Frank Taylor

Marlborough's Wars: Volume 1-1702-1707 Frank Taylor

Marlborough at War

It is a trait of any nation's regard for it's great men that its focus falls upon few and each eclipses those that precede it. Exceptionally, for the British, the fame of Duke of Wellington, who brought to book the great tyrant of his age, has thus far endured where fine commanders who came after him are all but forgotten in the popular mind. The names of Clive, Roberts and Kitchener are now seldom celebrated despite their deserved fame in their lifetimes. John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, perhaps suffers from belonging to an age nearly a century before Arthur Wellesley began his career. Yet in Marlborough the nation has certainly its first great military man and almost certainly one who stands equal, if not higher, than any who came after him. A political genius as well as a military one, Marlborough often managed to achieve victory when his own allies conspired to prevent him. Yet more remarkable was that Marlborough was able to cooperate with another great commander of his time, Prince Eugene of Savoy. Marlborough's Wars were fought against the ancient enemy-the military might and the pervasive influence of the France of the Bourbons.
Taylor's brilliant, substantial, detailed and comprehensive history of the campaigns of the early 18th century bring this vividly to life and takes us in volume 1, in company with Marlborough himself, his chroniclers and those who experienced the marches and battlefields of Europe with him, to the victories of Blenheim and Ramilles. This highly recommended book is essential for every student of the period. Available in soft cover or hard cover with dust jacket.