Blenheim as a Wargame
by Pat Condray
The account of Blenhiem as conducted by Dennis Shorthouse at HMMC6 is reported in his own narrative. The rules he used began as mine (Condray's Rules for The Spanish Succession - Ed.) with local adaptations. They are much closer to mine than mine are to the French originals, and they are no more or less grand tactical, but they are distinct enough so that l probably won't sue for breach of copyright if they are ever formally published. I think the rules still call for a shot per front rank base, with 4-5-6 on a 6 with point blank fire disorders opposing troops in front of pistol cavalry or Swedish infantry, or stops charges if rolled by a defender. Apparently the New Jersey coalition does not believe that pistol cavalry moving foward can fire or, if they fire, have any more impetus than stationary cavalry. The most obvious change is the scope of the command and control features. Command figures with command and control influence are designated in the game with large triangular guidons which appear in the photographs. A summary of the modified rules is included in the article for benefit of the readers. I find myself unable to refrain from adding a few explanatory and editorial comments.
First of all, Dennis deploys infantry which habitually fought in 4 ranks rather than 3 with one base in the second line. My rules do not require that. His reasoning is that the failure of 1/4 of the men to sustain their fire effort in the 4 rank system is best supported by that method, and that the frontages are more accurate, and in all of that he is correct My reasoning is more devious. I think it looks better, and have reason to believe that French and other infantry which by regulation fought in four ranks and fired by rank rather than by platoon often dropped the last rank when below full strength to extend its front That practice is supported as a familiar one by the famous story of the encounter at Malplaquet between the Royal regiment of Ireland (Hamilton's 18th Foot) and Dorrington's Royal Irish Foot Guards in which the British Irish used platoon fire and the French Irish used fire by rank, each giving three fires. Even if the story is apocryphal it suggests that the practice was known. Of course, that was at Malplaquet, more than five years after Blenhiem and with much depleted battalions, so Dennis' approach probably makes more sense than mine.
Purists will note Dennis' reference to attack columns, which many would hold futuristic at the time of Blenhiem. We know that columns were used to attack breaches, that is, in stormings, and they are reported to have been used by the French at Marsaglia (1693) and at Spire (Speyerbach) in 1703 and at Denain againsta fortified Dutch camp in 1712. We also know that at the Schellenburg and at Blenhiem the British attacked fortifications in successive lines operating as independent formations - that is, as a succession of battalion lines rather than as a column of many battalions on a single battalion front. However, in neither case did the attack actually carry the position any more than the Prussian attack in firing lines made any impression on Vierzahlen in 1806. At the Schellenburg in 1704 and at Malplaquet where the British infantry advanced in line to occupy the French field works in the center, success only occurred after the defenders had been drawn elsewhere. At Blenhiem the garrison of the town held out until the rest of the Franco-Bavarian army had been driven from the field and then surrendered. Platoon firing infantry did indeed tend to attack villages and entrenchments in firing lines, but without success if the positions were well manned. The fight for Blenhiem in the Wargame followed historical lines except that Tallard did not strip enough of his reserves from the center to permit a breakthrough.
Historically the key to allied victory at Blenhiem was the incompetence and insubordination of Lieutenant General the Marquis de Clerembault, referred to for some reason by Shorthouse as d'Hauptfaville. Clerembault ordered more and more troops into the town without Tallard's approval. Tallard was notoriously nearsighted and usually had an aide with exceptionally good vision on hand. At Blenhiem the aide does not seem to have impressed upon Tallard the magnitude of what Clerembault was up to. By this 1 mean no disrespect towards Marlborough or Eugene of Savoy. War is a very confusing thing. Military genius often consists of doing things fairly well under circumstances in which most people, including your enemy, will completely foul up.
