Over the Hills and Far Away

"Over the Hills and O'er the Main,
To Flanders, Portugal and Spain,
Queen Anne commands and we'll obey
Over the Hills and far away."

The Bayonet & Musket series is a tactical system that covers the most important battles of the late 1600s and early 1700s with an emphasis on battlefield command and the military changes brought about by the abrupt dominance of firepower. Infantry units are battalions, cavalry units are regiments, and artillery units are batteries.

Volume II provides the same level of historical research and analysis as its predecessor and contains these two battles:

Steenkirk, August 3, 1692, War of the League of Augsburg. English King William III takes command of the Allied army in Flanders and launches a surprise attack against the Duke of Luxembourg's French army encamped near the village of Steenkirk.

The French are caught completely flat-footed, and the Allied attack, led by the English and Scots Guards, drives through the first three lines of French defenses. But Luxembourg refuses to panic and stands his ground until the initial Allied attack, strangely un-supported, is halted and King William's army forced to retreat.

Steenkirk includes two scenarios, one for the historical battle and another that supposes a more aggressive, better coordinated Allied assault.


Ramillies, May 23, 1706, War of the Spanish Succession. Urged by King Louis XIV to avenge the French defeat at Blenheim two years before, French Marshal Villeroi marches to engage the Duke of Marlborough in Flanders. Villeroi's army contains some of France's best regiments, including the French and Swiss Guards and the elite Maison du Roi, and occupies a line of high ground anchored on a series of stout villages. "Have a particular care to receive the first shock of the English troops," warns King Louis, but in vain as an undaunted Marlborough attacks and wins a sweeping victory, routing the French army and capturing most of the Spanish Netherlands—modern-day Belgium—in the aftermath.

Ramillies includes two scenarios, one for the historical deployment and another that allows players free deployment to better keep an eye on the valiant redcoats.

Components:

• One Double-sided Map Sheet
• One Rules of Play
• One Playbook Manual
• Five Countersheets
• One Command Display
• Two Combat Tables Player Aid Cards
• Two Orders and Movement Tables Player Aid Cards
• One Time Keeping Card
• Two 10-sided Dice