they failed to take [[Antwerp]], while a Dutch contingent narrowly escaped disaster at [[Battle of Ekeren|Ekeren]] in June.{{sfn|Lynn|1999|pp=280–281}}

On the [[Upper Rhine]], Imperial forces under [[Louis William, Margrave of Baden-Baden]] remained on the defensive, although they took [[Siege of Landau (1702)|Landau]] in 1702. Supported by the Bavarians, during the 1703 campaign French forces retook Landau, won victories at [[Battle of Friedlingen|Friedlingen]], [[First Battle of Höchstädt|Höchstädt]] and [[Battle of Speyerbach|Speyerbach]], then captured [[Siege of Kehl (1703)|Kehl]] and [[Breisach]]. With Austrian resources absorbed by [[Rákóczi's War of Independence]] in Hungary, the Franco-Bavarian plan for 1704 was to march on Vienna.{{sfn|Ingrao|1979|p=123}} To relieve the pressure, Marlborough marched up the Rhine, joined forces with Louis of Baden and Prince Eugene, and crossed the Danube on 2 July. Allied victory at [[Battle of Blenheim|Blenheim]] on 13 August forced Bavaria out of the war and the [[Treaty of Ilbersheim]] placed it under Austrian rule.{{sfn|Lynn|1999|pp=286–294}}

Allied efforts to exploit [[Battle of Elixheim|their victory at Eliksem]] in 1705 floundered on poor coordination, tactical disputes, and command rivalries.{{sfn|Lynn|1999|pp=298–299}} A diplomatic crisis between the Dutch Republic and England was only averted by the dismissal of General [[Frederik Johan van Baer|Slangenburg]],{{Sfn|Nimwegen|2020|p=285}} while the imposition of Austrian rule in Bavaria caused a brief but vicious [[Bavarian uprising of 1705–1706|peasant revolt]].{{sfn|Lynn|1999|pp=298–299}} In May 1706, the French were comprehensively defeated at [[Battle of Ramillies|Ramillies]] by an Allied army under Marlborough, which then occupied much of the Spanish Netherlands in under two weeks.{{sfn|Holmes|2008|pp=347–349}} France assumed a largely defensive posture for the rest of the war.{{sfn|Lynn|1999|pp=320–323}}

The 1707 campaign was without any significant events, as both parties focussed on other fronts. The French, now under Marshal Vendôme, avoided battle and Marlborough did little to force one upon them. By 1708, the focus of both sides was again almost entirely on the fighting in the Low Countries. The allies once more set their sights on breaking French fortification belts, while the French themselves planned a [[counteroffensive]]. The French operation had early successful when the French surprised the Allied garrisons at [[Ghent]] and [[Bruges]], it failed after the Allies defeated them at the [[Battle of Oudenaarde]].{{efn|This was in part possible due to the help from Flemish citizens who were dissatisfied with their new Anglo-Dutch rulers.{{sfn|Veenendaal|1950|pp=34–41}}}} In its aftermath the Allies managed to [[Siege of Lille (1708)|capture Lille]], the strongest fortress of the French fortress belts, while a [[Assault on Brussels (1708)|French assault on Brussels]] was repelled and [[Siege of Ghent (1708)|Ghent]] and Bruges recaptured.{{sfn|Nimwegen|2020|p=354}}{{sfn|Veenendaal|1950|pp=34–41}} Despite losses like Lille and other strongpoints, the French prevented the Allies from making a irreperable breach in their frontiers.{{sfn|Lynn|1999|pp=320–323}}

===Spain and Portugal===
[[File:Spain 1702-1714.png|thumb|right|upright=1.3|Peninsular Spain, showing [[Castile (historical region)|Castile]] and [[Aragon]]]]

British involvement was primarily driven by the need to protect their trade routes in the Mediterranean. By putting Archduke Charles on the Spanish throne, they also hoped to gain commercial privileges within the Spanish Empire. Despite their dynastic claim, the Austrian Habsburgs viewed securing Northern Italy and suppressing the Hungarian revolt as higher priorities. With the Dutch focusing on Flanders post-1704, this theatre was largely dependent on British naval and military support.{{sfn|Atkinson|1944|pp=233–233}}

