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The
Imperial Army of Prince François Eugène of Savoy
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Eugene
of Savoy, 1663-1736, prince of the house of Savoy, general in the service
of the Holy Roman Empire. Born in Paris, he was the son of Eugène,
comte de Soissons of the line of Savoy-Carignano, and Olympe Mancini, niece
of Cardinal Mazarin. After being refused a commission in the French army
by King Louis XIV, Eugene entered (1683) the service of Holy Roman Emperor
Leopold I against the Ottoman Turks. He fought bravely in the relief of
Vienna and then in Hungary, where he helped in the capture of Belgrade
(1688). By 1697, Eugene had been appointed imperial commander in Hungary,
and at Zenta he annihilated the Turkish army. Faced with opposition in
Vienna, he began to take a more active part in political affairs. He became
(1700) a member of the emperor's privy council and (1703) president of
the imperial war council. He was the principal imperial commander in the
War of the Spanish Succession. In N Italy, Eugene was victorious over the
French forces under Nicolas Catinat and the duke of Villeroi. In 1704 he
joined the duke of Marlborough in Bavaria, and together they won the signal
victory of Blenheim. Returning to Italy, Eugene fought (1705) an inconclusive
battle at Cassano against his cousin, Louis Joseph de Vendôme. His
invasion of Provence (1707) was a failure, owing to the inadequacy of his
forces. In 1708, Eugene again cooperated with Marlborough in Flanders;
the victories of Oudenarde (1708) and Malplaquet (1709) resulted. After
the conclusion (1713) of the Peace of Utrecht by England and France, Eugene
continued to campaign on the Rhine against the French under Marshal Villars.
Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI empowered him late in the year to negotiate
with the war-weary French at Rastatt. The Peace of Rastatt (1714) complemented
that of Utrecht. Eugene was made governor of the Austrian Netherlands (1715)
and later imperial vicar in Italy. He again fought (1716-18) the Turks
successfully, defeating them at Petrovaradin (1716) and at Belgrade (1717)
and making possible the Austrian triumph marked by the Treaty of Passarowitz
(1719). In the War of the Polish Succession, Eugene was made commander
despite his advanced age. One of the greatest commanders in modern history,
Prince Eugene was noted for his severe character and his hatred of Louis
XIV as well as for his patronage of the arts. |
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The
Danish Foot
On
the extreme right flank of the allied army, 7 Battalions of Danish infantry
under Lieutenant General Scholten prepare top advance towards the high
ground ahead of them.
See
Eugene Photo Page 1 |
The
Prussian Foot
Immediately to the right
of the Danes, General the Prince of Anhalt-Dessau forms his 11 battalions
of Prussian infantry into two lines, ready to advance across the rough,
broken ground ahead of them
See
Eugene Photo Page 1 |
The
Imperial Horse
Eugene himself commanded
the cavalry which were divided into three lines. Each line was under the
command of its own General, Prince Maximillian of Hanover (brother of George
I, the future King of England), the second line under the Duke of Wurttemberg-Teck
and the 3rd line under the Count de la Tour. For wargaming purposes, these
troops were divided into three commands, but as it can be potentially less
interesting to command the third line, we actually split the cavalry into
three groups, Left, Center and Right, and placed the commanders at the
head of each command - a small bit of license to make a more interesting
game.
See
Eugene Photo Page 1 |
The
Right Horse
Commanded by General, the
Count de la Tour, the right wing horse are mostly Prussian squadrons, with
some Wurtemburg and Franconian squadrons. We place the horse in their historical
positions, but place all three lines of this block of troops under one
player command.
See
Eugene Photo Page 2 |
The
Center Horse
This is the left most command
of the Imperial horse in this games section of the battle. The Left Horse
will actually be the righter most units when we game the center section
of the battle. We placed the three lines of this command under General,
The Duke of Wurttemberg-Teck. Twenty Six squadrons headed by Austrian Cuirassiers
with a few squadrons of some of the other minor German states in the Empire.
See
Eugene Photo Page 2 |
The
Allied Right Wing
A view looking down the
length of the Allied line from the Danish flank, as far as the eye can
see. These troops too the entire width of a 12 ft table. Much of the ground
ahead of the allies, as far as the brook, is broken, rocky ground, swampy
in places.
See
Eugene Photo Page 2 |
The Game Table.
This is the projected game table, each
square representing 1 square foot.
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Click
on the map for a full size image.
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Alt-Hanover Kuirassiers
Painted
by Gary Rhay - Eugene Oregon
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Complete
Orders of Battle
On
the allied right wing, Prince Eugene commanded 18 Battalions, all Prussian
and Danish hired troops and 92 Squadrons from the Imperial German States. |
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Select
the image for a larger picture and description of the forces involved.
HOW
THE COMMANDS ARE ORGANIZED
Although
the commands are based on historical divisions in the army, we have made
a few changes to the layout in order to make the game more player friendly.
Those
wishing a full historical listing, the complete historical OOB as well
as a detailed, easy to read description of the battle would be well advised
to obtain a copy if Iain Stanford's essay on the battle.
Marlborough
Goes to War
The
reader will note that many commands consist of an entire line under one
General, the second under another, and so - on. Unfortunately, this can
lead to a dull game for the player commanding the 4th line for example.
We solve that by dividing commands up so that player controls part of a
line but both the 1st and 2nd (and 3rd etc.) lines. This way, players along
a front all get to be involved. Our OOB reflects this change, so great
care should be taken by those who wishing to use the OOB for study purposes. |
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RETURN
TO CAMP
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