The first outing for the French with the Gendarmes in their new coats. This time the forces of Louis faced those of Tecklenberg distinguished by rather natty yellow uniform.

The French had seven line battalions with a supporting guard battalion. Two line horse regiments aided the massed companies of the Gendarmes.

The Tecklenbergers had a similar number of battalions, all larger in number and eight large squadrons of horse.
My plan was simple. Advance the right and use the Gendarmes to break through the enemy line and divide the foot into two parts. As the horse broke through the right would be held by a single battalion and the enemy center attacked by the central four French battalions.
The Gendarmes duly set of and were forced to angle slightly towards the enemy center to locate the opposing horse. Once the two forces clashed the Gendarmes rode over and through the enemy.
The two centers then came into musketry range and a fierce fire fight ensued with neither side gaining an apparent advantage.
On the French left the Tecklenberg lines poured fire into the French and only the stubbornness of the infantry held them at bay.
Meanwhile the French guard advance and in a single volley swept away the enemy infantry. This was a bright spot on the French right since theses same enemy had just routed the French horse which were meant to be supporting the Gendarmes but instead tried and failed to take on the enemy foot.
The battle came to a swift end as the Gendarmes rallied and then turned to attack the rear of the enemy center.
Attacking the first battalion they swept them away and then as the enemy lines crumpled and the Gendarmes were given free rein to attack the remaining troops, the Margrave realised that it was lost and withdrew from the field.
This game definitely belongs to the Gendarmes. For the loss of less then a quarter of their strength they removed six squadrons of horse and two battalions of foot. A battle honour indeed.
In fact if you wore a red coat and were fighting for the French then you had a good day. The Swiss guard only fired one volley but that destroyed a quarter of the enemy battalion and routed them from the table.

My thanks to Mike for the game and his imagi-nation of Tecklenberg. Mike has followed the route of so many and created a fictional army for an historical state that allows him to field many of his favourite regiments from the age of reason.