Marlborough, realising the only way to ignore Dutch wishes was by the use of secrecy and guile, set out to deceive his Dutch allies by pretending to simply move his troops to the Moselle – a plan approved of by The Hague – but once there, he would slip the Dutch leash and link up with Austrian forces in southern Germany.

This force was to be augmented en route such that by the time Marlborough reached the Danube, it would number 40, 000 ( 47 battalions, 88 squadrons ).

However, Marlborough was convinced of the urgency – " I am very sensible that I take a great deal upon me ", he had earlier written to Godolphin, " but should I act otherwise, the Empire would be undone ..."

Marlborough could not attack Dillingen because of a lack of siege guns – he was unable to bring any from the Low Countries, and Baden had failed to supply any despite assurances to the contrary.

Marlborough knew it was necessary that another crossing point over the Danube would be required in case Donauwörth fell to the enemy.

" By a series of brilliant marches Marlborough concentrated his forces on Donauwörth and, by noon 11 August, the link-up was complete.

Some Allied officers who were acquainted with the superior numbers of the enemy, and aware of their strong defensive position, ventured to remonstrate with Marlborough about the hazards of attacking ; but the Duke was resolute – " I know the danger, yet a battle is absolutely necessary, and I rely on the bravery and discipline of the troops, which will make amends for our disadvantages ".

The Allied commanders agreed that Marlborough would command 36, 000 troops and attack Tallard's force of 33, 000 on the left ( including capturing the village of Blenheim ), whilst Eugene, commanding 16, 000 men would attack the Elector and Marsin's combined forces of 23, 000 troops on the right wing ; if this attack was pressed hard the Elector and Marsin would have no troops to send to aid Tallard on their right.

However, Marlborough would have to wait until Eugene was in position before the general engagement could begin.

The last thing Tallard expected that morning was to be attacked by the Allies – deceived by intelligence gathered from prisoners taken by de Silly the previous day, and assured in their strong natural position, Tallard and his colleagues were convinced that Marlborough and Eugene were about to retreat north-eastwards towards Nördlingen.

The plan was sound if all its parts were implemented, but it allowed Marlborough to cross the Nebel without serious interference and fight the battle he had in mind.

Whilst these events around Blenheim and Lutzingen were taking place, Marlborough was preparing to cross the Nebel.

Count Horn's Dutch infantry managed to push the French back from the water's edge, but it was apparent that before Marlborough could launch his main effort against Tallard, Oberglauheim would have to be secured.

There was now a pause in the battle: Marlborough wanted to concert the attack upon the whole front, and Eugene, after his second repulse, needed time to reorganize.

With the battle still not won, Marlborough had to rebuke one of his cavalry officers who was attempting to leave the field – " Sir, you are under a mistake, the enemy lies that way ..." Now, at the Duke's command, the second Allied line under von Bulow and the Count of Ost-Friese was ordered forward, and, driving through the centre, the Allies finally put Tallard's tired horse to rout, not without cost.

Surrounded by a squadron of Hessian troops, Tallard surrendered to Lieutenant-Colonel de Boinenburg, the Prince of Hesse-Kassel's aide-de-camp, and was sent under escort to Marlborough.

During these events Marlborough was still in the saddle conducting the pursuit of the broken enemy.

" Nevertheless, although the war dragged on for years, the Battle of Blenheim was probably its most decisive victory ; Marlborough and Eugene, working indivisibly together, had saved the Habsburg Empire and thereby preserved the Grand Alliance from collapse.

Realising that France was too powerful to be forced to make peace by a single victory, however, Eugene, Marlborough and Baden met to plan their next moves.

The reluctance of his Dutch allies to see their frontiers denuded of troops for another gamble in Germany had denied Marlborough the initiative, but of far greater importance was the Margrave of Baden ’ s pronouncement that he could not join the Duke in strength for the coming offensive.

The Anglo-Dutch forces gained minor compensation for the failed Moselle campaign with the success at 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 had eluded Marlborough.

Far from standing on the defensive therefore – and unbeknown to Marlborough – Louis XIV was persistently goading his marshal into action.

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 ).

The following day, at 01: 00, Marlborough dispatched Cadogan, his Quartermaster-General, with an advanced guard to reconnoitre the same dry ground that Villeroi ’ s army was now heading, country that was well known to the Duke from previous campaigns.

Realising the danger, the Duke of Marlborough resolved to alleviate the peril to Vienna by marching his forces south from Bedburg and help maintain Emperor Leopold within the Grand Alliance.

Portrait of the Duke of Marlborough by Adriaen van der Werff ( December 1704 ) Uffizi

Marlborough skillfully encouraged this apprehension by constructing bridges across the Rhine at Philippsburg, a ruse that not only encouraged Villeroi to come to Tallard's aid in the defence of Alsace, but one that ensured the French plan to march on Vienna remained paralysed by uncertainty.

The Duke of Marlborough had intended the 1705 campaign – an invasion of France through the Moselle valley – to complete the work of Blenheim and persuade King Louis XIV to make peace, but the plan had been thwarted by both friend and foe alike.

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.

Marlborough wrote an appeal to the 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 …" Additionally, the King in Prussia, Frederick I, had kept his troops in quarters behind the Rhine while his personal disputes with Vienna and the States-General at The Hague remained unresolved.

John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough ( 1650 – 1722 ) by Sir Godfrey Kneller.

Also facing Ramillies Marlborough placed a powerful battery of thirty 24-pounders, dragged into position by a team of oxen ; further batteries were positioned overlooking the Petite Gheete.

On their left, on the broad plain between Taviers and Ramillies – and where Marlborough thought the decisive encounter must take place – Overkirk drew the 69 squadrons of the Dutch and Danish horse, supported by 19 battalions of Dutch infantry and two artillery pieces.

After a brief pause, Marlborough ’ s equerry, Colonel Bringfield ( or Bingfield ), led up another of the Duke ’ s spare horses ; but while assisting him onto his mount, the unfortunate Bringfield was hit by an errant cannonball that sheared off his head.

Marlborough realised the great opportunity created by the early victory of Ramillies: " We now have the whole summer before us ," wrote the Duke from Brussels to Robert Harley, " and with the blessing of God I shall make the best use of it.

The dukedom was created in 1702 by Queen Anne ; John Churchill, whose wife was a favourite of the queen, had earlier been made Lord Churchill of Eyemouth in the Scottish peerage ( 1682 ), which became extinct with his death, and Earl of Marlborough ( 1689 ) by King William III.

* Henrietta Godolphin, 2nd Duchess of Marlborough ( 1681 – 1733 ), eldest daughter of the 1st Duke, succeeded her father by Act of Parliament ( 1706 )

She had famous subsequent disagreements with many important people, including her daughter the second Duchess of Marlborough ; the architect of Blenheim Palace, John Vanbrugh ; prime minister Robert Walpole ; King George II ; and his wife, Queen Caroline.

The primary settlement in town, where 1, 094 people resided at the 2010 census, is defined as the Marlborough census-designated place ( CDP ) and is located at the junction of New Hampshire routes 101 and 124.

As of the census of 2000, there were 1, 089 people, 467 households, and 295 families residing in the CDP, or main village of Marlborough.

The people of Marlborough favoured a coastal route and began work south, while in Canterbury, work initially began on an inland route, with Waipara linked to Culverden in 1886.