Refighting Fontenoy (part nine)

War of the Austrian Succession - campaign standings after six battles (Mollwitz, Chotusitz, Sahay, Dettingen, Pfaffenhofen and Fontenoy)
2pts for a win, plus a bonus point if the win reverses a battle's historical outcome
PLAYERS
                    Wins Losses Bonus Points Total Points Score*
Me                   4        2               3                   11             91.7%
Opponent         2        4               1                   5              41.7%
NATIONS
Austria              4        0               3                  11            137.5%
France              2        2               1                   5              62.5%
Britain+             0        2               0                   0               0%
Prussia             0        2               0                   0               0%
 *Score is calculated on the basis that two points a battle counts as 100 percent, so it is possible with bonus points to score up to 150 percent.
+This is the Pragmatic Army, which was led and primarily financed by Britain.

AFTERTHOUGHTS
It was a thoroughly deserved French victory and, from the viewpoint of casualties, a convincing one.
My opponent had a strong hand to play, to be sure, but I felt he played it well.
I knew that using my right to help in the assault on Fontenoy would expose these troops to flanking action from the main body of the French, but I did not do enough to prevent this, and de Saxe waited until I was committed before unleashing his forces.
Similarly on the other wing he only ordered a general advance once my troops there had exposed their left flank in their attempts to attack Fontenoy.
I do not think Fontenoy is as difficult for the Pragmatic army to win as Dettingen undoubtedly is, but nevertheless it is very hard.
As a result of this refight, I intend making one change to my Game Of Kings rules, and that concerns frontal attacks on infantry by cavalry.
Under previous command & control systems, I believed such attacks would (rightly) prove too costly. But under the current system, which we both like, where action points are diced for and it is possible for one army to move on successive half-turns, cavalry can unrealistically ride down properly formed infantry.
Accordingly, I am adjusting the following rule:
If infantry is contacted frontally by an enemy unit that began its move outside of musketry range, the infantry may fire prior to the melee being fought, but have a -1 modifier on each throw for a hit.

In future it will read:

If infantry is contacted frontally by an enemy unit, the infantry may fire prior to the melee being fought, but have a -1 modifier on each throw for a hit.

Refighting Fontenoy (part eight)

TURN 10

The battlefield at the start of turn 10

De Saxe won the initiative, opted to go first and rolled 3 (right) and 6+1 (left) action points.
The Cuirassiers du Roi charged round the rightside of the fortifications of Fontenoy and slammed into the flank of the Oranje-Groningen Foot, who were completely swept away, although they did manage one hit on the horsemen.
On the French left de Saxe's artillery and the Alsace Foot failed in their firing, but the depleted Wittmer Foot scored a hit on The Green Horse, who narrowly passed a morale test.
I rolled 8 (right) and 6 (left) action points.
I achieved nothing on the left flank, and on the right both my artillery batteries and the full-strength von Klinkowström Foot failed to score a hit. But The Buffs had more success, inflicting a hit on the Alsace Foot, who promptly disintegrated thanks to poor morale. The other notable action in this part of the battlefield occurred when The Green Horse charged the remains of the Wittmer Foot. Both units scored a hit, which reduced the horsemen to 50% effectiveness but eliminated the Swiss.
Army points at the end of turn 10: the French have lost 8pts out of 36; the allies have lost 15pts out of 34 (and so are 3pts away from losing the battle).

