Throughout his service in Germany and the Low Countries, Marlborough was in an unenviable position that has possibly never – at least not to the same degree – faced a British officer in the field. Firstly he had to maintain a coalition in which the various parties each had their own political and military objectives, which they would pursue above all considerations, and, secondly, within his own theatre of operations he had to create an army, not only out of the enlisted troops of several states, but also those contingents that had been contracted in order to make up shortfalls in manpower. Each of these latter formations had its own individual contract of employment that would cover aspects such as pay, compensation for casualties, etc, creating anomalies such as the upkeep for certain units within the Danish contingent being paid for by the British Government and others being paid for by the Dutch Government, a situation which not only led to excessive bureaucracy but could also lead to tensions within the high command.
Luckily for the Duke, he was supported by an able team of subordinates, first of whom was William Cadogan, his Quartermaster General, as well as a number of senior officers who had served with Marlborough for several years. Foremost amongst these were the Dutch Field Marshal van Ouwerkerk, who also held the rank of General of Horse on the English establishment and who had been one of Marlborough’s peers during the reign of King William III, and of course Charles Churchill, his younger brother, who was the senior infantry commander. Both men were crucial to the running of the army, not just in military terms, but also – and especially in the case of Ouwerkerk – as a conduit to the Dutch Government, by which the political concerns of the States General could be assuaged.
The army itself was a truly multinational force consisting of 74 battalions of foot – roughly 50,000 men – drawn both by enlistment and also by contract from several countries, each with an average strength of around 500 men organized into ten or so companies, armed with a smoothbore musket and socket bayonet. In the main, most of the infantry were trained to give fire by platoon, which meant that they would deliver rolling volleys one section at a time, the main advantage of this drill being psychological, keeping the enemy under continual fire, rather than any massive increase in casualties caused to the enemy.
The mounted wing comprised 123 squadrons, accounting for something in the region of 20,000 men who, unlike their counterparts within the Bourbon forces, were trained and indeed encouraged, to fight in the mounted role rather than being differentiated between ‘horse’, the heavy cavalry of the line, and ‘dragoons’, who were effectively mounted infantry whose main function was to seize and hold terrain or support an infantry attack. As such, the Allied cavalry would ultimately gain an advantage over the enemy, which would be in excess of the near parity in number. However, it was an advantage that would be evidenced only once Marlborough had developed his attack to the degree whereby he was able to transfer two cavalry brigades from his relatively unengaged right flank in order to support Ouwerkerk’s attack on the left which had stalled against the Bourbon right flank to the south of Ramillies.
Finally, we come to the Allied artillery, which gives an insight into Marlborough’s tactical and strategic planning in May 1706. Firstly, the presence of the Dutch siege train with the army confirms that the Duke’s plan of campaign was to rely on speed – with the heavy artillery ‘at the front’ he would be able to develop any victory into an assault on either Brussels, Louvain or Namur, the capture of any of which would then allow him to maintain the strategic initiative and break out of the rut of the previous years’ campaigns. As such, he elected to deploy these guns with great effect against the Bourbon defences of Ramillies, whilst the heavier field pieces were used in batteries against the enemy battle lines, and the lighter were dispersed amongst the various infantry brigades for individual close support, as evidenced by the two cannon which were attached to Werdmüller’s ad hoc command in the Mehaigne Valley.
Villeroi took the field in May 1706 under a great misapprehension – with his two, more able colleagues Villars and Vendôme commanding in Germany and northern Italy respectively, all he really needed to do was to contain Marlborough, in effect, simply not be defeated.
Like its opponents, the Army of the Two Crowns was also a multinational force – at its core was Villeroi’s (French) Army of Flanders, to which was added the army’s Spanish counterpart as well as a number of German expatriate forces from the Elector of Bavaria and his brother the Prince-Bishop of Cologne, who had supported King Louis XIV against the Holy Roman Empire, and who were both in exile, the former as Vicar of the Spanish Netherlands, and the latter as a French pensionary.
