Blenheim, Order of Battle, Part V, l’Armée du Rhin

The final part of the Order of Battle is the Marshall Tallard “Army of the Rhine”. This army, formed in early 1704 to support Marsin and Max Emmanuel in Bavaria. contained an noticeable proportion of recruits as well as some Vieux-Regiment and the Gendarmerie. The passage of Black Forest to reach the other French Army was well executed by Tallard. However, at the time of Blenheim, the cavalry was plagued by Glanders, an horse pulmonary disease. Accordingly Tallard’s cavalry was dangerously understrenght, with a full dragoon brigade dismounted by lack of horses.

           

           

The Marshall Tallard, captured during the battle and liberated in 1711: his performance at Blenheim was under his previous standards.

                                  

The main body was commanded by the Lt. Gen. Marquis de Montpeyroux: the left cavalry division, under the Duc d’Humieres was formed by the brigade Merode/Silly (left), represented by the two Spanish regiments Acosta and Gaetano and the brigade La Valliere (regt. Orleans and Bourgogne); the right wing cavalry, under Lt. Gen. Comte de Zurlauben: it comprises the Vertilly brigade (Gendarmerie) on the left and the brigade Broglie/Grinan (regt. Du Roi and La Baume) on the right.

                                  

This is a bust of Béat-Jacques de La Tour-Châtillon, Comte de Zurlauben, a veteran and competet Swiss officier that was killed at the battle.

                                                           

The left wing infantry, that in the battle was on the third line between Blenheim and Oberglau, was commanded by the Marquis de Saint-Pierre. It was composed mainly by fresh recruits which, however, performed heroically being cut to pieces by the Allied cavalry. From left to right: brigade Trecesson (regt. Albaret), brigade Breuil (regt. Auxerrois), brigade Belleisle (regt. Nice) and a light battery. D’Albaret was raised in 1702 and destroyed at Blenheim, his colonel killed and hence disbanded in 1704; Nice was instead a Piedmontese regiment.

                                 

The right wing infantry was the main Tallard infantry reserve which was swallowed uselessly into Blenheim by Cleràmbault: it was at the orders of Lt. Gen. Marquis de Marinvaux. In the first lime the brigade D’Enonville (regts. Royal and Boulonnais); in the second line brigade Montroux (regt. Montroux) and Monfort (regt. Blasois) plus two light and an heavy artillery batteries. The red-coated Montroux was a Italian regiment.

                                         

The Blindheim garrison under Maestre-de-Camp de Blansac: from the left (behind entrenchments) brigade Hautefeille of dismounted dragoons (regt. Rohan-Chabot), in the town the brigades de Maulevrier (regt. Navarre) and Greder (regt. Greder Allemand). Blenheim is represented by a double-based town and hence can be occupied by four brigades.

                                 

The main Blenheim reserve was commanded directly by Philippe de Paullau, Marquis de Cleràmbault, the son of a same name French Marshall. I was not able to find on the web a portrait or anything else regarding his career, as his memory was put under a cloud after the disaster. He died in the Danube trying to escape or to find an escape route for his soldiers, who knows. Indeed he was a capable subordinate that performed well enough as Tallard’s subordinate and the Marshall entrusted him correctly for the important task of defending the Blindheim strongpoint. What happened in his mind remains a mystery: maybe he had a nervous breakdown or maybe the ferocity of Allied infantry at the Schellenberg created an excessive fear of the Cutts’ attack column. However, he was the sole responsible of putting 27 battalions in the town and was an easy scapegoat for the whole disaster.

From left to right, as usual, brigade Balincourt (regt. Artois), brigade D’Argelos (regt. Santerre and regt. Languedoc), brigade Saint-Segonde (regt. Zurlauben) supported by a light and a field batteries. Zurlauben was a Wallon regiment, annihilated at Blenheim and never reformed, its Colonel Comte de Zurlauben being killed at the battle.