The Pragmatic left, having to all intents and purposes given up hope of capturing Fontenoy

The situation between Fontenoy and the Bois de Barry

TURN 11
De Saxe won the initiative (thanks to his +1 modifier), opted to go first and rolled 10 (right) and 10+1 (left) action points.
He ordered all units on his right, apart from the artillery and the Normandie Foot in Fontenoy, to advance, with the Genderames de la Garde, who are part of the right command, charging the Green Horse, who were eliminated. My unit inflicted two hits on the gendarmes, but one was negated by a saving throw (the gendarmes wear breastplates). There was further bad news for the Pragmatic cause when the Normandie Foot inflicted a hit on the Buddenbrock Foot, who promptly failed a morale test (they would have been all right if there had been rear support) and so lost a further 25% effectiveness and fled.
On the other flank The Buffs suffered a hit from artillery fire, but their morale held. Then the Queen's Own Dragoons suffered three hits from the Poitou Foot. The Chasseurs de Fischer emerged from the wood to also fire at the dragoons, but ineffectively. The Beaufremont Dragoons charged the von Klinkowström Foot, who were unable to get off a volley because the dragoons started from less than a musket-shot away. The dragoons won the melee by three hits to two, prompting the Hanoverians to flee. And on testing the morale of the Queen's Own Dragoons, who had suffered three hits from the Poitou Foot, it turned out the survivors had broken up (in other words the unit was eliminated).
Army points at the end of turn 11: the French have lost 8pts out of 36; the allies have lost 17pts out of 34.
With defeat inevitable, I conceded.

The Duke of Cumberland has the unblooded Royal Horse Guards to his right but otherwise cuts rather a lonely figure

Next: Updated campaign standings and Afterthoughts

Refighting Fontenoy (part seven)

TURN EIGHT

The battlefield at the start of turn eight

I won the initiative (which makes a change and I suspect has come at a very opportune moment), decided to go first and rolled 10 (right) and 5 (left) action points.
I started with the left flank, where the artillery battery fired unsuccessfully at Fontenoy. The Aylva Foot also fired at the village, scoring a hit on the Normandie Foot, but the hit was cancelled by a saving throw. The Hohen-Ems Cuirassiers charged the remains of the Champagne regiment in the flank. The cuirassiers were entitled to four dice per 25% effectiveness: three for being heavy cavalry attacking infantry who are not facing them in firing order, and one for attacking in the flank. That meant 16 dice in all, so not surprisingly the Champagne Foot became the first French unit eliminated. My cuirassiers were unscathed.
On the Pragmatic right one of my batteries scored a hit on the Alsace Foot while the other fired unsuccessfully at the Grenadiers de France. However the grenadiers' reprieve was short-lived as my two Hanoverian battalions, von Zastrow and von Klinkowström, advanced and poured devastating volleys into the French battalion, wiping it out. The other significant action on this part of the battlefield came from The Buffs following up the fleeing Picardie Foot and scoring a hit, reducing the unit to 25% effectiveness. Both the Picardie and Alsace regiments avoided losing further effectiveness due to crumbling morale. Nevertheless it has been a much-needed successful half-turn for the Pragmatic cause. 

De Saxe rolled 6 (right) and 4+1 (left) action points.
His right-flank redoubt gun fired at my victorious Hohen-Ems Cuirassiers, but failed to convert a potential hit into an actual one. His other battery, across the Scheldt, was well out of range of allied troops, so the only other firing he could order on this flank was that of the Normandie Foot in Fontenoy, but they failed to score a hit on the Aylva Foot. Otherwise de Saxe sent his units forward, including ordering the Piémont Foot to leave the fortifications of Antoing.
On the French left de Saxe used two compulsory action points to successfully rally both of his retreating battalions, Picardie and Touraine. That left him with just three action points for this flank. He used two of them to initiate a clash of redcoats by sending his Swiss Wittmer Foot to advance and fire at my von Zastrow regiment, but the Swiss failed to score a hit.
Army points at the end of turn eight: the French have lost 4pts out of 36; the allies have lost 8pts out of 34.

