Big 10mm WSS Battle

Mark, Henry, Colin and myself had a big Black Powder War of Spanish Succession game at club on Friday. Using our 10mm armies a Anglo-Dutch-Catalan Confederation army faced up against a Bourbon Franco-Spanish force. The armies deployed in conventional fashion, infantry in the middle in two lines (each of two brigades) and a brigade of cavalry on each flank. I was a bit concerned that a wood on the French right flank meant that my second line could not be deployed properly until we had advanced and had the space to bring them up into position.

Things did not go well for the British and their allies. On their left flank (Henry) rushed aggressively across the table, but his cavalry failed to move leaving the infantry flank wide open and his limbered gun very vulnerable. I took a gamble and charged the gun with my French cavalry and managed to catch it before it could be unlimbered! In response Henry threw his front line of infantry and his cavalry into the French troops opposite. Unfortunately, his partner did not match his enthusiasm! On the Confederate rightt flank (Mark), the British front line got confused and retired to the edge of the table leaving the Catalan units in the second line advance unsupported across the table. His Catalan cavalry were slow to advance and just trotted forward, but to be fair Colin's Spanish cavalry opposite also failed to charge.

Henry's aggressive action had effectively pinned my command with nowhere to bring up my second infantry line. Trapped by the melee in front of them and the wood on their flank, they just had to wait until the front line had pushed the British back (or been broken themselves), before they could get into action. Much to everyone's surprise the British and Dutch cavalry, with their superior charge, bounced of the French Horse in confusion and two regiments promptly routed when the French reserve ranks smashed into them. The infantry fared in similar fashion, the French musketry closing fire was unusually effective and 3 British battalion recoiled, one of the routing. Then a second battalion routed when the French riposte crashed into them.

On the other flank the two cavalry brigades were funneled by a wood, so both could only fight on a single unit frontage. They spent the battle in a grinding melee, first one side gaining the upper hand, then the other, only to be thrown back in turn my the enemy's next rank of fresh troops.
The Catalans and Spanish opposite settled down into a conventional musketry duel, whilst waiting for the British infantry to catch up.

Back on my flank the British second line advance to plug the gap and routed one of my battalions that had broken through the front line. But just as they started to stabilise the situation, another round of fierce combat (or rubbish dice on Henry's part) saw the British cavalry quit the field, a broken brigade. With their flank wide open, Henry pulled a battalion out of the line to refuse the flank. But this stalled his attack and allowed me to finally get my second line moving. They smashed into the opposite end of the British line and routed another unit from the front line, which broke that brigade. Henry was now left with just one infantry brigade, pinned to their front by a French infantry brigade with another wheeling around onto his flank and a cavalry brigade circling around behind him! It wasn't long before they were in flight as well. With 3 out of 6 brigades broken, that was half the Confederate army gone and a Bourbon victory.

 The situation at the end of the first turn. Note the novel Confederate manoeuvreing!

 The French cavalry catch the artillery napping.

 The view from the French side with the infantry of my second line bunched up by the wood on their flank.

 And suddenly the British cavalry were gone!

 Feeling a bit lonely with all those horsemen galloping around in front of them!

 On the other flank the assorted Spanish take it in turns to advance and retreat in a gentlemanly fashion.


Other games on that night:
A Warhammer 40K game.

A Necromunda game.

And a large Chain of Command game somewhere in Burma.

 In the face of the banzai charge it looks like the British are trying to resort to a square. They are not Zulus you know!

10mm War of Spanish Succession - Saragossa 1710

At the May Tring Club Games Day, we staged a big 10mm battle based on the Battle off Saragossa, fought on 20th August 1710. The game was fought using Black Powder, with Last Hussar's Blenheim Palace amendments.

Historically the Allies had advanced out of Catalonia, defeating the Bourbons at the battle of Almenara. They then pursued the retreating Bourbons with the intent of finishing them off, catching up with then at Saragossa. The Allied army had 30 infantry units and 20 cavalry against the Bourbon's with 24 infantry and 30 cavalry. We had a great time playing this and the battle resulted in an overwhelming draw for the Bourbon army.

Both cavalry flanks got stuck in long before there was any infantry action. Interestingly on the right of the Bourbon army all the brigades on both sides ended up in a Broken state, but on the Bourbon left only one brigade (an Allied one) broke in the closing stages of the battle. I think this reflected the different tactics being used. On the left, both commanders maintained their lines. The front brigades clashed, then the commanders pulled them back to join any retiring units behind the safety of the second line where they could rally. In the meantime the second lines clashed and repeated the process. Both sides would pause their attack to reform their lines. On the right, the British commander threw his second line out to try and outflank the Bourbon cavalry, which forced the Bourbon commander to do the same to counter the move. So the two second lines contacted each other piecemeal and the cavalry melee degenerated into a messy scrap. As neither side had the security of a rear line to reform behind, units were thrown back in to battle with less opportunity to rally properly. It became a far more of a battle of attrition than the other wing.

In the centre the Catalan/Austrian infantry failed to advance, whilst the British/Dutch contingents raced across the battlefield. The Catalan dice was so bad that the British commander insisted on the infantry Reserve being committed to guard his flank! The Bourbons advanced far enough to anchor their flank on the woods and were otherwise content to await the allied attack. The British took pretty horrendous casualties, despite their platoon firing they were out-shot by the Bourbon infantry and the Dutch units that tried to support their attack were also badly shot up. The Spanish/Austrians finally got going but were really just an audience to the Reserve's attack in the Bourbon lines, which was thrown back and the brigade Broken.

