Prince Eugene of Savoy

September 1, 1701 · 3,200 total casualties

Chiari was Eugene's first major victory of the war and established the tactical template he would use repeatedly — entrenched defense followed by aggressive counterattack. French losses of some 3,000 men against Imperial losses of under 100 demonstrated that frontal assault on prepared positions was suicidal.

August 15, 1702 · 7,000 total casualties

Luzzara demonstrated that Vendôme was a capable commander who could hold his own against Eugene. The indecisive result left the Italian theater in stalemate and forced Eugene to seek the decisive blow elsewhere — ultimately leading to the 1704 campaign to the Danube.

August 13, 1704 · 54,000 total casualties

Blenheim was the first major French defeat in fifty years and saved Vienna from conquest. It destroyed Bourbon hopes of knocking Austria out of the war. For Marlborough, it was his defining moment — for which Queen Anne gave him Blenheim Palace. It remains one of the most tactically brilliant battles in British military history.

September 7, 1706 · 10,000 total casualties

Turin ended French power in Italy at a stroke. Eugene's victory secured the Kingdom of Savoy as a firm Allied partner and drove France out of the peninsula for the remainder of the war. It also freed Eugene to eventually move forces northward, compounding French difficulties in the Low Countries.

July 11, 1708 · 20,000 total casualties

Oudenarde opened the way for the Siege of Lille and demonstrated Marlborough's extraordinary ability to fight a major battle without a formal plan, reacting to events with intuitive brilliance. The French command was paralyzed by feuding between the talented Vendôme and the royal but incompetent Duke of Burgundy.

August 12 – December 9, 1708 · 22,000 total casualties

The fall of Lille was a devastating blow to French prestige and morale. Vauban's greatest fortress, thought impregnable, had fallen. The operation demonstrated Allied superiority in siege engineering and logistics, and it cost France irreplaceable veteran troops.

September 11, 1709 · 40,000 total casualties

Malplaquet was technically an Allied victory but felt like a defeat. Public opinion in Britain and the Dutch Republic recoiled at the casualty lists. The battle revitalized French morale, made Villars a national hero, and gave the anti-war Tory party in England the argument it needed to seek peace. It marked the turning point of the war's political momentum.

July 24, 1712 · 8,000 total casualties

Denain transformed the entire strategic picture. Villars followed up by recapturing Douai, Le Quesnoy, and Bouchain in rapid succession, erasing years of Allied gains. After Denain, France was negotiating from recovered strength rather than desperation. It stands as one of the most decisive battles of the war despite following years of French defeat.