While looking for information on the Dutch army, I came across this great site on the Battle of Lauffeldt in 1747. Lots of goodies including maps and pictures of the battlefield today.
Another victory for the French under the great Maurice de Saxe, against the Duke of Cumberland. Although Lauffeldt was a hard-fought battle and not the knock-out blow he was hoping for.
I really think that in orders of battle for all his engagements in the Low Countries, the Duke of Cumberland should be listed on the French side- one gets the impression that he was unwitting architect of many a French victory of the time. He even went on to stage a repeat performance of his characteristic ineptitude in early stages of the Seven Years War before it was decided that "enough was enough" and he was finally replaced.
Culloden seems to be have been his only success, and if I were a Scots Jacobite, I'd be hanging my head in shame through having been defeated by Cumberland of all people (although at least I could always drown my humiliation in good whiskey).
Actually the hero of Lauffeldt seems to be the very active commander of the British cavalry, Lord Ligonier, who must have beaten his head many times in frustration against many a stable door through having to work with a commander of Cumberland's tactical and strategic acumen (or lack thereof).
Lauffeldt interests me- perhaps even more than Fontenoy- because you had the Austrians and the Dutch fighting (if rather tardily) alongside the British and Hannoverians, although it must be said that the Dutch- well, let's just say they didn't exactly cover themselves with glory on that day! But the Pragmatic army is very colorful force for any wargames table
Unfortunately, while the names of the commanders are given for the Dutch and Austrians, there are no breakdowns of the order of battle for either of these armies. If anyone out there does have any information on this that they'd be willing to share, it would be much appreciated.
The Marquis would like to know which regiments in particular he should be preparing to trounce on the field of battle!
Another victory for the French under the great Maurice de Saxe, against the Duke of Cumberland. Although Lauffeldt was a hard-fought battle and not the knock-out blow he was hoping for.
I really think that in orders of battle for all his engagements in the Low Countries, the Duke of Cumberland should be listed on the French side- one gets the impression that he was unwitting architect of many a French victory of the time. He even went on to stage a repeat performance of his characteristic ineptitude in early stages of the Seven Years War before it was decided that "enough was enough" and he was finally replaced.
Culloden seems to be have been his only success, and if I were a Scots Jacobite, I'd be hanging my head in shame through having been defeated by Cumberland of all people (although at least I could always drown my humiliation in good whiskey).
Actually the hero of Lauffeldt seems to be the very active commander of the British cavalry, Lord Ligonier, who must have beaten his head many times in frustration against many a stable door through having to work with a commander of Cumberland's tactical and strategic acumen (or lack thereof).
Lauffeldt interests me- perhaps even more than Fontenoy- because you had the Austrians and the Dutch fighting (if rather tardily) alongside the British and Hannoverians, although it must be said that the Dutch- well, let's just say they didn't exactly cover themselves with glory on that day! But the Pragmatic army is very colorful force for any wargames table
Unfortunately, while the names of the commanders are given for the Dutch and Austrians, there are no breakdowns of the order of battle for either of these armies. If anyone out there does have any information on this that they'd be willing to share, it would be much appreciated.
The Marquis would like to know which regiments in particular he should be preparing to trounce on the field of battle!
7 comments:
Hello,
Miniature Wargames issues 200 and 201 carried a set of articles on Lauffeldt, but don't have a definitive OoB. If you are interested, I can send you their best guess at regiments that could have been there.
Ed v. H-F
Hi, Ed
I didn't know about the Miniature Wargames issues; I like a good article, but eye candy was a big reason I bought the mag way back as far as Issue #1, and when Ian Dickie took over and the quality of pictures fell to the point where dusty old minis with broken swords were being trotted out for photo ops, a lot of the excitement of the mag went out the window.
When I decided to cut down on the number of subs I was getting at the time, MW fell under the axe.
But as I said, any information is welcome- is it possible to post it here?
Thank you for letting me know about a battle that I was unfamiliar with.
-- Jeff
Robert,
I agree on MW. I haven't subscribed in years, and the issues I've seen in shops have not changed my mind.
