The Battle of Sinsheim 1674. I played this solo (life being as it is at the moment!), taking the role of the French under Turenne and the Allies being the "other" side, controlled in their actions by dice/cards and certain actions by the French. I am not sure how well it would work with opposing players, as a "real" Allied player would probably be more proactive than the Allied commanders at the time, Caprara and Lorraine. Anyway, the played very similar to the actual battle and I think that the Allies could win it, especially if they held on to Sinsheim for a long time and exhausted the French infantry, while their cavalry, especially the Cuirassier Regiments, are very tough to beat and could stop the French horse units developing a position on the plateau. I do not have enough Austrian/Imperial figures for the Allies, so I used my Dutch as well.

The battlefield. I played along the length of my 6 foot by 4 foot table. Sinsheim is to the left with its hedges and bridge over the river; the lone house further up represent the old castle, and the Allied cavalry is deployed on the plateau, with hedges along the edges of the defiles and slopes. I have simplified the actual battle's terrain to what i thought were the key features.

The Dutch Nassau-Friesland Regiment of Foot holding Sinsheim.

The houses are Sarissa models, made and painted by my wargame's colleague, Steve

(see his blog Tunnie's Terrain, for his lovely figures and models).

The Allied cavalry on the plateau. Light Horse on the flanks, Cuirassier units in the centre.

The Dutch Waldeck Light Horse Regiment (two squadrons).

The Austrian Bamberg Cuirassier Regiment (two big squadrons).

The Austrian Caprara Cuirassier Regiment (two big squadrons).

The Dutch Berlo and Hoornbergh Light Horse Regiments (two squadrons each).

Berlo on the left and Hoornbergh on the right.

The Allied cavalry line from the opposite end.

A view of the left hand defile, house and hedges, with the Allied cavalry waiting beyond. The line of trees at the back was "aesthetic", representing the wood the Allies eventually retired through in the actual battle.

Bamberg Cuirassier to the left, Caprara Cuirassier to the right. The Austrian cavalry at this time was almost entirely made up of Cuirassier Regiments and the French found them very difficult to beat.

The Dutch Marwitz Dragoon Regiment holding the hedges at Sinsheim.

The figures in the pictures are from the North Star 1672 range (ex-Copplestone Castings), plus a few from the League of Augsburg Range produced by Warfare Miniatures. The flags are from the latter as well, Maverick Models or homemade.

Sinsheim and its defenders.

The Allied baggage train.

The river and bridge. The river Elsenz was impassable except at Sinsheim. The terrain tiles I use were bought some years ago from a wargames club who had used them for 1/300 scale battles. They were very battered but Steve kindly improved them to the excellent standard you can see in the pictures.

The French Guiche Regiment of Foot. Unusual amongst French infantry units for its yellow facings.

The French attack on Sinsheim develops. Guiche on the left; Asfeld Dragoon Regiment on the right, fighting dismounted. Dragoons by this date had flintlock muskets and fought in thinner formations than the normal foot regiments with their matchlock muskets.

The Guiche Regiment masses for a charge against the defenders of Sinsheim. Units would close up their files for close combat, which usually halved the frontage they would use for musketry.

Asfeld Dragoons exchange fire with the Dutch dragoons behind the hedges, while the French Condé Regiment of Foot moved up in support.

Condé Regiment pass through the Asfeld Dragoons and attack the Dutch dragoons.

The French artillery moves up. Sinsheim was a fine example of combined arms action by the French under Turenne, which contributed significantly to their victory.

Condé Regiment has bundled the Dutch dragoons out of their position and towards the bridge.

The Marwitz Dragoons rallied to hold the crossing and Condé Regiment opens fire.

More to follow...