FoGR Early Renaissance in Southern League Southampton 2013
Italian Wars French vs Trasamanta Spanish
Game 1 Italian Wars French vs Trasamanta Spanish
Game 2 Italian Wars French vs Trasamanta Spanish
Game 3 Italian Wars French vs Caroline Imperialist
So, mid morning and 25 points already on the board before a well deserved break for croissants, pate and champagne. Or a cup of builders tea and a custard crème to be more accurate..
The lists for the Italian Wars French and Trasamanta Spanish from this game, as well as all the other lists from the games at Southern League at Southampton can be seen here in the FoGR Wiki.
The second game was on a far more open table, but astonishingly against another army built around the strange fascination of the Colunela - Trasamanta Spanish. For this game on a fairly open table dominated by a difficult hill on my left they had succeeded in forming up a fairly solid line of the odd little formations across the open ground
Making a dramatic change from the previous game (NOT) the Swiss raced forwards with the Landsnechts in close pursuit as they both zeroed in on the Spanish gun and infantry line. The Spanish had almost nothing on their left flank, and so even the French mounted arquebusiers felt confident in trying to join in on the outflanking manoeuvre over that side of the park
And the French Ecole Nationale du Clever Manoeuvres was already fairly well stocked, as two units of full-fat French Gendarmes were busy pushing back the Spanish skirmishing crossbowmen already
The Spanish has attempted to sneak a couple of other units of LH round the side of the steep hill, which had succeeded in diverting the French Gendarmes and Reiters from supporting the Swiss and Landsnecht kiels - however distraction comes at a price, and the Spanishs soon found themselves facing a fusillade of arquebus and mounted Pistol shooting …
Whats Happening Here? The battle is in 4 separate sections - on the far French left French horse are bottling up Spanish skirmishers, next up is a clash as yet to happen between Horse ad foote, with the most activity in the area where the French are applying both their Kiels to a number of Spanish Colunelas with some vigor. On the French right Gendarmes are having little luck in chasing down more Spanish LH
Irrespective of everything else going on across the field, the Swiss and Landsnechts were by now almost in combat - the French artillery has been doing a patchy job in trimming the Colunelas back to 3 ranks deep across the line so hopefully the French mercenaries would enjoy fourth-rank advantages as they went in…
Swss Facts
The Swiss crashed home, forcing the Spanish to commit almost every General on the pitch to shore up their line as the high quality Swiss furiously poked their pikes at them from what could only be described as codpiece-sniffing range.
To the left of the Kiels, having delegated chasing off the Spanish LH to the Reiters, another unit of French Gendarmes was being inexorably drawn to a "we are both identical so lets fight" combat against the Spanish armys own nobles. Skill was being massaged out of the game as the observers gaped in horror…
But advantages did exist elsewhere, and the Reiters were enjoying all of them as they charged, caught and broke the Spanish skirmishers in short order.
This flank was now not only secure, it was a lost BG for the Spanish, and possibly one more soon to come
Learn French with the French Commander
As the two units of Gendarmes squared up the Spanish brought up a Colunela, and the French brought up a veritable organ gun of arquebusiers to oppose them. A fascinating matchup, into which the disguised-as-Janissaries Spanish arquebusiers were also trying to join in.
The Swiss were in combat, the Landsnechts were in combat right next to them - the day could not really get any better than this...
Swss Facts
On the other flank, the French paucity in Generals was starting to cause problems, as repeated irritating shooting from the Spanish LH had finally gotten to the French Gendarmes, one unit of which was now Fragmented - they cowered in ignominy as the unarmoured arquebus armed French cavalry raced to their rescue, as a more stoic unit of Gendarmes wheeled inwards towards the centre of the battlefield to try to close with some poorer quality Spanish Gendarmes for a proper set-to
Somewhat disappointingly the Landsnechts were taking a right pasting from the Spanish Colunelas, proving once and for all that depth is no substitute for width when it comes to getting up close and personal with a Spaniard.
Pavia...
The Gendarmes had had enough - another pathetic volley of crossbow bolts and the Gendarmes turned and fled…
The Landsnechts clearly hadn't been paid for this game, and rolling a full set of snake-eyes they broke and routed!
