In the previous post I mentioned that I had recently read Orr's work on Dettingen. Also I said that I had two possible scenarios in mind. These are:
- What I call the 'traditional' battle - i.e. with part of the Pragmatic Army lined up facing Grammont's corps across the streams which run into the Main at Dettingen.
- What I might term the 'grand tactical' situation at approximately 08:00 on 27th June.
The layout for scenario 1. would be straightforward with allied lines extending from near the Main to the hills on their right, and the French forces under Grammont opposite them, with French guns across the Main in a flanking position. Apart from the French guns on the flank, this would present a fairly traditional 'line em up' type wargame.
The grand tactical scenario would be based on the layout below:
Source | Army | Squadrons | Cav Numbers | Battalions | Inf Numbers | Guns | Total Numbers |
Chandler, the Art of Warfare in the Age of Marlborough | Pragmatic | 31 | 42 | 98 | 35000 | ||
French | 44 | 49 | 56 | 26000 | |||
Orr, Dettingen 1743 | Pragmatic | ||||||
British | 3 troop HG, RR HG, 2 H, 6 drag inc SG | 3 Guard, 2 Fus, 10 line | |||||
Austrian | 2 drag | 9 reg | |||||
Hanoverian | 8 reg cav, 5 reg drag | 9 | |||||
British | 10 reg | 12 | |||||
Austrian | 2 reg | 9 reg | (Variable numbers of battalions) | ||||
Hanoverian | 4 | ||||||
French | |||||||
Total | 9 co of Maison, 3 cav reg, 1 drag reg, 1 hus reg | 23 regiments | |||||
Grammont | 3 brigades | 5 brigades | 23000 | ||||
USACAC | |||||||
Pragmatic | 68 | 10200 | 40 | 24000 | 34200 | ||
French | 79 | 11850 | 65 | 39000 | 50850 | ||
Troop numbers estimated on basis of 150/squadron and 600/battalion |
Pragmatic Army
Austrian | British | Hanoverian | Cav | Inf | |||||||
Formation | Brigade | SQ | BN | SQ | BN | SQ | BN | Bde | Bde | ||
Right Wing | Wendt | Dragoons | 12 | 1 | |||||||
? | Line | 3 | 1 | ||||||||
Scots Fus | 1 | ||||||||||
? | 4 | 1 | |||||||||
Brunswick | Dragoons (Scots Greys) | 3 | 1 | Large, elite | |||||||
Guards | 3 | 2 | |||||||||
Line | 1 | ||||||||||
Centre (Hessen/Neipperg) | ? | 5 | 1 | ||||||||
? | 5 | 1 | |||||||||
? | 6 | 1 | Large | ||||||||
Salm | RW Fus | 1 | 1 | ||||||||
Line | 3 | 1 | |||||||||
Left (Cumberland) | Campbell | Guards | 6 | ||||||||
Dragoons | 9 | 1 | |||||||||
Hawley | Dragoons | 12 | 1 | ||||||||
Monroy | Line | 5 | 1 | ||||||||
Pontpletin | Horse | 4 | |||||||||
Diemer | Dragoons | 10 | 1 | ||||||||
Hammerstein | Horse | 6 | 1 | ||||||||
Launay | Horse | 6 | |||||||||
'Loose change’ | 1 | ||||||||||
TOTALS | 10 | 13 | 30 | 15 | 28 | 12 | 6 | 8 | |||
Cavalry | 68 | 10200 | 11.3 | 5.0 | |||||||
Infantry | 40 | 24000 | |||||||||
34200 | |||||||||||
French Army
Formation | Brigade | SQ | BN | Cav Bde | Inf Bde | |
Advanced Guard | Dauphin | 6 | 1 | Large | ||
Berwick | 5 | 1 | Irish | |||
La Marine | 5 | 1 | ||||
Garde | 6 | 1 | Large, elite | |||
Noailles | 5 | 1 | ||||
Hussar | 6 | 1 | Tiny | |||
1st Line | Grenadiere | 1 | 1 | Large Elite | ||
Noailles | 8 | |||||
Mosquetaires | 4 | |||||
Brancas | 5 | |||||
Piemont | 5 | 1 | ||||
Rohan | 5 | 1 | ||||
Roi | 5 | 1 | ||||
Navarre | 5 | 1 | ||||
Royal | 6 | 2 | ||||
Royal Pologne | 7 | |||||
La Reine | 6 | |||||
2nd Line | Mestre de Camp | 7 | 1 | |||
Egmont | 7 | |||||
Orleans | 4 | 1 | ||||
Brancas | 4 | 1 | ||||
Touraine | 5 | 1 | ||||
Auvergne | 5 | 1 | ||||
Carabiniers | 9 | 1 | ||||
Dragoons | 13 | 1 | ||||
79 | 65 | 7 | 13 | |||
Cavalry | 11850 | 11.3 | 5 | |||
Infantry | 39000 | Brigades in italics = Grammont command | ||||
50850 |
Total numbers of troops is really irrelevant for the Twilight rules and is just used for comparison to the totals given by other sources. And in any case, they are estimates calculated on the basis of 600 men per battalion and 150 per squadron. The key factor is the number of brigades, which are the basic manoeuvre unit in the game. To avoid too many different sized brigades I've merged some of the smaller commands from the historical orders of battle. For both armies the mean size of a cavalry brigade is 11.3 squadrons, and 5 battalions for an infantry brigade.
As is often the case with the way armies in this period deployed, the formal orders of battle were not exactly followed in the historical engagement. Orders of battle were often worked out well in advance of any actual battle, and represent a theoretical approach. In practice, the lie of the land and the tactical situation required adaptation. Thus we see Grammont's command being made up of troops from the Advance Guard, 1st line and 2nd line.
One final piece to work out is the number of guns. Only Chandler quotes specific numbers, and I have reservations about those numbers judging by the size of the forces and the numbers of batteries deployed by the French.
But all in all, I'm ready to set-up the table on Saturday.
Dettingen is a battle I have considered bringing to the table more than once. I appreciate your research. I still need British.
ReplyDeleteI haven’t checked yet. I reckon have enough British and enough Hanoverian cavalry, but not sure about the Hanoverian foot. But I can use some Swiss as proxies.
DeleteChris
I have enough Hanoverian foot but have yet to start painting a British contingent.
DeleteAll good research there Chris and look forward to seeing the game set up and the action unfold:).
ReplyDeleteCheers Steve. Will probably have a report up Sunday night.
DeleteChris
You certainly have done a lot of research and preparation for your game.
ReplyDeleteI often do for these big games Peter. Though research is a bit of a grand term for it. 😀
DeleteChris