Ramillies 1706 - Re-fight

 War of the Spanish Succession 23 May 1706

Pro-Habsburg Forces under The Duke of Marlborough approx. 69,000 with 120 guns
Pro-Bourbon Forces under le Duc de Villeroi & the Elector of Bavaria, approx. 68,000 with 70 guns

Played with Twilight of the Sun King rules (with one 60x30mm base per brigade rather than the standard two 60x30mm bases per brigade)  with 1200+ 6mm figures on a 6'x4' table.

Reference 

• See my blog post Ramillies Set up  
• See my blog post Twilight of the Sun King rules Review  
• See Kronoskaf WSS
• See Obscure battles

Battlefield

From the French point of view the left wing of the battlefield was separated by rough terrain not suited for cavalry.  The centre around Ramillies was more open and the right flank was ideal for cavalry. Both commanders placed their infantry on the French left and centre and massed their cavalry on the French right flank.  Both commanders  left some cavalry to guard the left flank but with no intention of actually attacking across the rough ground but rather just in case the opposition were foolish enough to do try an attack across the rough ground.

The battle commenced with an artillery bombardment.  One of the things I like about the TotSK rules is that long range artillery bombardments may disrupt troops maneuvering but unless massively concentrated they will not cause casualties (a loss of moral in these rules.)

The  infantry of the  Grand Alliance ( Austria, England, and the Dutch Republic) under Marlborough  advanced on the French, slowed down by the rough ground separating the armies on the left of the French lines.  The British horse pulled away from their position on the French left and rode with some hast behind the British lines heading to the other flank. 

The French cavalry advanced smartly against the  Grand Alliance cavalry.  The Duke of Villeroi plan being for his superior cavalry to crush their opposition and then to flank the allies infantry lines. 

The cavalry wings clashed, over 150 squadrons of cavalry, 20,000+ cavalry charging and counter charging.  A nice detail in the TotSK rules is that defeated cavalry flee a full move from a losing combat unless they have reinforcement to their rear in which case they fall back behind their support.  This givens a nice rolling combat with weakened horse falling back behind reinforcements.

In the centre the allied infantry assaulted Ramillies and then Offus and finally Autra-Eglise.    Unlike the cavalry fight the infantry combat was a slower grind.  The rules give a bonus to moral tests for troops with rear support  and infantry  inherently harder to break than cavalry (3 hits opposed to 2).

The cavalry fight was going against the French when  the arrival of the British horse pulled from the opposite flank made it even more difficult for the French and lead to the eventual collapse of the French cavalry wing.

The Allied cavalry started to wrap around the flank of the French army.  The French infantry still held the three villages of Ramillies, Offus and Autra-Eglise although the fight was starting to slowly swing in favour of the allies. However with the allied horse free to swing onto the flanks and rear of the French Army,  the Duke of Villeroi conceded the field  and victory to the  Grand Alliance.

Comments

This wargame ran very close to the original battle.  I found the Twilight of the Sun King rules to be quick and to give a "realistic"  outcome.

Review of WSS (WAS & SYW) Rules

Historically, I have always loved reading rules, but I have the concentration of a goldfish when it comes to wargaming a period. I tend to flit from one ruleset to another, never settling on a single set. However, I've decided to reduce the number of rules I use and focus on my favourites. As part of this effort, I've decided to fight roughly the same War of Spanish Succession (WSS) battle using different rules to see which I prefer.  Below are two tables of reviews with links out to the individual battles/rules review.

I wanted the battle to contain the following elements:

• Crossing a small stream (as per Blenheim and Ramillies)
• Attacking a village 
• Cavalry frontally charging Infantry
• Infantry v Infantry
• Cavalry v Cavalry
• Artillery 

	Kampe in Reihen	Twilight of the Sun King	Honours of War
Battle review	Review	Review	Review
Clarity of rules	Average	Below average but good in supplements.	Good
Friction of command	One free move but can gamble for more	Limitations if a unit wants to do anything other that just advance.	Commands alternate  movement & firing with opponents commands.
Speed of play	Average	Average	Little faster than most
Movement & obstacles	Average	Innovative works well	Average
Attacking Buildings	Hard to succeed	"Realistic"	Defenders can be worn down
Army size	8-12 units per player	12+ units per player. Unit is brigades	8-12 units work well
Notes	Player feels involved not an observer.	Good but felt like a simulation rather than a game  Very innovative combat with moral replacing  "to hit" rolls.	Good but combat results are to varied for my taste
Cost	Charity payment	£14 (excellent supplements £20)	£9.99

	DNB - SYW	Maurice
Battle review	Review	Review
Clarity of rules	Clarity: Average  Presentation: Poor	Good
Friction of command	Generals roll 1d6  points and pat points to move units.	Generals move one command per round.
Speed of play	Average, 3-5 rounds to destroy a unit in combat.	Quick
Movement & obstacles	Bad terrain slows unit movement	Bad terrain may disrupt units
Attacking Buildings	Very difficult in DBN but only slightly difficult in the SYW supplement	Hard to succeed
Army size	12 units per player is not a problem.	12 or so units per player
Notes	Combat is opposed rolls.  There is no I firem you take hits then you fire with what troops you have left.	Different mechanic for shooting and melee. Melee always wears down troops even the winners.
Cost:	$15 for the pdf.  Seven Years war rules are a free download but require the full rules.	£30 rules & £30 cards (or lite version for free)