A little aside describing the British Sailors' stealthy infiltration around the Chateau du Roi was described in Part 2
For those who just want to keep up I am revisiting here the last situation map and caption which I published
By 1040 on 10th August 1756 the Allies are following Morliere's brigade (led by General Barbier) at a safe distance up the Cassatte Valley with the main force under Marlborough. French infantry under De Muy are making a stand in front of Abrantes while their cavalry brigade scouts South along the ridge ; the Jacobites are out of their camp and forming a line from the Colline de Bellune to the town itself. In the East the French have finally realised there are no real enemy troops. Von Brunck consolidates his Hanoverians and loyal Scots near Beach 3. |
So I could see that both players were determined there would be a showdown pretty soon and I asked them to share with me their intentions:
Guy for the French:
- Barbier to pull back Morliere's Legion to the head of the Cassatte Valley and join up with De Muy to make a useful flank guard across that approach to Abrantes
- De Muy's infantry brigade makes the best defensive line it can across the Cime d'Abrantes and calls up the Marine artillery battery from its reserve position and the German battalion from Abrantes Town
- There is an obvious weak spot between the two woods so Baron Joubarbe's Heavy Cavalry Brigade is called back to form a line as best he can to join de Muy's infantry with the forming Jacobite line on Bellune Hill, a big ask given the distance.
- Lauzun's Legion and the Marine battalion were recalled at best speed from East Vestisle, and Guy recognised instantly that crossing the Ruisseau de Veste would cause a bottleneck at the bridge. So he ordered the cavalry and horse artillery to make for the northern bridge while the foot troops marched more slowly to cross by the east bridge and occupy Bellune town.
- That required fine tuning on the timing as Earl Marischal Keith would not have all the Jacobite troops in position till midday. So to assist, most of Major General Verrieres Grenadier brigade was ordered to make a steady advance South from Bellune to cover the Jacobites and the town.
- That might seem a bit strange but Guy's master plan was bold as he intended to wait till those reserves from the East were in position behind the lines and then press forward to keep Von Brunck's Hanoverians as far away as possible.
As a reminder you can find the French order of battle here
The Chevalier de Muy forms his line South of the Ferme St Denis near Abrantes Town |
Ken for the Allies
To some extent Ken's job was more straightforward though, on the ground, it would not have seemed so.
- Schwarz's Jager brigade was to press Morliere's weakened Legion and hopefully break through towards the walls of Abrantes from the Cassatte Valley
- Second in command, Lord Sackville, was to lead Anstruther's infantry brigade northwards along the Cime d'Abrantes and drive back de Muy onto the Abrantes walls
- In the centre the scouting by telescope from the pinnacle of the Abrantes Ridge line gave Ken the the idea that a bold attack towards the end of Bellune Hill could hit the Jacobites in flank and split his opponent's whole army wide open. He ordered von Aststadt's Light Cavalry to manoeuvre carefully and, as the Duke of Marlborough, led Pitt's brigade towards the French centre in march columns with the aim of a combined all-arms assault at the schwerpunkt.
- Ken was sensibly keen that von Brunck's useful, but not overly powerful, corps should not get drawn into an attack on Bellune town. Hence the plan was to form a line westwards towards Marlborough's main force and let the French /Jacobites come forward from their defensive positions and, when the time was right, counter attack in force with the aim of taking Bellune Hill to dominate the Jacobite camp.
- Sir Alastair Campbell's loyal Highland brigade guarded the right flank connecting to Beach 3 but Ken's master plan, if things went pear-shaped, was to abandon the beach and retreat towards the main force. That was because he had ordered the Marquis of Granby to bring in the second wave all around Beach 4 later that afternoon.
- Masterfully Ken was bringing up the four-regiment strong Dragoon brigade of Major General Elliot to be a useful and near reserve behind his main point of attack.
In essence Ken had described his plan as the left flank to be the "Hammer" to drive the French onto the right flank "Anvil". How lucky was I to be the Games Master for two such determined and clever 18th century wargamers!
