It was the start of a friendship that would alter the course of European history. On the afternoon of June 10, 1704, John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, and supreme commander of the English army, met his ally, Prince François-Eugène of Savoy-Carignan, in Mannheim, a sleepy little village in southern Germany. It was the second year of the War of Spanish Succession, a conflict that pitted King Louis XIV’s France against England, the Republic of the United Seven Netherlands and the Hapsburg Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I. Marlborough and Eugene of Savoy were the principal generals in the anti-French coalition, and what they decided at Mannheim would determine the course of the campaign.

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The rendezvous was conducted with a kind of Baroque splendor that typified the age. Bewigged and beribboned officers bowed low and doffed their hats, and the air was filled with courtly compliments. All eyes were drawn to Marlborough and Eugene as the main actors in the unfolding drama — and the contrasts between the two men could not have been more startling.

Prince Eugene of Savoy was 41, a swarthy little man of mixed Italian-French extraction. His long hawkish face and prominent nose were framed by a luxuriant peruke, yet his shabby brown coat gave him an almost monkish appearance — ironic, since Louis XIV had once called him ‘le petit abbé.’ As he talked, Eugene would plunge his hands deep into the lining of his coat pocket to extract the finely-ground Spanish snuff he carried therein. As a general in Hapsburg service, however, the unimpressive-looking Eugene had carved out a formidable military reputation.

The Duke of Marlborough was 54, a relatively old man by the life expectancy of the day. By all accounts, he was still a handsome man, youthful in looks, courtly in manner and graceful in carriage. He had a pink complexion and the slight hint of jowls, counterbalanced by a commanding gaze. Due in part to suspicions regarding his loyalty on the part of the late king of England, William III, he had seen little active campaigning in the past 10 years, but there was something about the man that inspired confidence. Since 1703, his taking of the fortresses at Venlo and Roermond in the Spanish Netherlands, and his overrunning two of Louis’ allies, the Electorate of Cologne and the Bishopric of Liège had led to his elevation from Earl to 1st Duke of Marlborough.

Marlborough played his role as host to perfection, and Eugene began to warm to this ruddy faced Englishman. The duke escorted his new friend to a lavish banquet — the diners supped on the finest silver plate and drank the choicest vintages. Amid the flickering banquet candles, a partnership was forged that would have far-reaching consequences in the future.

The war had begun when the dying king of Spain, Charles II, bequeathed his throne and overseas empire to Philippe de Bourbon, Duke of Anjou, the 17-year-old grandson of Louis XIV, and his ministers promptly declared young Philip king of Spain and the Indies. In Vienna, however, Emperor Leopold I fretted that the Spanish throne, so long a Hapsburg possession, was about to be lost to his family forever. Without a moment’s hesitation, the haughty Hapsburg declared that the Spanish throne should go to his son, Archduke Charles of Austria, who was also cousin to King Charles II of Spain. When negotiations over the disputed crown broke down, Leopold and Louis made preparations for war.

At first England and the Netherlands stood aloof, and only their participation could ignite a general European conflagration. Events took an ominous turn, however, when French troops invaded the Spanish Netherlands — present-day Belgium — and seized important border fortresses. For 40 years Louis XIV, the ‘Sun King,’ was the richest and most powerful monarch in Europe, and his brilliant reign illuminated the entire continent. Thanks to his powerful patronage, French language and culture spread throughout Europe, but if he was admired, he was also greatly feared. Louis’ seizure of the fortresses seemed a blatant act of aggression, a first step toward his achieving complete domination over Europe.

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