WI: Turenne VS Cromwell in 1658
Turenne and Cromwell were arguably the two best generals of their age. For this scenario the battle will be set in 1658 and will be a modified Battle of the Dunes. Force strength of both sides is towards the bottom of page.
Turenne, Napoleon’s favorite commander and arguably the greatest French general of the 17th century. He is known universally as one the best maneuver generals in history. He for most of the time completely confuses his enemies into believe attacks are coming from directions they actually aren’t. An example of this is at the Battle of Turkheim where he tricked the opposing general twice. Turenne first tricked his opponent into thinking he was in winter quarters, then when his opponent finally realized, Turenne tricked him again into thinking an attack was coming on his right flank at the town of Colmar when in fact it was coming from the rear at the town of Turkheim. This is an example of what brilliant maneuvers, screening forces, and counter marching can do to an enemy. Turenne’s basic strategy is to make his opponents feel like their heads on a swivel. Two other things to keep in mind about Turenne is that he is exceptionally brave and is almost always on the front lines, this is partly the reason he gets killed by a cannonball in 1675. He also suffers from very poor eye sight so he always is surrounded by aids that help him direct the battle.
Cromwell the victor of the Battle of Dunbar and the Lord Protector of England. He was always eager to bring his enemy to battle quickly he was not one to waste time on extended maneuvers. In fact during the Dunes campaign he criticized Turenne for spending too much time maneuvering in Luxemburg. (Turenne was trying to draw his enemy out into a trap) Cromwell understood the principle of concentration well and used it often. One criticism that seems to follow Cromwell and England’s forces of his period is there over eagerness for combat and their seeming inability to know when to stop. This criticism comes from three events, the massacres at Drogheda and Wexford, the third event happened at the Battle of the Dunes itself where English forces under General Lockhart charged without orders.
OTL Battle of the Dunes pitted a Commonwealth-French force under the command of Turenne, who commanded the battle while his superior Oliver Cromwell was back in England directing his movements by letter, taking on a Royalist-Fronde French-Spanish force under the command of Conde, Juan Jose and the Duke of York. In the real campaign Turenne and Cromwell rolled over the enemy force. For my ATL campaign the Royalist and Commonwealth forces are switching sides and I am pretending that Cromwell is there in person.
Turenne’s forces 19,000 soldiers total
2,000 Royalist infantry: 1 Scottish regiment, 1 English regiment and 3 Irish regiments
2,000 French and Swiss infantry
9,000 cavalry which are a mixture of light and heavy cavalry, including German cavalry that Turenne personally recruited during the Thirty Years War and dismounted French dragoons.
6,000 French and Picardy infantry that are busy besieging Dunkirk in the rear can be used if needed
Cromwell’s forces 18,000 soldiers total
6,000 English New Model Army infantry, (2000 of which are suffering from illness)
4,000 Spanish and French Infantry, including Spanish Tercios
5,000 thousand cavalry a mix of French, English and Spanish
3,000 Infantry trapped in Dunkirk
3 English frigates of coast that can provide bombardments
Terrain
Cromwell’s forces have a 160 ft sand dune on their side of the battlefield that some troops can be deployed upon; also Cromwell’s side of the field suffers from flooding. Turenne’s deployment area is for the most part just a flat beach.
The question is who wins this modified version of the Battle of the Dunes?
source
Turenne by Henry Hozier
Marshall Turenne by Thomas Loungeuville
Battle of the Dunes by Roy Morris
Masters of the Battleifld by Julian Thompson
Turenne and Cromwell were arguably the two best generals of their age. For this scenario the battle will be set in 1658 and will be a modified Battle of the Dunes. Force strength of both sides is towards the bottom of page.
Turenne, Napoleon’s favorite commander and arguably the greatest French general of the 17th century. He is known universally as one the best maneuver generals in history. He for most of the time completely confuses his enemies into believe attacks are coming from directions they actually aren’t. An example of this is at the Battle of Turkheim where he tricked the opposing general twice. Turenne first tricked his opponent into thinking he was in winter quarters, then when his opponent finally realized, Turenne tricked him again into thinking an attack was coming on his right flank at the town of Colmar when in fact it was coming from the rear at the town of Turkheim. This is an example of what brilliant maneuvers, screening forces, and counter marching can do to an enemy. Turenne’s basic strategy is to make his opponents feel like their heads on a swivel. Two other things to keep in mind about Turenne is that he is exceptionally brave and is almost always on the front lines, this is partly the reason he gets killed by a cannonball in 1675. He also suffers from very poor eye sight so he always is surrounded by aids that help him direct the battle.
Cromwell the victor of the Battle of Dunbar and the Lord Protector of England. He was always eager to bring his enemy to battle quickly he was not one to waste time on extended maneuvers. In fact during the Dunes campaign he criticized Turenne for spending too much time maneuvering in Luxemburg. (Turenne was trying to draw his enemy out into a trap) Cromwell understood the principle of concentration well and used it often. One criticism that seems to follow Cromwell and England’s forces of his period is there over eagerness for combat and their seeming inability to know when to stop. This criticism comes from three events, the massacres at Drogheda and Wexford, the third event happened at the Battle of the Dunes itself where English forces under General Lockhart charged without orders.
OTL Battle of the Dunes pitted a Commonwealth-French force under the command of Turenne, who commanded the battle while his superior Oliver Cromwell was back in England directing his movements by letter, taking on a Royalist-Fronde French-Spanish force under the command of Conde, Juan Jose and the Duke of York. In the real campaign Turenne and Cromwell rolled over the enemy force. For my ATL campaign the Royalist and Commonwealth forces are switching sides and I am pretending that Cromwell is there in person.
Turenne’s forces 19,000 soldiers total
2,000 Royalist infantry: 1 Scottish regiment, 1 English regiment and 3 Irish regiments
2,000 French and Swiss infantry
9,000 cavalry which are a mixture of light and heavy cavalry, including German cavalry that Turenne personally recruited during the Thirty Years War and dismounted French dragoons.
6,000 French and Picardy infantry that are busy besieging Dunkirk in the rear can be used if needed
Cromwell’s forces 18,000 soldiers total
6,000 English New Model Army infantry, (2000 of which are suffering from illness)
4,000 Spanish and French Infantry, including Spanish Tercios
5,000 thousand cavalry a mix of French, English and Spanish
3,000 Infantry trapped in Dunkirk
3 English frigates of coast that can provide bombardments
Terrain
Cromwell’s forces have a 160 ft sand dune on their side of the battlefield that some troops can be deployed upon; also Cromwell’s side of the field suffers from flooding. Turenne’s deployment area is for the most part just a flat beach.
The question is who wins this modified version of the Battle of the Dunes?
source
Turenne by Henry Hozier
Marshall Turenne by Thomas Loungeuville
Battle of the Dunes by Roy Morris
Masters of the Battleifld by Julian Thompson
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