Fontenoy 1745

So my next mid 18th century battle will be Fontenoy.

The main reason for doing this battle is the fact that the Wild Geese had such a main role as did the Black Watch.
My French metropolitan army is gaining strength as is the British, Prussian and Hanoverian.
Mostly, it's filling out the Cavalry and the infantry.
So over my restaurant shutdown, I will see what I can do.

the main French line

the Allied centre made up of Hessian, British and Dutch troops

oday's battle

The Highland Brigade take the hill supported by the Royal Artillery

The main British force, two columns of Troops and horse

looking towards the French lines

the first battalion of Highlanders reaches the hill with gun support 

the French right begin to fire

a French heavy gun fires, neat effect with cotton wool

the Brunswickers line fire

both lines begin to exchange musketry enveloping the battlefield with gunsmoke

the French cavalry open fire with their carbines and pistols scattering the Brunskers

musketry continues to be exchanged

the French cavalry charge the Brunswickers, breaking their line

the Prussian horse counter charge

the French right wing eliminate their opponents (who were made up of the 43rd Black Watch). 

the 64th and 88th Highlanders attempt to hold the hill. The French eventually drive off the Highlanders but suffer horrendous casualties in the process.

The British Grenadiers break through the French line

but the move is negated by the Wild Geese flanking the entire Allied right wing. As French guns begin to decimate the Brunswickers and Prussians, the Allied Army withdrawls.

Once again a historical win for the French.

Combat of Saundershausen July 23, 1758

One of my more popular postings was on a Seven Years War raid. This is another one,  a French raid.
The forces are French battalions with Light troops, aka Hussars attacking a Hessian force.

 A Hessian regiment, 

(Osprey Publishing)

 (Lace Wars Reenactment group, UK)

This will be the new blackpowder game I set up for today. The dynamics are from GOFF, so that Ian can quickly make decisions.

I got Ian to play with me after an afternoon of badminton in the park.

 The French, Austrian and Bavarian force advances on the Hessian right flank.

 The Hessians are in their fortified camp, with the officers in the local inn.

The Hessian horse, quickly deploy but are slowed up by the thick woods on their right.

 Cossacks in Prussian pay rush into the camp to lend support with a battalion of Hessians coming up in support.

The Irish Regiments prepare to advance into the centre of town.

The French and allied horse are also slowed up by the woods on the Hessian right. The Hessian storehouse is within easy reach of the French.

Ian ties down my Hessian troops, meaning that the storehouse is at the mercy of the French.

The battle is still being fought. Since it's being played in the living room,  while my wife and daughter watch TV, Ian goes, then I go. 

The Hessian storehouse falls victim to a concentrated attack. 

View from the French lines. Steam rolling into camp.

Hessian horse take on a French gun, taking out the crew. One of the high points the Hessians had.

The Cossacks attempt to flank the French troops on their right. The Hessians pour volleys to try and stop the flood of French into their camp.

My final move was to try to drive off the French allied horse from stealing the livestock.

 While I had to step out, Ian then made a large attack, and destroyed my Hessian force.

A fun game. Ian wanted to "help" me buy setting up my forces. I wanted to have put a guard force on my storehouse, but oh well. Maybe next time.

Falkirk 1746 replay 2015 version

First black powder game of the year

 The Crown forces form up outside Falkirk, Scotland on a cold rainy day. To reflect that the rain affected musketry, there were no re-roles on one and twos.

The Jacobite army. The Wild Geese, Irish Picuets are in the rear.

The two Osprey Publishing books I have used as my historical and painting guides.

 One clan regiment moves forward acting as a light infantry screen. The government horse had done the same.

The Jacobite front line moves forward

 the marshy ground makes their manovers haphazard.

 The Jacobites contact the Crown line, trading volleys, while clansmen get into close quarter combat with the Grenadiers.

who proceed the then fail morale and break away.

The Crown forces right line attempt to refuse the line but are flanked by the Jacobite horse.

The Jacobite volleys break the morale of the British regiments who begin to fall back in disorder.

The line continues to crumple.