The author of this battle report recognizes the importance of not doing something foolish in his award of honors and gift certificate to the acting Elector of Bavaria. Perhaps he is right. I looked in on the game from time to time and it seemed to me that the Elector of Bavaria was malingering. He seemed to have a strong force of horse foot and guns facing only a cavalry advanced guard. He seemed to have opportunities to fall on the force engaging the French left center while blocking the cavalry advance guard, and to do great damage to the enemy without risking his position. Of course, he was the Elector of Bavaria, not France. What, after all, had the French done for him lately? Why not, after all, fight to the last Frenchman? Besides, you can hardly accuse an Elector and the Scion of the Illustrious Wittelsbach Dynasty of malingering. Commendable prudence, perhaps, but not malingering. No, I suppose Dennis was right after all.
The Battle and the Game
by Dennis Shorthouse
The Battle of Blenheim, or the 2nd Battle of Hochstadt as it was known by the Bavarians, was presented at HMGC #6 by the author, and to paraphrase the Beatles, "a lotta help from my friends" the LONG VALLEY (NJ) GAMERS and Pat Condray of EDITIONS BROKAW. This battle was the first of the four major defeats that the Anglo-Allied Army, under the leadership of the Duke of Marlborough, inflicted upon the Franco-Bavarian armies of Louis XIV.
On August 13th, 1704, one hundred and twenty thousand soldiers faced each other across the Nebel, a marshy stream that runs from the hills north of Lutzingen to the river Danube, a few hundred yards southeast of Blenheim. When the day was over, thousands of French would be dead or captured, and the Bavarian Army would cease to be an effective force.
The game itself was recreated on a 6'x10' table with a ground scale of 1 " equal to 50 yards using 15mm figures. Each figure represented 50 men for infantry and cavalry, while each artillery piece represented a six gun battery. The percentage of actual battalions and squadrons represented was 45% of the historical OB's. The figures used were a mix of EDITIONS BROKAW and DIXON castings. The two companies, which both produce excellent lines, were kind enough to provide figures as prizes for each side's most valuable players.
While the game was designed for eleven players on the French side and nine players on the Allied side, less than that actually participated. Each player represented an historical personage, who was either the overall Wing or Center commander, or a subordinate General of Horse or Infantry. In order to assist in the game mechanics and to aid players unfamiliar with the tactics of the period, the roles of the Duke of Marlborough and Marshall Tallard were played by Richard Pichnarczyk and Larry O'Donnell, respectively. Both are friends from the LONG VALLEY GAMERS who have contributed many hours and ideas to playtesting the rules that were used for the game.
The rules used are my own as yet unpublished set. They were first developed as clarifications of Pat Condray's rules for the Wars of the Spanish Succession, but the last two years of development has seen their evolvement into a Grand Tactical set. One of the final additions to the rules has been that of Command Control and Leader values for initiative, morale, and melee.
Under the Command Control rule, a unit which is within 10" of a formed enemy unit may not change formation unless a leader is attached. Each brigade is allowed to have one unit change formation, regardless of whether a leader is attached or not. Leaders can use an initiative point to move up to 14" and attach to a unit under his or a subordinate's command. A Leader's values may be applied to any unit to which he is attached. For example, Prince Eugene of Savoy (4/3-3d6) has 4 points of initiative, a + 3 morale bonus and can add 3d6 to the final melee die rolls. He could use his leader values on any unit directly under his control or under the control of his subordinate commanders. The rankings for all Leaders in the game are given in the Force Setups.
FRANCO-BAVARIAN SITUATION
Marshall Tallard was instructed to deploy his forces first (see MAP), with no unit forward of an imaginary line connecting the towns of LutzingenOberglau-Blenheim. The towns themselves could be garrisoned along with thefieldworks that connected Blenheim to the Danube. In addition, the Franco-Bavarian forces were not allowed to advance until the AngloAllies had five battalions across the Nebel between Oberglau and Blenheim. The French victory conditions were to control the towns of Lutzingen, Oberglau and Blenheim at game's end, while preventing the allies from breaking through in the center. Marshall Tallard was himself responsible for the right-center and right wing, while the Elector of Bavaria and Comte de Marsin commanded the left wing and left center respectively.
