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.

Both the Imperial Austrian Ambassador in London, Count Wratislaw, and the Duke of Marlborough realised the implications of the situation on the Danube.

The John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough | Duke of Marlborough's march from Bedburg ( near Cologne ) to the Danube.

The Duke had assured the Dutch that if the French were to launch an offensive he would return in good time, but Marlborough calculated that as he marched south, the French commander would be drawn after him.

In this assumption Marlborough proved correct: Villeroi shadowed the Duke with 30, 000 men in 60 squadrons and 42 battalions.

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

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 ".

In February 1705, Queen Anne, who had made Marlborough a Duke in 1702, granted him the Park of Woodstock and promised a sum of £ 240, 000 to build a suitable house as a gift from a grateful crown in recognition of his victory – a victory which British historian Sir Edward Shepherd Creasy considered one of the pivotal battles in history, writing – " Had it not been for Blenheim, all Europe might at this day suffer under the effect of French conquests resembling those of Alexander in extent and those of the Romans in durability.

Memoirs of the Duke of Marlborough: vol. i. London, ( 1847 )

Also determined to fight a major engagement, the Duke of Marlborough, commander-in-chief of Anglo-Dutch forces, assembled his army – some 62, 000 men – near Maastricht, and marched past Zoutleeuw.

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 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 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.

With these reverses, the Dutch now refused to contemplate Marlborough ’ s ambitious march to Italy or, indeed, any plan that denuded their borders of the Duke and their army.

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.

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.

Marlborough ’ s horse tumbled and the Duke was thrown – " Milord Marlborough was rid over ," wrote Orkney some time later.

" Fortunately Marlborough ’ s newly appointed aide-de-camp, Richard Molesworth, galloped to the rescue, mounted the Duke on his horse and made good their escape, before Murray ’ s disciplined ranks threw back the pursuing French troopers.

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.

The Duke of Marlborough receives captured standards at Ramillies.

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.

By the time Marlborough had closed down the Ramillies campaign he had denied the French most of the Spanish Netherlands west of the Meuse and north of the Sambre – it was an unsurpassed operational triumph for the English Duke.

Starting in January 1863, he returned to the Boston Museum for a series of plays, including the role of the villain Duke Pescara in The Apostate that won acclaim from audiences and critics.

In 1521, Schwenckfeld began to preach the gospel, and in 1522 won Duke Friedrich II over to Protestantism.

It also added a made-for-television $ 2 million " freeroll " invitational Tournament of Champions ( TOC ) event first won by Annie Duke as a " winner-take-all " event.

Buchanan won 2, 899, 488 votes ; unpledged delegates won 287, 383 votes, and David Duke, a former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan and later leader of the National Association for the Advancement of White People group won 119, 115 votes.

The Tories won a majority in the election, but the party remained divided, and support for Prime Minister ( Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington ) was weak.

The Whigs vigorously supported the War of the Spanish Succession and became even more influential after the Duke of Marlborough won a great victory at the Battle of Blenheim in 1704.

The Duke of Wellington is often incorrectly quoted as saying that " The Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing-fields of Eton ".

On 23 May, the army under the command of Louis won the Battle of Heiligerlee in the northern province of Groningen against a Spanish army led by the stadtholder of the northern provinces, Jean de Ligne, Duke of Aremberg.

There is much debate regarding the first official Grand National ; most leading published historians, including John Pinfold, now prefer the idea that the first running was in 1836 and was won by The Duke.

Christopher left the New York stage for Hollywood to attempt to gain work in television, where he guest-starred in several well-known series, including: The Andy Griffith Show ( he portrayed a new, young doctor scheduling Opie Taylor for a tonsillectomy ) and also as an IRS agent who came to collect taxes due from Aunt Bee ( who had won some prizes on a TV show ), Death Valley Days, The Patty Duke Show, The Men from Shiloh and Good Times ( he portrayed the military doctor examining J. J. Evans ).

* Duke Kahanamoku retained the 100 m swimming title he won before the war.

In swimming, Hawaiian Duke Kahanamoku won the 100 metre freestyle for the United States, who also saw Harry Hebner win gold in the 100 metre backstroke.

Amid all these contests the wise and statesmanlike moderation of the Grand Duke Frederick won him universal esteem.

They came to England in 1676, and won the patronage of the Duke of Monmouth.

They played their first gig at Duke University's Battle of the Bands in 1988, and won.

In 1739 his father, then stationed at Gibraltar, applied for the governorship of the Province of New York ; he won the post in 1741 with the assistance of the Duke of Newcastle ( who was his brother's brother-in-law ).

Duke Ellington won three awards.

Both Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke won Academy Awards for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress for their roles as Sullivan and Keller in the 1962 film version.

Harburg and Gorney were offered a contract with Paramount: in Hollywood, Harburg worked with composers Harold Arlen, Vernon Duke, Jerome Kern, Jule Styne, and Burton Lane, and wrote the lyrics for The Wizard of Oz for which he won the Academy Award for Best Music, Original Song for Over the Rainbow.

Condemned by the critics, Lever had completely won the general reader from the Iron Duke himself downwards.

The Spanish General Rodil entered into Portugal while pursuing D. Carlos and his small force and at the same time the Duke of Terceira won the Battle of Asseiceira ( 16 May 1834 ) making D. Miguel's position critical.

* William B. Duke, enshrined in the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, trainer of Flying Ebony, winner of the Kentucky Derby in 1925, and Coventry, who won the Preakness Stakes the same year ; then winning the Travers Stakes at Saratoga in August.