Meanwhile the French arquebusiers had successfully withstood a charge from a small Colunela which they had been merrily shredding for quite some time, and vaporised its sad remnants pretty much on contact. Unfortunately this took them into a second far more robust Colunela, and initiated another round of combat with not quite such favourable odds…
The Landsnechts were very definitely going home…
Whats Happening Here? The French now appear to be in trouble, with units being lost across the whole frontage - however the Swiss are steadily gaining the upper hand, and they are engaged with almost as many Spanish units as the French have lost across the whole field, so their actions may still prove decisive. The Spanish have also suffered a smattering of losses elsewhere too - their losses are in skirmishers, whilst the French have lost battle troops, but all units count equally in FoGR..
But the Swiss were now firing on all cylinders, and had stepped up a gear to blow away the facing Spanish Colenelas and smash a huge hole in the Spanish line! At least someone knew one end of a pike from another…
The Spanish had now broken through against the French Arquebusiers, and had also wiped out the French Gendarmes as well. The left flank of the French army was now held by 4 LF and 6 average Reiters, freshly returning from eating 2 units of LH..
The Spanish took heart from this, and threw units at the Swiss who were pretty much carrying the French army on their backs on their own…
Swss Facts
But despite the huge gaps in their lines, technically the French had still only lost 4 units, and with the Spanish having taken some pretty heavy losses in the process they suddenly found themselves at the mercy of the French artillery who's field of fire had improved dramatically since the departure from the field of the Landsnechts.. The Spanish Colunelas were now struggling to get into the game without being either enfiladed or hit whilst 3 ranks deep, and the French were able to start picking off the already 2-3 bases down units one by one…
Sensing an unlikely victory, and the potential of claiming the Landsnechts share of the mercenary pay pot the Swiss girded their loins and have a massive heave-ho… breaking their opponents first to the front, then to the side - and suddenly a rampant Swiss Kiel was pursuing through the guts of the Spanish army with a degree of abandon only possible to those who are able to be entirely comfortable in their masculinity whilst wearing an outfit consisting of deeply slashed crimson trousers and sleeves with contrasting white undergarments showing through.
Whats Happening Here? The Swiss are about to win the game on their own. C'est la vie..
The French left was hanging on grimly when the battle ended with the Swiss inspired victory in the centre…!
The Result is a big victory for the French
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 Italian Wars French Commander
Crème de Menthe! What a lovely battle and what a brilliant win for my inspired generalship. Although even I must acknowledge that my strategy of "employing the Swiss" perhaps played a greater part in the end result than much of what my brother nobles achieved on the field of battle. "Tres bien ensemble", as they say in Paris.
Bonnet de douche! Whilst the army wobbled for a while, the sacrifices my men made in order to protect the Swiss proved pivotal in this great result, and as always, argent comptant mon ami, argent comptant!
What a shame for the Spanish, but I am sure an army named after a cocktail Dave in the Nag's Head once made for a bird I met in Dagenham will face much greater hardships than this defeat.
Apres moi la deluge!
Hannibal's Post Match Analysis
You gibbering monkey, you deserve to be thrown up a tree and commented on by schoolchildren with poor accents for decades to come for claiming that this so called victory is anything but a mere fickle swing of the random fates which even you must benefit from on occasion.
Puterelle, your victory seems to have been built on defeating 8 LH with a dithering set of spurgalled Reiters and a lucky charge that caught them short, and then relying on the Swiss - again - to fight and win bereft of any support.
Let's face it, what seems to have happened is that their best opportunity came when they were attacked from all sides after the rest of your army had turned and fled - and whilst creating opportunities for you best troops to get to grips with the opposition is usually a good thing, doing so by allowing them to be utterly surrounded and charged in the flank is taking that principle to breaking point and then also some way beyond it…
I am starting to like the spirit and competence shown by these fellows from the land of chocolate and cukoo clocks, as I see much of my younger self in their attitude and elan, however they merely serve to highlight again what a contrast they are with your lilly livered noble chums on horses. Lets see if your reliance on them can carry you through another game, or if your own limited set of so-called mosquito-buggering skills finally rise to the fore and drag you down to inexorable defeat once more
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 Italian Wars French vs Trasamanta Spanish
Game 2 Italian Wars French vs Trasamanta Spanish
Game 3 Italian Wars French vs Caroline Imperialists
FoG Renaissance
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