September 1, 1701 · Italy Theater

Prince Eugene of Savoy's Imperial army, entrenched behind the walls and earthworks of Chiari in Lombardy, repulsed a massive French and Spanish frontal assault under Marshal Villeroi. Eugene held his fire until the attackers were at close range, then unleashed devastating volleys that shattered the assault in under an hour.

August 15, 1702 · Italy Theater

Eugene attacked Vendôme's Franco-Spanish army near the Po River in a bloody engagement lasting much of the day. Both sides suffered heavy casualties and neither could claim a decisive advantage. Eugene's attack failed to break Vendôme's line, while Vendôme lacked the strength to counterattack effectively.

August 13, 1704 · Bavaria Theater

In the greatest Allied victory of the war, Marlborough and Eugene destroyed the Franco-Bavarian army on the banks of the Danube near the village of Blindheim. Marlborough pinned the French flanks by feinting at the villages of Blenheim and Oberglau, drawing in Tallard's reserves, then shattered the weakened French center with a massive cavalry charge. Marshal Tallard was captured. Thirteen thousand French and Bavarian soldiers were killed or wounded; fourteen thousand more, trapped in the village of Blenheim, surrendered.

May 23, 1706 · Spanish Netherlands Theater

Marlborough delivered the most complete tactical victory of his career in under ninety minutes. Attacking Villeroi's army along a curved front near Ramillies, Marlborough exploited the interior lines his position gave him — secretly shifting troops from his right to his center and left while fixing the French right with a feint. The French center and left collapsed under concentrated Allied pressure. Villeroi's army disintegrated into a rout that became a catastrophe.

September 7, 1706 · Italy Theater

Eugene led a daring relief march to relieve the besieged Piedmontese capital, then attacked the French siege lines surrounding Turin with his Imperial army. Catching the French outside their own trenches, Eugene's assault shattered the besieging force. Marshal Marsin was mortally wounded and captured. The French abandoned all their guns and equipment as they fled.

July 11, 1708 · Spanish Netherlands Theater

In Marlborough's most tactically complex victory, Allied forces caught the French army while it was still crossing the Scheldt River and fought an improvised battle that evolved into an encirclement. Marlborough's left wing engaged the French while Eugene raced cavalry around the French flank. By nightfall, nearly 25,000 French troops were cut off in the encirclement — though darkness allowed many to escape.

August 12 – December 9, 1708 · Spanish Netherlands Theater

The siege of Lille — Vauban's masterpiece of fortification and France's second city — was the most technically demanding operation of the war. Eugene conducted the siege while Marlborough covered against French relief attempts. The garrison under Marshal Boufflers conducted a heroic defense of both the town (surrendered October 22) and the citadel (surrendered December 9). Allied casualties in the operation exceeded 15,000.

September 11, 1709 · Spanish Netherlands Theater

The bloodiest battle of the war and one of the bloodiest of the century. Allied forces attacked Villars's entrenched French army in woodland near the village of Malplaquet. Though the Allies ultimately broke the French position and Villars himself was wounded, the cost was staggering — over 24,000 Allied casualties against approximately 12,000 French. The French retreated in good order, having inflicted terrible punishment.

December 9, 1710 · Spain Theater

Vendôme cut off and surrounded the British contingent of the Allied army in Spain under General Stanhope at the town of Brihuega. After a short defense, Stanhope's force of some 5,000 men was forced to surrender. The following day at Villa Viciosa, the main Allied army under Starhemberg was also defeated. The twin defeats effectively ended Allied hopes of placing Archduke Charles on the Spanish throne.

July 24, 1712 · Spanish Netherlands Theater

With Britain having secretly withdrawn from the war, Eugene commanded a reduced Allied force near Denain. Villars identified a weakness in the Allied supply line and struck with full force at the garrison of Denain before Eugene could bring relief. The Allied garrison was overrun and some 5,000 men were lost. Eugene watched from across the river, unable to intervene in time.

April 11, 1713 · Diplomatic Theater

The Peace of Utrecht ended the War of the Spanish Succession through a series of bilateral treaties signed in the Dutch city of Utrecht. Philip V was confirmed as King of Spain but renounced the French succession, preventing the union of the two crowns. Britain gained Gibraltar, Minorca, Nova Scotia, Hudson Bay, Newfoundland, and the Asiento (the right to supply enslaved Africans to Spanish colonies).