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.

Getting it ready- an intriguing battle!

 Gaming has been a bit thin on the ground recently, and I haven't had the chance to put anything on the blog- life getting in the way of all the important stuff! That was until very recently when I managed to get a few in (Reports to follow!). Additionally, with a few spare days and an itch that needed to be scratched, I had always wanted to have a crack at what I always felt was Marlborough's most unusual battle: Oudenarde July 11 1708.

It was unusual in that it was not a planned battle and involved a river crossing ( in two places!) as the French Commander, Vendome, scrambled to deal with Marlborough and Eugene's crossing and the battle that unfolded was a fascinating tactical situation.

How to do it on the table?

With both armies consisting of over 90 battalions each and 130 squadrons, I had nowhere near that- and most of my OOB was for other battles. Undaunted I decided to give it a go. I figured that I could do a 3:1 ration for the infantry and 4:1 for the cavalry- about 25-30 battalions a side and 30+ squadrons a side. The proportion wasn't quite correct but I was using everything suitable that I had. So it was a 'bathtubbing' exercise which reflected some of the tactical nuances of the battle but not really a recreation of it. 

Terrain was essential so I decided to scratch build it. I needed to represent the Scheldt river and the town of Oudenarde where the Allied army crossed over and the heights above the town that were fought over by the armies on the day. 

My go to book for this one!

Solo WSS- Louis' Army holds the line

 I put some of my WSS through their paces the other day, using the scenario 'Flank attack' . A Brigade of French Horse ( 4 Squadrons) a Brigade of Foot ( 4 Battalions) and a small Dragoon Brigade ( 2 Squadrons) were tasked with holding a small line of hills that controlled a major road. The Dutch were to drive the French from their position ..and they had the added advantage of a Foot Brigade of 3 Battalions of Foot that had moved into position on the exposed flank of the defending French.

On the painting bench....WSS.

 I recently went back to adding to my favourite collection- my Age of Louis XIV or Marlburian. I hadn't painted any figures for quite a while- so many others to do!!  A few years in fact so in November I ordered some figures from Front Rank. I decided on Imperial Troops ( Hapsburg Austrians) as I only have two battalions and decided to add two more.

I painted the Daun Regiment and then the Osnabruck Regiment.

I find myself just adding units- even if they didn't serve in any of the theatres that I am gaming.

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.

Army of Louis XIV vs The Grand Alliance

Four brothers assembled to fight an early 18th Century clash that had nearly all of my Louis XIV and Marlborough's army on the table. Nearly 30 Battalions per side and over 30 squadrons on each side battled it out over the course of a long hot bloody day.

The Battlefield: in the foreground to the left, the Redcoats commanded by Chris, The Prussians arriving to support. And to the right the French regiments commanded by yours truly.

The game was loosely modelled on Ramilles, one of Marlborough's great victories. On the allied side the majority of the infantry were on the right and the cavalry were in the left, representing the deployment of the armies of the day. The terrain on the allied right was very hilly with a number of woods. On the extreme left a small town with the area in between a large open area of rolling fields.

Capture the hill line, and the village, and the bridges etc etc

My Armies of the Spanish Succession have been gathering dust; so recently the call went out to anyone who could be bothered to show up. Attendance was underwhelming ( where were you lads?) with Phil and Nick (Thanks boys- I knew you wouldn't let me down) being the only two available. 

A simple scenario was determined whereby roughly equal forces of Dutch on one side, and Louis XIV's boys on the other had to capture a number of key features in a valley with a river running down one side. The two bridges, a village,  a hill line, and the road running south were all key objectives. 

I was the French,  the other two lads were the Dutch.

The Dutch to the right. The French to the left.

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.

Marlburians Again!!

The usual collection of rogues and scoundrels assembled amongst the flotsam and jetsum of my gaming room (read: garage) for a nice little stoush with the 28mm Marlburians. This particular action saw a French force holding a central village awaiting the arrival of their Bavarian allies. The French were being attacked by a combined Dutch and British force, with a flanking Danish/Austrian force attempting to cross a river and turn the French position. If it sounds messy- it certainly was with enough twists and turns to keep us at the table until very late!

