Baccus: First of the great dynastic struggles of the eighteenth century, the War of Spanish Succession involved most of Europe. A state which did not back up its policies with troops in this period probably supplied them as mercenaries to those which did.
Central to the causes of conflict were the expansionist ambitions of Louis XIV, King of France, which were opposed by a series of shifting alliances. Towering over the period is the figure of John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, and his close ally Prince Eugene of Savoy.
This is the classic campaigning period. Each year, the armies marched across Europe is a colossal chess game on a board constricted by river barriers and studded with fortresses. These manoeuvres culminated in great set-piece battles, including Marlborough’s ‘big four’: Blenheim, Ramillies, Oudenarde and Malplaquet.
The War of Spanish Succession has much to recommend it to wargamers; uniforms were colourful (but are simple to paint.) and manoeuvres were bold and forceful. Standing armies were in their relative infancy at this time, and the period saw the founding of traditions which were to last the centuries.
Polemos War of Spanish Succession is specifically aimed at enabling the wargamer to fight large scale actions; actual battles, rather than small scale skirmishes. Systems for firing, melee and morale are straightforward and easy to learn, but allow your troops to emulate the tactics used by their historical counterparts. For instance, troops using the platoon firing system have improved close range factors, while others using fire by ranks are allowed to be more aggressive.
Chosen men, well disposed is therefore produced as one of two sets of rules produced to cover the period. CMWD enables the player to recreate the small to medium sized battles of the War of Spanish Succession, or crucial parts of the major battles. Use CMWD you can, if you wish, replay General Webb’s action at Wynendael or perhaps the attack of the Allied left column on the village of Blenheim.
The aim of the rules is to allow you to fight actions of this size to a finish in three to four hours while retaining the feel of warfare in this period and giving you some tactical control over your troops. The same wargames figures may be used in both sets of rules, as the basing system is universal; only the nominal scale will differ.
These rules are now available here at the Wargame Vault for an honest price so if you're interested take a look at these rules and other rules by Baccus, one of the leading manufacturers of 6mm wargame miniatures.
Basing and Representation
The basic unit of manoeuvre in Polemos CMWS is the Base - a group of wargames figures mounted permanently on a single base of a given size. The actual position of the figures on the base is not important, nor is it important that the base sizes given below are adhered to. So long as both armies use the same basing system, the rules should not be affected. A base of infantry in CMWD represents between 300 and 500 men. This generally represents a battalion in most armies of the period. Some armies tended to field larger battalions and these will be represented by two bases. A base of cavalry represents a regiment or two to three squadrons. An artillery base represents 2-3 guns.
All distances in Polemos games are expressed in Base Widths (BW) and Base Depths (BD) in order to allow the use of differing base sizes. A BD is half a BW. This system means that any size can be used for bases, so no rebasing is required so long as both sides are consistent. We believe that a 60mm x 30mm base gives the best results in terms of both practical use and visual impact. All Baccus 6mm Polemos army and booster packs are organised on this basis.
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