BLENHEIM

The battle of Blenheim, the Duke of Marlborough's ingenious victory, broke the back of the French army and climaxed two years of war between Britain and France. Known as the War of the Spanish Succession, hostilities dragged on for several more years, with Marlborough's fame glowing ever brighter in further victories. But it was at Blenheim that his brilliance in the field was established -- both for the innovations he brought about in equipment and for his daring attack upon arrival at Blenheim before the enemy could complete its earthwork defenses. Subsequently his reputation was blackened by Macauley and whitewashed by his great descendant Sir Winston Churchill. The story of the battle for the Danube is told in great detail, with many illustrations from wallhangings the Duke had sewn to his specifications, showing the exact disposition of troops. Few American readers will be quite as galvanized as British war buffs, since the tableau is stuffed with forgotten leaders whom one can hardly keep track of from one page to the next, and the troop movements are even more leaden.