The Action at Lippertshofen
A Franco-Bavarian force at bay — August 1704
Distances are in inches, for 28 mm figures. With 15 mm figures read the same numbers as centimetres — choose yours with Figures at the top.
The Situation
The Franco-Bavarians had taken Lippertshofen two days before, and with it the road to Hirblingen. The Earl of Orkney could not march on with that behind him, so he turned to take it back, which was what the Franco-Bavarians had wanted him to do.
Legall had his first news of the enemy from a carter stopped on the Hirblingen road: infantry and guns, the man said, and horse beyond counting, and all of it coming this way.
The patrols sent out on the carter's word came back a little after noon with the truth of it: the Earl of Orkney, with twelve battalions and ten regiments of cavalry. The Prince of Anhalt-Dessau's Prussians were a separate command, and still on the road: seven battalions, five regiments of cavalry and a battery. The Franco-Bavarians stood in and around Lippertshofen; Legall had eighteen battalions, five regiments of cavalry and a battery. D’Arco's Bavarians were a separate command: four battalions, three regiments of cavalry and a battery. The guns of a siege could be heard all afternoon, somewhere beyond the hills.
The Balance
who holds the edge, and whyOn paper the Allies outnumber the Franco-Bavarians by about 1.4 to 1, but once the Franco-Bavarian ground is reckoned in it comes out close to even — a fair, stand-up fight.
Franco-Bavarians — defending
- holds the ground — the villages, the high ground and the water count for more than numbers here
- a capable hand in overall command
Allies — attacking
- the greater weight of numbers, about 1.4 to 1
- a capable hand in overall command
but must contend with —
- open ground to cross before it can come to grips
The Franco-Bavarians had the ground and the British, Danes and Prussians the task of taking it; what each brought to it is in the order of battle, and the turns would decide which counted for more.
Orders of Battle
Muster rollThe Ground
measured from the left and bottom edges of the mapIf you cannot set the battlefield out exactly, do not worry. A fair representation of the ground matters more than the exact place and size of every feature. The frontages above are a guide. Vary them to suit your own rules: a large village, for example, may need two battalions to hold it, or may be several sectors.
Command
who gives the orders, and how manyEach commander is rated on five levels, best to worst — Decisive · Capable · Workmanlike · Laboured · Adrift — and the scale on his card shows where he sits. The rating says how much of his command he can get fresh orders to in an hour's fighting. Whatever he does not reach carries on with its last orders, and the more formations he has under him, the less of it he reaches. If your rules grade generals, Workmanlike is the middle of that scale.
Franco-Bavarians — defending
Commanded a command of horse in d’Arco’s corps at Blenheim, 13 August 1704. The accounts of the battle say nothing of how he handled it, so he stands in the middle of the scale.
He held a command of brigades in life; here he has an army.
A Workmanlike general; in this action he plays as Capable.
He can turn most of his command within the hour, and all of it within two.
- In his favour
- a small command — only 2 commands, few enough that his orders reach all of them.
- Lieutenant-Général du Rosel — 5 brigades
- Lieutenant-Général Magnac — 2 brigades
Commanded the defence of the Schellenberg on 2 July 1704, and the Franco-Bavarian left at Blenheim, 13 August 1704. Twelve Bavarian battalions in front of Lutzingen with the flank refused on the hills; a sound position, soundly held. President of the Bavarian war council from 1696 and field marshal from 1702, and not disgraced for either of the two days he lost to these opponents.
He held a command of brigades in life; here he has an army.
A Capable general. What is in his favour below would lift him, but nothing a scenario does makes a man more than he is.
He can turn most of his command within the hour, and all of it within two.
- In his favour
- a small command — only one command, which his orders always reach.
- Generalmajor Lützelburg — 3 brigades
Allies — attacking
Commanded a British infantry command at Blenheim, 13 August 1704. The accounts of the battle say nothing of how he handled it, so he stands in the middle of the scale.
He held a command of brigades in life; here he has an army.
A Workmanlike general; in this action he plays as Capable.
He can turn most of his command within the hour, and all of it within two.
- In his favour
- a small command — only 3 commands, few enough that his orders reach all of them.
- Lieutenant-General Ingoldsby — 2 brigades
- Lieutenant-General Lord Cutts — 3 brigades
- Lieutenant-General Lumley — 1 brigade
Commanded the Prussian infantry of Eugene’s wing at Blenheim, 13 August 1704. Led the Prussian foot forward for the third time with a colour in his hand and stormed the great battery.
