This article is my personal interpretation of the battle. Any mistakes are my own.
John Churchill, ( the Duke of Marlborough ) Commander of the English contingent and General of the Allied Army within the Empire had not quite reached the height of fame in his military career. The Imperial part of the army were all the troops from Germanic Kingdoms owning allegiance to the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. That being Hapsburg Austria.
It wasn’t quite so long ago that England ( with a pro Catholic King ) had been an Ally of France in its War against Imperial Austria.
However, a Dutch ( Protestant) Queen now sat on the throne of England. ( Anne was the Wife of the late William 3rd of England and Stadtholder of Holland ).The Netherlands ( Belgium ) and the United Provinces ( Holland ) were now a target of Louis the 14th ( The Sun King ) of France. Therefore, former enemies were now allies.
.The Bavarian Wittelsbach family, were still in contention with the Austrian Hapsburgs over who had the hereditary rights to the Imperial Throne. This is why the Bavarian Kingdom always stayed an ally of France.
Three years into the current conflict, The French army led by General Tallard along with Maximilian and his Bavarian troops were heading toward Austrian territory to attack Vienna, the seat of Hapsburg power. Churchill’s intention was to divert the enemy. To that end his army marched into Bavaria and stormed a position known as the Shellenburg, a fortified hill linked to the town of Donauworth and a major crossing point of the Danube.
Taking this town gave Churchill a base from which to harry the South Bavarian territory. This had the desired effect. General Tallard thought that he could cut off Churchills army from his supply lines, even forcing the Allied army to retreat north through Franconia.
However, instead of manoeuvring away from the approaching French forces, Churchill wanted to bring on a battle. August found the French and Bavarian army encamped on slightly rising ground to the West of the river Nebel, a tributary of the Danube. With the rising hills on his left flank, the Danube on the right and with the Nebel to his front, Tallard felt pretty secure.
Therefore it was something of a shock, as the sun rose over the fields of Blenheim on that fateful Wednesday13th to see the enemy Allied army approaching, intent on battle————————.
ALLIED IMPERIAL ARMY;
26,400 Infantry = 26.4pts x 2 = 53points r/u.
10,680 Cavalry = 10.680pts x 2 = 21points r/d.
3 stands of Danish Line Infantry @ 2pts = 6 points.
3 stands of Prussian Line Infantry @ 2pts = 6 points.
* 1 stand of Prussian Light Artillery @ 1pt.
Prince of Anholt Dessau @ 1pt.
5 stands of Imperial Cavalry @ 2pts = 10 points.
Prince Eugene @ 1 point.
1 stand of Imperial Grenadier Infantry @ 4 points.
3 stands of Imperial Line Infantry @ 2pts = 6 points.
* 1 stand of Imperial Light Artillery @ 1 point.
Prince of Holstein @ 1 point.
1 stand of Hanoverian Grenadier Infantry @ 4 points.
2 stands of Hanoverian Line Infantry @ 2pts = 4 points.
1 stand of English Grenadier Infantry @ 4 points.
7 stands of English Line Infantry @ 2 points = 14 points.
* 2 stands of English Light Artillery @ 1 point = 2 points.
2 stands of English Cavalry @ 2pts = 4 points.
1 stand of Cavalry ( a few troops brigaded ) @ 1 point.
John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough @ 2 points.
George Churchill @ 1 point.
General Cutts @ 1 point.
** 66 Guns each with 30 gunners = 1,980 gunners = 1.980pts x 2 = 3.960 or 4pts r/u.
* 4 stands of Light Artillery @ 1 point each.
THE FRENCH-BAVARIAN ARMY;
14 stands of French Line Infantry @ 2pts = 28 points.
2 stands of French Grenadier Line Infantry @ 4pts = 8points.
( Within Oberglau) 2 stands of Irish Line Infantry @ 3pts = 6pts.
1 stand of Dismounted French Dragoons @ 1 point.
