A refight of the Battle of Lens 1648 using my Sun King 1670s figures, with the Allies as the Spanish and the French as, well, the French! The Allies had five regiments of foot, one medium cannon, one cuirassier regiment (two double squadrons) and four horse regiments (two squadrons each), along with four generals. The French had four regiments of foot, one light cannon, four horse regiments (two squadrons each), and two individual squadrons of horse. The battle had no subtleties to it, having the usual deployment for 17th Century armies - horse on the flanks, foot and artillery in the centre, but with the Allies holding a ridge line. All figures are 28mm North Star 1670 range (ex-Copplestone Castings), except the cannons are League of Augsburg, as are some of the generals.
A very basic table: a ridge line on the left, a level plain with a few trees for aesthetic purposes, and a symbolic building for a village on the edge of the battlefield. I purchased the hexes very cheaply a number of years ago from a local wargames club that was trying to get rid of them and my wargaming friend Steve (see his website Tunnies Terrain) has improved them substantially for me!
A view along the Allied line.
A view along the French line.
The opposing forces arrayed for battle, Allies to the left, French to the right.
A closer view of the Allied centre: Spanish foot in the foreground, Dutch foot behind; artillery to the front and supporting cavalry as well.
The Allied left wing cavalry: two squadrons of Erlach Horse Regiment (Hesse-Kassel) and a double squadron of Bamberg Cuirassier Regiment (Austria).
The French right wing cavalry: two squadrons of each of the Regiments du Roi and La Reine.
The French centre: Gardes francaises nearest, with Guiche, La Fere and Conde in support, and a light cannon to the front. A squadron of the Gendarmes de la Garde in between the lines of infantry.
The French left wing cavalry: two squadrons of each of the Regiments Royal Cravattes and Villeroi, with a single squadron of the Regiment Dauphin at the rear.
The Allied right wing cavalry: two squadrons each of the Waldeck and Berlo Horse Regiments and a single squadron of Hoornbergh Horse Regiment in support (all Dutch units).
A view from behind the Allied line towards the French positions.
A view from behind the French left wing cavalry.
A view from behind the French centre towards the Allied position on the ridge.
A view from behind the French right wing cavalry.
The French right wing cavalry advance.
The French foot begin to advance.
The French left wing cavalry approach their opposites on the Allied right wing.
The French right wing cavalry approach Erlach Horse Regiment and the
large Bamberg Cuirassier squadron.
Regiment de Guiche, unusual for its yellow facings.
Regiment Gardes francaises. These are armed with flintlock muskets, but with the pikemen still wearing armour. At this time, French guard infantry units were not treated in any special way, i.e. retained as a reserve, but took their rightful place in the forward line according to their seniority.
The French light cannon. Uniform information is scarce for artillery units in this period, so I have painted the gun detachments of all my artillery models so that they can be used by either side.
Regiment La Reine (in their red coats and blue facings) clash with Erlach Horse Regiment.
The nearest figure is a general attached to the French unit, giving them combat and morale bonuses under the rule.
Regiment Conde. Most French regiments at this time had grey coats of some kind (the shade seems to have varied considerably according to cost and wear and tear) and red facings.
The squadron of the Gendarmes de la Garde.
The French guard cavalry (of which there were several different regiments) tended to be used as a powerful mounted reserve at this time.
Cavalry in action. The dice are used to show "Fatigue Points" of the unit as a result of combat. The leading squadron of Royal Cravattes has been broken by their opponents, hence their facing the wrong way prior to routing.
La Reine's leading squadron has rallied back behind its supporting squadron on the French right wing.
A general view of the cavalry combat on the French left/Allied right.
The white counter indicates an "Unformed" unit.
A view of the approaching French foot from behind Colyear's Regiment of Foot, a Scottish unit in Dutch service. The unit had a rather unsatisfactory game, breaking and running as soon as it was charged by the Gardes francaises, without firing a shot!
The Allied cannon.
The cavalry battle continues: view from behind the Allied right wing.
A closer view from the French side, with a squadron of the Dutch Hoonbergh
Horse Regiment trying to outflank the main action.
Another view of the main cavalry action, with mixed fortunes for both sides.
On the other flank, the large squadron from Bamberg Cuirassier Regiment breaks
their French opponents - Regiment du Roi.
The Gardes francaises nearing the ridge, facing Viejos Verdes and Colyear Regiments of Foot.
A view along the battlefield.
French squadrons gathering against a solitary Dutch opponent.
The main cavalry battle splits into two distinct groups.
The Gardes francaises on the ridge, supported by Regiment La Fere, their Spanish and Dutch Scots opponents having broken and run before the first charge!
A view of the centre of the battlefield from behind the French units. Gardes francaises on the ridge, with La Fere turning to shoot at the Allied cannon, with Conde advancing towards it from in front.
A large squadron of Bamberg Cuirassier Regiment charges Gardes francaises in a desperate attempt to halt the latter's advance. In the event, the infantry proved too tough a nut to crack and the cavalry were beaten off.
A view of the centre of the battlefield from behind the Allied line.
Cavalry still fighting it out on the ridge of the Allied right wing.
Opposing foot regiments ready to exchange fire.
Soon after this image was taken the Allied cannon was overrun by the advancing French.
A squadron of Regiment La Reine in their distinctive red coat and blue facings about to break a squadron of Erlach Horse Regiment.
The closing positions of the main cavalry battle, with the remaining Dutch units on the ridge now outflanked by French units.