The army, however, was nowhere near as numerous as that which the Allies could put into the field and so, whilst petitioning Versailles for reinforcement from Marshal Marsin in Lorraine – some 20 squadrons of Marsin’s cavalry would arrive in time to participate in the battle, with the infantry following in their wake – Villeroi made the unfortunate decision to strip the garrisons from a number of Spanish fortresses and use these units to augment his army, a decision that would mean that, in the wake of the battle, Marlborough would be able to ‘roll up’ a number of towns and cities that would ordinarily have been able to resist and tie up his forces, thus slowing down the pace of the campaign.
Numerically, the infantry component of Villeroi’s army was similar both in terms of equipment and unit size to its opponent’s but, as has been noted, was of far more varying quality – ranging from the veteran units of the French line such as ‘Alsace’ and ‘Picardie’ as well as the French and Swiss Guards, through to the replacements which had been rushed to replace the casualties of previous battles as well as the former garrison units. Again, organization was similar to its opponent’s, both in unit size and the number of companies, but the primary difference was that the Bourbon forces were trained to fire by rank, which meant that each sub-unit would fire and reload before giving fire again. This meant, naturally, that the volleys were greater in their density, but that there would be pauses between the volleys, which would give the targets time to re-form.
One of the anomalies of French artillery design, this light three-barrelled cannon was presumably designed for an infantry support role, firing multiple charges of canister or grapeshot into the enemy ranks at close range. (Photograph courtesy Iain Stanford)
Understandably enough, Villeroi placed much reliance on his mounted arm, containing as it did a large number of units of the King’s household – the Maison du Roi – as well as many veteran regiments of the line, and again, numerically at least, his cavalry had a slight edge over the enemy, but qualitatively the French doctrine for the deployment of dragoons meant that these troops could not really be considered in a comparison of troops that would close ‘hand to hand’. Thus, the reality was that in this area Villeroi was at a great disadvantage, which many commentators attribute to the failure to reinforce Taviers successfully when, in reality, they were never part of the true equation. Had the French marshal concentrated these troops in direct support of his infantry lines and deployed the majority of his ‘horse’ regiments on his open right flank, then things might have developed differently.
Finally, with the addition of Marlborough’s siege train to his field artillery, Villeroi found himself literally outgunned, in all senses of the word with perhaps 70 cannon – primarily light pieces – as opposed to almost 120 in the Allied Army. He therefore acted conservatively by deploying a large number of his lighter guns (including perhaps all of the experimental three-barrelled weapons) in support of the positions around Ramillies and Offus, whilst the remainder were used in a counter-role against the Allied infantry and artillery, their effectiveness being possibly enhanced by Marlborough’s decision to attack and turn the Bourbon flanks in succession rather than drive straight at the enemy centre.