As a reminder you can find the Allied Order of Battle here
The Duke of Marlborough takes up position between von Aststadt's and Pitt's brigades ready to attack Bellune Hill |
Knowing these plans helped me to gel their orders with any conflicts that occurred on the map movement and decide on appropriate formations and spread of the various units and brigades. Both chaps had kindly got their figures to me before the designated weekend so about a week before hand I was able to get everything sorted and ready. Also around this time (1100 on 10th August campaign time) I got both commanders to write written orders/instructions/suggestions as appropriate to their colleague players who would command the second wave troops. These were despatched by courier and then fast boats to the approaching fleets. I got Graham Cummings - the French Duc de Richelieu - to specify the intended points of disembarkation and timing for the French "main force", and Dillon Browne to do the same as Granby commanding a mainly Hessian corps as the Allied reserve.
Thus, before the action of Bellune Hill was started on the table, the dice had been cast, so to speak for the reserves, and Ken and Guy had to play without the certainty that things would pan out as they hoped.
Above and below: Second wave troops of both sides sorted and ready before the day |
The Battle of Bellune Hill - opening dispositions
So the following map shows the dispositions on or around the tabletop at midday 10th August 1756 just before we started the wargame action(s). Each square on the map is two feet (60cm on the table, representing about 500 metres). Each unit number corresponds to the Orbats already referenced above.
You will note two distinct rectangles. This is because I had secured the Duchess' agreement that for this weekend only we could set up playing as well as storage space in the open plan living area above my wargames room. So the large rectangle is the main table fully stretched to its 12 feet x 6 feet and the small one a table cobbled together to make about 5 feet x 4 feet. Although not very photogenic the small table allowed concurrent play and we were able to treat the games as one big battle on a realistic scale 4500 metre frontage.
I got Ken and Guy to travel on the Friday so we could make some sort of start that evening. I decided we would kick off just with the small table and leave the big one until all five players arrived on the Saturday. Poor Ken had to deal with deadlines on his engineering project which is about infrastructure to do with a scheme of national importance, so even wargaming could not trump that! He had given me permission to command his Allied troops till he arrived, so I took things carefully.
Holding Action at Ferme St Denis
Happily the deployments meant that the small table had neatly balanced forces for a self contained game. The first photo shows that I had to add an extra board and mark some hatched tape to show the slope of Cime de Cassatte in the foreground. A small back table allowed us to track the progress of the Bentheim Regiment emerging from Abrantes town.
Tiredness had set in for the players so we called it a night and resumed in the morning before the others arrived.
I got Ken and Guy to travel on the Friday so we could make some sort of start that evening. I decided we would kick off just with the small table and leave the big one until all five players arrived on the Saturday. Poor Ken had to deal with deadlines on his engineering project which is about infrastructure to do with a scheme of national importance, so even wargaming could not trump that! He had given me permission to command his Allied troops till he arrived, so I took things carefully.
Holding Action at Ferme St Denis
Happily the deployments meant that the small table had neatly balanced forces for a self contained game. The first photo shows that I had to add an extra board and mark some hatched tape to show the slope of Cime de Cassatte in the foreground. A small back table allowed us to track the progress of the Bentheim Regiment emerging from Abrantes town.
I started the game by just pounding the French with Ken's artillery, which was slightly heavier than Guy's, but could not make any real impact before Ken arrived |
But unfortunately it was ill judged as the facing Jager battalion was equipped with rifles and scored significant hits, killing Morliere in the process, This was about 1245 pm |
The Morliere Grenadiers have fallen back and are now led by a "Dependable" substitute commander. In the distance the Charrentan Battalion has retreated with 4 Hits along the ridge. |
Luckily for Guy the Bentheim battalion has arrived to fill the gap |
Lt General Lord Sackville in the foreground watches Anstruther lead his brigade against the depleted French infantry |
The 25th Foot have broken under the strain and Anstruther went down in a hail of canister. Even Sackville's presence is not enough to stop it. |
Campaign time was now 1.40pm and we had done 5 Moves on this small table. What had started off looking bad for the French had been turned around as Ken had to attack and unfortunately did it in such a way that he got far too much incoming fire, with inevitable results. It was a good place to leave this fight as the others were beginning to arrive so it was time for coffee and biscuits and briefings for the newcomers.
A tour round the Bellune Hill battlefield
The following photos show the starting dispositions on the big table, to where our action now shifted.Sir Alastair Campbell's loyal Scots |
A closer view of the Bellune southern suburb |
Von Aststadt's Prussian and British Light Cavalry about to test the mettle of Baron Joubarbe's cavalry who are spreading themselves thinly between the two woods |
The front regiment of the Cuirassiers brigade which protects the flank of the strong Hanoverian infantry brigade |
Part of the French heavy cavalry brigade. That gap between them and the Jacobites is what is tempting the Duke of Marlborough in planning his attack |
Bellune Hill - the opening moves
I will let the photos tell the narrative. This part of the battle too commenced at 1200 midday.