Close-up of the fighting between Fontenoy and the Bois de Barry

TURN NINE
With so many units in close proximity, winning the initiative is again going to be important, and this time it went to de Saxe, thanks to his +1 modifier after we both rolled a 2. He opted to go first and rolled 4 (right) and 3+1 (left) action points.
On his right flank de Saxe had a stroke of good fortune when the move-variation rule allowed his Languedoc Dragoons to charge my Hohen-Ems Cuirassiers in the rear (he admitted that if he had realised the dragoons were more than 10cm away he would almost certainly not have ordered them to move). His dragoons inflicted three hits from their eight dice - twice the normal number because they were attacking in the rear. The cuirassiers, reduced to two dice as they had been contacted from behind, inflicted no hits, and saved none of the ones they suffered. However, they did just pass their morale test. De Saxe's Navarre regiment advanced and fired at the Sachsen-Gotha Dragoons, who were supporting the cuirassiers - again three hits were inflicted, but my squadron's morale held steady. There was more joy for de Saxe when the Normandie Foot in Fontenoy at last managed to finish off the brave Aylva Foot.
On the French left the Wittmer Foot made up for their first round of appalling musketry by completely destroying the von Zastrow Foot, but the Alsace regiment failed to score a hit on The Buffs.
I rolled the maximum action points - 12 for the right flank and 10 for the left. Time for revenge!
On the left my artillery battery was masked by friendly troops, but the Oranje-Groningen Foot advanced on Fontenoy and scored a hit on the Normandie Foot, only to see it negated by de Saxe rolling the minimum required for a saving throw. The second round of the cavalry melee on this flank saw my Hohen-Ems Cuirassiers eliminated, although they did manage to reduce the Languedoc Dragoons by 25% effectiveness.
On the Pragmatic right my artillery batteries failed to register a hit but the von Klinkowström Foot at least partly avenged their Hanoverian colleagues by inflicting three hits on the Swiss Wittmer regiment, and The Buffs scored a hit on the German Alsace Foot - but both foreign-service battalions maintained to their duty to France and remained in line. Otherwise, with the allied situation getting very desperate, I ordered a general advance, but sent the von Aldeleben Dragoons to help my left flank.
Army points at the end of turn nine: the French have lost 4pts out of 36; the allies have lost 13pts out of 34.

The Dutch are still attacking Fontenoy, but the Pragmatic left looks very depleted

Refighting Fontenoy (part six)

TURN SIX

The situation at the start of turn six

De Saxe won the initiative, decided to go first and rolled 2 (right) and 5+1 (left) action points.
The Normandie regiment in Fontenoy fired at the Aylva Foot, scoring a hit, although the Dutch battalion's morale held firm. The Champagne regiment to the right of Fontenoy fired at the Smissaert Foot, registering three hits on a battalion that had already been reduced to 50% effectiveness - Smissaert therefore became the first unit eliminated.
On the French right the Grenadiers de France poured a devastating volley into the flank of the Royal-Buffs Grenadiers, eliminating the latter. A third Pragmatic unit was eliminated when the Chasseurs de Fischer finished off the Royal Foot, making it a truly dreadful half-turn for the allied cause.
I rolled 6 (right) and 4 (left) action points.
Both my right-flank batteries fired at the same French regiment, the Picardie Foot, but without effect. Among other moves, I turned the Queen's Own Dragoons around so they would be ready to charge if the Chasseurs de Fischer were foolhardy enough to leave the Bois de Barry.
My left-flank battery scored a hit on the Champagne Foot, but it passed a morale test, as did the Normandie Foot in Fontenoy after suffering a hit from the Aylva Foot.
Army points at the end of turn six: the French still have all 36 of their points; the allies have lost 6pts out of their 34.