General Commanding – His Grace, John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough (74 battalions, 123 squadrons, 120 guns – 69,000 officers and men)
| 1st Line: Lt. Gen. Lumley (2,492 officers and men) | |
| Hay’s Dragoons (British) | 2 sqns |
| Ross’s Dragoons (British) | 2 sqns |
| Lumley’s Horse (British) | 3 sqns |
| Cadogan’s Horse (British) | 2 sqns |
| Schomberg’s Horse (British) | 2 sqns |
| Wyndham’s Horse (British) | 2 sqns |
| Wood’s Horse (British) | 2 sqns |
| Lt. Gen. Dompré (3,100 officers and men) | |
| Gardes Dragonders (Dutch) | 5 sqns |
| Garde du Corps (Dutch) | 1 sqn |
| Opdam’s Horse (Dutch) | 2 sqns |
| Fréchapelle’s Horse (Hanoverian in Dutch pay) | 2 sqns |
| Chanclos’s Horse (Dutch) | 2 sqns |
| Athlone’s Horse (Dutch) | 2 sqns |
| Rammingen’s Horse (Dutch) | 2 sqns |
| Dompré’s Horse (Dutch) | 2 sqns |
| 2nd Line: Lt. Gen. Oyen (3,551 officers and men) | |
| Van der Nath Dragoons (Holstein-Gottorp in British pay) | 4 sqns |
| Benningsen’s Dragoons (Hanoverian in Dutch pay) | 3 sqns |
| Heiden’s Horse (Brandenburg in Dutch pay) | 2 sqns |
| Canstein’s Horse (Brandenburg in Dutch pay) | 2 sqns |
| Baldwin’s Horse (Dutch) | 2 sqns |
| Viettinghoff’s Horse (Dutch) | 1 sqn |
| Hünerbein’s Horse (Münster in Dutch pay) | 2 sqns |
| Reden’s Horse (Hanoverian in Dutch pay) | 2 sqns |
| Hessen-Homburg’s Horse (Dutch) | 3 sqns |
| 1st Line: | |
| Lt. Gen., the Earl of Orkney (11,351 officers and men) | |
| Maj. Gen. Withers (4,856 officers and men) | |
| 1st Foot Guards (British) | 1 bn |
| Earl of Orkney’s Foot/1 (British) | 1 bn |
| Godfrey’s Foot (British) | 1 bn |
| Dalrymple’s Foot (British) | 1 bn |
| Lalo’s Foot (British) | 1 bn |
| Sabine’s Foot (British) | 1 bn |
| Webb’s Foot (British) | 1 bn |
| Brig. Macartney (4,190 officers and men) | |
| Churchill’s Foot (British) | 1 bn |
| Mordaunt’s Foot (British) | 1 bn |
| Evans’s Foot (British) | 1 bn |
| Macartney’s Foot (British) | 1 bn |
| Stringer’s Foot (British) | 1 bn |
| Howe’s Foot (British) | 1 bn |
| Brig. Donop (2,305 officers and men) | |
| Garde til Fods (Danish in Dutch pay) | 1 bn |
| Prins Carl/2 (Danish in British pay) | 1 bn |
| Sjaelland/1 (Danish in Dutch pay) | 1 bn |
| Oldenburg (Danish in British pay) | 1 bn |
| Lt. Gen. Spaar (7,228 officers and men) | |
| Maj. Gen. Collier (3,660 officers and men) | |
| Erbprinz von Hesse-Kassel (Brandenburg in British pay) | 1 bn |
| Lattorf (Brandenburg in British pay) | 1 bn |
| Heuckelom (Dutch) | 1 bn |
| Oxenstierna (Swedes in Dutch pay) | 1 bn |
| Capol (Swiss in Dutch pay) | 1 bn |
| Hirzel (Swiss in Dutch pay) | 1 bn |
| Brig. Ziethen (3,568 officers and men) | |
| St Pol (Hanoverian in Dutch pay) | 1 bn |
| Bernsdorff (Hanoverian in Dutch pay) | 1 bn |
| Bruncken (Hanoverian in Dutch pay) | 1 bn |
| Nassau-Usingen (Walloon in Dutch pay) | 1 bn |
| Prinz Ludwig (Hesse-Kassel in Dutch pay) | 1 bn |
