Renaissance at Roll Call 2014
Later Imperial Spanish vs TYW French
Game 1 Later Imperial Spanish vs Early TYW Swedish
Game 2 Later Imperial Spanish vs TYW French
Game 3 Later Imperial Spanish vs TYW French
Game 4 Later Imperial Spanish vs TYW Weimarian
Day 2, and two defeats under the Spanish belt. But both had seen much damage done to the enemy armies, so there were definate signs of encouragement as the Iberain infantry and horse reassembled for another day of hard campaigning. The opponent this time was yet another TYW French army
The lists for the Later Imperial Spanish and TYW French from this game, as well as all the other lists from the games at Roll Call can be seen here in the FoGR Wiki.
This time there was no corner for the cowardly French to sit in, but yet again they vastly outnumbered the Spanish in infantry, and had a front line liberally festooned with battalion gunnes and a hefty artillery park to back them up. There was an obvious open area on the Spanish left into which all of the Spanish mounted were eagerly committed.
The foolhardy French had sought to delay the Spanish advance with a unit of mounted arquebusiers, either light horse or actual cavalry, this being hard to tell due to the cheapskate use of only 2 figures per base by the perfidious French commander, Paddy Le'Bray. Seeing a rare opportunity the Spanish LH took chase…
Soon the French were retreating in their natural fashion back towards their own lines, hotly pursued by half of the horseflesh in Spain. This would either be a good day for Spanish cavalry or French cookery…
Here's a fairly gratuitous but still quite nice shot showing how Spanish the Spanish infantry looked with their red, gold and black outfits. Nice.
The wall of Cuirassiers tactic which had proved so inconclusive and partially effective in the two previous games was again being repeated - but this time the enemy had provided, in the form of the retreating horse or LH unit, a tool with which to open up their own lines prior to the arrival of the Spanish heavy metal - a concept that does not bear thinking about in any great detail, unless you have a secret fetish for Enrique Iglesias with a poodle haircut and spandex leggings (note to anyone visiting this site from Frothers - this is not a form of coded commentary on the ongoing "TMP Editors" saga)
With the French not quite filling the board, some of the Spanish Cuirassiers had found an ideal way to achieve guaranteed success - they were advancing in an area where the enemy had no forces deployed whatsoever. The outcome would probably be an outflanking attack of some kind, but for now they were happy not to be at risk of death by shooting or combat anytime in the immediate future.
What's Going on Here Then?
The Spanish are repeating the tactics which have lost them the two previous games, whilst the French are repeating the tactic which won the last game for a very similar army. Strange but sadly true.
The French horse or LH had by now realised that they were in fact far more dangerous to their own side if they attempted to retreat through their own lines than they were ever going to be to the Spanish tide of mounted nobility, and so turned about and stood, hoping to be obliterated and wiped out rather than be sent fleeing through their own men.
As the Spaniards rushed past, through and over them the lone French unit desperately attempted to fail its death rolls…
Elsewhere the two Superior units of Tercios were moving towards three units of French, with the Elite Tercio in the middle wondering what to do. The French unit on the left was taking the brunt of the Spanish gunnery but was so far coming out unscathed.
Spanish re-enactment
The Spanish lost patience and rode down the French screen
As the French infantry stepped incautiously forwards past the edge of the enclosed field dominating their deployment zone, the Elite Tercio swung decisively to the right and started to lock its targeting lazers onto the end unit in the French line. The Spanish tactic was now clear - all the infantry on the right, all the mounted on the left, Simples.
Brave and foolish Spanish re-enactment
The French skirmish screen did not last long against the Cuirassiers. Chalk up one victory for the Iberians.
The French right was facing the Spanish left. 4 Spanish units including all three sets of Cuirassiers were staring down just 2 units of French foote, and with generals and rear support on both sides this looked set to be an all-or-nothing sort of combat. As long as they retained cohesion the French had the advantage, but any loss of nerve and the sheer weight of Spanish charges could sweep them away much as had happened in part of the previous day's battle
On the Spanish right all three units of infantry were closing in on their opponents and so far had suffered no losses from shooting - but the French unit at the end of the line, faced by Gunnes and Elite Tercio foote had lost a base. This was starting to go in the correct direction for the men from Madrid
What's Going on Here Then?
The Spanish have managed to close on the French with relatively few losses up to this point. A blunt frontal assult is however the only possibility against an opponent who fills the table from side to side with identical troops
The battlefield was now almost 6 feet of about to happen combat
First in were the Elite Tercio, taking on the Impact capable Frenchmen and looking to survive the first round of combat and get into the sort of bare-knuckle ruck that they so craved and excelled at.
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The biggest cavalry charge yet seen meanwhile had erupted on the opposite flank as the Spanish took all of their generals and all of their hearts in their hands and committed them to a do-or-die attack on the solid and unmoving wall of blue.
