John Churchill, first Duke of Marlborough is, arguably, the greatest English General of the modern era. His famous victories over the French at the Battles of Blenheim, Ramillies, Oudenarde and Malplaquet were just the icing on a glittering military career that covered a period when a professional army was being established in Great Britain. He was fundamentally important to its development and in providing it with a fearsome reputation that ranked alongside that of Britain’s growing naval power.

During the War of Spanish Succession (1701-1714) it became apparent that neither the Dutch nor the Austrians were capable of withstanding the might of France and Spain without British assistance. By the end of this war, largely thanks to the efforts of Marlborough, Britain became, alongside France, one of the outstanding European powers setting the scene for a worldwide conflict between these two countries for the remainder of the eighteenth century.