| Anhalt-Zerbst (Brandenburg in Dutch pay) | 1 bn |
| Lt. Gen. Dedem (8,474 officers and men) | |
| Maj. Gen. van Soutelande (3,660 officers and men) | |
| Deelen (Dutch) | 1 bn |
| Nassau-Woudenburg (Dutch) | 1 bn |
| Kroonprins (Brandenburg in Dutch pay) | 1 bn |
| Soutelande (Dutch) | 1 bn |
| Tscharner (Swiss in Dutch pay) | 1 bn |
| Maj. Gen. de Vilatte (4,814 officers and men) | |
| Brig. Argyll (Scots Brigade; 2,580 officers and men) | |
| Argyll (Scottish in Dutch pay) | 1 bn |
| Borthwick (Scottish in Dutch pay) | 1 bn |
| Colyear (Scottish in Dutch pay) | 1 bn |
| Murray (Scottish in Dutch pay) | 1 bn |
| Brig. Wassenaer (2,234 officers and men) | |
| Gardes te Voet (Dutch) | 3 bns |
| 2nd Line: | |
| Lt. Gen. Ingoldsby (6,235 officers and men) | |
| Brig. Meredith (4,190 officers and men) | |
| Orkney’s Foot/2 (British) | 1 bn |
| Ingoldsby’s Foot (British) | 1 bn |
| Farrington’s Foot (British) | 1 bn |
| Tatton’s Foot (British) | 1 bn |
| North’s Foot (British) | 1 bn |
| Brig. Schwarztel (2,045 officers and men) | |
| Prins Carl/1 (Danish in British pay) | 1 bn |
| Fynske (Danish in Dutch pay) | 1 bn |
| Württemburg-Oels (Danish in Dutch pay) | 1 bn |
| Lt. Gen. Oxenstierna (7,387 officers and men) | |
| Maj. Gen. Welderen (3,855 officers and men) | |
| Grumbkow (Brandenburg in British pay) | 1 bn |
| Dedem (Dutch) | 1 bn |
| Heyden (Dutch) | 1 bn |
| Els (Dutch) | 1 bn |
| Huffel (Dutch) | 1 bn |
| Jung-Seckendorf (Ansbach-Bayreuth in Dutch pay) | 1 bn |
| Maj. Gen. Bernsdorff (3,532 officers and men) | |
| Rantzow (Hanoverian in Dutch pay) | 2 bns |
| Tecklenburg (Hanoverian in Dutch pay) | 1 bn |
| Veglin (Dutch) | 1 bn |
| Ranck (Dutch) | 1 bn |
| Sturler (Swiss in Dutch pay) | 1 bn |
| Lt. Gen. the Prince of Holstein-Beck (6,931 officers and men | |
| Brig. Keppel (3,185 officers and men) | |
| Aderkas (Holstein-Gottorp in Dutch pay) | 1 bn |
| Barner (Holstein-Gottorp in Dutch pay) | 1 bn |
| Keppel (Dutch) | 1 bn |
| Schwartz (Münster in Dutch pay) | 1 bn |
| Pallandt (Dutch) | 1 bn |
| Maj. Gen. Murray (1,080 officers and men) | |
| Albemarle (Swiss in Dutch pay) | 2 bns |
| Brig. Wermüller (2,666 officers and men) | |
| Salisch (Dutch) | 1 bn |
| Slangenburg (Dutch) | 1 bn |
| Oranje-Friesland (Dutch) | 2 bns |
| 1st Line: Lt. Gen. Cirksena, Graaf in Ostfriesland (4,523 officers and men) | |
| Maj. Gen. the Prince d’Auvergne (1,408 officers and men) | |
| Cirksena’s Horse (Dutch) | 2 sqns |
| Eck’s Horse (Dutch) | 2 sqns |
| Pentz’s Horse (Hanoverian in Dutch pay) | 2 sqns |
| Rochford’s Horse (Dutch) | 2 sqns |
| Brig. Nassau-La Leck (1,476 officers and men) | |
| Nassau-La Leck’s Horse (Dutch) | 2 sqns |
| Württemberg’s Horse (Dutch) | 2 sqns |
| Cralingen’s Horse (Dutch) | 2 sqns |
| Tilly’s Horse (Dutch) | 2 sqns |
| Lt. Gen. Dopff (1,639 officers and men) | |
| Blauwe Garde (Dutch) | 2 sqns |
| Carabiniers (Dutch) | 4 sqns |
| Dopff Dragoons (Dutch) | 4 sqns |
| 2nd Line: Lt. Gen. Hompesch (3,464 officers and men) | |
| Maj. Gen. St Laurent (1,039 officers and men) | |
| Tengnagel’s Horse (Dutch) | 2 sqns |
| Driesbergen’s Horse (Dutch) | 2 sqns |
| St Laurent’s Horse (Dutch) | 2 sqns |