The Pragmatic right under pressure

TURN SEVEN
De Saxe won the initiative, chose to go first and rolled 8 (right) and 10+1 (left) action points.
Last turn I ordered the Liechtenstein Dragoons to advance with a view to charging the Champagne Foot in the flank. Unfortunately this manoeuvre placed them in range of both of de Saxe's right-flank batteries, which now fired at them, scoring two hits. The Navarre Foot, who started the battle between Antoing and the right-flank redoubt, then advanced and also fired at the dragoons, eliminating the squadron from the battle. The Champagne Foot to the right of Fontenoy did something similar to the Hessen-Homburg Horse, and the Normandie Foot in Fontenoy reduced the Aylva Foot to 25% effectiveness, although the Dutch infantry's morale held.
On the French right de Saxe, with his guns out of range of allied units, ordered a general advance of foot and horse, with the Picardie regiment boldly advancing between the Pragmatic batteries to fire a volley at The Buffs, reducing the Englishmen to 50% effectiveness.
I rolled 10 (right) and 9 (left) action points.
One of my batteries was able to fire canister at the Picardie Foot but, disappointingly from my point of view, only registered one hit. The other right-flank battery matched this by scoring a roundshot hit on the Touraine Foot, who had advanced passed the Barry redoubt and were beside the wood. Rather surprisingly, both units were to fail their morale tests, so losing a further 25% effectiveness and having to flee.

The remains of two French battalions can be seen retreating

My left-flank battery scored a hit on the Normandie Foot, but their fortified position enabled them to negate it with a saving throw. But there was no such luck for the Chanpagne Foot, who suffered two hits from the Dutch Oranjie-Groningen regiment, although the French unit's morale proved good. And the Normandie Foot suffered a hit from the Aylva Foot which they were unable to negate, although they too passed their morale test.
Army points at the end of turn six: the French still have all 36 of their points; the allies have lost 8pts of their 34.

The battlefield at the end of turn seven

Refighting Fontenoy (part five)

TURN FOUR

The situation at the start of turn four

The dice-off for went 3-2 in my favour, but de Saxe's +1 modifier meant it was a tie, and he won the re-roll, thanks to his modifier, after we both rolled a 6. He chose to go first.
For actiion points de Saxe rolled 9 (right) and 1 (left), the latter becoming 2 thanks to his +1 modifier.
De Saxe used his two left-flank action points to fire his batteries. The one firing at my Royal-Buffs Grenadiers scored two potential hits, one of which became an actual hit. My grenadiers lost 25% effectiveness, but passed a morale test. His Bois de Barry redoubt battery completely missed the Royal Foot.
On the French right, de Saxe's battery in the redoubt scored a hit on the Hessen-Homburg Horse. The Dutch squadron thus lost 25% effectiveness, but narrowly passed a morale test thanks to having Dutch infantry to their rear and within two normal moves. De Saxe did not use any of his remaining right-flank action points.
I rolled 1 (right) and 8 (left) action points.
The right-flank action point I used to get the unlimbered Royal Artillery battery to fire at the Picardie Foot directly to its front. The battery scored two potential hits, but neither became an actual  hit.
The battery in front of Fontenoy failed to register even a potential hit. I advanced the four battalions of Dutch foot towards Fontenoy, and moved the Hessen-Homburg Horse out of range of the redoubt battery.

The Dutch, with the redcoated Royal-Buffs Grenadiers to their right, continue their advance on Fontenoy

TURN FIVE
De Saxe yet again won the initiative, and again it was thanks to his +1 modifier as we both rolled a 2.
He asked me to go first, and I rolled 10 (right) and 3 (left).
I decided to use the left-flank action points first. My artillery battery scored a potential hit on the Normandie Foot, but it did not become an actual hit. I used the other two left-flank action points to order the Aylva Foot, who were nearest Fontenoy, to advance on the village and fire. This they did with apparent reluctance, moving 4.5cm rather than 6cm, and the volley they unleashed scored just one hit on the Normandie Foot, and that was easily cancelled by a saving throw.
My unlimbered right-flank battery missed dismally when asked to again fire at the Picardie regiment. I unlimbered my other right-flank battery, and otherwise generally advanced my units towards Fontenoy, except for the Royal Foot who advanced and fired a completely ineffective volley at the Chasseurs de Fischer in the Bois de Barry.

