Editing Battle of Ramillies (section)

===On the move===
[[File:Low Countries 1700.png|thumb|Map of the Low Countries during the War of the Spanish Succession. The village of Ramillies lies near the Mehaigne, a tributary of the Meuse.{{imagefact|date=December 2022}}]]

The Duke left [[The Hague]] on 9 May. "God knows I go with a heavy heart," he wrote six days later to his friend and political ally in England, Lord [[Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin|Godolphin]], "for I have no hope of doing anything considerable, unless the French do what I am very confident they will not{{nbs}}..."{{snd}}in other words, court battle.<ref>Barnett: ''Marlborough'', 160</ref> On 17 May the Duke concentrated his Dutch and English troops at [[Tongeren]], near [[Maastricht]]. The Hanoverians, Hessians and Danes, despite earlier undertakings, found, or invented, pressing reasons for withholding their support.<ref name=chandler168/> Marlborough wrote an appeal to the [[Carl Rudolf, Duke of Württemberg-Neuenstadt|Duke of Württemberg]], the commander of the Danish contingent: "I send you this express to request your Highness to bring forward by a double march your cavalry so as to join us at the earliest moment{{nbs}}..."<ref>Falkner: ''Ramillies 1706: Year of Miracles'', 38</ref> Additionally, the King ''in'' Prussia, [[Frederick I of Prussia|Frederick I]], had kept his troops in quarters behind the Rhine while his personal disputes with Vienna and the [[States General of the Netherlands|States General]] at The Hague remained unresolved. Nevertheless, the Duke could think of no circumstances why the French would leave their strong positions and attack his army, even if Villeroi was first reinforced by substantial transfers from Marsin's command.<ref>Chandler: ''Marlborough as Military Commander'', 170</ref> But in this he had miscalculated. Although Louis{{nbs}}XIV wanted peace he wanted it on reasonable terms; for that, he needed victory in the field and to convince the Allies that his resources were by no means exhausted.<ref>Trevelyan: ''England Under Queen Anne: Ramillies and the Union with Scotland'', 103</ref>
[[File:John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, Captain-General of the English forces and Master-General of the Ordnance, 1702 (c), attributed to Michael Dahl 91996.jpg|thumb|left|''John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough'' (1650–1722) possibly by [[Michael Dahl]]]]

Following the successes in Italy and along the Rhine, Louis{{nbs}}XIV was now hopeful of similar results in Flanders. Far from standing on the defensive therefore{{snd}}and unbeknown to Marlborough{{snd}}Louis{{nbs}}XIV was persistently goading his marshal into action. "[Villeroi] began to imagine," wrote [[Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon|St Simon]], "that the King doubted his courage, and resolved to stake all at once in an effort to vindicate himself."<ref>Saint-Simon: ''Memoirs, vol i'', 298</ref> Accordingly, on 18 May, Villeroi set off from [[Leuven]] at the head of 70 [[battalion]]s, 132 [[Squadron (cavalry)|squadron]]s and 62 [[cannon]]{{snd}}comprising an overall force of some 60,000 troops{{snd}}and crossed the river [[Dijle|Dyle]] to seek battle with the enemy. Spurred on by his growing confidence in his ability to out-general his opponent, and by [[Palace of Versailles|Versailles]]’ determination to avenge Blenheim, Villeroi and his generals anticipated success.<ref>Villeroi was convinced that Marlborough had won the Battle of Blenheim by mere chance.</ref>

Neither opponent expected the clash at the exact moment or place where it occurred.<ref name=chandler172>Chandler: ''Marlborough as Military Commander'', 172</ref> The French moved first to [[Tienen]], (as if to threaten [[Zoutleeuw]], abandoned by the French in October 1705), before turning southwards, heading for [[Jodoigne]]{{snd}}this line of march took Villeroi's army towards the narrow aperture of dry ground between the rivers [[Mehaigne]] and Petite [[Gete|Gette]] close to the small villages of Ramillies and Taviers; but neither commander quite appreciated how far his opponent had travelled. Villeroi still believed (on 22 May) the Allies were a full day's march away when in fact they had camped near Corswaren waiting for the Danish squadrons to catch up; for his part, Marlborough deemed Villeroi still at Jodoigne when in reality he was now approaching the plateau of Mont St. André with the intention of pitching camp near Ramillies (see map at right).<ref name=chandler172/> However, the Prussian infantry was not there. Marlborough wrote to [[Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford (1672–1739)|Lord Raby]], the English resident at Berlin: "If it should please God to give us victory over the enemy, the Allies will be little obliged to the King [Frederick] for the success."<ref>Trevelyan: ''England Under Queen Anne: Ramillies and the Union with Scotland'', 104</ref>

The following day, at 01:00, Marlborough dispatched [[William Cadogan, 1st Earl Cadogan|Cadogan]], his Quartermaster-General, with an advanced guard to reconnoitre the same dry ground that Villeroi's army was now heading toward, country that was well known to the Duke from previous campaigns. Two hours later the Duke followed with the main body: 74 battalions, 123 squadrons, 90 pieces of artillery and 20 mortars, totalling 62,000 troops.<ref name=barnett161>Barnett: ''Marlborough'', 161</ref> About 08:00, after Cadogan had just passed Merdorp, his force made brief contact with a party of French [[hussar]]s gathering forage on the edge of the plateau of Jandrenouille. After a brief exchange of shots the French retired and Cadogan's dragoons pressed forward. With a short lift in the mist, Cadogan soon discovered the smartly ordered lines of Villeroi's advance guard some {{convert|6|km|mi|0|abbr=off}} off; a galloper hastened back to warn Marlborough. Two hours later the Duke, accompanied by the Dutch field commander Field Marshal [[Henry de Nassau, Lord Overkirk|Overkirk]], Quartermaster-General [[Daniël van Dopff]], and the Allied staff, rode up to Cadogan where on the horizon to the westward he could discern the massed ranks of the French army deploying for battle along the {{convert|6|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} front.<ref name=barnett161/> Marlborough later told Bishop Burnet: "The French army looked the best of any he had ever seen."<ref>Trevelyan: ''England Under Queen Anne: Ramillies and the Union with Scotland'', 106</ref>