Sunday, October 7, 2018

A Battle from the Valois - Habsburg Wars, with To the Strongest

    A second edition of To the Strongest is planned, but is not expected before 2020. Among the considerations are carrying the system forward up  through the late 16th century, probably splitting the rules into to separate books, the later covering perhaps the Medieval era onward. Thus this fictional action was a chance to get my Great Italian Wars collection on the table, as well as trying out some of the ideas under consideration for handling Renaissance warfare using these excellent rules. 


View from the French vantage point after French Move 1.


View from the Hapsburg vantage after Hapsburg Move 1. The forces chosen were reflective of the era when Spain and the Holy Roman Empire were united under the rule of Charles V, circa 1519 onward. 


View from the French vantage after French Move 2. I, Pierre, Master of the Knight of St André, commanded the left half of the army (foreground).


French Army, Great Italian Wars
CMD
Description
Save
Spec/Ammo
Pts
VM
1
General, attached, Mounted, Heroic
3+

6
2
1
Mounted Crossbows - LC, Crossbow
8+
3
5
1
1
French Gendarmes - Later Knights, Lance, Veteran may replace Lances by Rally
5+
Hero, Lance
Armor
17
2
1
French Gendarmes - Later Knights, Lance, Veteran may replace Lances by Rally
5+
Hero, Lance
Armor
17
2
1
Command Total


45
7






2
General, attached, Heroic
3+

5
2
2
Light Infantry Crossbowmen
8+
3; Range 2
4
1
2
Light Infantry Crossbowmen
8+
3; Range 2
4
1
2
Swiss Pikes - Extra Deep, Veteran, Stubborn
6+
Swiss Move
24
4
2
Swiss Pikes - Extra Deep, Veteran, Stubborn
6+
Swiss Move
24
4
2
Command Total


61
12








Sir Jaques, Constable of France (aka John) had command of the  the right half, seen here. 


French Army, Great Italian Wars
CMD
Description
Save
Spec/Ammo
Pts
VM
3
General, Foot, attached
2+

4
2
3
Light Infantry Arquebusiers
8+
3; Range 2
4
1
3
Light Infantry Arquebusiers
8+
3; Range 2
4
1
3
French  Crossbowmen - Raw
9+
5; no move and fire
5
2
3
French  Crossbowmen - Raw
9+
5; no move and fire
5
2
3
French Pikes - Raw, Extra Deep
8+

14
4
3
Cannons: eliminated in melee in open, no move*
Target all, 2 cards vs Deep/Extra
8+
6;, range 8,
7
1
3
Cannons: eliminated in melee in open, no move* 2 cards vs Deep/Extra,
8+
6; Target all, range 8,
7
1
3
Camp
-

1
3
3
Command Total


50
17






4
General, attached, Mounted
3+

5
2
4
Mounted Crossbows - LC, Crossbow
8+
3
5
1
4
French Gendarmes - Later Knights, Lance, Veteran
may replace Lances by Rally
5+
Hero, Lance
Armor
17
2
4
French Gendarmes - Later Knights, Lance, Veteran may replace Lances by Rally
5+
Hero, Lance
Armor
17
2
4
Command Total


44
7







ARMY TOTAL    Victory Medals = 18


201
53



Don Bartolomeo de la Fuente (aka Czar Barry) commanded the Habsburgs. The right half of the army was the Spanish contingent.



Imperialist Army List
CMD
Description
Save
Spec/Ammo
Pts
VM
1
Genitors - Light Cavalry, Javelin, Veteran
6+
3
6
1
1
Spanish Knights - Knights, Lance, Veteran
may replace Lances by Rally
5+
Lance
13
2
1
Elmeti - Knights, Lance
may replace Lances by Rally
6+
Lance
11
2
1
General, attached, Mounted, Heroic
3+

6
2

Command Total


36
7






2
Light Infantry Arquebusiers
8+
3; Range 2
4
1
2
Light Infantry Arquebusiers
8+
3; Range 2
4
1
2
Spanish Colunella - Pike, Extra Deep, extra Arquebus, Veteran
Defensive Fire
No flank/rear bonus for attackers
6+
4; -1 Move activations (only); Swordsmen
24
4
2
Spanish Colunella - Pike, Extra Deep, extra Arquebus, Veteran
Defensive Fire
No flank/rear bonus for attackers
6+
4; -1 Move activations (only); Swordsmen
24
4

Cannons

eliminated in melee in open, no move*
8+
6; Target all, 2 cards vs Deep/Extra, range 8,
7
1
2
Camp
-

-
3
2
General, attached, foot, heroic
3+

5
2

Command Total


64
16




The left half of the Habsburg host was composed of the German/Imperial troops, including the Landsknechts.  Situation at the end of Hapsburg Move 2. 