The Pragmatic right swings towards Fontenoy

De Saxe's action points were 4 (right) and 11+1 (left).
On his right it turned out the Hessen-Homburg Horse were still just within range of the redoubt battery, which scored a hit, reducing the Dutch squadron by a further 25% effectiveness, although its morale remained good. The Champagne Foot to the right of Fontenoy leapt forward - 7.5cm thanks to the move-variation rule - and fired at the Smissaert Foot, scoring two hits despite the -1 modifier for having moved. The Dutch battalion thus lost 50% effectiveness, but passed a morale test. The Normandie Foot behind the fortifications of Fontenoy opened fire on the Aylva, but somehow failed to score a hit.
Both of de Saxe's left-flank batteries opened fire again, and this time the redoubt battery scored a hit on the Royal Foot. The regiment suffered two more hits to firing from the Chasseurs de Fischer, but passed a morale test, although reduced to 25% effectiveness. With his remaining action points de Saxe advanced his infantry, supported by cavalry, towards my exposed right flank.

De Saxe sends the French left into action

Refighting Fontenoy (part four)

TURN TWO

The battlefield at the start of turn two

We diced for initiative, and again the result was a tie (2-2 this time), which meant de Saxe won thanks to his +1 modifier.
De Saxe decided to go first, rolling 4 (right) and 12 (left), the latter becoming 13 action points thanks to his +1 modifier.
He moved units forward on the right, but on the left only moved the Chasseurs de Fischer in the Bois de Barry. Thanks to the move-variation rule, they covered 10cm, which put them on the edge of the wood and just in range (measuring from the middle of the front rank of the light infantry) of the Queen's Own Dragoons. The chasseurs opened fire, causing the dragoons to lose 25% effectiveness. That necessitated a morale check, which the dragoons just passed.
My action-points rolls were 4 (right) and 9 (left).
On the left I was able to advance every unit, apart from the artillery battery which unlimbered, ready to fire next turn. On my right I advanced the guns to within range of the French infantry, the grenadiers continued towards Fontenoy and the Royal Foot turned to confront the chaasseurs, but could not fire as they were out of range.

The Chasseurs de Fischer have sprung their ambush from the Bois de Barry

TURN THREE
De Saxe won the initiative again, and again chose to go first, this time rolling 7 (right) and 1 (left), the latter becoming 2 thanks to his +1 modifier.
He used his two left-flank action points to fire his artillery batteries, the one in the redoubt firing at the Royal Foot and the other one at the Royal-Buffs Grenadiers, but neither had any effect.
His battery across the Scheldt fired at the nearest Austrian cavalry, the Liechtenstein Dragoons, but could not even register a potential hit. His battery in the redoubt between Antoing and Fontenoy was just able to reach the Hessen-Homburg Horse with roundshot, scoring a potential hit but narrowly failing to turn it into an actual hit (de Saxe rolled a 3 instead of the required 4). The rest of the right-flank action points he used to make minor adjustments to units between Antoing and Fontenoy.

The French prepare to defend Fontenoy from converging allied units

My action-points rolls were 1 (right) and 2 (left).
I used the single right-flank action point to unlimber one of the artillery batteries.
My battery facing Fontenoy opened fire on the village, scoring two potential hits on the Normandie Foot (this was achieved by rolling a 6, which quartered gave 1.5 potential hits, which was rounded up to two hits on a 50:50 chance). Normally troops behind cover need a saving throw of 4 or more, but a special rule reflecting the fortified nature of Fontenoy meant only a 3 was needed, and de Saxe rolled two 3s! With my last action point I moved the Liechtenstein Dragoons out of range of the French heavy artillery beyond the Scheldt.