A Decisive general, with nothing in this action to change it. For his first two turns after arriving (turns 2 and 3) treat him as Capable: he is riding into a fight already running.
Anything he can see, he can turn. A new intention reaches every formation under him inside the hour, and the far flank is not meaningfully later than the near one.
No command between him and his brigades: he handles all 4 brigades himself.
Legall and d’Arco are separate commands, not one army. Neither commander's effort reaches the other's formations, whatever the crisis.
The Earl of Orkney and the Prince of Anhalt-Dessau are separate commands, not one army. Neither commander's effort reaches the other's formations, whatever the crisis.
The rating is the app's own and is not taken from any rule set: it says how much of his command a man can turn to a new purpose within the hour, and what the rest do meanwhile. Set your own dials from that.
Objectives
6 points · weighted6 objective points in all, counted at the end of turn 12. Lippertshofen is worth the most, and a decisive result needs the other with it.
Victory
who wins, and how wellRead from the top: the first line that is true at nightfall is the result.
- Allied DecisiveHold both objectives, Lippertshofen and Sengkofen, at the end of turn 12, with no attacking formation broken.
- Franco-Bavarian DecisiveHold both objectives, Lippertshofen and Sengkofen, at the end of turn 12, with no defending formation broken.
- Allied MarginalHold Lippertshofen at the end of turn 12.
- Franco-Bavarian MarginalHold Lippertshofen at the end of turn 12.
- DrawAnything else — for example, Lippertshofen contested at the end of turn 12, held by neither side.
Reinforcements
scheduled & uncertain- Uncertain From turn 2, roll a die at the start of each even-numbered turn: on a 5 or 6 the Prussian contingent under the Prince of Anhalt-Dessau enters that turn across ZONE B or the ZONE C and ZONE D road corridors.
- Uncertain From turn 4, roll a die at the start of each even-numbered turn: on a 5 or 6 an additional French regiment of dragoons (Recruit, standard size) enters that turn across the bottom edge of the map, behind ZONE A, anywhere along it. It is not one of the regiments in the order of battle, and is not counted in its totals.
Deployment & Opening Moves
The Franco-Bavarians deploy first, anywhere within ZONE A — the shaded bottom band, the full 144in width of the table and 46in deep — which takes in the objective line. The Allies begin with nothing on the table. They come on across ZONE B — the top edge of the map, a strip the full 144in width of the table and 12in deep. Cutting deeper into the table are the road corridors — ZONE C on the Buchendorf road and ZONE D on the Peterswörth road — each 14in wide and 14in deep, so they reach 2in further in than the entry strip either side of them. Entering by a corridor means entering in column of march, and buys the road — see the special rule, which also says what it costs. A unit entering anywhere else along ZONE B comes on across country in any formation it likes. Nothing at all enters off the two flank edges. The Allies take the first turn (or as your rules direct).
Special Rules
- Platoon fire and the sword. British, Dutch, Hessian, Hanoverian, Prussian and Danish battalions fire by platoons; French and Bavarian battalions fire by ranks. Allied squadrons charge with the sword and do not fire mounted; French and Bavarian squadrons fire pistol and carbine from the saddle before contact. If your rules distinguish these things, apply them.
- The fortified village. A fortified village is cover and an obstacle. Fight it, and take it, as your rules fight a defended village; its walled churchyard is the strongest point in it.
- The stream that takes hours. The banks, not the water, are the obstacle: soft ground and marsh, which infantry cross as your rules treat a marshy stream, and horse and guns cross only at the bridges, fords and causeways. That is why an attack in this war takes three hours, and every sheet says where the crossings are.
- The guns. Battalion guns are part of the infantry unit and are not counted separately. A positioned battery is one unit, by its calibre; a great battery is one large unit. No gun of this war shot the width of a table: guns fire from beyond the map only where a sheet's special rules say so.
- How these armies were commanded. In person, and at the point of danger: at Blenheim Marlborough crossed the Nebel on a makeshift bridge to take charge at Oberglau himself. Allied armies fought side by side under their own generals, and a brigade of one would not move without its own general's word: Fugger's cuirassiers waited for Eugene's before they went to Marlborough's aid. If your rules distinguish these things, apply them.