The Elites lost their combat, but passed the cohesion test with some aplomb! The grinding was about to begin, and with the French already sprouting a yellow marker of some significance the collapse of the French line may well be imminent almost at first contact!
On the other wing however the French had stood firm - Generals, rear support and some un-thrilling combat re-rolls from the Cuirassiers in particular meant that none of the French units had become DISR. One round of melee to try and achieve a breakthrough or the Madrilenos would be breaking off and regrouping
The Elites simply evaporated their opponents and steamed forwards! The rear rank of French reserves were suddenly thrust into the spotlight much against their will, like a half baked baguette finding itself pressed into service against a forged steel rapier in a particularly hung-over duel between a nobleman and a drunken boulangier.
A familiar tale as the Cuirassiers lost again, and despite their quality and presence of both Generals and rear support, started to trickle down the cohesion ladder across the board.
Whilst the Elites were doing their thing, the rest of the Iberian infantry had not been doing quite so well. One unit had been eliminated in the middle of the line (if three units can be called a line) and the other was struggling to get to grips with the enemy at all. The Elites didn't really mind being the centre of attention, but being the entire attacking force of the whole army was perhaps askinga little too much…
All of the horse broke off to regroup from the totally unscathed French infantry. FRAG and DISR markers festooned the Spanish rear like discarded paper cups after a particularly fierce 4am churros eating session.
Perhaps realising how exposed they had become, the Elites started to lose heart and bases as despite the presence of a General they dropped cohesion in the face of French shooting. Not ideal, but even DISR they still fancied their chances.
The Spanish dragoons who had earlier been tasked with holding up the end of the Spanish line found themselves somewhat outnumbered as they retreated towards their own base edge…
Things were getting traumatic on the right, as a second mounted charge resulted in the elimination of many of the remaining Cuirassiers, and the FRAGGING of some of the other horse. This plan had not worked.
What's Going on Here Then?
The Spanish plan is not working. Again.
The French were resolute and defiant in the face of Spanish taunting - but they could afford to be with no real threat to their line and cohesion from the shattered Iberian cavalry remaining, and their ability to shoot the Spaniards from a distance undiminished.
With the mounted wing in disarray, and the Elites being converged upon from all sides and now down to FRAGGED, no other infantry left alive and the French converging on the Spanish artillery park and baggage things looked worse than grim. The only upside was the prospect of beating the lunch queue although arriving in time for elevenses might technically be even too early for that…The Result is a 20-5 loss.
Click here for the report of the next game in this competition, or read on for the post match summaries from the Generals involved, as well as another episode of legendary expert analysis from Hannibal
Post Match Summary from the Later Imperial Spanish Commander
Well... it;s sort of hard to say what happened there other than to remark that yet again a cowardly French army has deployed in two corners and sat and waited whilst I attempted to be creative, innovative, and stylish (if I may say so myself) in maneuvering to gain advantage against an uninspiring line of garlic-breath-toting pedestrians who sought to achieve victory by simply staying in place
If that is victory, I say let them keep it as it is a victory not so much won as accepted - and victory without elan, without style, without noble cavalry thundering across the plains of Spain is worth nothing. Fr me the glory of defeat is better than the sad face of a victory won by inactivity.
And, one day, this theory of mine of riding down average infantry with high quality general-led Cuirassiers will indeed work, and then the world will shake and tremble at my brilliance and forever the history of military strategy will be overridden and swept from the page t be replaced by my name and my signature. But until then I think it may be back to the drawing board, as I'm seeing time and time again that in a period where the infantry can be wall to wall, having wall to wall infantry and equipping them with tiny little guns is a really effective tactic.
Until then I will need to keep persevering, as without perseverance the true genius of my plan will never see light of day.
Hannibal's Post Match Analysis
You have the brains of an ass, and I am not meaning that stubborn cousin of the donkey, who would no doubt prove superior to you in this battle. No, your intelligence is but a mere pimple on the oversized buttocks of your incompetence, which sit sweatily no doubt in the trousers of your stupidity perched upon the high chair of your foolishness. You sir are indeed an arse.
Your opponent did little more than set up his troops in a line and yet you still failed to beat them! And your faillings were exactly the same as you managed to achieve in the two previous games! At what point will you realise that your army is too small, it has too many mounted troops and not enough firepower or stamina to go toe to tow with greater numbers of enemy?
When an opponent hands you the initiative in such fashion, and you have the advantage of maneuver as well it is shameful taht your lack of imagination matched your well known lack of military competence
I really fail to see how this might recover to respectability, especially as you are now on the bottom table for the next game
Click here for the report of the next game in this competition
You can also comment, "like" or give feedback on these reports on either the Madaxeman.com Facebook Page or the Madaxeman.com Blogger Site.
Game 1 Later Imperial Spanish vs Early TYW Swedish
Game 2 Later Imperial Spanish vs TYW French
Game 3 Later Imperial Spanish vs TYW French
Game 4 Later Imperial Spanish vs TYW Weimarian
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