Overview at the end of turn three

Refighting Fontenoy (part three)

TURN ONE

All is ready for our refight of the Battle of Fontenoy

The dice-off for initiative was tied 5-5, which meant de Saxe won thanks to his +1 modifier. He asked me to go first.
So what is my plan?
It is easy when reading accounts of the Battle of Fontenoy to dismiss the Duke of Cumberland as an incompetent fool who only achieved command of the Pragmatic army thanks to his father being George II.
There is some truth in that, but perhaps Cumberland's biggest mistake at Fontenoy was trying to fight the battle at all - de Saxe's position was so strong.
One obvious way to try to improve on Cumberland is to clear the wood of French light infantry, or at least to engage them so they cannot provide flanking fire against a British-Hanoverian advance.
But clearing the Bois de Barry will do nothing about flanking fire from the Barry redoubt, or about flanking fire that will come from Fontenoy if, as in 1745, the Dutch fail to take the village.
So instead of following Cumberland's general plan, I am going to try to concentrate on taking Fontenoy, using my right wing to support the Dutch attack.
This is by no means an easy choice as my right will be exposed to attack from the French left. However, it is the plan I have settled for and, if successful, I will have effectively cut the French army in two. Then will be the time to decide whether to try to crush the French right or the French left.
I rolled 9 (right) and 4 (left) action points.
On the left I started advancing the Dutch front-rank to attack Fontenoy. Rather as happened in 1745, the Dutch showed a disappointing reluctance, with the Smissaert Foot and the artillery battery only moving 4.5cm thanks to the move-variation rule.
By contrast, no unit on the Pragmatic right dragged its feet. Indeed the Royal-Buffs Grenadiers swung towards Fontenoy with a pleasing display of enthusiasm, covering, thanks to the move-variation rule, 7.5cm instead of the usual 6cm.

View from above Fontenoy of the allied advance

De Saxe rolled 12 (left) and 7 (right), with the left, thanks to his +1 modifier, counting as 13.
With his artillery out of range of allied troops, de Saxe contented himself with advancing the Chasseurs de Fischer through the Bois de Barry, and generally edging other units forward, particularly on the French right.

Activity on the French right

Refighting Fontenoy (part two)

MY opponent, as I had no doubt he would, has chosen to command the French and so take on the persona of his hero, Maurice de Saxe.

De Saxe is in the left-foreground, to the rear of the Gendarmes de la Garde - diagonally ahead of them is the fortified village of Fontenoy

De Saxe's right wing, which will get a 10-sided die for action points, has four battalions of foot, four squadrons of horse and two batteries of artillery.
One of the batteries is on the far side of the Scheldt and has an extended roundshot range of 36cm; the other battery is in the rdoubt.

The four battalions of the French right are Piémont in Antoing beside the Scheldt, Navarre between them and the redoubt, Champagne between the redoubt and Fontenoy, and Normandie in Fontenoy. The squadrons are (left to right) Orléans Dragoons, Languedoc Dragoons, Curiassiers du Roi and, with de Saxe, the Gendarmes 

De Saxe's left wing, which will get a 12-sided die for action points, has six battalions, four squadrons, two batteries and a unit of light infantry.

The front rank of the French left has Grenadiers de France, an artillery battery, Picardie Foot and Touraine Foot, with Poitou beside the redoubt, which has a second batery. The second rank has the Wittmer and Alsace battalions and Beaufremont Dragoons, with Dragoons du Roi beside Poitou. Directly behind Dragoons du Roi are La Reine Cavalerie alongside Bretagne Cavalerie, and in the wood are Chasseurs de Fischer.

The Pragmatic left wing, which will get a 10-sided die for action points, has four battalions of Dutch foot, four squadrons of horse (one Dutch, three Austrian) and an artillery battery.

The white-coated squadron is Hohen-Ems Cuirassiers, with Liechtenstein Dragoons alongside and Sachsen-Gotha Dragoons to the rear. The Dutch squadron beside the foot is Hessen-Homburg Horse with, in the front rank, the Smissaert and Aylva (further from Hessen-Homburg) battalions supported by the Oranje-Groningen and Buddenbrock battalions 

The Pragmatic right wing, which will get a 12-sided die for action points, has six battalions, four squadrons and two batteries.

