Wimpfen May 1622 Sun King version

Having recovered somewhat from the dreaded bug, I thought I would try a small game. I decided it would be a good idea to see what sort of Sun King game I could do just using the dining room table surface - 5 feet by 3 feet. Looking around for a battle to adapt, I chose Wimpfen, from the Thirty Years War, which places one side on the defensive and the other on the offensive, a rather straightforward game for someone playing solo. The defence - hold your fieldworks, counterattack if possible; attack - take the fieldworks, or make them untenable. So with the French on the defence and the Allies - Dutch and Imperialists - on the attack, I set out the two sides, trying to get an approximate ratio of foot, horse and artillery according to the armies on the day, as well as the most significant terrain. I do not have loads of wagons with swivel guns and very light cannons, as there was on the day, so I just used my fieldworks and gave the defence a bonus for close range fire. As you can see, the French had four foot regiments, one medium battery, and three horse regiments (each two squadrons), while the Dutch/Imperialists had six foot regiments, two horse regiments (each two squadrons), one Croat squadron (off table to start), and one Kürassier regiment (three squadrons), with two off table medium artillery batteries firing overhead, they being on a hill at the battle itself. As always, North Star 1672 figures, with a few Wargame Miniatures, and the rules this time were a fast play version I devised of Mr. Gush's WRG Renaissance Rules. I have added subtitles to some of the pictures to show the game unfolding.

So the position for the French was becoming untenable as their flanks were compromised, their cavalry having collapsed completely before those of the Dutch/Imperialists. The Allied foot, based on their success so far, were not likely to seize the fieldworks easily, but nor could the French foot retire easily with so much cavalry hovering on their flanks. After all, in the real world, there would be no table edge to stop the Allied horse getting around behind the French foot! So the Allies were winners.

It was an enjoyable game and nice to see that I could fight out a game on just the dining room table. Ten foot regiments, fourteen cavalry squadrons and an artillery battery was very good I thought. Not a lot to manoeuvre on the flanks, but there was not on the day of the battle. What I did not allow for was events which might affect either side - hot weather tired out the defenders on the day, while an exploding artillery caisson caused widespread confusion, while the Allied horse was not as good at first on the day itself. Maybe if I did a re-fight I could build that in somehow.