| Brig. Grovestins (1,476 officers and men) | |
| Grovestins’ Horse (Dutch) | 2 sqns |
| Eminga’s Horse (Dutch) | 2 sqns |
| Erbach’s Horse (Dutch) | 2 sqns |
| Oranje-Friesland’s Horse (Dutch) | 2 sqns |
| Brig. Portail (949 officers and men) | |
| Schmettau Dragoons (Ansbach-Bayreuth in Dutch pay) | 4 sqns |
| Baudissin Dragoons (Holstein-Gottorp in British pay) | 4 sqns |
| 3rd Line: Lt. Gen. the Prince of Württemberg-Neustadt (4,097 officers and men) | |
| Maj. Gen. Rantzau (1,584 officers and men) | |
| Sjaelland Horse/2 (Danish in Dutch pay) | 2 sqns |
| Holstein’s Horse (Danish in British pay) | 2 sqns |
| Württemberg Cuirassiers (Danish in British pay) | 2 sqns |
| Jyske Horse/2 (Danish in British pay) | 2 sqns |
| Brig. Brockdorff (1,606 officers and men) | |
| Jyske Horse/3 (Danish in British pay) | 2 sqns |
| Jyske Horse/4 (Danish in Dutch pay) | 2 sqns |
| Jyske Horse/5 (Danish in Dutch pay) | 2 sqns |
| Liv regiment til Hest (Danish in Dutch pay) | 2 sqns |
| Brig. Bonnart (907 officers and men) | |
| Württemberg-Oels Dragoons (Danish in Dutch pay) | 5 sqns |
The exact composition of Marlborough’s artillery train at Ramillies remains unclear but, from what we do know of the English Field Train under Colonel Holcroft Blood and the accepted ratios of guns to men, a reasonable assumption would be as follows:
| Dutch Field Train: | 6 x 12-pdr, 10 x 6–8-pdr, 32 x 3-pdr |
| English Field Train: | 6 x 12-pdr, 10 x 6–8-pdr, 16 x 3-pdr, 4 x howitzer |
| Dutch Siege Train: | 20 x 24-pdr, 4 x howitzer, 12 x mortar |
General Commanding – His Grace, François de Neufville, Duc de Villeroi (70 battalions, 132 squadrons, 70 guns – 62,000 officers and men)
| Franquenée Garrison (535 officers and men) | |
| Rohan-Chabot Dragoons (French) | 3 sqns |
| Pignatelli Dragoons (Walloon in Spanish service) | 1 sqn |
| Taviers Garrison (640 officers and men) | |
| Greder/3 (Swiss in French service) | 1 bn |
| 1st Line: (5,993 officers and men) | |
| Lt. Gen. de Guiscard (3,315 officers and men) | |
| Brig. Montesson (Maison du Roi) | |
| Maison Rouge (1,060 officers and men) | |
| Chevauxlégers de la Garde (French) | 1 sqn |
| Gendarmerie de la Garde (French) | 1 sqn |
| 1ère Compagnie de Mousquetaires (French) | 1 sqn |
| 2e Companie de Mousquetaires (French) | 1 sqn |
| Grenadiers à Cheval de la Garde (French) | 1 sqn |
| Garde du Corps (1,720 officers and men) | |
| 1ère Compagnie des Gardes du Corps (French) | 2 sqns |
| 2e Compagnie des Gardes du Corps (French) | 2 sqns |
| 3e Compagnie des Gardes du Corps (French) | 2 sqns |
| 4e Compagnie des Gardes du Corps (French) | 2 sqns |
| Brig. Nill (535 officers and men) | |
| Tarente Horse (French) | 2 sqns |
| Courcillion Horse (French) | 2 sqns |
| Lt. Gen. Chimay (2,678 officers and men) | |
| Brig. Desmarets (1,202 officers and men) | |
| Desmarets Horse (French) | 2 sqns |
| du Maine Horse (French) | 3 sqns |
| Gacé Horse (French) | 2 sqns |
| Roye Horse (French) | 2 sqns |
| Brig. Fraula (1,476 officers and men) | |
| Fresin Horse (Spanish) | 2 sqns |
| Gaetano Horse (Spanish – Tercio) | 2 sqns |
| Fraula Horse (Italian – Tercio) | 2 sqns |