 With more units failing their morale, the Crown forces withdrawl. Once again, the Jacobite achieve a victory.

Osprey Publishing - Duty and Glory

Osprey Publishing - Duty and Glory




My most recent addition to my wargamming library. This volume covers my armies for the late 17th century Britian, and into the 18th century in Europe.

Battlefield Britain - Boyne

 I can still share videos I like however. This is one of the Snow's BBC Battlefield Britain series.

Too bad that this battle has still so many bad feelings.

With my new copy of Duty and Glory, I'll have to see about wargamming this.

Osprey Publishing - The Wild Geese

Osprey Publishing - The Wild Geese




The reprinted version of this book is a bit deceptive. Most of the uniform and regimental information actually dates to the heyday of this group in the 18th century. If you were a poor starving Irishmen, you had three choices. Starve, enlist in King George's Army, or Louis XV's army.




This volume covers the Irish who enlisted in both the French and Spanish armies to follow a Catholic monarch.




Sadly, by the time of the French Revolution, all of the foreign regiments faced disbandment. While Napoleon did raise some foreign regiments, they were not in the same vein as from the Ancient Regime.

Battlefield Britain - Episode 7 Culloden

 Another BBC documentary series hosted by the Snows, father and son historians. A good balanced view of what happened.

A typical Seven Years War raid in Western Germany, Zierenberg, 1760

Most of my knowledge of the conflict of 1754-63 (which includes what happened in North America) is just that, due to the fact that my own home province of Nova Scotia was such a battle ground in the conflict as it had with all of the previous colonial conflicts.
However, I wanted to branch out with some cavalry and infantry action.

“Petite guerre” Skirmishes between irregular forces in Europe

France: Berchenny Hussards: blue uniform: 2 troops

       3^rd Battn Volunteer Etranger: 1 coy

       Various Light troops either dressed in cossack style or blue/red

Russia: Ukranian Cossacks: 1 regiment of 6 troops with dismounted companies

Austria: Chevauxlegers (use same as Napoleonic) Jagers (grey uniforms)

Saxony: 1 coy of light infantry in white coats

 

British:

17^th Light Dragoons: 5 troops

87^th Highlanders and 88^th Highlanders: Redcoats faced green, 64th: red face black

Composite Grenadier battalion

25th Regiment (Edinburgh)

Prussia: Jagers

Hanoverian Freytag'scher Freikorps, Luckner'scher Frei-Husaren,
Brunswick Husarenkorps
Hesse-Kassel Leibgarde Grenadier company

(A shot of 77th Highlanders from Yahoo groups)

Representative of 51st Regiment (photo courtsey of former 15th Regiment website)

(photo courtsey of the 77th Regiment Czech reenactors)

Olgilvy's Regiment of the French army (photo taken from the internet sweep for French reeactors)

Composite Grenadier battalion (photo taken from former 15th Regiment website)

I played this action twice this month. The first was on 11/7 and the other today. The first, I lost as I was quite busy that day and didn't have much time for the game. The second, played against my son was a hard fought action.
Ian as the French player saw my mixed allied force attack his town. His defences consisted of an old castle town with stone walls, though as he was to discover, there were a few gaps in his walls which the British Grenadiers tried to break through twice. The first move, Ian deployed his cavalry to try to push my attack out. This only destroyed my 17th Light Dragoons. My Highland brigade was initally affected but rallied. The Royal Artillery were able to grind down his force until they broke back into the town. The British Grenadiers on the right began to march into a gap which the French had left undefended. The French artillery then began a brisk fire on the German contingent. The German horse units then counter charged the French lines scattering the remaining French cavalry but were in turn cut down by musketry inside a covered gallery. The German and Royal Artillery then began to use their guns to seek and destroy the French guns. Meanwhile, the French counter attacked the British breach. The British then assualted the town gate and the gap but both attacks failed to drive back the French. By the end of the action, only one British gun remained, one French, and the British Infantry were decimated. The German troops had been valiant, but also suffered greatly. The French did pretty well. Good one Ian. Daddy needs to remember how to soften up a target first before an assualt.