| The Age of Marlborough: |
|
| Marsaglia, 4th October 1693 |
In the summer of 1693, the Confederates under the Duke of Savoy besieged Pinerolo. This alarmed Louis XIV so much that he sent Catinat, the French theatre commander enough reinforcements to allow him to advance and relieve the fortress. Catinat advanced on Turin (the Duke’s capital) which forced the raising of the siege. Catinat advanced towards the Duke who decided to give battle. |
| Friedlingen,
14th October
1702 |
French & Imperial forces clash at the Rhine crossing of Huningue in the first field action of the War of the Spanish Succession. Despite being held to a strategic draw, Tallard fights the battle that won him his Marshal's baton. Seriously out-thought by his wily opponent, the Imperial General von Furstenburg is saved by the quality of his infantry. |
| Blenheim,
13th August 1704
|
A mighty clash between four armies, the French of Marshal Tallard, the Franco-Bavarians
of Marshal Marsin and the Elector of Bavaria, and the twinned Anglo-Imperial Armies under
Marlborough and Prince Eugene of Savoy. The battle saw the fame of the Duke of Marlborough
and the steadfastness of the British infantry assured in history. It also saw the nadir of
the once great French cavalry and the effective destruction of the Bavarian army. A truely
titanic clash that witnessed British troops storm across the marshy Nebel stream and take
the heavily defended Blenheim village and the Anglo-Imperial cavalry smash the French
cavalry centre against heavy odds. A game for cavalry commanders, there are over 30,000
cavalry involved. |
| The Age of
Frederick: |
|
| Mollwitz, 10th April 1741
|
Fought in the snow, Frederick the Great's first battle does not hold fond personal
memories for him - he departs the field early in the fight leaving Marshal Schwerin to win
it in his absence. It is not a good day for the Prussian cavalry either but the
magnificent bluecoat infantry carry all before them and create a legend. |
| Chotusitz, 17th May 1742
|
The Austrians steal a march on the Prussians who have split their forces. The main body
of the Prussian army under Frederick the Great manoeuvres to save his outnumbered detached
wing. The Austrians need to shatter the Prussians and capture Chotusitz before Frederick
arrives. Only a year after Mollwitz and the Prussian cavalry has begun to learn it's
lesson. |
| Camposanto, 8th February
1743 |
During
the course of the War of Austrian Succession, the Government in Madrid decided to act in
order to ‘firm up’ the alliance between the Bourbon monarchies of France and
Spain. The Austrians under Field Marshal Traun were situated on the opposite bank of the
river Panaro in Modena. On 3rd February 1743, De Gages crossed the Panaro and marched into
Modena to offer battle to Traun. |
| Madonna dell'Olmo,
30th September 1744 |
The Piedmontese army, reinforced by a small
Austrian contingent, urgently needed to raise the Franco-Spanish siege of
Cuneo. |
| Fontenoy, 11th May 1745
|
The Duke of Cumberland's Pragmatic
Army of British and Dutch troops deploys for battle against the French army
around Fontenoy. An alternate
scenario supplied by Mike Kirby is also available. |
| Soor,
30th September 1745 |
When the mist burnt away
around Soor it revealed to the
Austrians
a Prussian army draw up for a battle before them, The element of
surprise was lost.
|
| Kesselsdorf, 15th
December 1745 |
After much prodding from Frederick the Great the Old
Dessauer finally caught up with the Saxon army in December 1745, finding it
deployed to protect the route to Dresden. |
| Lobositz, 1st October 1756 |
On the
morning of 1 October, as the leading units of Keith's army marched
up the road through Bilinka, a heavy mist could be discerned lying low
in the valley below and spilling over into the plain. As the advance
guard passed the lower contours of the Lobosch-Berg, they were fired
upon by detachments of Croats concealed amongst the terraces. The battle
of Lobositz had begun. |
| Prague, 6th May 1757 |
By the afternoon of 5 May, the Prussian King
found himself only three miles from the Austrian camp. Frederick would have
his Armageddon in Bohemia, almost within cannon shot of the principal city
of Prague. |
| Kolin,
18th June 1757 |
Following
the battle of Prague Field Marshal Daun is tasked with raising the
siege of Prague. Now, as Frederick advaces down the Kaiser Strasse,
he gets closer to his first defeat. |
| Hastenbeck, 26th July 1757 |
The French moved up the Lippe River, crossed
into Hanover, and soon brought the Army of Observation (as the allied troops
under Cumberland's command were called) to battle at Hastenbeck, close by
the fortified town of Hameln. |
| Gross Jagersdorf, 30th
August 1757 |
The first battle between Prussia and Russia in the Seven Years
War. The inept and mismanaged Russian march has taken weeks to straggle across East
Prussia. Caught in the flank on the line of march at dawn, and in heavily wooded country,
the Russian forces surprise even themselves by turning at bay and throwing back every
Prussian attack. This battle woke up western Europe to the fighting qualities of the
Russian soldier. |
| Rossbach,
5th November 1757 |
As
dawn broke on the 5th of November the Allied army began a grand
turning movement against the Prussian army. However, the allies were
heading for disaster. |
| Hochkirch, 14th October 1758
|
The
Prussians deployed around Hochkirch are attacked by the the
Austrians under Daun, number some 80,000, the Austrians advance in
dense coloums on Hochkirch. |
| Bergen, 13th April 1759
|
Ferdinand of Brunswick marches his Anglo-German Army in an attempt to turn the
Saxon-French forces of Duc de Broglie away from their depot of Frankfurt. Broglie outwits
Ferdinand and establishes a position just in time to beat off valiant attacks by the
Allies. A colourful action which involves Saxon, French, British, Hanoverian, Brunswick
and Hessian troops. |
| Kunersdorf, 12th
August 1759 |
After the battle of Kay, Frederick resolved to force the
Russians to fight a decisive battle before they could join forces with the main Austrian
army. |
| Warburg, 31st July 1760
|
Ferdinand's revenge. In a dawn flank attack infantry columns led by Spockern and the
Erbprinz and headed by British grenadiers and highlanders comprehensively smash the left
wing of Du Muy's French. With his left collapsing Du Muy orders his cavalry to charge and
cover the withdrawal but Lord Granby arrives at the head of the British cavalry and
overthrows their opponents in the most famous charge by British cavalry in the Seven Years
War. Granby restores the reputation of the British horse that had been dented at Minden.
His bold attack introduces a phrase to the English language, as he led his men at the
gallop, his periwig blew off. Undeterred he 'went at it bald-headed'. A
further scenario variant can be found here. |
| Torgau,
3rd November 1760 |
While
some Frederick's officers may have questioned the wisdom of a battle
so late in the season as long as Daun maintained his position at
Torgau Frederick was effectively cut off from the resources of
Saxony. By the 2nd of Nvember the Prussian army was within striking
distance. |
| Freiburg, 29th October 1762
|
Prinz Henry with an army made up mostly of ‘second line’ troops and
FreiKorps battalions takes the offensive in Saxony. |
|
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| Campaign
Games |
|
| King
Monmouth |
Monmouth’s
Rebellion in the West Country during1685. With Volley & Bayonet
to resolve the resulting battles. |
| The
Soldier King Campaign |
Rules
for converting the boardgame "Soldier King" to a Volley
& Bayonet format. |
| The
Seven Years War in India |
Mike
Kirby brings us campaign rules and map for refighting the Seven
Years War in India. Additional supporting material can be found in
his book "The Campaigns in
India During the Seven Years War". |
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