| Costa Horse (German in Spanish service) | 2 sqns |
| Heyder Horse (Spanish – Tercio) | 2 sqns |
| Chimay’s brigades with the Rohan-Chabot and Pignatelli dragoons from Marsin | |
| 2nd Line: (4,166 officers and men) | |
| Lt. Gen. Gassion (2,189 officers and men) | |
| Verseilles Hussars (400 men; French) | 3 sqns |
| Brig. Mimur (961 officers and men) | |
| Toulouse Horse (French) | 3 sqns |
| Royal-Étranger Horse (French) | 3 sqns |
| Brig. Apelterre (828 officers and men) | |
| Egmont Horse (Spanish) | 2 sqns |
| Aubusson Horse (French) | 2 sqns |
| Bellefonds Horse (French) | 2 sqns |
| Lt. Gen. Roussy (1,977 officers and men) | |
| Brig. Bar (561 officers and men) | |
| Toulongeon Horse (Burgundian – Tercio) | 2 sqns |
| Bar Horse (French) | 2 sqns |
| Brig. Nugent (561 officers and men) | |
| Lacotoire Horse (Walloon – Tercio) | 2 sqns |
| Nugent Horse (Irish in French service) | 2 sqns |
| Brig. Mortani (855 officers and men) | |
| Beaussart Horse (Walloon – Tercio) | 2 sqns |
| Royal Allemand Horse (German in French service) | 3 sqns |
| 3rd Line: Lt. Gen. the Chevalier de Rohan-Chabot (1,970 officers and men) | |
| Brig. Nothafft von Weißenstein (1,165 officers and men) | |
| Leib Dragoons (Cologne) | 2 sqns |
| Acquaviva Dragoons (Spanish) | 3 sqns |
| Dragons du Roi (French) | 3 sqns |
| Brig. Ferrare (805 officers and men) | |
| Aubigné Dragoons (French) | 3 sqns |
| Ferrare Dragoons (Spanish) | 3 sqns |
| Supports: Lt. Gen. Biron (5,585 officers and men) | |
| Maj. Gen. La Mothe (2,385 officers and men) | |
| Brig. Wolfskehl (1,350 officers and men) | |
| Wolfskehl (Cologne) | 1 bn |
| Kurprinz (Bavaria) | 2 bns |
| Brig. Nonan (1,035 officers and men) | |
| Provence (French) | 1 bn |
| Bassigny/2 (French) | 1 bn |
| Maj. Gen. Sézanne (3,200 officers and men) | |
| Brig. Villars (1,920 officers and men) | |
| Villars (Swiss in French service) | 3 bns |
| Brig. Greder (1,280 officers and men) | |
| Greder/1 and 2 (Swiss in French service) | 2 bns |
| Lt. Gen. d’Artagnan (6,241 officers and men) | |
| Maj. Gen. Marchese di Maffei (2,480 officers and men) | |
| Gardes de Cologne (Cologne) | 2 bns |
| Gardes de Bavière (Bavaria) | 3 bns |
| Brig. Seluc (2,208 officers and men) | |
| Picardie (French) | 3 bns |
| Clare (Irish in French service) | 1 bn |
| Brig. Albergotti (1,553 officers and men) | |
| Gondrin (French) | 2 bns |
| Royal Italien (Italian in French service) | 1 bn |
| Lt. Gen. Lede (4,406 officers and men) | |
| Brig. Steckenberg (2,208 officers and men) | |
| Alsace (French) | 4 bns |
| Brig. P. Grimaldi (1,035 officers and men) | |
| Nice (French) | 1 bn |
| St Segond (French) | 1 bn |
| Brig. Nassau (1,163 officers and men) | |
| Nassau (Spanish) | 1 bn |
| Holstein (Spanish) | 1 bn |
| Lt. Gen. Surville (8,000 officers and men) | |
| Brig. Montpesat (6,080 officers and men) | |
| Gardes Françaises (3,680 men) (French) | 6 bns |
| Gardes Suisses (1,600 men) (Swiss in French service) | 3 bns |
| Brig. Besenval (1,920 officers and men) | |
| Castellas (Swiss in French service) | 3 bns |
| Lt. Gen. de Villeroi (3,106 officers and men) | |
| Brig. La Marck (1,553 officers and men) | |