I am not at home, but will send the info either late Sunday or Monday.
Cheers,
Ed
Cheers, Ed. That would be great!
I'm not sure how this will look:
The Austrians
There is no definitive list of all the Austrian regiments at this particular battle. Of those that appear below, some were certainly there and others may have been. It is based on Nafzigers list for Austrian regiments in Flanders in 1746, (those asterixed), and comments made by Duffy in his catalogue of all the existing Austrian regiments of this period. These comments have been included for the benefit of readers. (marked (D)).
Refight casualties are in square brackets, given as elements lost.
Class all units as trained.
Infantry
IR9* 2 batts Los Rois (D) Distinguished at Maastricht 1748 [1]
IR 10* 1 batt Jung Wolfenbuttel
IR 14* 2 batts Salm Salm [2]
IR 28* 3 batts Jung Arenburg [4]
IR 30 2 batts Prie (D) A Netherlandish regiment [2]
IR 38* 4 batts Claudius de Ligne (D) A Netherlandish regiment distinguished at Deningen. [7]
IR 42* 2 batts Gaisruck [2]
1R 43 2 batts Platz ID) Fought at Soor then went to Netherland theatre [2]
IR 55 2 batts Chanclos (D) A Netherlandish regiment [1]
IR ii* 2 batts Heister (Dl Garrison duty in Holland, disbanded in 1747 [1]
IR vii* 2 batts Arenburg (D) Fought at Rocoux and Lauffeldt. Disbanded in 1748 [2]
Gz 63 l batt Carlstadter Szluiner ID) Raised 1746, distinguished near Maastricht in 1747 [1]
The possibility exists to mass the 24 grenadier companies, one from each battalion which will give enough for two, 3 element battalions [2]
Cavalry
DR 31* 2 sqds Ligne (D) Raised In the Netherlands. Distinguished at Rocoux 1746 [1]
DR 38 6 sqds Wurttemburg (D) Distinguished at Lauffeldt 1748 [3]
DR i* 3 sqdn Limburg styrm (D) Distinguished at Dettingen. Disbanded in 1748 (after fall of Maastricht) [2]
HR 35* 2sqds Balazany
HR 16* 2 sqds Karolyi [1]
The Dutch
As at Rocoux we have no list of named Dutch regiments, and therefore we will use the Nafziger list of Dutch units present at Fontenoy in 1745.
Infantry
8. Foot Guards 2 batts tr [1]
9. Swiss Guards 1 batt tr [1]
10. Marine van Dom 1 batt tr (Marine grenadiers)
11. van Rijssel 1 batt tr (Marine grenadiers)
12. Converged grenadiers 4 batts tr [2]
13. Oranje Groningen 1 batt rw
14. Oranje Friesland l batt rw
15. Buddenbrock l batt rw
16. Schaumberg Lippe l batt rw
17. Cronstrom 1 batt rw
18. Bentick 1 batt rw
19. Brockhulsen 1 batt rw
20. Wallons van Smisseart 1 batt rw
21. Aylug 1 batt rw
22. Branckhorst 1 batt rw [1]
23. Stusler 2 batts rw (Swiss)
24. Solisch 2 batts rw (Swiss)
25. Constant Redeque 3 batts rw [1]
26. Waldeck 1 battn rw (German) [1]
Cavalry
27. Garde dragoons 10 sqds tr [6]
28. Sandonvllle cavalry 3 sqds rw [2]
29. Hop cavalry 3 sqds rw [1]
30. Carabiniers 3 sqds rw
31. Rechteren cavalry 3 sqds rw
32. Linden cavalry 3 sqds rw [1]
33. Schaek cavalry 3 sqds rw [1]
34. Hessen Homburg cavalry 3 sqds rw [2]
35. Nassau Overkirk cavalry 3 sqds rw [1]
36. Nassau dragoons 5 sqds rw
37. Schlippenback dragoons 7 sqds rw [5]
[1 brigadier killed]
Ed, that is EXCELLENT information! Thanks so much for posting it. I'll read it through and see if there is anything I can add from my own sources.
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