Battle of Ramillies

A major Allied victory over France in the War of the Spanish Succession, fought in present-day Belgium on 23 May 1706. The defeat forced French forces to abandon much of the Spanish Netherlands.

Battle of Ramillies order of battle: The opposing forces and commanders deployed at the Battle of Ramillies. Comparing the armies clarifies how Marlborough used Allied numbers and mobility.
Spanish Netherlands: The Habsburg-controlled territories in the Low Countries that later formed much of Belgium and Luxembourg. The campaign’s immediate gains came from French-held towns across this region.
Charles II of Spain: The last Habsburg king of Spain, whose death without an heir triggered a European succession crisis. His 1700 death set the dynastic dispute behind the war in which Ramillies was fought.
Battle of Ramillies battlefield: The landscape around Ramillies in present-day Belgium where the 1706 battle was fought. The villages, streams, and open ground shaped the armies’ deployments and movements.
Battle of Oudenarde: An Allied victory over France fought near Oudenarde in the Spanish Netherlands in 1708. Oudenarde was another Marlborough victory in the Low Countries, but came two years later.
Battle of Ramillies tactics: The battlefield maneuvers used by the armies during the Battle of Ramillies. Marlborough shifted troops from the Allied right after drawing French attention there.
Siege of Antwerp (1706): The Allied capture of Antwerp during the 1706 campaign of the War of the Spanish Succession. Antwerp was among the major cities surrendered after the French defeat.
Philip V of Spain: The first Bourbon king of Spain, whose claim to the throne was challenged in the War of the Spanish Succession. His accession prompted the anti-Bourbon coalition whose armies won at Ramillies.
Battle of Ramillies casualties: The recorded human losses among the armies that fought at Ramillies. Casualty estimates convey the scale of the French defeat and Allied victory.
Battle of Malplaquet: An Allied victory over France in 1709 that caused exceptionally heavy casualties on both sides. Unlike Ramillies, Malplaquet was a costly, attritional Allied success.

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John ChurchillBroader topic: The victory enabled the Allies to capture much of the Spanish Netherlands.