Spain at the time was a [[personal union]] between the Crowns of [[Crown of Castile|Castile]] and [[Crown of Aragon|Aragon]]. The latter was further divided into the separate entities of [[Principality of Catalonia|Catalonia]], [[Kingdom of Aragon|Aragon]], [[Kingdom of Valencia|Valencia]], [[Kingdom of Majorca|Majorca]], [[Kingdom of Sicily|Sicily]], [[Kingdom of Naples|Naples]], and [[Kingdom of Sardinia (1324–1720)|Sardinia]]. In 1701, Majorca, Naples, Sicily, and Sardinia declared for Philip, while a mixture of anti-Castilian and anti-French sentiment meant the others supported Archduke Charles, the most important being Catalonia. Allied victory at [[Battle of Vigo Bay|Vigo Bay]] in October 1702 persuaded [[Peter II of Portugal]] to switch sides, giving them an operational base in this area.{{sfn|Francis|1965|pp=71–93}}

Archduke Charles landed at [[Lisbon]] in March 1704 to begin a land campaign, while the British-Dutch [[capture of Gibraltar]] was a significant blow to Bourbon prestige. An attempt to retake it was defeated [[Battle of Vélez-Málaga|in August]], with a [[Twelfth siege of Gibraltar|land siege]] being abandoned in April 1705.{{sfn|Lynn|1999|p=296}} The 1705 [[Pact of Genoa]] between Catalan representatives and Britain opened a second front in the north-east; the loss of [[Siege of Barcelona (1705)|Barcelona]] and Valencia left [[Toulon]] as the only major port available to the Bourbons in the Western Mediterranean. Philip [[Siege of Barcelona (1706)|tried to retake Barcelona]] in May 1706 but was repulsed, while his absence allowed an Allied force from Portugal to enter Madrid and [[Zaragoza]].{{sfn|Lynn|1999|p=302}}

However, lack of popular support and logistical issues meant the Allies could not hold territory away from the coastline, and by November, Philip controlled Castile, [[Kingdom of Murcia|Murcia]], and parts of Valencia. Allied efforts to regain the initiative ended with defeat at [[Battle of Almansa|Almansa]] in April 1707, followed by an unsuccessful [[Siege of Toulon (1707)|siege of Toulon]] in August. Despite these failures, control of Gibraltar and the [[Capture of Menorca (1708)|capture of Menorca]] in 1708 allowed the [[Royal Navy]] to dominate the Western Mediterranean. Since many British politicians considered this their primary objective, they became reluctant to approve further expensive land campaigns in this theatre.{{sfn|Atkinson|1944|pp=233–233}}

===War beyond Europe and related conflicts===
[[File:Caribbean general map.png|thumb|left|upright=1.0|The [[West Indies]]; the huge profits associated with sugar production made this area highly significant.]]

The close links between war and trade meant conflict extended beyond Europe, particularly in North America, where it is known as [[Queen Anne's War]], and the [[West Indies]], which [[Sugar plantations in the Caribbean|produced sugar]], then a hugely profitable commodity. Also, there were minor trade conflicts in South America, India, and Asia; the financial strains of war particularly affected the [[Dutch East India Company]], as it was a huge drain on scarce naval resources. The war in Europe also
coincided with Dutch involvement in the [[First Javanese War of Succession|War of Javanese Succession]].

Related conflicts include [[Rákóczi's War of Independence]] in [[Kingdom of Hungary (1526-1867)|Hungary]], which was funded by France and a serious concern for the Habsburgs throughout the war. In South-Eastern France, Britain funded the [[Huguenot]] 1704–1710 [[Camisard rebellion]]; one objective of the 1707 campaign in Northern Italy and Southern France was to support this revolt, one of a series that began in the 1620s.