| La Marck (French) | 2 bns |
| Montroux (French) | 1 bn |
| Brig. Isenghien (1,553 officers and men) | |
| St Sulpice (French) | 2 bns |
| Isenghien (French) | 1 bn |
| Lt. Gen. P. Grimaldi (2,262 officers and men) | |
| Brig. St Pierre (1,099 officers and men) | |
| Fisileros de Flandres (Spanish–Walloon) | 1 bn |
| St Vallier (French) | 1 bn |
| Brig. Lede (1,163 officers and men) | |
| Lede (Spanish) | 1 bn |
| Bournonville (Spanish) | 1 bn |
| Lt. Gen. d’Antin (5,584 officers and men) | |
| Brig. Pfeiffer (3,840 officers and men) | |
| Hessy (Swiss in French service) | 3 bns |
| Pfeiffer (Swiss in French service) | 3 bns |
| Brig. A Grimaldi (1,744 officers and men) | |
| Grimberghes (Spanish) | 1 bn |
| de Laernes (Spanish) | 1 bn |
| Grimaldi (Spanish) | 1 bn |
| Lt. Gen. Birkenfeld (4,406 officers and men) | |
| Brig. Zuniga (2,198 officers and men) | |
| Sparre (French) | 2 bns |
| Courrières (Spanish) | 1 bn |
| Zuniga (Spanish) | 1 bn |
| Brig. Barial (2,208 officers and men) | |
| Le Roi (French) | 4 bns |
| Brig. Beringhen (693 officers and men) | |
| Beringhen Horse (French) | 3 sqns |
| Cano Horse (Spanish) | 2 sqns |
| Brig. Costa (1,485 officers and men) | |
| Dobbelstein Horse (Cologne) | 2 sqns |
| Wolframsdorff Horse (Bavaria) | 3 sqns |
| Costa Horse (Bavaria) | 3 sqns |
| Prinz Philipp Carabiniers (Bavaria) | 3 sqns |
| Brig. Chassonville (670 officers and men) | |
| Chassonville Dragoons (Cologne) | 2 sqns |
| Bretagne Dragoons (French) | 3 sqns |
| Brig. Rosen (829 officers and men) | |
| Royal Cravattes (French) | 3 sqns |
| Rosen Horse (French) | 2 sqns |
| Brig. Weickel (1,080 officers and men) | |
| Leibregiment zu Pferd (Cologne) | 2 sqns |
| Weickel Cuirassiers (Bavaria) | 3 sqns |
| Arco (Bavaria) | 3 sqns |
| Brig. Santini (1,050 officers and men) | |
| Guardia Wallonia (Spain–Walloon) | 3 sqns |
| Leibregiment zu Pferd (Cologne) | 1 sqn |
| Leibregiment zu Pferd (Bavaria) | 3 sqns |
| Brig. d’Escorial (1,210 officers and men) | |
| Pasteur Dragoons (Spain) | 3 sqns |
| Rysbourg Dragoons (Spain) | 3 sqns |
| Maître-General de Camp Dragoons (French) | 3 sqns |
| Royal Artillery | 1 bn, 500 officers and men |
| Bombardiers | 1 bn, 500 officers and men |
| Spanish, Bavarian and Cologne | 500 officers and men |
| Total | 2 bns, 1,500 officers and men |
As with the Allied Army, the exact details of the artillery deployed by the Bourbon forces vary over a number of differing accounts but, given standard French practice, we can reasonably estimate the number and type of cannon as follows:
12 x 16–24-pdr, 20 x 6–12-pdr, 38 x 4-pdr
Given the above, the French train would have consisted of between 40 and 44 artillery pieces, with the remainder comprising the Spanish train.
It should be noted, however, that the above poundages are given using French measurements and are slightly heavier than their English counterparts. Therefore, the triple-barrelled cannon captured in Ramillies village would have been classed as light guns in the French army, and possibly as medium by their captors; under English measurements, the example on display at the Royal Artillery Museum in London, is classified as a 5.5-pdr.