Oudenarde July 11th 1708 -- or an attempt at it anyway

 Well it was going to be a big one as the Brothers gathered.  For a variety of reasons there were less of us than originally planned. Ralph was the French CinC , Vendome, and Tom and Phil were his subordinates.

Ross played Marlborough ( I think Ross liked being referred to as 'Milord' or 'His Grace') and Spyros and Chris were his subordinates. 

The game was interesting as both sides were marching onto the field and had to jockey for position as each brigade had to shake out into line. Troops arrived on a predetermined plan - each commander had a good idea of the arrival of various brigades with some possible alteration. The battlefield had long lines of approaching troops!

View from the French side. Moving along the road-A Dragoon Brigade. Behind Infantry brigade with Irish, Royal Italians and Bavarians. In the middle of the picture- the opening engagement- A brigade of Prussians and Hanoverians attack a brigade of Swiss and Germans holding the small village of Eyne.

The Army of Louis XIV vs the Grand Alliance

A game from a long while ago ( a year or two??) that was played one evening.  I took the photos, wrote up the report and then forgot to post!

     

    The Army of Louis XIV was ordered to hold a small hill line anchored on each flank and in the center on three villages: Oberglau, Mittelglau and Unterglau.  The French were told that the villages were the key to victory.  The Allies ( MiLord Duke of Marlborough) were ordered to defeat the French and Bavarian forces by ignoring the villages and capturing the hills between each village.

Reminiscent of the Battle of Blenheim,  without the Nebel stream, this was quite a big fight with over 40 battalions on the table and nearly 50 squadrons. 

On the left, the Bavarians with French Dragoons, held their own very effectively against the Prussians and Dutch. 

The French center came under enormous pressure but held without buckling. On the allied left, the pressure was mounting, but time, rather than troops ran out after a long game. A French victory! Louis XIV would be proud!

Army of Louis XIV vs the Allies!

I hadn't had my early 18th Century stuff on the table for a while, so I opened up the cupboards and pulled figures off the shelves so that i had a solid French force with Dutch, Prussian and Imperial opponents.

Nick and Ross were the French and Phil, Richard and I were the Allies. The scenario was a little convoluted. Prince Eugene had given one of his subordinates the task of proceeding down a valley and take a small village at the far end. The subordinate mistakenly  stopped and the first village where a brigade of Irish troops was installed and began to deploy his troops to besiege the village- the wrong village. Eugene arrives and orders the village to bypassed and get through the valley. The local French commander had managed to put a force of dragoons and second rate infantry together to block the advance- this was the starting point of the game.

The Army of Louis XIV vs The Grand Alliance: January 2013

Each year I try and get a very large game in with my Marlburians. At this point there are 52 Battalions of Infantry and 50 squadrons of cavalry....and still growing. I try to get as many on the table as I can depending on the number of players and the scenario. This time, in January  of this year, I decided to base the scenario on the Battle of Dettingen in 1743. Now that was a later war- not my usual fare of Spanish Succession but it is a fascinating tactical situation.  In my game the armies were switched and the names of the historical places changed and it was Marlborough' s army of the Grand Alliance that  was attempting to trap the Army of Louis XIV.