Little is known of Wills' career prior to the 1688
Glorious Revolution, when he received a commission in the expanded army raised by
William III. He and his brother Richard were appointed to a regiment raised by
Thomas Erle, which took part in the 1689 to 1691
Williamite War in Ireland, fighting at
The Boyne and
Aughrim. In July 1691, the brothers switched to the
19th Foot, then also serving in Ireland, with Wills promoted to captain. Transferred to
Flanders in early 1692 during the
Nine Years' War, his regiment fought in the battles of
Steenkerque and
Landen, as well as the
Siege of Namur. In 1694, he became a major in
Colonel Saunderson's regiment, reaching the rank of
lieutenant-colonel in 1697 shortly before the war ended with the
Treaty of Ryswick and his unit disbanded. With the outbreak of the
War of the Spanish Succession in June 1701, Wills was appointed to the newly raised
36th Foot, sent to Spain in 1702 as part of an Anglo-Dutch-German force under the
Duke of Ormonde. He took part in the capture of
Port St Mary, before joining an expedition to the
West Indies, led by
Christopher Codrington. In March 1703, they landed on the French island of
Guadeloupe, but suffered heavy losses from disease. After Codrington became ill in late April, Wills supervised the evacuation of the remaining troops in May, before returning to Ireland. , Barcelona; Wills participated in its capture in September 1705, then defended it in April 1706 In 1705, Wills accompanied the
Earl of Peterborough to Spain as
quartermaster-general, serving at the capture of
Barcelona on 4 October 1705; nine days later, he was made colonel of a regiment of
marines, later the
30th Foot. In January 1706, he participated in a brief but bloody encounter at
San Esteban de Litera, taking command when Major-General
Conyngham was mortally wounded. He was also part of the garrison during the unsuccessful Bourbon attempt to
retake Barcelona in April 1706, and was promoted
brigadier-general on 1 January 1707. In March, Peterborough was recalled to England and replaced by the
Earl of Galway, who suffered a serious defeat by
Bourbon-Spanish forces at
Almansa in April. Wills had been left in command of Allied forces in
Catalonia and led the defence of
Lleida, which surrendered on 11 November after a siege of two months. His stubborn resistance prevented the Bourbons from taking full advantage of their victory and attacking Barcelona. The garrison was given free passage to Allied-held territory, although Wills was briefly held in retaliation for the alleged detention of a Spanish officer. The British government decided on a renewed offensive in 1708; when a
Royal Navy squadron under
John Leake attacked
Sardinia in August, Wills commanded a landing force of 1,600 men which captured the capital
Cagliari. Returning to Britain in October, he remained there until late 1709 when he was sent back to Spain, now as a
major-general under
James Stanhope. After victories at
Almenar and
Saragossa, the Allies entered
Madrid, but could not hold the interior and were forced to retreat. Wills was among the 3,500 British troops forced to surrender at the
Brihuega on 8 December. The
Battle of Villaviciosa on 10 December confirmed Bourbon control of Spain, while the
1710 British general election returned a
Tory government that wanted peace. In the reduction of the army that followed, his brothers lost their commissions, while Stanhope's recommendation he be promoted to
lieutenant-general failed to be approved. However, he was released after a few months, while his regiment avoided being disbanded like many others by being converted to an infantry unit and posted to Ireland in 1714. ==Career; 1715 and after==