"War of Spanish v. Austrian Succession & 7YW" Topic

Troops moved much more slowly.

No wonder troops in Spanish Succession.

Just as Gentlemanly…

Used to play various rules… suggest Die Fighting 2 now!

The strengths of the squadron and battalion were approximately the same in each war. Indeed, the internal organization of the units did not change very much. The SYW saw much more use of light troops than the WSS. Artillery was less mobile during the WSS, and there was not as much as in the latter part of the SYW. The iron ramrod was adopted after the WSS and this was one reason why fired became more effective. Further, the cadenced march adopted after the WSS allowed troops to maneuver more quickly on the field.

As the SYW developed, the Austrians began to used attacks by columns of battalions, using an almost divisional approach.

Just a few of the differences, but I would imagine that for those in the fighting, they were pretty much doing the same thing in both wars: marching up to the other side, firing volleys and, if the opportunity presented itself, attacking with the bayonet. The cavalry probably used pistols more in the WSS than in the SYW.

When comparing early 18th century and mid 18th century warfare, two things come to mind:

The were a far greater proportion of cavalry to infantry. This continued throughout the 19th and in the 20th century, even if one regards modern armor as cavalry.

Sieges: These were far more common, and pitch battles, were not as numerous. And thus tactics to destroy fortifications, such as mortars, and the use of grenades by grenadiers were played a more prominent role. There was a great effort placed on designing fortification to withstand cannon fire, and many did so very, very well. Having lots of large caliber cannon does not guarantee breeching of the walls, given the composition and size.

ilodic.

Was the grenade primarily a siege/assault weapon?

Lack of Wonder Troops is a good thing, less temptation to some to field Old Guard armies…

Seriously, assuming you have levels of troops is some [unnamed] games dividing morale/training/effectiveness into grades (A, B, C, D, E,) where E is essentially armed mobs of "technically not still civilians," and A is Old Guard in Napoleonic game terms, (or the nearest equivalent,) would most WSS armies be C with a sprinkling of D and the rare B class battalion/Regiment?

no Die Fighting 2 is a ruleset. for tabletop battles.

It is on a DVD.

I am hoping my copy lands soon.

Infantry – no square formations.

Lots of Horse and dragoons, used almost interchangeably…

Artillery – pretty much static and of limited usefulness after the battle really gets moving.

Exactly!

Foot moved slower

Artillery immobile

More horse ratio

Early period the higher class units were used often and sooner as the punch, not the mop up.

Earlier was the trial and error phase (bafoonery), later on everyone was doing the same thing.

Another factor in the WSS is more nations are "Players" in the sense that Saxony, Denmark, Sweden conducted their own foreign policy, making for a wide variety of scenario possibilities. In the WSS there was a campaign on almost every front, from Norway to Turkey, from Sweden to Spain.

Plus the flags were better! and the Netherlands

Was the grenade primarily a siege/assault weapon?

Right. One verse from "British Grenadiers":

Whene'er we are commanded to storm the palisades,
Our leaders march with fusees, and we with hand grenades.
We throw them from the glacis, about the enemies' ears*.
Sing tow, row, row, row, row, row, the British Grenadiers.

Before a WSS game you lose 10 minutes arguing about who goes first.
"After you sir."
"No Sir, I insist, after you"
…

One of the chief differences between SYW and both the Marlburian and WAS periods was the step change in pace of military operations.

Both the earlier periods were fought very much in the 'one big battle plus a few sieges per campaign' pace. Frederick managed two big battles in 1745 but that is an exception. Although main armies often detached ad hoc corps to besiege towns, threaten communications etc- it was also quite rare for these to involve themselves in battles.

Operations in 1756-63 Europe were much faster paced and armies might fight two, three or more major engagements in a campaigning season. The campaigning season tended to be longer than in the earlier conlicts too. Also, significant battles between detached corps were a lot more common in the SYW than previously.

Nosworthy raises a point I wasn't aware of; the availability of gunpowder. Part of the need for strictly controlled firing in the early C18th as compared to the later part, was the relative lack of the stuff. Soldiers carried perhaps two dozen rounds at the most, compared to 50 or 60 during the SYW and later.

Before a WSS game you lose 10 minutes arguing about who goes first.

I thought that was Fontenoy 1745 not WSS. Losing 30 minutes for a good breakfast or luncheon before the slaughter began was more in the style of WSS.