* 3 stands of French Light Artillery @ 1pt = 3 points.
8 stands of French Cavalry @ 1pt = 8 points.
General Tallard @ 1 point.
General Clarembault @ 1 point.
General Zurlauben @ 1 point.
6 stands of Bavarian Line Infantry @ 2 points = 12 points.
* 2 stands of Bavarian Light Artillery @ 1pt = 2 points.
5 stands of Bavarian Cavalry @ 1 point = 5 points.
Elector Maximilian @ 1 point.
General Marsin @ 1 point.
** 90 guns each with 30 gunners = 2,700 gunners = 2.700 x 2 = 5pts r/d.
* 5 stands of Light Artillery @ 1 point
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WARGAME NOTES;
* Any stands being moved into the River Nebel cannot be moved further forward that Game-Turn.
* Any stands being moved into the Danube will be lost.
* Artillery stands cannot be moved into the river Nebel.
* On the first Game-Turn, The Allied Army is moved first and fires first. From Game-Turn two until Game-Turn eight both sides will have dice thrown to decide who moves/fires first on each Game-Turn.
* The Allied Imperial Army keeps the Initiative Point for the entire battle.
* The Allied army wins any tied results.
* The Infantry and Cavalry must move through the face of a square, not a diagonal. The dismounted Dragoons can move in any direction, as can the artillery.
HISTORICAL NOTES.
This battle was a bit of a puzzle because the numbers of combatants cannot be verified. I have chosen the following;
The Allied Army: 66 Battalions, 178 Squadrons.
The French-Bavarian Army: 70 Battalions 143 Squadrons.
The French Army had a problem with “ Glanders” ( French “ Glandres”) a disease which causes problems with the lungs in horses. 12 Squadrons of French Dragoons fought dismounted because their horses had to be destroyed. This disease can also spread to humans, so there is a possibility that the bacteria could have spread to the troops?
When I scaled down the respective armies, I allowed for 60 men in a Cavalry Squadron and 400 men in an Infantry Battalion. Churchill’s March to Bavaria has been labelled as a model of discipline and organisation, because of the excellent logistical support. However I felt that, given the limited medical knowledge and mortality issues, formations would not be at their full compliment.
Neither side had any heavy guns, but both sides had battalion guns which did get moved in this battle to support the combat. Therefore the artillery stands of both sides can move in any direction and fire after moving.
Marlborough had complete trust in his Generals and this was reciprocated especially with Prince Eugene.
The French and Bavarian Generals operated independently. Tallard formed his men further back from the Nebel in order to trap the Allied left against the river. Maximilian formed his men up further forward to use the Nebel as a defence point. The battle was hard fought with bravery and heavy casualties on both sides.
Marlborough’s execution and victory of the battle bought him the ultimate accolade in that Queen Anne had Blenheim Palace built for him. This was the battle that sealed Marlborough’s reputation. I also recommend the book “ Marlborough As Military Commander” by the late Doctor David Chandler, which details all Marlborough’s battles.
STAGING THE BATTLE:
All the figures are a mixture of Miniature Figurines, Peter Pig and Essex Miniatures 15mm Seven Years War figures. All the buildings are scratch built as is one of the bridges.
I used the Seven Years war figures for this blog. At this point in history The British army was still referred to as “ The English Army”. The Act of Union with Scotland, and the Royal link with Hanover had yet to come. The “ Imperial Cavalry” is mostly Austrian but Prussian, Danish, Hanoverian and Hessians can also be used.
The flatter green areas were made by S and A Scenics. The hills were scratch-built. The trees were made by various manufacturers, Guagemaster being one. The rivers and roads were made from thin card.
The square bases are made from picture-framing cardboard. The round mdf 40mm bases are from Minibits.
The table is 3 feet ( 90cm ) x 2feet ( 60cm) using 2 inch ( 50mm ) squares. As with all my reconstructions you can play them using the information provided or in your own style.