FRANCO-BAVARIAN FORCES
Elector of Bavaria (2/3-2d6)
'2' Heavy and '3' Medium batteries
Count d'Arco (1/1-1d6)
(A) 1st Brigade '4' Bav. battalions
(B) 2nd Brigade '5' Bav. battalions
Comte de Caraman (1/1-1d6)
(C) 1st Brigade '10' Bavarian squads
(D) 2nd Brigade '8' Bavarian squads
Comte de Marsin (2/3-2d6)
'3' Heavy and '2' Medium batteries
Marquis de Blainville (1/1-1d6)
(E) 1st Brigade '3' Irish battalions
(F) 2nd Brigade '5' French battalions
(G) 3rd Brigade '3' French battalions
(H) 4th Brigade '3' French battalions
Marquis de Montpeyroux's (1/1-1d6)
(I) 1st Brigade '8' French squadrons
(J) 2nd Brigade '5' French squadrons
Marshall Tallard (3/4-1d6)
'3' Heavy and '3' Medium batteries
Comte de Zaurlauben (1/2-1d6)
(K) 1st Brigade '6' French battalions
(L) 2nd Brigade '8' French squadrons
(M) 3rd Brigade '8' French squadrons
Marquis de Clemambault (1/1-1d6)
(N) 1st Brigade '4' Fr. Dragoon Sqds.
(0) 2nd Brigade '4' French battalions
(P) 3rd Brigade '4' French battalions
Comte Merode to Westerloo (1/1-1 d6)
(Q) 1st Brigade '4' Sp. Dragoons Sgds.
(R) 2nd Brigade '7' Spanish squadrons
Comte de Hautefeville (1/1-1d6)
(S) 1st Brigade '4' French battalions
(T) 2nd Brigade '4' French battalions
ANGLO-ALLIED SITUATION
The Duke of Marlborough was instructed to set up his forces after the Franco-Bavarians were deployed, anywhere north of the Nebel. The Duke was not informed of the imposition placed on the FrancoBavarians: of not being able to advance before the Anglo-Allies had 5 battalions across the Nebel. The Duke's victory conditions were to neutralize the towns of Lutzingen, Oberglau and Blenheim, and to force a break in the center of the French line, allowing him to exit towards Hochstadt. The Duke himself was not responsible for any units directly; instead he left command to Prince Eugene on the right wing, his brother General Charles Churchill in the center and Lt. General Lord Cutts on the left wing.
ANGLO-ALLIED FORCES
Lt. General Lord Cutts (3/2-2d6)
'4' Heavy batteries
Lord Rowe (1/2-1d6)
(1) 1st Brigade '5' British battalions
(2) 2nd Brigade '4' British battalions
(3) 3rd Brigade '3' Hessian battalions
Maj. General Woods (1/1-1d6)
(4) 1st Brigade '6' British squadrons
(5) 2nd Brigade '6' British squadrons
General Churchill (3/2-2d6)
'3' Heavy and '2' Medium batteries
Prince of HolsteinBeck (1/1-1d6)
(6) 1st Brigade '6' Dutch battalions
(7) 2nd Brigade '5' Dutch battalions
(8) 3rd Brigade '5' Danish battalions
Lt. General Lumley (1/3-2d6)
(9) 1st Brigade '6' British squadrons
(10) 2nd Brigade '12' Platinate squads
(11) 3rd Brigade '10' Dutch squadrons
Prince Eugene of Savoy (4/3-3d6)
'3' Heavy and '2' Medium batteries
Prince Lepold (1/1-1 d6)
(12) 1st Brigade '4'Aust. battalions
(13) 2nd Brigade '3' Aust. battalions
(14) 3rd Brigade '4' Platinate batts.
Prince Maximillian (1/1 -1 d6)
(15) 1st Brigade '12' Aust. squadrons
(16) 2nd Brigade 12' Aust. squadrons
(17) 3rd Brigade '13' Aust. squadrons
THE OPENING GAME
The opening turns saw the Anglo-Allies advancing from wing towing. The crossing of the marches around the Nebel slowed them down initially, but the attack was well coordinated on the Allied left wing and center.
