Field of Glory Renaissance in Wales 2011

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After a bit of a doorstep sandwich and some of the worlds grimmest chips (and my standards are low on this) it was time for a ECW Royalist army in Game 2

In the absence of a FoG Renaissance Wiki (just yet anyway) the lists can be seen here

The terrain was again interesting, with a big enclosed field dominating the middle of the table. We again opted to detach our shot, and planned to drive them into the field whilst pushing pike blocks up both sides.

The Royalists were a jolly bunch, with some exuberant Cavaliers hoorahing as they swept down towards our right flank.

In the center, the Royalists had a deep checkerboard formation composed largely of shot-only units, and an incredible horde of horse on their right.

Some of the Royalists were freshly laundered

Facing a wall of Cavaliers, the Hugenots stormed to the top of a grassy knoll, ready to shoot anything even vaguely presidential aproaching them.

The two armies advanced towards each other somewhat tentatively, with the Royalists tending to hang back as the itimidating Swiss Kiels moved up

At least this time the Hugenot Dragoons had worked out what they were supposed to do, and had rapidly found a wood in which to hide.

The flamboyant and moustachioed Royalist Commander pens a letter to his King informing him of his progress so far in the battle.

There was a mighty rustling in the woods on our right, as Royalist dragoons stumbled across the Enfants perdu's and a sharp exchange of fire took place a short range

The Hugenots suddenly had a flash of insight - they had spotted the Royalists cunning plan!

 

Tentative was no longer appropriate to describe the Royalist tactics - they were positively nailed to the tabletop as they tried to put off a clash with the Swiss as long as possible!

  

Lost Children 1, Dragoons 0, as the Royalists pick up a disrupted marker

   

The 'ugenot 'orse adopted a sarf London accent and formed a huge line with which to approach the Royalists

Back on the right, the Hugenot skirmishers definately had had the better of the Royalist dragoons, who now had a Red marker to replace their Yellow one.

On the extreme right however, the Royalists had become decidedly more cavalier than their colleagues in the centre, and had swept forwards, forcing the Hugenots to allocate a unit of Pike and Shotte to counter them. The Hugenot carbine armed horse also were drawn into the argument.

The Royalist center fell back, but space was running out and there surely would be a serious coming togther of the two armies in the near future

The Swiss and their wingmen, the French Pike would have to make a desparate rush through overlapping fields of fire to reach their target...

The Royalists were rather pretty - soon we would find out if they could also fight!

The two amies lined up, ready for the coming battle. A massive cavalry clash loomed on our left, and the Hugenots would have to wade through a sea of lead to get to contact on the left. Fascinating....

Sporting a rather anachronistic timepiece, the Royalist general prepared his cavaliers for combat

The Cavaliers swept forward, and with the Hugenot infantry unable to intercept, charged home against the hapless Hugenot Harquebusiers in a tongue-twisting attack.

After careful consideration, the Swiss simply charged forward, into acres of empty space where the Royalists were retreating before them already

The Royalists had reformed their entire line, and now sat waiting as the Hugenots moved into range. Would the shorter ranged primitive arquebusiers suffer in the approach, or would the deeper pike formations charge home relatively unscathed into the pike-free royalist foote?

The depleted Cavaliers were feeling decidedly uncavalier as the Harquebusiers gave them a bloody nose. Royalist dragoons were pressed into service to prevent the Hugenot pike and shotte hitting the flank of their Gentlemen Horse.

Ready to go...!

The Hugenots had plenty of time to close up the gaps in their formation as they approached the static Royalist Line.

As the Hugenots approached, the Royalist Commander had enough time to brew up a cup of tea as his army prepared for the onslaught.

Meanwhile on the Hugenot right the Royalists still seemed some way away from the advancing Swiss - coordinating the two flanks of the battle would be tough for both sides.

The skirmish action on the Hugenot right was a lot easier to call, as telling arquebus fire shredded the Royalist Dragoons.

Suddeny the Cavaliers uttered a mighty Hoorah! and fought back against the unarmoured Harquebusiers! Now the battle was in the balance!