- How the result is read. Nightfall is the end of turn 12. Go down the victory table from the top: the first line that is true at the end of turn 12 is the result, and nothing below it is looked at. A place is HELD by the side with the last formed unit on it or within 6 inches of it, and CONTESTED — held by nobody — if both sides have one there. A unit is FORMED if your own rules would let it charge. A FORMATION is a brigade; it is BROKEN when your own rules say it is, or, if they have no such state, when half or more of its units have been destroyed or have routed.
- The road corridors — and what the road costs. A unit entering by a corridor comes on in column of march, on the road. What a column gains on a road, and what it risks if it is caught in one, is for your own rules.
- Uncertain arrivals. An arrival marked uncertain is diced for as its line says, and neither side may plan the opening moves on its timing.
- Senior commander absent. The Allied commander-in-chief is off the field until turn 4. Use your own rules for an absent commander.
- Damaged crossing. The ford over the Lauterbach is scoured out: foot can cross it, guns and wagons cannot; horse as your rules treat a damaged ford. Use your own rules for a narrow crossing and for repairing it.
Umpire's Notes
the designer's intent- The Franco-Bavarians cannot be strong everywhere and must choose which point to sell dearly; the British, Danes and Prussians have the strength to win but not the turns to be careful. Watch the moment the attacker discovers which point was sold — usually two turns too late to switch.
Sources
what the figures rest on- France. French structure and arms as counted in the Blenheim order of battle (56 French and 13 foreign battalions; 43 regiments of horse and dragoons) and graded as in Vedette’s Blenheim and Schellenberg scenarios; the Recruit share is Tallard’s nine new battalions, on Fortescue’s word.
- Unit strength, for the table: no account of these armies gives the strength of a single battalion or regiment, so every one is Standard: 575 men to the battalion and 130 to the squadron, as in Vedette’s battle scenarios of the war.
- Commanders, for the table: a general carries the grade Vedette’s battle scenarios of the war give him; a man none of them grades is Workmanlike, the middle of the scale.
- Bavaria. Bavarian army as counted in the Blenheim order of battle (11 battalions, 3 of them the Leibgarde; 7 regiments of horse, one of dragoons) and graded as in Vedette’s Blenheim and Schellenberg scenarios.
- Unit strength, for the table: no account of these armies gives the strength of a single battalion or regiment, so every one is Standard: 575 men to the battalion and 130 to the squadron, as in Vedette’s battle scenarios of the war.
- Commanders, for the table: a general carries the grade Vedette’s battle scenarios of the war give him; a man none of them grades is Workmanlike, the middle of the scale.
- Britain. British structure and arms as counted in the Blenheim order of battle (14 battalions, one of them Guards; 6 regiments of horse, 2 of dragoons) and graded as in Vedette’s Blenheim and Schellenberg scenarios.
- Unit strength, for the table: no account of these armies gives the strength of a single battalion or regiment, so every one is Standard: 575 men to the battalion and 130 to the squadron, as in Vedette’s battle scenarios of the war.
- Commanders, for the table: a general carries the grade Vedette’s battle scenarios of the war give him; a man none of them grades is Workmanlike, the middle of the scale.
- Denmark. Danish contingent as counted in the Blenheim order of battle (7 battalions, the Livgarde among them; 8 regiments of horse, 2 of dragoons) and graded as in Vedette’s Blenheim scenario.
- Unit strength, for the table: no account of these armies gives the strength of a single battalion or regiment, so every one is Standard: 575 men to the battalion and 130 to the squadron, as in Vedette’s battle scenarios of the war.
- Commanders, for the table: a general carries the grade Vedette’s battle scenarios of the war give him; a man none of them grades is Workmanlike, the middle of the scale.
- Prussia. Prussian contingent of Eugene’s wing as counted in the Blenheim order of battle (11 battalions, 3 of them Guards; 4 regiments of horse, 2 of dragoons) and graded as in Vedette’s Blenheim scenario.
- Unit strength, for the table: no account of these armies gives the strength of a single battalion or regiment, so every one is Standard: 575 men to the battalion and 130 to the squadron, as in Vedette’s battle scenarios of the war.
- Commanders, for the table: a general carries the grade Vedette’s battle scenarios of the war give him; a man none of them grades is Workmanlike, the middle of the scale.
Vedette Wargames · vedette-wargames.com · the war of the two crowns, on your table
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