The Deployment

Latest addition to my Marlburians- The Garde Suisse (Swiss Guard)

As most of the Brothers know, my obsession over the last 6 years has been my War of the Spanish Succession Collection. It has become pretty extensive over that time and we've had some great games- as well as our recent Jacobite Rebellion of the '15 campaign.

Christmas 2012 Marlburian Grand Battle

The plan was to design a scenario with defence in depth rather than standard six foot wide table- so I based this on a scenario I had read about from the League of Augsburg boys in the UK that had been played a few years ago. Using my Marlburians there was to be 21 French and Bavarian Battalions and 20 squadrons of Horse defending a series of villages. They were commanded by Paul as the duc de Villeroi and he had Ralph as his senior commander on the right flank commanding the Bavarians and some French troops. In the centre were Phil and Brian and Paul held the left flank. The Allied objective was to cross the river to their front and storm the villages held by the enemy. The French were to attempt to stop them.
On the opposite side was the army of Milord the Duke of Marlborough (played by Nick) with a total of 26 battalions of foot and 28 Squadrons of Horse and Dragoons (English, Scots, Danes, Prussians, Hanoverians, Dutch and Austrians). Nick took the English contingent on the Allied left with Chris as his subordinate commanding some of the redcoats. In the centre Ross and Roger commanded the large Dutch contingent and on the right of the Allied line Lochlainn commanded the combined Danish, Hanoverian and Imperial troops. The Prussians were commanded by Liam and these had been sent on a wide flank march on the Franco-Bavarian right. They would appear at a crucial phase in the battle.

French Center

Another Round for the Duke

Using the Rank and File rules from Crusader publishing I decided to go 'solo' one afternoon. My son wasn't interest in playing, he had just bought himself a copy of Call of Duty 4 and was glued to the TV and XBox. I, however, decided to play against the easiest and most ineffectual wargames general I know: myself. The scenario was simple, capture a line of low hills and this was done using the Programmed Scenario booklet produced by WRG a few years ago. The Duke of M had two brigades of British Infantry( 3 units each), some Dutch guns and a large brigade (4 units) of Dutch and Prussian cavalry. The troops of the Sun King had, exactly the same with both sides advancing quickly to take the hills. The British, with the superior firepower won the day but a charge by a regiment of French Dragoons (Firmacon) gave the Duke some real headaches as they ploughed through two redcoat battalions. They were seen off by the Dutch Cavalry. Ahh the glory and spectacle!!

More Malburian Mayhem

My young son asked me to play a game of my 'musketeers'. It took me several seconds to realise that he wanted to play with the ever expanding Marlburians. So we emptied the table in the garage of the usual garbage and laid out some nice terrain. Allies (Prussians and British) versus the army of Louis XIV. I was the allies and my boy was the Sun King! The French Cavalry advance!

The Prussian Cavalry awaits Louis' troops

The Table!

Hordes of French Cavalry...'Vive Le Roi!!"

The French Guard advance throught the center towards the allied line.

The allied commander....it was a humiliating defeat...so this wasn't Marlborough. The great man never lost!

British Troops fire at the advancing Frenchmen. Above and below!

The rear center of the allied line. This came under heavy attack by the Guard Francais and supporting brigades who fought their way through the village (just visible on the right) and caught the allies in a poor position to stop them once they were in the open ground. The French cavalry smashed my (allied) right flank and it was all over bar the shouting....and my 10 year old sons' victory song.....'I beat daddy..I beat daddy...nyah nyah nyah.'. Oh well I can still beat him in an arm wrestle!!

The later stages of the game when the allies had been forced back and the French were running amok.
Some brave French infantry..painted by me!

The Duke of M!!

My current long term project involves the wars of the early 18th Century. Nominally the War of The Spanish Succession and the Jacobite Rebellion of 1715. Yep, Marlburian is definitely the flavour of the month with teh release of 'Beneath the Lilly Banners" by Barry Hilton of LOA. I have my own set of rules that we use..but hey, I tend to play any rules that work! My collection started with a couple of British battalions and as now I have 18 French Battalions, Allies: 10 British and 4 Prussian. As for Horse; Allies: I have 4 Prussian Squadrons, 2 British Horse and 4 British Dragoon Squadrons as well as 2 of Imperial Cuirassiers. For the French I have 12 Squadrons of Horse and 2 of Dragoons! I have also completed a small Scots Jacobite army for the Rebellion of the '15.