The overall scene during Move 1. The Allied infantry are currently passive awaiting the left flank to move in. Pitt's British infantry are beginning to form lines in the distance |
The Orlean cavalry regiment has been repulsed and is trying to recover while their colleagues are now involved in a complex fight. Lt Gen de Barbier has moved closer to try to make a difference |
The cavalry fight is about to get more complicated as Elliot's Dragoon Brigade begins to arrive |
Dillon appears to be allowing Graham's Grenadiers to advance well away from Bellune town, although they are now under long range fire |
A rare spell of mutual paperwork! Ken and Guy are checking Plusses and Minusses against the Quick Reference sheet. The two Grahams are both consulting the rule book about something ........ |
In front of them the Hanoverian brigade is stoically advancing. Front line are Ken's Minden/Crann Tara figures and Guy's are mostly in the second line |
With their eyes still apparently on the "prize" of the open Jacobite flank both Pitt's and Elliot's brigades leave the French cavalry to run and they veer right towards Bellune Hill |
Help is at hand for the French. The Marine battalion of light infantry and the Grenadiers de Lauzun are making their way westwards out of Bellune to join in |
By 1.20pm, with the lines now broken up, flanking opportunities presented themselves to both Scots and French. The Scottish battery is turned on the Grenadiers de France..... |
........While the Grenadier brigade howitzer and Lord Ogilvy's Jacobite guns pound the end of the Hanoverian line |
.....seeing what Elliot cannot - that the Hussars de Lauzun and the Hussars de Bercheny will soon be in position across the gap. Initiative dice and possible double moves might decide it! |
The Jacobite Charge
But as Graham advanced on the Hanoverian flank Dillon rolled a double move for Hardenburg's brigade and was able to edge sideways to meet him head on. |
In the foreground the small Cameron battalion is as yet unbloodied, but outnumbered. |
Final Cavalry Showdown
As it happened the initiative dice fell in favourable numbers and sequence for both sides in the cavalry action between the woods
End Game beyond Bellune Hill
Realising it is getting crowded with Pitt's infantry von Trump has turned 90 degrees with the Cuirassiers and no longer aiming for Bellune Hill |
The Chilmarque Grenadier regiment is caught in the flank by the small British converged Grenadier battalion, and routed........... |
..........but they themselves are attacked in the rear by the Grenadiers de France, with a similar result |
It was now around 5.30 pm real time and 1420 game time. The players were happy to call a halt there as there was much more to be done in this mini-campaign weekend.
There was honour for both sides in this battle:
- The French had been outnumbered and stretched really thinly but they had held back a larger force for two hours and inflicted severe losses. The remains of the French cavalry were rallying in places of safety, thanks to the bravery and persistence of General Barbier. The Jacobites were still intact and had beat a hasty retreat back down Bellune Hill and into their camp to recover. The Grenadiers withdrew back into the safety of Bellune town.
- The Allies must have felt it was a victory of sorts even though the Hanoverian infantry had suffered a bloody reverse. Pitt's brigade was virtually unscathed but all the others had notable casualties. More importantly their troops dominated the terrain - still retained the Beach 3 landing site, captured Bellune Hill overlooking the Jacobite camp and away to the North shore. Controlled the main road on the island connecting the most important towns, and still contested the ground in front of Abrantes town from the peak of Cime d'Abrantes
From my point of view it had been a great game to watch, and I loved the terrain with its wide sweeping plain but just enough key obstacles which dictated the French deployment and gave something significant to fight for. Just what you want in a campaign game - not a fight to the death but careful deployment and nice blend of audacity with cautiousness in tabletop decisions. Its fair to say that the Allies were dogged by a couple of runs of unfortunate dice without which their plan would have looked more efficient and speedy than it was. Once again "Honours of War"(HoW) had coped well with a large multi-player game - about 1000 figures in play and 7 turns completed in about 5 hours of actual playing time (not counting refreshment breaks and briefings!). Von Trump's poor initiative dice felt more like "Black Powder" but that prolonged torpor doesn't happen at all often with HoW.
Next time: How we organised the aftermath: post battle attrition, arrival of the reinforcements, redesigning the battlefield, and redeployment for the Sunday's big Battle of Abrantes.