Die Fighting the War of Spanish Succession in 28mm

The battle at the mid point.  In the background,
the Swiss Guards are entering the town.

I had the pleasure of joining John, Terry, Tony, and Bob at Bob's house for a War of Spanish Succession game using Bob's "Die Fighting" rules.  The game was a lot of fun even if it ended tragically with the French soundly defeated.  Guess who was on the French side.

More important that the game itself was the opportunity to see and use Bob's new War of Spanish Succession armies.  Bob has been accumulating, sorting, researching the era, the figures, and the flags before sending his figures off to Siri Lanka for painting.  Slowly, over the last few months, the units have been returning.

The War of Spanish Succession was fought in the early 1700s between France and just about everyone else in Europe.  In theory, the war was about who would succeed the to the throne of Spain - a Bourbon or a Hapsburg.  In reality, it was more an attempt by the French to expand their territory at the expense of the Dutch and Austrians than an attempt to settle a dynastic question.

The British contribution to the Allied cause.

The period is really a dynastic warm up for the War of Austrian Succession and the Seven Years War.  The uniforms are relatively unadorned.  There is no lace on the hats or cuffs.  Jackets are simple, single breasted and closed with 4 to 8 buttons.  The artillery is almost completely immobile because of the use of civilian drivers.  A civilian knows better than to go into the middle of a battle to hitch up a team to a big gun.  Place the guns and that is where they stay for the rest of the battle.

French cavalry about to dash for the Austrian
column emerging from the town.

The armies were small, often smaller than the average Napoleonic corps of 100 years later.  Further, army movement was slow, especially on the battlefield.  The Prussians were the first to use cadence marching but not until the War of Austrian Succession, some 40 years later.   Cavalry constitutes a huge component of the armies, up to one third.

Bob's armies include 28mm figures from Ebor, Old Glory, and Front Rank.  He only has a few of my favorite Foundry figures.  

All in all, the army looked great and the rules gave a great game.