Field of Glory Renaissance in Devizes 2011
The last game was a not quite top of the table clash against a TYW German army
The German lists can be seen here. (Any videos in these reports are all pretty short - well under a minute)
The Stage was set....
The French advanced in proper checkerboard formation
The Germans were occupying a strong defensive position, hoping their 3 artillery would cause havoc
On the French left, German hussars swept forward to try and slow the advance of the French horse
The Germans were depressingly better painted than our army
Check!
The main part of the battlefield was straightforward, but the right was a patchwork quilt of fields and wooded areas - and groups of Dragoons from both sides dived into it with alacrity!
As the French advanced past the steep hill dominating their left, the line split into two to face off against a load of German horse who were indecisively deciding what they wanted to do...
The German hussars had bottled up the French horse pretty easily
Whilst all of this was going on, the German foote looked smug and confident
Time for a charge....?
The checkerboard advance got ever more complex....as the German cavalry looked on in puzzlement at the carefully orchestrated French maneuvering. Little did they know that the French were not fighting a battle, more practicing for
In the farmlands, no-one was qute sure who held the upper hand, but both were vaguely confident. Both sides took aim and shot
The Germans lost a base - and suddenly three German Dragoons were decidedly less confident than four had been just a moment ago
das Bang ! Vorsprung Durch Gunpowder
As the German hussars evaded, the French Line Horse rolled up in their charge move and caught them! First bloode to the French
They did this by rolling 6 and 1... in case you didn't realise
The Hussars got chewed up by the French Line Horse in short order - this was going by the form book.
The French line straightened out - and a dark black wall of German cavalry girded its loins and thought about a frontal charge on the line of Grey Frenchmen.
The game was moving towards a decisive clash as the French closed on the German foote - who stood there waiting expectantly, polishing their surprisingly well engineered muskets
The French horse, sated after eating hussars, swung round to zero in on the German mounted wing
The Germans inflicted only a few casulaties as the French closed to charge range. This was good news for the French, as they needed to be coherent at Impact
Bases down, the German Dragoons had fled the farmlands and left them to the French - who were picking cabbages as they advanced. The Germans were still outnumbered but were clearly hoping the rest of their army would win before they were engaged again
French horse kept going forward - the only thing they knew (the French Nobility military manual being rather a thin volume, with not much after "Chaper 2, Riding down the Serfs" )
Impact in the middle was indecisive, despite the initial French advantage. The Germans were resolute - and they had the advantage of numbers in a battle of attrition....
A world of mounted combat started to swirl back and forth on the French left
Melee and the Germans started to falter - dirsupted markers started to blossom across the line !!
How many Generals is it possible to throw into combat? The whole game would be decided here - so the French threw the kitchen sink at it
The impatient hot blooded Germans were fired up with combat frenzy, and launched their mounted wing into a dramatic charge against the French left wing infantry formations - well, faced with an alternative of standing around ane being shot up, it wasn't that bad an idea, and with the French Maison du Roi also drawn into combat, there was some mounted-on-mounted action to
On the far left, one unit of French Line Horse had destroyed it's opponent - but the other Line Horse were being pinned back by some steadfast German Cuirassiers
The Germans were suddenly attacking all across the board - their Carabiniers and Dragoons lurched forward - but only into the range of the French Dragoons and Guns, and soon both units were disrupted and losing bases. THis looked good for the French Dragoons
The French had units to spare - a block of German Musketeers hiding in a wood to protect the flank of the German infantry line found themselves coming under heavy fire from 2 units of French infantry
The German mounted charge on the French Foote had not gone well - and off in the distance a unit of French Line Horse was now roaming freely behind enemy lines as well
The German Carabiniers had no answer to punishing French artillery and musketry - they turned and fled
The main part of the battle continued as a hard fought push of pike in the centre of the German line
Meanwhile the German Horse were being whittled away as the French line stood fast
Finally, with casulaties mounting up across the field, the French delivered the decisive blow and broke through the German resistance - the game was now over!
The Result is a Crushing French Victory!
Post Match Summary
Tally Ho and Pip Pip in a French Accent with added garlic !
Wonderful smooth attacking play as we swept across the field, Flamboyant cavalry action and gritty hand to hand capability - what's not to like here ? I even had time to nip off to the powder room for a puff of talcum to freshen my breeches after this one before heading home replete with a 3rd place trophy
The Germans were tactically bankrupt once their troops didn't fight as well as they might have expected and we reaped the reward
What a wonderful weekened of exciting action - proper stand up fights, all eminently winnable for both us and our opponents, and a variaty of tactical stances all of which presented their own challenges - which I was more than capable of succeeding in facing
Hannibal's Post Match Analysis
You lucky dog! You showed your teeth like apes, and fawned like hounds and bowed like bondmen, yet still this pathetic tactic of advancing forwards and charging the enemy seemed this time to favour you with luck which you interpret as signs of your own genius
I suppose any victory counts, but this one is more down to dice and a willing opponent rather than any genius of yours. After all, your plan involved charging straight at the enemy's strongest part of their line - which is barely a symptom of cleverness you whoreson cullionly barbermonger
Your army are a bunch of heedless joltheads and unmannered slaves, but at least they have the ability to fight well and hard - which counteracts your lack of imagination.
Your army are a bunch of heedless joltheads and unmannered slaves, but at least they have the ability to fight well and hard - which counteracts your lack of imagination. At least the watching has been somewhat of a moment of enjoyment - and from the battle, not just amusement at your lack of insight and imagination
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