The three battalions in the front rank are (left to right) Royal Foot, Buffs and Royal-Buffs Grenadiers, with behind them the Hanoverian battalions von Zastrow and von Klinkowström and alongside them the 5th Marines. Two British squadrons, Queen's Own Dragoons and Royal Horse Guards, are on the left, with the lone figure of the Duke of Cumberland near them. On the right is The Green Horse and Hanover's von Aldeleben Dragoons

Looking from behind the Duke of Cumberland

Before battle commences I normally allow each player to make three repositionings, the only condition being that, at least for this battle, no unit can be placed further forward than its initial position.
We diced to see who would reposition first. We both rolled a 4, which meant de Saxe, thanks to his +1 modifier for being a great general, got to choose, and he asked me to go first.
I swopped the position of the Marines in the second rank on the right flank with von Zastrow's Foot (this counts as only one repositioning), the point being that the Marines can fight as light infantry and so can be used to take on the Chasseurs de Fischer in the Bois de Barry.
I am actually thinking of not entering the wood, but it is as well to let de Saxe think I might.
De Saxe moved the figure of himself to alongside the Alsace Foot in the French left's second rank.
I attached Cumberland to von Klinkowström's Foot  - one advantage of doing this being that a general does not need a separate action point to move if he is attached to a unit. He also adds +1 when a unit has to test its morale, but is eliminated if the unit he is attached to is eliminated.
De Saxe passed on his next repositioning opportunity, as did I.
With just a final note to say weather will not play a part in the battle, we are ready to start. As usual, I will write up the action contemporaneously, ie turn by turn.

Refighting Fontenoy

THE Battle of Fontenoy was fought in this month 275 years ago between a French army under Maurice de Saxe and the Pragmatic army under its newly appointed commander, the Duke of Cumberland, who was the third and youngest son of Britain's King George II.
De Saxe got the campaigning season off to an early start in Flanders by feinting towards the city of Mons before suddenly switching to besiege Tournai, which was held by 7,000 Dutch troops.
De Saxe had more than 70,000 men - a very large force for the times, and apparently much larger than was suspected by France's enemies.
Cumberland marched to relieve Tournai with the polyglot Pragmatic army, formed of some 50,000 British, Dutch, Hanoverian and Austrian troops,
De Saxe left about a third of his force surrounding Tournai and moved with the rest to block Cumberland's line of approach.
He chose to make his stand with his right resting on the village of Antoing and the River Scheldt, and his left on the heavily wooded Bois de Barry. Between them, but nearer Antoing than the wood, was another village, Fontenoy.
De Saxe had both villages fortified, and built earthworks between them and also beside the Bois de Barry.

The battlefield of Fontenoy

In our refight the French will be represented by nine battalions of regular foot, one battalion of grenadiers, a unit of light infantry, four squadrons of heavy horse, four squadrons of dragoons, three regular artillery batteries and, on the far side of the Scheldt, a battery of siege artillery (with a range of 36cm instead of the normal field artillery range of 24cm).

The battlefield with the French in position and awaiting the allies

Naturally not every unit on my recreated battlefield can be matched with its namesake in the real battle.

The Piémont regiment is correctly shown occupying Antoing

But the Chasseurs de Fischer lurking in the Bois de Barry should really be Arquebusiers de Grassin

Be that as it may, the French at Fontenoy are generally reckoned to have had a slight edge in numbers.
Cumberland divided his army into a left wing composed mainly of Dutch troops, but with a large contingent of Austrian horse, and a right wing consisting of British and Hanoverian troops.
The left wing will be represented in our refight by four battalions of Dutch foot, a squadron of Dutch medium horse (the first time my Dutch troops will have seen action on my wargames table, as far as I can recall - they were painted with this battle in mind), two squadrons of Austrian dragoons, a squadron of Austrian cuirassiers and an artillery battery.
Cumberland gave this wing the task of assaulting Fontenoy, with the Austrian cavalry first directed to act as if they were, somewhat improbably, planning to attack Antoing.
The larger right wing will be represented by three battalions of regular British foot, a battalion of British grenadiers, two battalions of Hanoverian foot, two squadrons of British heavy horse, a squadron of British dragoons, a squadron of Hanoverian dragoons and two batteries of Royal Artillery.