                                            

Blenheim, Order of Battle. Part IV, l'Armée du Germanie

The roster for the Armèe du Germanie, under the joint command of the Marechàl Ferdinand, Comte de Marsin and the Elector of Bavaria, Maximilian Emmanuel II.

The Elector of Bavaria (left) and the Marechàl (right): both were good soldiers, the Marechàl being killed at the battle of Turin in 1706.

  

                             

The left wing Infantry was under the command of the Lt. Gen. Marquis de Rosel: from left to right, first line brigades Buzancois (regt. La Reine), Clare (Irish regt. Clare) and Coetquen  (regt. Coetquen). In the second line the brigade Isenghien (regt, Poitou and Isenghien) and two light batteries.

The right wing infantry, commanded by the Lt. Gen. Marquis de Blainville, killed in the battle (he was the son of the famous Minister Colbèrt)

Brigade Bligny (regt. Champagne and Saintonge) and Nangis (regt. Agenois and Bourbonnais), together with a field and an heavy battery.

Left wing cavalry, Feld-Marschall Graf Arco (here in a studio armour, in his early years)

brigade Montmain/Vigiers (regt. Royal Piemònt and Condè), Barentin/Vivans (regt. Barentin and Vivans) and the Bavarian brigades Von Weickel (cuirassier regt. Weickel and Wolframsdorff) and Wolframsdorff (Cuirassier regt. Arco and Costa):

The right wing cavalry, linking the right of the Army with the left of Tallard’s was under the command of Lt. Gen. Bourg (later French Marshall under the Regency);

brigade D’Anlezy (regt. Royal and Hedicourt) and Prince Charles de Lorraine/Massenbach (regt. Prince Charles de Lorraine and Choiseul):

The town of Lutzingen was garrisoned by the Bavarian infantry commanded by the Maj. Gen. Marchese Alessandro Maffei, from Bologna:

Brigade Maffei (regt. Maffei and Leibgarde Grenadier) and brigade Mercy (regt. Mercy and Tattenbach) supported by a Bavarian field battery. Lutzingen is represented by a Town base, with space for two units. Its buildings came from Peter Dennis "European Buildings" Helion Papersoldier book:

On the far left of Lutzingen there was the division of Lt. Gen. Marquis de Sauffrey: from left to right brigade Montmorency (regt. Vermandois and Béarn), brigade Motbron (regt. Dauphin and Condé ) and Tourovre (regt. Toulouse) supported by a light battery:

At the very far left of there was the cavalry division of Lt. Gen. Comte de Dreux: brigade Conflans (regt. Conflans and Rouvray) and the dragoons brigade Fontbeausard (dragoons regt. La Vrilliére and Listenois).

The dragoons brigade Fontbeausard dismounted:

Blenheim, Order of Battle, Part III: The Anglo-Allied Amy

This is the roster for the Anglo-Allied army. There are 49sp of Infantry (equivalent to 24500 men), 24sp of Cavalry (equivalent to 12000 horse) and 6sp of Artillery (equivalent to 36 field guns). That is a total 36500 rank and file against 37109 and 36 field guns plus 36 battalion guns, for a total 72 against 80.

The Army commander, the Captain General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough:

Here the Duke himself (based with his Quartemaster, the Earl of Cadogan and two runners) and the Colonel Blood, his Artillery commander and the three V&B English field batteries:

The Infantry corps was under the orders of Charles Churchill, the Duke younger brother and second in command. 

The Left Infantry Division, entrusted of the attack of Blindheim: its commander was John, Baron Cutts of Gowan, “As brave and brainless as the hilt of his sword” according to Swift.  He earned the nickname “Salamander” by his indifference to the heaviest fire at the Siege of Namur in 1695.

Left to right: first line Rowe B.de (Marlborough and  Lord North  Regiments), Wilkes B.de (Hessian Leibgarde and Grenadier Regiments); second line Ferguson B.de (1^st Foot Guards and Royal Irish Regiments), St.Paul B.de (Hanoverian Leib and Du Breille Regiments).

