A) Command & Control
The two armies are formed of fewer units than I usually field, partly because of space taken up by the Spessart foothills, and partly because the battle is being fought lengthways on the table.
With hindsight it might have been better to use two tables, but it will make an interesting change having a smaller scenario.
But this means the command & control rules, which use pips or action points, will need to be modified. Instead of using a 10-sided die and two normal dice, we will use a six-sided die and two four-sided ones.
The six-sided die will be for the main sector of each army. In the case of the French, that will be the troops under the Duke of Gramont in and around Dettingen; for the Pragmatic army, it will be the front line of the force facing Dettingen.
The other two sectors for the French will be men with the Duke of Noailles, and the troops at Aschaffenburg.
The other two Pragmatic sectors will be the second line facing Dettingen, and the troops facing Aschaffenburg.
B) Army Characteristics
British and British-trained Hanoverian foot had better fire-drill than French and Austrian infantry, and this will be reflected in giving them a 50:50 chance of a +1 modifier for every die thrown when they fire.
British cavalry at Dettingen turned out to be in a poor state of training, and will suffer a -1 modifier for every die thrown for combat in a melee.
C) Army Points
The Pragmatic army consists of the commander King George (3pts), six foot battalions (12pts), three cavalry squadrons (3pts) and two guns (2pts). That is 20pts in all, meaning it will have lost if its total falls below 10.
The French army consists of the commander the Duke of Noailles* (3pts), eight foot battalions (16pts), five cavalry squadrons (5pts) and two guns (2pts). That is 26pts in all, meaning it will have lost if its total falls bellow 13.
*Although Noailles is the commander, Gramont will exercise the commander's +1 morale modifiers as long as Noailles remains on the south bank of the Main. The French will suffer no loss of army points if Gramont becomes a casualty.
D) Special Terrain Rules
The embanked west bank of the tributary at Dettingen counts as cover up to where the marsh starts. Crossing it requires 4cm of movement, and puts foot out of firing order. The marsh reduces troops to quarter speed (no extra penalty for crossing the tributary in the marsh). Troops in the marsh suffer a -1 modifier to every die thrown for meleeing or firing.
Crossing the tributary at Aschaffenburg requires 3cm of movement and forces foot out of firing order.
The River Main, which is unfordable, is wider than shown. It counts as 8cm for purposes of movement, ie crossing the bridge at Aschaffenburg, and for firing, which rules out cross-river musketry and canister.
Artillery can only cross the tributaries by bridge. Troops using a bridge suffer no movement penalty, but foot lose firing order.
The forested Spessart foothills are impassable to all but light infantry, which neither army has.
E) Pontoon Bridges
The pontoon bridges west of Dettingen are not shown, but may be used by any unit exiting the table while within a normal move of the River Main. Troops on foot can exit and return on the opposite bank three moves later; horse can exit and return two moves later.
F) Weather
This seems to have played no part in the battle and so will stay fair for the duration.
G) Special Victory Condition
The French will have won if King George and at least one unit of the Pragmatic army have not exited the table to the west by the end of turn 20 (exception: if French army points fall below 13, the allies immediately win). This prevents the Pragmatic player from staying pat and daring the French to attack, which reflects the fact that the Pragmatic army was trapped, cut off from its supplies, and had to break out to avoid defeat.
H) First Move
Since the French have taken up defensive positions, at least in Dettingen, the Pragmatic army will move first, rather than the two players dicing for the privilege.
I) Pre-Battle Movement
I usually allow each general to reposition up to three units before a battle commences, but I am not allowing that here as I think it could radically alter the starting conditions, eg King George could dispense with a rearguard, or the French could beef up Dettingen by adding their south-bank reserves.
J) Unit Ratings
The Pragmatic army's Royal Foot and France's Cuirassiers du Roi are elite units.
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My opponent, who is my regular wargames adversary, will, as my guest, have choice of armies, but since he is a huge Francophile I have no doubt he will sink his identity into that of Noailles/Gramont.
As usual, I will write the game up turn-by-turn.