On the left, Lord Cutts deployed his heavy batteries within breaching distance of the fieldworks before Blenheim. In addition he instructed the British 1st Brigade under Lord Rowe to engage the French Dragoons manning the fieldworks that stretched from Blenheim to the Danube; while ordering the British 2nd Brigade to advance on Blenheim. The French commander at Blenheim was another member of the LONG VALLEY GAMERS, Dave Mills, who is known for his tenacity in defensive situations. His play as the Comte de Hautefeville was quite historical; not a turn went by that Tallard was not asked for troops, and by game's end several additional battalions from the French reserve found their way into Blenheim.
In the center General Churchill advanced the 1st and 2nd Dutch infantry brigades in battalion line, with British and Dutch cavalry deployed in their rear ready to exploit any opening. Meanwhile, the Prince of Holstein Beck with the Danish infantry brigade, and Prince Lepold and the Platinate infantry brigade of Eugene's forces advanced on Oberglau. These infantry brigades were also, like those of the Dutch, in battalion line several deep. This initial setupwasto be found ineffective againstthe town of Obreglau, but more later.
Tallard was not idle while the Allies were advancing on his center. He was in fact coordinatingthe reactions of both his own commanders and those of Comte de Marsin. The initial French response was to open up an intense artillery barrage from both his and Marsin's heavy batteries on the advancing Dutch infantry. This bombardment which lasted for several turns, inflicted numerous casualties on the first line of the Dutch. Several fine Dutch battalions, including their guard, were forced to retreat as the result of it. Meanwhile Marsin's infantry in Oberglau, the Irish brigade commanded by the Marquis de Blainville, opened up long range fire on the Prince's advancing troops.
Over on the allied right wing events were much quieter. Eugene had a much greater distance to cover; and Marlborough was not content to wait for him to get into position before launching the attack. The majority of the Austrian infantry and cavalry quickly crossed the Nebel, but units advanced rather piecemeal, with little coordination between them. The right wing was slow in developing and, in fact, the Austrians were really never a threat to Lutzingen.
If the allies were quiet on this wing, the same was more than true for the Elector and his Bavarians. The Count d'Arco received no orders to move his infantry, and while his cavalry brigades did move to the edge of the high ground, he made no move to counter the Austrian cavalry threat that was developing on his left flank. The Bavarians did unlimber their heavy batteries on the crest of the hill, and dulsatory fire inflicted a few casualties on the Austrians advancing across the open ground. The Bavarian heavy guns were crewed by some of the worst artillerists, who missed their targets for most of the day.
THE MIDDLE GAME
During the middle of the game things heated up for most of the Allied commanders, though Eugene continued to muddle through. The French in Blenheim and Oberglau were brought under artillery and musket fire, but the rest of the French received little attention.
Lord Cutts received additional units from Churchill's command and was able to bring pressure on the defenders of Blenheim from three sides. Lord Rowe and his British veterans pushed the French dragoons out of their fieldworks, while Cutts' 2nd brigade, supported by the Hessians, drove the French back into Blenheim.
The comte de Hautefeville used the forces at his command cleverly, rotating his battalions out of the front lines as soon as they received more than 25% casualties. This maneuver, while keeping fresh battalions in the thick of things, necessitated the repeated calls for reinforcements to Tallard.
During these middle turns the heaviest fighting of the day was occurring in the center and around Oberglau. General Churchill advanced his troops in battalion line, and the French fired volley after volley along with round shot and canister into their midst. The batteries of Marsin, positioned slightly behind Oberglau, were particularly deadly, seeming never to miss. Churchill saw battalion after battalion come within musket range of the French, only to be withered away before they themselves could inflict serious casualties on the French.
