A sort of Steinkirk (Steenkirque) scenario for Pike and Shotte

Something a little different for this game. Instead of the usual set up with two full Grand Alliance/WSS forces lined up ready to do battle, for our recent game I organised something which drew on the battle of Steinkirk  (1692).  At this battle the Allied army tried to carry out a surprise attack on the right flank of the French army, which, not expecting to be attacked in its strong position had positioned most of its forces further back.  The Allied advance guard had advanced close to the French encampments unobserved and when they advanced and deployed there were only a few units to oppose them.

The Initial set up

The Allied objective is to capture the village on the right of the table, the French have to prevent this.  More Allied battalions will arrive, but the commander of the advance guard does not know exactly when, or whether they will arrive on his right or left.  The French commander knows that the main body has been ordered to advance, but they will arrive piecemeal and again, he doesn't know when, or on which flank.  Fortunately for the French, the Allied commander has been ordered to await reinforcements before advancing.  (In the battle there was a 2 hour wait before the Allied advance).  I gave the Allied commander a chance of 'turning a blind eye' to his orders after 2 turns as he would be able to see his chances of success diminishing as more French approached.  In the actual battle the main Allied army never arrived.  Cavalry had been placed at the head of the column, as was normal practice.  But the terrain was totally unsuitable for them and they simply impeded the infantry.

Initially, the French had two battalions of line infantry, two of dismounted dragoons and a field gun;  the Allies 5 units of line infantry and a light gun.  After two turns of artillery fire, the Allied commander was lucky with his 'ignore orders' dice roll and was free to advance.  Fortunately for the French their commander's dice rolls had triggered the arrival of the first brigade of reinforcements, 4 battalions of line infantry.

The view from behind the French line as the Allies begin their advance

The Anglo-Danish brigade on the Allied left advanced into musketry range and were met by a volley from regiments Royal Italien and Montroux, the response from the two British battalions was disappointing; and this set the pattern for the rest of the battle on this flank.  On the Allied right, the Dutch/Danish brigade advanced against the dismounted dragoons.  Their volleys also proved ineffective, but the dragoon commander could see that in melee his men stood little chance and prudently fell back.  This move did disorganise the dragoons, but it created space for the newly arrived brigade to move into the line. The odds were now shifting in favour of the French, as they 6 line battalions against the five Allied ones.

The French infantry move to the left to face the Danes and Dutch

On the French right regiment Montroux continued to punish Erle's regiment with musketry volleys.  The final straw for the British regiment was when the French gun added its weight to the exchange and inflicted heavy casualties.  Unable to take any more, the regiment broke and ignoring the commander's order to stand, fell back off the battlefield.

The Allied commander was delighted to see the arrival of three battalions of Hessians on his right.  However, they brought the news that the main body was not going to appear, nor were any more troops.  When the Allied commander also saw the head of yet another column of French infantry appearing it became apparent that the best he could do was to form line of battle and then slowly fall back, preserving as much of his command as possible.

The Hessians arrive

The Dutch and Danish battalions were doing their best to slow the advance of the French infantry and buy time for the Hessian battalions to deploy.  However, they were paying a heavy price and when the French charged the Danes were bested in the melee and routed.  They were rallied by the brigade commander, but the Dutch were now isolated.  Just when they were needed the Hessians entered the fray.  Their volleys stopped the French advance, at least for the moment and gave time for the Danes to reform.  Unfortunately for the Dutch they now became the focus of fire from two French units and the resultant casualties forced them to retreat.  They too were rallied and now it was the French turn to suffer a setback as the two leading battalions of the brigade leading the attack were both routed by volleys.

The Languedoc and Bavaria regiments rout

Now the second brigade of French infantry made it's presence felt.  Moving forward on the left of the French line it began to engage the Hessians.  This move was supported by the dismounted dragoons who were trying to work their way round the flank of the Hessian right wing.  On the Allied left the Anglo-Danish brigade was coming off second best against Royal Italien and Montroux.  Both remaining battalions were on the verge of becoming shaken and could not be counted on as holding their ground much longer.  Therefore the commander of the advanced guard gave the order for a controlled retreat; alternately firing volleys and falling back toward the broken ground.  The day belonged to the French.

Always a difficult task, the Allied cause was not helped by some poor musketry which meant they made little headway against the original French force.  They were fortunate in getting a prompt release from their hold order and the arrival of the Hessians, but so were the French with their reinforcement rolls.  It did however provide a satisfactory evening's entertainment.