At this point we took stock. On the Allied side 5 of their 9 brigades were Broken, against 4 of the Bourbon 10. However we realised we had forgotten the rule that artillery do not count towards calculating a Broken brigade, so one of my Bourbon infantry brigades was also Broken (but that also meant that the British brigade would have been gone at least two turns earlier!). So we called it a draw, to the advantage of the Bourbons.  Historically the Marquis de Bay would have been delighted with that result and considered it a victory!

Here are  some pictures of the battle.

 Initial deployments, from the Allied side....

.....and the Bourbon side.

Games Day - The Battle of Almanza 25th Apr 1707

At our October Games Day we re-fought the Battle of Almanza with 10mm figures using Black Powder rules. Almanza was one of the most decisive engagements of the War of the Spanish Succession. Despite the Duke of Marlborough's successes at the battles of Blenheim and Ramillies, Almanza ensured that securing the Spanish throne for the Hapsburgs became a near impossibility.  It is also notable as "probably the only battle in history in which the English forces were commanded by a Frenchman, and the French by an Englishman." The Allied commander, the Earl of Galway was a French Huguenot and the Franco-Spanish commander, The Duke of Berwick, was  the illegitimate son of James II (and incidentally the nephew of The Duke of Marlborough).

This was a very one-sided battle, so I devised a "what-if" scenario, allowing Galway's army to link up with the Earl of Peterborough's forces advancing from Catalonia. This made the Austrian claimant for the throne of Spain (Charles III) the nominal commander-in-chief of the allied army, advised closely by the Earl of Peterborough.

Between the pooled resources of various club members we were easily able to field the British, Dutch, Catalan, French and Spanish units required. Nobody had any Portuguese however, so we had to substitute Bavarians.

The two forces deployed in the traditional manner of the day, infantry in the centre with the cavalry on the flanks.

                                           Initial positions from the French side of the table

                                                   The Western end of the Franco-Spanish line 

On the western side of the field a ravine made the French hold their cavalry back, but in the open ground to the East they threw their horse forward. In the centre the Franco-Spanish infantry held their position (they were meant to be defending after all).

The Allied army advanced. In the East the Portuguese cavalry led a rush to meet the advancing French, in the West the first line of cavalry headed for a narrow gap between the ravine and the French Infantry and the second line advanced to the ravine to try and find a way across. The infantry lines plodded forward, but the British and Dutch advanced rapidly out pacing the Portuguese on their flank.

In the East the first lines of cavalry crashed together, although the Portuguese came off worse they performed much better than they had historically and inflicted heavy casualties in return. With units routing, retreating and following up the front lines became a disorganised mess. As the respective commanders tried to rally their units the second lines moved through to engage, with the same effect. This flank remained in utter confusion for the rest of the battle as officers rallied units and threw them back in piecemeal until all four brigades had broken due to their losses.

                                    With the first lines in disarray the second lines advance on each other.

                                                            A very confused cavalry melee

On the Western flank the front lines clashed in the narrow gap and fought inconclusively for a time. The Allied second line managed to cross the ravine but the French second line moved across to face them. After heavy fighting the allied horsemen fled, a broken brigade. As the French now crossed the ravine in turn, the Allied first line, who had pushed their opponents back, moved to block the French from out-flanking the allied infantry. Another fierce fight left the French victorious and the last Allied cavalry brigade fleeing the field.

                                                              The Western flank

                                                                    Allied cavalry advancing

                                               The remains of the Allied second line fall back

In the centre the British and Dutch closed with the French lines, whilst the Portuguese came on more slowly. The intention was to get into musket range and blast the French front line away with their superior firepower, then overwhelm the second line with superior numbers. However the Allies lost control (Blunder roll of 6) and the first line, instead of engaging in a firefight, charged with the bayonet. Some reached the French, but some didn't. Unsupported, the foremost units were thrown back, with one battalion routing away. Then the French concentrated their fire on the reminder of the Allied first line. 

                                                         The Allied second line attack....

                                                                   ....and retreat!

                                               That formation's not in the drill book!

                                        Compare everyone else's neat lines with the British brigades!

With the infantry attack stalling and his cavalry failing, Charles III decided to lead his Catalan infantry, held in reserve, out into the open East flank to try and catch the French in a pincer attack with the Portuguese. Unfortunately for him, events on the other side of the battlefield decided the result before they could close with the enemy.

                The Catalans advance (the shaken French dragoons in front of them will not slow them down).

                 A final view of the Eastern flank, in the bottom corner the Catalans are starting their advance

At this point the British commander should probably should have halted the second line and rallied the first line behind them, but seeing his cavalry starting to melt away and expose his flank he opted to throw the second line in and assault the French. They did rout one French battalion, but otherwise fared no better than the first assault and fell back in confusion. The British were now in a total mess, with the first and second lines intermingled, the officers desperately trying to rally units as the French stood and poured in musket fire and close range cannon shot. With mounting casualties the British front line morale failed and the brigade broke. Now with 5 out of their 9 brigades broken the Allies had no option but to quit the field leaving a French victory.