Vedette · The War of the Spanish Succession · 1701–1714 · In preparation

The Intelligencer

intelligencer, n. — one who brings intelligence; a bearer of news.

Engraved cavalier view of the battle of Hochstedt (Blenheim), 13 August 1704, with a cavalry melee in the foreground and a numbered key beneath — Engraved after Jan van Huchtenburg · Tom. I, No. 19 *Vue et Représentation de la Bataille de Hochstedt donnée le 13 d’Aoust 1704.* From the series of Prince Eugene’s battles, 1727–29. Rijksmuseum.

The key, as engraved

1. Le Prince Eugenes. 2. Bleinheim. 3. Ataque du Vilage de Bleinheim par les Alliés. 4. Ataque du Village d’Oberklauw. 5. Ataque des Imperiaux. 6. Le Danube. 7. Fuite des Escadrons François à travers le Danube pres le Vilage de Sunderen ou le Marechal de Talard a eté fait prisonnier. 8. Corps de Bataille. 9. Retraite des Bavarois. 10. Bois de Schellemberg. 11. Ruisseau Nommé le Moolenwyzer. 12. Vilage de Underklauw. 13. Petite Ville de Hochstedt. 14. Ruisseau de Swanbagh.

A battle laid out for the reader at home: where the Prince was, which village was attacked and by whom, where the French squadrons broke, where Tallard was taken. That is what a Vedette scenario sheet does, three centuries on.

The affairs of the nations

A will, a throne, and a Grand Alliance

When Carlos II of Spain died in 1700 without an heir, his will left the whole Spanish inheritance — Spain, the Netherlands, Milan, Naples, the Indies — to a grandson of Louis XIV. The rest of Europe went to war to keep France and Spain from becoming one power. England, the Dutch Republic and the Emperor bound themselves in the Grand Alliance of 1701, and fought until the Peace of Utrecht in 1713 — the Emperor alone fought on to Rastatt in 1714. It was the war that made Marlborough.

Etching by Romeyn de Hooghe: a crowded court scene under the title L’Europe allarmée pour le fils d’un meunier — Romeyn de Hooghe · c. 1688–89 *L’Europe allarmée pour le fils d’un meunier* — Europe alarmed for the miller’s son: the Dutch sneer at the birth of a Catholic Prince of Wales in 1688. Louis XIV’s recognition of that same prince as James III, in 1701, was one of the reasons England went to war. Etching and letterpress. Cleveland Museum of Art.

Oval enamel miniature of the Duke of Marlborough in armour, in a gilt frame — Christian Friedrich Zincke · 1715 John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough. Enamel on copper, in its gilt frame. Cleveland Museum of Art.

The allied line: British, Dutch, Danes, Hanoverians, Prussians and Imperialists in one line of battle; French, Spanish and Bavarians in the other.
Fire by platoon: Linear tactics before the drill books settled: platoon fire against fire by ranks, and the bayonet finishing off the pike.
Cavalry with the sword: Marlborough’s squadrons were kept for the charge, not the pistol.
Sieges as often as battles: The age of Vauban and Coehoorn: lines, circumvallation, the trench and the breach.

The same series, the other battles

Engraved view of the battle of Oudenarde, 11 July 1708 — Oudenarde · 11 July 1708 Huchtenburg series. Rijksmuseum.

Engraved view of the battle of Malplaquet, 11 September 1709 — Malplaquet · 11 September 1709 Huchtenburg series. Rijksmuseum.

Engraved view of the battle of Cassano, 16 August 1705 — Cassano · 16 August 1705 Huchtenburg series. Rijksmuseum.

The Intelligencer is in preparation. Not yet on sale, and no date is promised.