1st Centre Division, commanded by Lt.Gen Richard Ingoldsby, who enjoyed the personal regard of Marlborough and whose family was related nonetheless with Oliver Cromwell; it comprises the Seckendorff Brigade (left) represented by the  Wurttemberg Leibgarde and Brandenburg-Ansbach regiments and d’Herleville Brigade (right Hessian Stuckrath and Hanover Hulsen regiments).

The 2nd Centre Division under the Lt.Gen George Hamilton, Earl of Orkney: shy in company, as a soldier he had a reputation for courage and tenacity.

From left to right: the Webb brigade (1st Royal and Prince of Denmark regiments) and the Rantzow brigade (Hannover St.Pol and Celle Rantzow regiments).

The Right Infantry division was at the orders of Lt.Gen Horn and was comprised of the Pallandt brigade (Dutch Beynheim and Meckleburg-Schwerin Dettorf regiments) and the Dutch Holstein-Beck brigade formed by the Hirzel (Swiss) and Goor regiments.

Next time the Anglo-Allied Cavalry.

Blenheim, Order of Battle, part II: the Imperial Army

Since V&B is a roster-based system I opted to put here directly the roster I prepared for the scenario, beginning with the Prince Eugene Imperial Army. 

In V&B terms these are 19 SP of Infantry, equivalent to 9500 soldiers, 18 SP of Cavalry, equivalent to 9000 horses and 2 SP of Artillery, equivalent to 12 Field pieces: by taking into account the 24 battalion guns of the Prussian brigades we arrive at a total of 18500 rank and file (against the 17924 present at the battle) and 36 guns (against the 37 recorded in the various OoB).

The Army Commander, Field-Marshal Prinz Eugen von Savoy:

here with the two Imperial field batteries:

The Infantry Corps is commanded by the Graf Leopold von Anhalt-Dessau:

It is formed by two divisions: the Prussian division is commanded directly by Anhalt-Dessau: at the left the Fink brigade, at the right the Canitz brigade, both on two bases. Since in the OoB each brigade was formed by battalions from different regiments, I decided to represent a single regiment for each base, choosing the one for which the most details about flags and uniforms are known. The Finck brigade bases accordingly represents the Anhalt-Dessau and Kronprinzen regiments, whereas the Canitz brigade bases represent the Canitz and Leib regiments.  I based my research mainly on the Robert Hall CD and on the articles provided by Kronoskaf together with other sources like the beautiful blog Not By Appointment, a veritable goldmine for lesser-known flags and uniforms.

The Danish division is commanded by the Lt. Gen. Scholten:

On the left the Bielke brigade (Livgardet and Prins Georg regiments) and on the right the Rebsdorff brigade (Sajellandske and Finske regiments).

The Cavalry Corps is commanded by the Prinz Maximilian von Hanover (Braunschweig-Luneburg, indeed):

The Prince also was in command of the first division which is on three brigades. This time for each brigade I chosed two representative regiments and therefore we have from left to right: brigade Natzmer (Prussian Wartensleben and Leibregiment), brigade Függer (Austrian Hanover and Lobkovitz Cuirassiers), brigade Baden-Durlach (Austrian Lymburg Dragoons and Swabian Függer Cuirassiers).

The second division is commanded by the Graf von Würtemberg-Teck 

and is on three brigades too: from the left L’Ostange (Prussian L’Ostange Cuirassiers and Sonsfeld Dragoons), Bibra (Palatine Venningen and Swabian Helmsdorf Cuirassiers), Cusani (Austrian Cusani and Darmstadt Cuirassiers).

The Reserve Cavalry division is represented by two brigades, since I fudged two brigades into one. It is commanded by the Prince De Latour-Valsassina (I didn't find a pictur, or better I was able to find many La Tour-Valsassina, but it seems that none of them was in active military service in 1704) and its brigades are Efferen/Caraffa (Holstein von der Osten Cuirassiers and Wurzburg Fechenbach Dragoons) and Bayreuth (Franconian Brandenburg-Bayreuth Cuirassiers and Auffess Dragoons).

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