Imperialist Army List
CMD
Description
Save
Spec/Ammo
Pts
VM
3
Light Infantry Crossbowmen
8+
3; Range 2
4
1
3
Light Infantry Crossbowmen
8+
3; Range 2
4
1
3
Light Infantry Crossbowmen
8+
3; Range 2
4
1
3
Landsknect Pikes - Extra Deep
7+
Hero, special vs Swiss
18
4
3
Landsknect Pikes - Extra Deep
7+
Hero, special vs Swiss
18
4
3
Landsknect Pikes - Extra Deep
7+
Hero, special vs Swiss
18
4
3
General, attached, foot
2+

4
2
3
Command Total


60
17






4
Mounted Arquebusiers - LC, Arquebus
8+
3
5
1
4
Imperial Gendarmes, Later Knights, Lance
may replace Lances by Rally
6+
Lance
14
2
4
Later Reiters  - Cavalry, Veteran, Pistol, Deep
Caracole:  Move forward 1, shoot, move back 1, OR shoot and move back 1 facing front
7+
4; Caracole
Defensive Fire
16
3
4
General, attached, mounted
2+

5
2
4
Command Total


40
8







ARMY TOTAL  Victory medals = 16


200
48









French left at the end of French Move 3. My skirmish arquebsiers have ensconced themselves in the cover of a local vineyard. Hic!


Center from the French viewpoint. Both sides cannon were having an effect on the spectacular targets made by the Pike blocks!


View from behind the French Right. 


The battle as seen from the Habsburg Right after their turn 3; the Spanish knights have maneuvered onto the flank of my "Red" Gendarmes, and the Swiss Pikes and Spanish Colunellas have closed upon one another. 


Habsburg Left, end of their Move 3; the Reiters very much took it on the chin when confronting the French Gendarmes, their pisto shots having no effect upon the armor encased French nobility!
Note the French and Imperial Gendarmes in head to head combat


French Right, Move 4; my Gendarmes have turned to counter the flank threat, and one of my Swiss pike blocks has charged a Spanish Colunella. Neither their arquebuses nor their swordsmen had any apparent effect on the grimly determined Swiss!


View of the Centre, French Move 3. 


From the French Right, Move 3. the Gendarmes charge and counter-charge one another,to little effect!


Habsburg right, end of their Move 3. Don Bartolomeo was not amused by the timidness of his Elmeti lancers, treated as they were to the sight of an open French flank!


Center from the Hapsburg lines, Move 3. Note the two hits on the right hand Landsklnechts, courtesy of earlier French Artillery fire. Their performance was said to later to serve as inspiration to Pachabel...


Habsburg Left; the Battle of the Gendarmes continues...


French right, Move 4. My Blue Gendarmes have put a stop to that nasty Flank threat. My Swiss pikes are each stuck in with a Spanish Colunella. 


Center after French Move 4 Spanish Genitors saw the chance to sack the French Camp (building). A unit of French Militia Crossbows (pretty much scum #1) have faced to threaten a flanking volley of quarrels, but were unable to get their arlabests cranked up in time. 


French left, Move 4. The Battle of the Gendarmes continues. "Rudolf, mon cheri, the honour of the first blow must fall to you." Ach nein,  mein lieber Francois, you the first blow strike must!"


Habsburg right Move 4; , both of the French Gendarmes have taken a hit, but the right hand Colunella is on the ropes, with only one more hit before they are eliminated by the Swiss! Their arquebuses seem curiously ineffective against the mountain men. 


Another view of the battlefield.


Habsburg Left, Move 4. The Reiters keep shooting and retiring, and missing the Gendarmes, whilst being unable to activate again to Rally!


French Move 5; the Gendarmes Rouge have pulled back and then rallied; the Gendarmes Bleu could not attempt this, as pulling back would place them in the Zone of Control of the Spanish Knights!
Meanwhile, my left hand Swiss unit has dispatched the opposing Colunella with ease (4 medals lost!), leaving the undefended camp in sight.  What's a Mercenary to do? 


The pesky Genitors were eliminated by the despised crossbowmen. 


View of the Center, end of French Move 5. 


A longer view shows the French Cannons with just skirmishers for targets, but the French Gendarmes Noirs (upper right) have finally destroyed the Reiters - another 3 lost Victory medals. 


Habsburg Move 5, right flank. The Elmeti activate to charge, but have little effect on the Gendarmes Bleu. The Spanish Knights, lead by their general then play back to back Aces in their attempt to charge the Bleus from the rear. Madre de Dios!


Habsburg Centre, Move 5. Their cannon has no targets, and the Landsknechts are finally  closing with the enemy, ganging up on a unit of Raw French Pikes (scum #2).


Lefty flank, Habsburg Move 5. The opposing light cavalry contest the vineyard. In other news, the battle of the Gendarmes continues...


French Left, end of their Move 6. My Gendarmes Rouge have moved on to the flank of the Spanish knights. This should force them to face me, which woukld allow my other gendarmes to attempt to pull back and rally off their hit  before it is too late. Maybe...


Center, French Move 6; the battered French pikes have withdrawn, in the hopes of a possible Rally attempt.


Another view of the French Left.


Habsburg Move 6; The French pikes have been destroyed, the final blow delivered by Imperialist arquebus fire. Four Victory medals surrendered!