The battlefield with the Pragmatic army in the foreground

The right wing, or at least the infantry, advanced between Fontenoy and the wood, driving back the French foot before finally halting under pressure from in front and both flanks. They were then forced to retreat, but did so in good order, and there was no French pursuit.
Casualties on both sides were roughly even, but there was no doubt de Saxe was the winner. His army remained on the field of battle, and Tournai soon fell along with other important cities.
In terms of victory or army points, the French have de Saxe (3pts), 10 battalions of foot (20pts), eight squadrons of horse (8pts), four artillery batteries (4pts) and the Chasseurs de Fischer (1pt). That is a total of 36pts, so the French will have lost if the total falls below 18.
The Pragmatic army has Cumberland (3pts), 10 battalions of foot (20pts), eight squadrons of horse (8pts) and three artillery batteries (3pts). That is a total of 34pts, so the allies will have lost if their total falls below 17.
SPECIAL RULES
De Saxe is rated as a great general, meaning he will have a +1 modifier when rolling for the initiative, when trying to rally fleeing units and for whichever section of the army he is with when dicing for action points.
The Pragmatic Army's Royal Foot, Royal-Buffs Grenadiers and Royal Horse Guards have elite morale, as do de Saxe's Grenadiers de France and Gendarmes de la Garde.
The wood is passable to light infantry without any movement penalty. Other infantry may move through it at half-speed, but lose firing order (and therefore need a 6 rather than a 4 when rolling for hits). Britain's 5th Marines can fight as light infantry (in the real battle it was the Black Watch who could be used in this way).
British and Hanoverian foot have a 50:50 chance of a +1 modifier when firing.
A fortified village can be occupied by one battalion or by a gun and a light infantry unit; a redoubt by a gun or a light infantry unit or half a battalion. Troops behind the fortifications of a village or redoubt can fire from any point behind the fortifications without suffering any penalty for movement. If suffering a hit, they need a saving throw of 3 instead of the usual 4. Only infantry can melee against troops behind fortifications in a village, and only one unit can attack in a turn. Only infantry can melee frontally or from the flanks against troops in a redoubt, and only one unit can attack in a turn.
The allies are trying to break through to relieve Tournai, so they lose unless they reduce the French army to less than half its starting total of army points or they drive the French from the battlefield.
As already stated, the French battery beyond the Scheldt has a maximum range of 36cm but is otherwise treated as normal artillery.
Command & Control will be different from normal in that both armies were effectively split into two sections, a right and a left,  rather than the usual three (a centre and two flanks), Accordingly, each army will roll a 12-sided die for action points, aka pips, for its larger flank (the French left and the Pragmatic right), and a 10-sided die for the smaller flank (the French right and and the Pragmatic left).

Fontenoy Anniversary

WE are approaching the 275th anniversary of the Battle of Fontenoy, which will be the sixth battle in my refight of the main central European theatre in the War of the Austrian Succession.
This battle strikes a particular chord with many wargamers because it was the subject of a complete book in 1975 by Charles Grant.
His son, Charles Stewart Grant, also covered the battle in his 2010 book Wargaming In History: Volume 2.

Fontenoy ... two crackers

I this week re-read the relevant sections of both books for the umpteenth time as part of my preparations for the refight, which I know my regular wargames opponent will particularly enjoy as the French were commanded by his hero Maurice de Saxe.