At Oberglau the Allied attack was also repulsed with severe losses. The problem as was alluded to earlier, was setup. The allies were deployed in lines one battalion wide and several rows deep; this is not the way to attack defenders in cover. (The problem for the attacker is that the defender can concentrate his fire on the single front row unit. This usually allows the defender to drive the attackers back before they can close for melee. The attacker needs to send in several attack columns, units one base wide and several ranks deep, so as to prevent the defender from firing on all attacking columns. In addition the use of grenadiers with their higher melee value is helpful when attacking a defender in cover.) The Allies did finally bring up two heavy batteries, with which they were able to reduce the melee bonus of the troops defending Oberglau.
The Allied right wing attack was still slow in developing, with the Austrians continuing to commit their units piecemeal. Several charges were made by the Cuirassiers and regular horse of Prince Eugene. In fact, one attack penetrated deep into the Bavarian lines, but since there was no reserve to follow up it was doomed to failure. Several Austrian infantry battalions advanced between Oberglau and Lutzingen, but the plague of uncoordinated attacks continued. Thus, the French and Bavarians facing them were able to concentrate their fire on the individually advancing battalions, resulting in heavy casualties to the Austrians which slowed down an already slow advance.
THE END GAME
Although Lord Cutts maintained the pressure on Blenheim, de Hautefeville was not in any serious trouble. By turn twelve the Allies had succeeded in both forcing the French back on both sides of the town, and pushing them back from the barricades themselves; though Blenheim itself was not in danger of being lost. The French requests for reinforcements were still being heard with every passing turn, but with the need not as critical, Tallard was less responsive. With the overall situation at Blenheim indicating that the struggle for the town would likely go on formany more turns, I concluded thatthe French commander, Dave Mills, had met his victory conditions and he was voted one of the two most valuable players on the French side.
In the middle the Allied attack finally started to have an impact. The platoon fire from British and Dutch battalions, along with their field artillery, began to take its toll on the French. This attack, though, was too late in developing, and that, along with insufficient pressure being applied to the entire Franco-Bavarian position, prevented the break-through that Marlborough needed in the center. In terms of victory conditions, the French had met theirs, but if the game were to continue, results might have been different.
At Oberglau the Allied commander had finally got the situation in hand. Using the Command Control bonuses of the Prince of Holstein-Beckand Prince Leopold, the Danish and Platinate battalions were organized into attack columns. The Platinate grenadiers with Prince Leopold at the head led several units in a successful charge on Oberglau. The defenders, who had been reduced in numbers by point-blank artillery fire, were routed and forced to retreat. This was the high point of the Allied attack, and the player (I apologize for not remembering his name) who commanded was voted the MVP for the Allies.
Play on the Allied right wing produced the other most valuable player for the French, the Elector himself, played by John Miller of the MERCER ACTION GAMERS, another NJ gaming group. His orders had been to maintain control of Lutzingen, while preventing the Austrians from breaking through between Lutzingen and Oberglau. He did this by what looked to be uninspiring play during the game, but the final results were what counted. (Often we tend to overlook the quiet play of commanders who are not where the action is taking place. Here is an example of following orders, responding to local threats as they developed, and not risking disaster by attacking when not required.)
The Austrian commander was still muddling through by game's end. In retrospect, the Austrian player's error was one of not concentrating his forces. This lack of a coordinated attack was costly to the Allied cause, in that it allowed Marsin to support the French center with reserves which might have been needed elsewhere.
CONCLUSION
While events did not work as planned for the Allies, the game did recreate the situation that both Marlborough and Tallard faced. Historically the Austrians pinned the Bavarians at Lutzingen, while the Danes were capturing Oberglau. The British repeatedly attacked Blenheim throughout the day, forcing Tallard to commit his reserves.
Eventually twenty seven battalions found themselves packed into Blenheim, and by day's end they had surrendered. Finally when Tallard had nothing left in the center the Anglo-Dutch advanced and drove the French from the field. The events of the game did not repeat part of history, but in the end Tallard was not forced into the same errors. If only Prince Eugene had put pressure on the Bavarians -- but that's a battle for another day.
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