The Hugenot right flank suddenly realised that it was mightily outnumbered - the 2 pike units were facing almost a hundred Royalist formations, and would have to defeat them in turn to record a complete victory. Oh well, another day at the office for the Swiss.....

Almost literally, everything else charged home...

The Hugenot Harquebusiers suddenly lost heart and broke, to be pursued forever by the rapacous Cavaliers.

A massive melee developed, more akin to a rugby scrum than a battle of skill and quality

As the Hugenot pike and shotte block moved in on the hapless dragoons, the Royalist Cavaliers refused to cease pursuit!!

The cavaliers chased the harquebusiers from the field and turned their greedy eye towards the ugenot baggage

Gazillions of dice were rolled, and the French had Les Pips in their hands this time!

Still the dice rolled...

The Royalists were losing the odd base, but their cohesion was relatively intact - and in the middle a vicious exchange of shooting was damaging both Shotte units.

Finally the action also seeped over to the Hugenot right....

The Royalist Horse bounced off the advancing Swiss Kiel, creating a hole in the Royalists otherwise tidy linear formation.

But at the other end of the line things were starting to unravel with the Hugenot Millers as their cohesion faltered.

Suddenly things started to fall apart for the French, as their central arquebusier group cracked and ran, triggering a set of failed tests across the front of the line

But all was not yet lost - the Hugenots dug deep and fought back gamely

Even advancing into the valley of musketry, the Swiss on the Hugenot right were still at 4 ranks deep across almost their entire formation.When they hit home it would hurt the Royalist foote.

But the Hugenot line so carefully assembled and so delicately shepherded across almost the entire table to reach the cautious Royalists, was now unravelling at a rate of knots, leaving a desparately gaping flank for the Cavaliers to exploit

As the rest of the army started to crumble, the second Swiss Kiel hits home

But it was too little too late....

With the last dice rolls of the game, the Catholic Cuirassiers lost against disrupted enemy - and broke - taking with them the Harquebusiers who suffered a double drop in their reaction to their friends rout! A devastating defeat for the forces of Catholicism, but a battered Royalist army certainly knew it had been in a real scrap. 

Post Match Summary

Aaah, it was a brave and Glorious Charge, reminscent of Great French (moral) Victories in the past against the dastardly and Cowardly English Curs

If only the enemy had had some moral fibre, backbone and the ability to move forwards even slightly I think this could have been a far closer run thing that it was - even allowing for the fact that in the end it was a close run thing.

The ultimate lesson of the game seems to be that battles with Horse on Horse are damned close run things, and a small disadvantage can soon turn to a rolling line of routs along the battlefield

BIf only the Swiss had the additional pace that their slightly earlier forebears have in racing across the open ground - then we would have won hansomly and restored Protestantism to a land of, well, rampant state sponsored Protestantism;

However, even with all this, to lose right at the death with a mounted collapse represents a noble and glorious victory of sorts and so I can go back and send an SMS to my commander back in Vive Le France to tell him that his noble servant only needs a spot more luck and we should have a great result and a glorious future i

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Hannibal's Post Match Analysis

Hells Teeth placed in the mouth of a Chicken and clamped around the bare and wiggling John Thomas of a Cross-Dressing Nun! How can there be any salvation for you in such a debacle?

Walk, ney, Amble into the Valey of Death. A tactic that will soon I no doubt be immortalised in prose and in several poor quality films and a forthcoming remake starring Matt Damon as Lord Balaclava and Catherine Heigl as Florence Nightingale

And on the right, losing to a unit of Cavaliers... They are immesurably better than your hapless harquebusier cavalry - just run away when you see them next, don;t tarry around to be trampled underfoote

At least you managed to hold a half decent line together, and also to close upas you approached combat - but other than that it was a lack of imagination to turn the flanks of a totally static enemy

Maybe next time if you want to give your Swiss more time, you should, erm, committe them firste, and holde backe the Cavalry until the Switzers are well stuck in?

Would that be a good idea - huh?

Truly you are a Dolt and a Dullard

I lookest forward with a heartdarke in fear and misapprehension for the rest of this weekend - and tomorrow you will surely have a hangover to contend with as well as your incompetence. Shocking.

(next game)

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