The campaign began well for Louis XIV's generals: in Italy Marshal Vendôme had defeated the Austrians at the Battle of Calcinato in April, while in Alsace Marshal Villars had forced the Margrave of Baden back across the Rhine.

While Villars wanted to immediately move to secure the Alpine passes against Austrian reinforcements by moving against Mantua, Charles Emmanuel, mistrustful of his French allies and their dealings with Spain, sought to secure Milan.

Villars attempted to interest Don Carlos of Parma in joining the expedition against Mantua, but Carlos was focused on the campaign into Naples.

Once again Marlborough and Villars formed against each other in line of battle, this time along the Avesnes-le-Comte – Arras sector of the lines of Non Plus Ultra ( see map ).

It resulted in a French victory under Marshal Villars against Austrian and Dutch forces under Prince Eugene of Savoy.

The First Battle of Höchstädt was fought on 30 September 1703, near Höchstädt in Bavaria, and resulted in a French-Bavarian victory under Marshal Villars against the Austrians under General Limburg Styrum.

Villars responded by retreating from Mantua and attempted without success to interrupt the Austrian army's crossing of the Po River.

France's great general, the Duke de Villars, joined Charles Emmanuel in Milan on November 11.

Villars, frustrated by Charles Emmanuel's delaying tactics, quit the army on May 27.

On 6 August 1576, Charles married Henriette of Savoy, Marquise of Villars.

But the Austrian monarchy faced severe peril on several fronts in 1703: by June the Duke of Villars had reinforced the Elector of Bavaria on the Danube thus posing a direct threat to Vienna, while Vendôme remained at the head a large army in northern Italy opposing Guido Starhemberg's weak Imperial force.

Louis William, Margrave of Baden-Baden was forced to withdraw across the Rhine, where he was defeated by a French army under Claude-Louis-Hector de Villars at Friedlingen.

A combined Franco-Bavarian army under Villars and Max Emanuel of Bavaria defeated Imperial armies under Louis of Baden and Hermann Styrum, but the Elector's timidity prevented a march on Vienna, which led to Villars's resignation.

French victories in south Germany continued after Villars ' resignation, however, with a new army under Camille de Tallard victorious in the Electorate of the Palatinate.

The command of the French northern army went to Marshal Villars in 1709, who wasted no time in seeing to its reorganization.

At dawn, however, Villars swung the line of advance of his army and aimed it ( behind the cover of the Selle ) in three columns at Denain.

Villars and Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria, moved their army to intercept this force, ordering another French force of 7, 000 men under d ' Usson near Dillingen to attack from the rear.

However, Villars and Maximilian Emanuel arrived just in time, falling upon the Imperial army before it could adjust its positions.

Unable to bring the French army under Marshal Villars to battle owing to strong French defensive lines and the Marshal's orders from Versailles not to risk battle, the Duke of Marlborough concentrated instead on taking the fortresses of Tournai and Ypres.

The allied army, mainly consisting of Dutch and Austrian troops, but also with considerable British and Prussian contingents, was led by Marlborough and Prince Eugene of Savoy, while the French and a contingent of Bavarians were commanded by Villars and Marshal Boufflers.

In 1704, Marshal Villars, the royal commander, offered Cavalier vague concessions to the Protestants and the promise of a command in the royal army.

He later led the imperial army in the War of the Spanish Succession where he captured Landau in September 1702, but soon had to withdraw across the Rhine and was defeated by the French under the Duke of Villars at Friedlingen.

Here he displayed the highest skill, and after Villars was wounded he conducted the retreat of the French army without losing either cannon or prisoners.

The “ Lines of Wissembourg ,” () () originally made by Villars in 1706, were famous.

He was made lieutenant-general in 1710, and served with Villars in the last campaign of the war and at the Battle of Denain.

After the revolution of 1830 he made out that he was a partisan of Louis Philippe, who welcomed his support and revived for him the title of Marshal-General ( previously only held by Turenne, Claude Louis Hector de Villars and Maurice de Saxe ).

It was Villars ' part in the next war, beginning with Friedlingen ( 1702 ) and Hochstadt ( 1703 ) and ending with Denain ( 1712 ), that has made him most famous.

But Louis made a last effort, the English contingent and its great leader were withdrawn from the enemy's camp, and Villars, though still suffering from his Malplaquet wounds, outmanoeuvered and decisively defeated Eugène at Denain.

Villars played a conspicuous part in the politics of the Regency period as the principal opponent of Cardinal Dubois, and only the memories of Montmorency's rebellion prevented his being made constable of France.

It was at this moment that Marshal Villars, wishing to put an end to the terrible struggle, opened negotiations, and Cavalier was induced to attend a conference at Pont d ' Avne near Alais on May 11, 1704, and on May 16 he made submission at Nîmes.

The previous year had been one of success for France and her allies, most particularly on the Danube, where Marshal Villars and the Elector of Bavaria had created a direct threat to Vienna, the Habsburg capital.

Vienna had been saved by dissension between the two commanders, leading to the brilliant Villars being replaced by the less dynamic Marshal Marsin.

With Marshal Villars sitting strong on the Moselle, the Allied commander – whose supplies had by now become critical – was forced to call off his campaign on 16 June.

" With Marlborough ’ s departure north, the French now transferred troops from the Moselle valley to reinforce Villeroi in Flanders, while Villars marched off to the Rhine.

In Alsace, Marshal Villars took Baden by surprise and captured Haguenau, driving him back across the Rhine in some disorder, thus creating a threat on Landau.

In the words of Marshal Villars, the French defeat at Ramillies was – " The most shameful, humiliating and disastrous of routs.

Meanwhile, on the Upper Rhine, Villars had been forced onto the defensive as battalion after battalion had been sent north to bolster collapsing French forces in Flanders ; there was now no possibility of his undertaking the re-capture of Landau.

* 1653 – Claude Louis Hector de Villars, Duke of Villars, French general, Marshal General of France ( d. 1734 )

File: Pauli. jpg | Wolfgang Pauli ( 1900-1958 ): pioneers of quantum physics, received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1945 ( nominated by Albert Einstein ), formulated the Pauli exclusion principle involving spin theory ( underpinning the structure of matter and the whole of chemistry ), published the Pauli – Villars regularization, formulated the Pauli equation, coined the phrase ' not even wrong '

Afterwards, his general Marshal Villars managed to turn the tide in favour of France.

It was marked by the military leadership of notable generals including the Duc de Villars, the Jacobite Duke of Berwick, the Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene of Savoy.

The Claude Louis Hector de Villars | Duc de Villars leads his cavalry to victory at the Battle of Battle of Friedlingen | Friedlingen, illustration by Richard Caton Woodville.