' John Churchill , 1st Duke of Marlborough (possibly by John Closterman, after John Riley) Oil on canvas, feigned oval (circa 1685-1690) National Portrait Gallery, London. Purchased,1878..

'The Duke of Marlborough.(1650-1722) John Churchill's long career as soldier and statesman spanned the ranks of five monarchs , but his greatest military success came very late in his career - if he had died before he was 50 it is unlikely he would be remembered today. His triumphs were not only to do with his talents as a soldier but also as a result of politics and patronage. The son a gentry family impoverished by the Civil War , Marlborough joined the Army in 1667. He rose steadily , acting as second-in-command at the Battle of Sedgemoor (1685) and later commanding English troops in Flanders and Ireland, but his greatest success came in the War of the Spanish Succession (1702-14), where Britain fought with a coalition of European powers to contain French expansion. In 1702 Marlborough was appointed Captain-General of the allied forces .Although one of England's senior generals , he was not a natural choice , as was even regarded as reckless by some of his contemporaries. He was soon to prove that, unusually for a commander of his era , he was prepared to manoeuvre to bring about a decisive battle , and was then able to react and decisively as the tactical situation developed . In 1704 , to relieve French pressure on his Austrian allies , Marlborough marched his army some 400km from Flanders to Bavaria, where he joined forces with the Imperial general Prince Eugene of Savoy. Their combined armies faced the French near the village of Blenheim . Although outnumbered and facing an enemy in a strong natural position, Marlborough nevertheless attacked. Realising that the French position did not allow troops to be moved easily around the battlefield , Marlborough pinned down the French flanks and then delivered a crushing blow against his enemies weakly defended centre . The French army suffered it's first major defeat for forty years , losing over 30,000 casualties and having it's commander-in-chief captured. In 1706 Marlborough repeated this feat at the battle of Ramillies . This victory was followed by four successful sieges , which allowed the allies to control the entire Southern Netherlands . It was the most successful campaign of Marlborough's career . By skillful battlefield manoeuvres Marlborough achieved another crushing victory at Oudenarde in 1708 and the drawn battle of Malplaquet (1709) which resulted in massive allied casualties , French expansionism had been finally halted. Marlborough's battlefield successes were combined with personal courage , wider organizational and political skills , a gift for logistical planning , and the ability to co-operate effectively with his allies , especially the Dutch , who contributed the largest number of troops to Marlborough's army , and were largely responsible for keeping it supplied . Marlborough was always concerned about the welfare of his soldiers and was thus able to gain their trust and confidence . These many qualities ensure his reputation as one of Britain's greatest generals .