I think that referring to battles of the 18th Century as "dull", "plodding" and "decorative" really is a gross exaggeration.

Many battles in the European theatre ended in the deaths of several thousand men on each side. The co-ordinated use of combined artillery and cavalry with massed infantry was often essential for success.

Blenheim for example resulted in the French losing 20,000 troops and having a further 14,000 captured. Not exactly a "dull", "plodding", battle fought for "decorative" purposes.

Even in smaller battles like Culloden the casualties were horrendous when compared to the numbers involved.

We must remember that there have been more indecisive actions all through history than decisive actions, in fact, in most eras, most encounters were indecisive.

For example: It took the Romans years to bring Hannibal to heel during his invasion of Italy. Most of the encounters between the Romans and the Carthaginians during that period were stand-offs. It doesn’t mean our games have to be like that.

Our battles are about decisive actions not the dull encounters where neither side felt like dying that day.