The Battle of Ramillies, 23 May 1706

This Dutch engraving depicts the Battle of Ramillies, fought on 23 May 1706 in Brabant, where the army of Marshal de Villeroy was routed by the troops of the Duke of Marlborough. A massive cavalry charge shattered the entire French line in under two hours, costing Villeroy his definitive disgrace and France most of the Spanish Netherlands. Occurring the same year as the lifting of the siege of Turin, this defeat formed with it the catastrophic double blow known as the annus horribilis of Louis XIV's reign.