“The battle was gained.  The allied horse rapidly inundated the open space between the two villages.  The six battalions in the middle were surrounded, cut to pieces, or taken.  They made a noble resistance; and the men were found lying on their backs in their ranks as they had stood in the field.”

Thus at one blow the whole French line of defence was broken up.  Blenheim was entirely cut off; and the rear of their left beyond Oberglau threatened.

General Marsin’s cavalry, seeing the defeat of their main body, fell back to avoid being taken in rear; and Prince Eugene, seeing the Bavarian infantry left unsupported, called up all his reserves, and advanced at the head of the Danes and Prussians against them.  The Bavarian infantry fought stubbornly, but the battle was lost, their line of retreat threatened by the allied horse, who were now masters of the field, and, setting fire to the villages of Oberglau and Lutzingen, they fell back sullenly.

In the meantime, Marshal Tallard was striving bravely to avert the defeat.  He brought up his last reserves, rallied his cavalry, and drew them up in line stretching towards Blenheim in hopes of drawing off his infantry from that village.  Marlborough brought up his whole cavalry force, and again charging them, burst through their centre, and the French cavalry, divided into two parts, fled in wild disorder—­the one portion towards the Danube, the other towards Hochstadt.  Marlborough at the head of fifty squadrons pursued the first body.  Hanpesch with thirty followed the second.  Marlborough drove the broken mass before him to the Danube, where great numbers were drowned in attempting to cross; the rest were made prisoners.  Marshal Tallard himself, with a small body of cavalry who still kept their ranks, threw himself into the village of Sonderheim, and was there captured by the victorious squadrons.  Hanpesch pursued the flying army as far as Hochstadt, captured three battalions of infantry on the way, and halted not until the French were a mere herd of fugitives, without order, riding for their lives.

There now remained only the garrison of Blenheim to dispose of, and the infantry were brought up to attack them.  So strong were the defences, however, so desperate the resistance offered by the brave body of Frenchmen, who were now alone against an army, that the infantry attack was beaten back.  The guns were then brought up, and opened fire, and the French, whose case was now hopeless, surrendered.

The battle of Blenheim was over.  In this great battle Marlborough’s army lost 5000 men, Eugene’s 6000.  In all 11,000 men.  The French and Bavarians lost in killed and wounded 12,000, together with 1200 officers and 13,000 privates made prisoners, and 47 cannon.  Their total loss, including desertions in their retreat through the Black Forest, was estimated by their own historians at 40,000 men—­a defeat as complete and disastrous as that of Waterloo.