So what is my plan? Well, there is nothing for it but to advance on Dettingen and hope the dice favour me. Meanwhile, the rearguard will try to hold off any French advance from the east.
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TURN ONE
I threw 1s for action points where I wanted them (in front of Dettingen), and a 4 where I did not need them. ie the rearguard.
I used the Dettingen action points to advance my right-flank infantry, with the von Klinkowström Foot showing particularly commendable zeal (although in firing order, they advanced 7.5cm thanks to the movement-variation rule).
Unfortunately for me, the zeal of the Hanoverian infantry brought them within range of both French guns.
Gramont used his one Dettingen action point to fire his artillery. He threw a 5, meaning 1.25 potential hits. That rounds to one, but the hit-effect roll turned up a one, meaning the shot di no harm.
Noailles had three action points, and used one of them to fire his gun, but its score of 2 was quartered to 0.25, meaning no potential hit.
The French at Aschaffenburg had three action points, using two of them to advance the Bretagne Cavalerie and the Poitou Foot across the stream, the former making it thanks to getting a 25% movement-variation bonus. The remaining action was used to complete the Champagne Foot's crossing of the Main and to start them crossing the tributary.
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| French leave … foot and horse cross the Aschaffenburg tributary |
It was only as we were about to play turn two that we realised we forgot, when calculating the range of the artillery with Noailles, that the Main counts as being 8cm wide, meaning the von Klinkowström Foot were out of range. Fortunately no harm was done as the gun missed.
I rolled slightly more useful pips this turn, continuing my advance on Dettingen.
The gun at Aschaffenburg fired at the Bretagne Cavalerie, scoring a potential hit, but the roll for the hit turned up a 3 - one short.
Gramont's artillery opened fire on The Buffs and scored a hit, causing the battalion to lose 25% effectiveness. It narrowly passed its subsequent morale test, but only thanks to having a friendly unit to the rear.
Gramont also sent the Cuirassiers du Roi, from their position west of Dettingen, forward towards the Dettingen bridge.
The Buffs were also fired on by Noailles' artillery, but it missed.
The French at Aschaffenburg only had one action point, and that was used to complete the Poitou Foot's crossing of the tributary bridge.
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| Approaching Dettingen … the officer of The Buffs has been moved to the right to show the unit has lost 25% effectiveness |
I threw a 5 and two 4s, allowing me to order every unit in front of Dettingen to advance, with the exception of the gun, which unlimbered so as to fire next turn.
The rearguard gun fired at the Poitou Foot, but to no effect.
The French gun at Dettingen continued firing at The Buffs, scoring a 6. Quartered, this made 1.5 potential hits, but Gramont successfully rolled to upgrade the half, so two potential hits. He then successfully rolled to turn both potential hits into actual hits, reducing The Buffs to 25% effectiveness (and with a morale test to come).
(This was phenomenal dice-rolling by my opponent, as a calculation of the odds will show. Only a 6 can give 1.5 potential hits, and the chance of doing that is obviously one in six. To turn the half potential-hit into a full hit requires a further throw of 4-6, so one chance in two. He then needed to throw a 4-6 to turn each potential hit into an actual hit, so one chance in two twice more. All in all, to get two hits from one battery can be calculated as 1/6 x 1/2 x 1/2 x 1/2, or one chance in 48; in other words, in bookmakers' terms, 47-1 against.)
Gramont had five action pips in all, but the only other one he used was to finish manoeuvring the Cuirassiers du Roi to take up position at the western end of Dettingen Bridge.
Noailles had two action points. He used one for the artillery to fire at the poor old Buffs, who took another hit and so cased to be as a unit. The second pip he used to send the Bercheny Hussars in the direction of the pontoon bridges west of Dettingen.
The French at Aschaffenburg had four action points. One was used to put the Poitou Foot into firing order, and the other three to advance the Champagne and Touraine Foot and the Colonel-Général Cavalerie.
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| On the march … French troops pour through Aschaffenburg |
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| Bird's eye view … from above the Duke of Noailles, looking towards the depleted Pragmatic forces |
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