A Famous Victory - Blenheim: Reset

Blenheim setup overview

After doing a lot more reading about Blenheim and getting in a couple of turns to familiarize myself with the rules, I've decided to reset the game and start over. This time I'm using a much closer to historical setup, based on the OOB and maps from Obscure Battles. Not only is the distribution of units more correct, the actual battalions and regiments are mostly in the correct locations. The OOBs from the game and web site don't entirely line up, but they're close.

The Anglo-Allied right, under Prince Eugene of Savoy. Almost entirely made up of Imperial and German troops.

Marlborough's strong center, intended to break through the French center and divide Tallard's army. Under the command of Marlborough's brother, Charles Churchill in reality.

Marlborough's left, in front of Blenheim. Made up of English, Hessian, and Hanoverian infantry under Cutts, and English and Hessian horse. Historically, the horse was under Lumley, but there's no Lumley counter in the game for Blenheim, so I'm using Orkney.

Allied artillery is place where it generally was, and more forward of where I had it in the original attempt at the game. It's still too far away to make any difference, as in the French artillery. Something just isn't lining up -- the French artillery in particular caused some pretty serious casualties  among the Allied foot as it stood in place across the Nebel. That's not really possible given the artillery ranges in the game.

And now, the Franco-Bavarian left, under the Elector Max of Bavaria. The cavalry deployment here is a fudge; the Bavarian units should be closer to the village and separate from the French cavalry. The game rules forced me to consolidate the formations. In fact, the French cavalry near the village is placed illegally and had to be moved into the line with the rest, commanded by D'Arco.

Marsin's wing, in the Franco-Bavarian center. I actually ended up moving Merode's line to the rear of Oberglau before starting the game, to give more room for Tallard's cavalry and to accommodate Marsin's command range.

Tallard's wing, stretching from Blindheim to Oberglau. Most of the Franco-Bavarian artillery is here, opposed to Marlborough's center. In the actual battle is was bad decisions here that cost Tallard the battle. Since I'm unlikely to do those same things, it'll be interesting to see if Marlborough can have as much success here.