Editing Battle of Blenheim (section)

===Strategy===
[[Image:Prinz Eugene of Savoy.PNG|thumb|180px|[[Prince Eugene of Savoy]] (1663–1736) by [[Jacob van Schuppen]]. Prince Eugene met Marlborough for the first time in 1704. It was the start of a lifelong personal and professional friendship.]]

On 10 June, Marlborough met for the first time the President of the [[Imperial War Council]], Prince Eugene – accompanied by Count Wratislaw – at the village of [[Mundelsheim]], halfway between the Danube and the Rhine.{{sfn|Falkner|2004|p=23}} By 13 June, the Imperial Field Commander, Margrave Louis William of Baden, had joined them in [[Weinstadt|Großheppach]].{{sfn|Falkner|2004|p=25}}{{efn|Prince Eugene had doubts about the reliability of Margrave Louis William, for he was a close friend of Maximilian. It was even suspected that Margrave Louis William was secretly corresponding with his old comrade.{{sfn|Falkner|2004|p=25}}}} The three generals commanded a force of nearly 110,000 men. At this conference, it was decided that Prince Eugene would return with 28,000 men to the Lines of Stollhofen on the Rhine to watch Villeroi and Tallard and prevent them going to the aid of the Franco-Bavarian army on the Danube. Meanwhile, Marlborough's and Margrave Louis William's forces would combine, totalling 80,000 men, and march on the Danube to seek out Maximilian II and Marsin before they could be reinforced.{{sfn|Chandler|2003|p=132}}

Knowing Marlborough's destination, Tallard and Villeroi met at [[Landau]] in the [[Electoral Palatinate|Palatinate]] on 13 June to construct a plan to save Bavaria. The rigidity of the French command system was such that any variations from the original plan had to be sanctioned by Versailles.{{sfn|Chandler|2003|p=133}} The [[Jean-Philippe-Eugène de Mérode-Westerloo|Count of Mérode-Westerloo]], commander of the [[Flemish people|Flemish]] troops in Tallard's army, wrote "One thing is certain: we delayed our march from Alsace for far too long and quite inexplicably."{{sfn|Chandler|2003|p=133}} Approval from [[Louis XIV|King Louis]] arrived on 27 June: Tallard was to reinforce Marsin and Maximilian II on the Danube via the Black Forest, with 40 battalions and 50 squadrons; Villeroi was to pin down the Allies defending the Lines of Stollhofen, or, if the Allies should move all their forces to the Danube, he was to join with Tallard; Coigny with 8,000 men would protect Alsace. On 1 July Tallard's army of 35,000 re-crossed the Rhine at [[Kehl]] and began its march.{{sfn|Chandler|2003|p=133}}

On 22 June, Marlborough's forces linked up with the Imperial forces at Launsheim, having covered {{cvt|250|mi|km|order=flip}} in five weeks.{{sfn|Lynn|2013|p=287}}{{efn|Lynn (2013, p. 290) states that the march-rate was not unprecedented for the period, averaging {{cvt|7+1/2|mi|km|0|order=flip}} per day. What stands out was the total distance covered and the fine condition of the troops when they arrived.}} Thanks to a carefully planned timetable, the effects of wear and tear had been kept to a minimum. Captain Parker described the march discipline: "As we marched through the country of our Allies, commissars were appointed to furnish us with all manner of necessaries for man and horse ... the soldiers had nothing to do but pitch their tents, boil kettles and lie down to rest."{{sfn|Chandler|2003|p=131}}{{efn|The Allied march was not without loss; some 900 men were lost to desertion or sickness, though this figure was low considering the length and pace of the march over bad roads and in poor weather and many of the sick later rejoined the army.{{sfn|Falkner|2014|p=52}}}} In response to Marlborough's manoeuvres, Maximilian and Marsin, conscious of their numerical disadvantage with only 40,000 men, moved their forces to the entrenched camp at [[Dillingen an der Donau|Dillingen]] on the north bank of the Danube. Marlborough could not attack Dillingen because of a lack of [[siege gun]]s – he had been unable to bring any from the Low Countries, and Margrave Louis William had failed to supply any, despite prior assurances that he would.{{sfn|Falkner|2004|p=26}}

[[Image:Marlborough's assault on Schellenberg, 2 July 1704.gif|thumb|left|250px|An Allied assault on the Schellenberg – taken by [[coup de main]] on 2 July – provided the Allies with an excellent river crossing.]]

The Allies needed a base for provisions and a good river crossing. Consequently, on 2 July Marlborough [[Battle of Schellenberg|stormed the fortress of Schellenberg]] on the heights above the town of [[Donauwörth]]. [[Jean Baptist, Comte d'Arco|Count Jean d'Arco]] had been sent with 12,000 men from the Franco-Bavarian camp to hold the town and grassy hill, but after a fierce battle, with heavy casualties on both sides, Schellenberg fell. This forced Donauwörth to surrender shortly afterward. Maximilian, knowing his position at Dillingen was now not tenable, took up a position behind the strong fortifications of Augsburg.{{sfn|Falkner|2004|p=40}}

Tallard's march presented a dilemma for Prince Eugene. If the Allies were not to be outnumbered on the Danube, he realised that he had to either try to cut Tallard off before he could get there, or to reinforce Marlborough.{{sfn|Henderson|1966|p=103}} If he withdrew from the Rhine to the Danube, Villeroi might also make a move south to link up with Maximilian and Marsin. Prince Eugene compromised{{snd}}leaving 12,000 troops behind guarding the Lines of Stollhofen{{snd}}he marched off with the rest of his army to forestall Tallard.{{sfn|Henderson|1966|p=103}}

Lacking in numbers, Prince Eugene could not seriously disrupt Tallard's march but the French marshal's progress was proving slow. Tallard's force had suffered considerably more than Marlborough's troops on their march – many of his cavalry horses were suffering from [[glanders]] and the mountain passes were proving tough for the 2,000 wagonloads of provisions. Local German peasants, angry at French plundering, compounded Tallard's problems, leading Mérode-Westerloo to bemoan – "the enraged peasantry killed several thousand of our men before the army was clear of the Black Forest."{{sfn|Chandler|2003|p=131}}

At Augsburg, Maximilian was informed on 14 July that Tallard was on his way through the Black Forest. This good news bolstered his policy of inaction, further encouraging him to wait for the reinforcements.{{sfn|Chandler|2003|p=139}} This reticence to fight induced Marlborough to undertake a controversial policy of spoliation in Bavaria, burning buildings and crops throughout the rich lands south of the Danube. This had two aims: firstly to put pressure on Maximilian to fight or come to terms before Tallard arrived with reinforcements; and secondly, to ruin Bavaria as a base from which the French and Bavarian armies could attack Vienna, or pursue Marlborough into [[Franconia]] if, at some stage, he had to withdraw northwards.{{sfn|Falkner|2004|p=41}} But this destruction, coupled with a protracted siege of the town of [[Rain (Lech)|Rain]] over 9 to 16 July, caused Prince Eugene to lament "...&nbsp;since the Donauwörth action I cannot admire their performances", and later to conclude "If he has to go home without having achieved his objective, he will certainly be ruined."{{sfn|Spencer|2005|p=215}}