The Battle of Ramillies fought on 23 May 1706, was a battle of the War of the Spanish Succession. For the Grand Alliance – Austria, England, and the Dutch Republic – the battle had followed an indecisive campaign against the Bourbon armies of King Louis XIV of France in 1705. Although the Allies had captured Barcelona that year, they had been forced to abandon their campaign on the Moselle, had stalled in the Spanish Netherlands and suffered defeat in northern Italy. Yet despite his opponents’ setbacks Louis XIV wanted peace, but on reasonable terms. Because of this, as well as to maintain their momentum, the French and their allies took the offensive in 1706.
The campaign began well for Louis XIV’s generals: in Italy Marshal Vendôme defeated the Austrians at the Battle of Calcinato in April, while in Alsace Marshal Villars forced the Margrave of Baden back across the Rhine. Encouraged by these early gains Louis XIV urged Marshal Villeroi to go over to the offensive in the Spanish Netherlands and, with victory, gain a ‘fair’ peace. Accordingly, the French Marshal set off from Leuven (Louvain) at the head of 60,000 men and marched towards Tienen (Tirlemont), as if to threaten Zoutleeuw (Léau). Also determined to fight a major engagement, the Duke of Marlborough, commander-in-chief of Anglo-Dutch forces, assembled his army – some 62,000 men – near Maastricht, and marched past Zoutleeuw. With both sides seeking battle, they soon encountered each other on the dry ground between the Mehaigne and Petite Gheete rivers, close to the small village of Ramillies.
In less than four hours Marlborough’s Dutch, English, and Danish forces overwhelmed Villeroi’s and Max Emanuel’s Franco-Spanish-Bavarian army. The Duke’s subtle moves and changes in emphasis during the battle – something his opponents failed to realise until it was too late – caught the French in a tactical vice. With their foe broken and routed, the Allies were able to fully exploit their victory. Town after town fell, including Brussels, Bruges and Antwerp; by the end of the campaign Villeroi’s army had been driven from most of the Spanish Netherlands. With Prince Eugene’s subsequent success at the Battle of Turin in northern Italy, the Allies had imposed the greatest loss of territory and resources that Louis XIV would suffer during the war. Thus, the year 1706 proved, for the Allies, to be an annus mirabilis.
The Game
All forces were set up in their historical positions on the battlefield. The Allied right flank cavalry was put on reserve orders to simulate its late action in the battle. The allied center and reserve brigades were also on reserve orders. The French had all their infantry brigades on defense and their cavalry on reserve orders. With that, the game began!
During the early turns, the allies moved their left wing cavalry forward to engage the French cavalry in front of them. In the center, the allies brought up their artillery to start softening up the French center. On the right flank, the British began probing attacks to pin the French left flank. Initial fights proved inconclusive.
The large cavalry fight on the allied left kept ebbing and flowing, with both sides sending in their cavalry into the meat grinder. However, neither side could gain a clear advantage. One side would go forward and push forward, only to be pushed back again. On the allied left, The allies organized their forces and went forward with an all out attack with all available forces against the French. This included committing the allied right wing cavalry to support the attack on the French left. This caused the French to commit their reserve cavalry in the center to the flank to solidify the defense, while their infantry started to fall back into a hedgehog defense around the towns. However, with the overwhelming force, the French began taking unequal losses to their forces as the allies rolled forward.
The large cavalry fight continued to stalemate. However, the French left was beginning to collapse. With the French center now weakened, due to sending forces to support the flanks, the allies committed their last reserves to an attack into the center. With the site of this, the French decided to quit the field and the battlefield belonged to the allies!