French Move 7; My Gendarmes Rouge have turned to outflank the Spanish knights, but are unable to charge home, but my Swiss have taken the Imperial Camp - 3 Victory medals lost. However, they have taken losses from the Spanish light infantry, and the hitherto underused Imperial artillery now has drawn a bead on them as well. Together, they have put 2 more hits on the pikemen, just one from elimination. "Say Cheese for the camera, boys!" - Swiss cheese, full of holes!


Move 8; the Spanish Knights turned to face my Gendarmes Rouges, allowing the Gendarmes Bleus to withdraw... and, yes, rally! A unit of Landsknechts threatens the flank of my Swiss; can they pull off a flank charge before my Swiss run through a second Colunella?  In the Center, 2 Landsknecht Pike blocks debate whether it is worth it to try to close with and overrun the French guns, which are low on ammunition by now. The opposing Gendarmes locked in combat on the French Left continue to trade blows using padded practice swords, their armor remaining proof against all harm. 


My Gendarmes are charged by Spanish knights and Elmeti, but no losses are inflicted by either side. Hard to make a hit stick when you only need a 4 card or better to save!


In the center, Imperial Landsknechts complete their turn onto the flank of my Swiss, but are unable to engage them... yet!


On the French Left, the Gendarmes Noirs maneuvers kept the Orange and Green Landsknect unit off balance, having to turn laboriously to counter each move. Meanwhile, the same Gendarmes have run down the Imperial Mounted Arquebusiers that had occupied the Vineyard for so long. 


Move 9 from the Habsburg Left; the opposing Gendarmes continue to exchange insults and witticisms, their horses nearing exhaustion!


Pike-adilly Circus!


Bird's eye view of the indecisive face off between the French Gendarmes and the Spanish heavy Cavalry. 


And then suddenly, my second Swiss pike unit put the final hit on the Colunella that was to its front, killing the attached general for good measure (the Swiss don't take captives for ransom, either!). 
Six victory medals lost - Game over. man, game over!


    Thanks to Barry and John for a fun game, that was much closer than the final victory medal tally suggested (the French had 12 medals left, but both my Swiss pike units were near elimination. The "Stubborn" trait and veteran rating makes them very, very tough! The rules generally worked well, with a number of suggestions to be forwarded to Simon for his consideration. 

25 comments:

  1. Great to see your Italian Wars collection out for a day of battle. My collection needs a similar exercise. Double Ace thrown by the Spanish commander. Adding insult to injury. They REALLY did not favor launching a charge in that situation!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "A charge, you say, Senor? On the day of my patron saint? I think not!"

      It is most definitely time to get your Italian Warts troops onto the table, Jon!

      Delete
  2. Glad to see this period played, and these awesome armies on a table...Sounds great and epice, I enjoyed Pike-adilly Circus!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Nice to see all those figures in action again.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Joe!
      Are you going to do a write up of your own recent Ottoman battle?

      Delete
  4. Great looking Italian wars game! Very subtle grid and similar to my experience of tough fights but ehew it goes it really goes,nice to see the period on your table too!
    Best Iain

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Iain; with all those big, tough units, it takes a while before they break, but when they do, it can all come apart pretty quickly!

      Delete
  5. That is an epic Italian Wars battle Peter and I like that the Pike Blocks look like proper dense Pike Blocks as well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Oli. The Pike blocks, etc are the same size as I used for my own rules, 32 - 36 figures. I could do 50% bigger than that, but there is the balance between cost, space, and looks to be considered! :-)

      Delete
  6. A magnificent-looking game Peter. The game cloth looks great as well - is that one you made yourself, or did you order it from Simon at TTS?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the kind words, Lawrence. The cloth is one of two that I made myself, starting with a large piece of "heather" felt, with multiple sprays of paints of different shades of green, brown, dark red, burnt orange, and yellow, and then marked with a sharpie (waterproof felt pen).

      See: http://blundersonthedanube.blogspot.com/2015/09/ad-fortissima-to-strongest-rome-vs.html

      Someday I might buy a big (12 x 6 foot) Plains mat from him.

      Delete
  7. Dang, but this was a merry little fight. Unbreakable pike blocks and unkillable armored cavalry. What's not to like?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad you enjoyed it! :-)
      The skirmish units can die off quickly. Next time we need some formed Arquebusiers!

      Delete
  8. What a tremendous looking game Peter. Your collection is most impressive btw.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Carlo; after Napoleonics, this is my second favorite era!

      Delete
  9. Great looking figures for a very interesting period

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is a very interesting transitional era in warfare... and society as well!

      Delete
  10. Terrific, Peter! A lovely collection, and you write a great AAR.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the kind words, Simon. It helps to have an equally fine rules set! :-)

      Delete
  11. I picked up these rules last year and still haven't used them. I had not considered using them for my own renaissance collection. I will try out your lists. Thanks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There are still quite a few tweaks to be made, I think, but I can send you the working ideas as they stand now.

      Delete
  12. Great looking game and figures, Peter. Good to see Simon's rules working so nicely.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Dean.The playtest certainly suggests that the rules will work for this era, as expected, with some adjustments to be made still.

      Delete