Field of Glory Renaissance in Britcon 2011 - Game 5
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My oppponents were using a TYW list which can be seen here. The Catholics are based on very similar bases to my troops,which is a bit inconsiderate!
In the photos of these battles the (3) Superior foot units in my army have Blue or Red coats, the other (Average) foot all have Grey coats. The two units of Determined Horse are identical, so if you can see one you know what it is. The Dragoons are blue and red and start as units of 3 bases, and there is a 4-strong unit of foote with musket and bayonet who are dressed in white with a chequered flag, and who aren't Impact Foot and who don't have a pikeman base in the unit. The guns are pretty obvious (they are painted red anyway).
This time as the dawn broke I was only tired, not still drunk. Would that help .... ?
This time around the army I was facing was almost entirely mounted - a late TYW Catholic force relying heavily on a wall of carabiniers and Cuirassiers.
The two noble armies lined up in a timewarp Civil war-esque way thus
This gave the French guns a very large barn-door-esque target to aim at...
In a break with tradition I had deployed badly and unimaginatively all across the width of the table, with the French Horse way over on the left - where as it turned out, they were facing almost no opposition.
Time for a rapid redeployment!
The right was anchored by a small ploughed field, which would prove no doubt a tough obstacle for the Catholics to ride through. The guns were stoked and barked repeatedly at the onrushing wall of horseflesh.. but to minimal effect so far!
The defensive approach - of form a box of infantry units and stand and take it - seemed to be working, possibly as it required almost no skill on my part to execute. But lo, the French Line Horse appear magically from their exile on the left and start to close the door behind the rapidly charging Catholics
Elsewhere a random selection of units from both sides considered whether it was even worth the effort of advancing on each other as the game would clearly be decided long before they got into contact.
Better to wait and compare stories of the relative merits of French biscuits through the ages maybe?
The Catholics decided they simply had to overwhelm the Louis XIV French flank and initiated an advance into and hopefully through the field - as their dragoons suffered a dangerous casualtt in a sharp firefight with some of my foot on the edge of the field.
The defensive French pushed forward, suddenly starting to worry that the Catholics might manage to slip past and turn their flank.
But intense musketry and gunnery was starting to take effect, and the Catholic horse were being whittled down base by base - even allowing for the "-1 because you are foot near the edge of the table" factor
The two armies aligned on each other ready for combat
A-hah! The two sets of biscuit-conscious infantry and horse both decided to have a bit of a ruck, and lurched forward. In the woodlands, loads of French dragoons swarmed forward to pour fire into their Catholic counterparts in a near-ACW-esque exchange
As the Catholics came to charge range, a hail of incoming fire shook their morale - would they be brave enough to charge home ?
Oh Yes! The French braced for impact as Catholic lobstermen rode frantically towards them
The net result was short and decisive - the already concerned Catholic horse barely made it through the impact phase against the barrage of balls and their morale shattered.
The engagement was now spreading down the line as units were drawn into a desparate struggle
The 4 bases of probably German mercenaries were putting up stout resistance in holding the enclosed field - but even with the disordering effects of the terrain in their favour, surely time was running out as horse surrounded them on all sides...
Another heroic and potentially futile Catholic charge came in - with only horse in their army, the Papists had little choice but to attempt this difficult fear of arms were they to wish to win
The Cuirassiers were being shredded and bases were being removed at will. Would they break from morale or bases losses - or maybe both?
Louis XIV Guarde, thinking that the battle was going well to their right, waded into two units of Catholic foote
It was nowt but a desparate attempt to claim some of the glory of the what felt inevitable victory for themselves
Steadfast French infantry had by now blown away most of the Catholic mounted assault, and Louis men were starting to reform their lines as the rest of the Catholic army launched itself at their own descendants
The Guarde's plan was working - the Catholic foote picked up a red marker (never a good sign in any language) and lost bases as well
A large probably German clock was ticking as the German Mercenary infantry lost a base and some cohesion - this was good news for the Catholic plan. The Louis XIV French flank would soon be open for the Catholic cavalry - once they could pick their way out of the field
A World of Bad engulfed the German mercenaries
Meanwhile, in a forest far far away two lots of Dragoons traded shots to almost no effect
Another turn, another brave but almost certainly futile Catholic cavalry assault on a Pike and Shotte unit
Somehow, 4 Early dragoons had obliterated a unit of Later 3-strong dragoons and now it was not 6 vs 4, but 3 vs 4. A different equation - and one Louis Dragoons liked not at all
The Germans were destroyed in a flurry of hooves - but Louis army was slowly turning to face the new threat and looked well able to organise itself properly before the Cuirassiers and Carabiniers made it out of the cruddy field.
Another cavalry unit broke and fled - allowing some of the French Line infantry to make a breakthrough charge into the already troubled unit of Catholic foote
What a mess for the Catholics !
The victorious Frenchmen swept the Catholics away at impact, and rout spread down the Catholic line like wildfire...
In a move not seen since an iteration of the Common Agricultural Policy included a "no striking in summer" clause, Frenchmen rushed to reform!
Even as they tried to advance,the Catholics were taking one hell of a pounding from the musketeers who were almost certainly their own descendants
All was going so well.... oops, dead General!!
Luckily, no-one seemed to mind....the scent of imminent victory was overpowering the smell of unwashed clothing after 3 months of campaigning in their nostrils
Here we go - the decisive clash approaches!!
As the two formations meet, the Catholics (yet again) come off much the worse....
In the centre, an exhausted Frenc Guardes unit finally breaks moments before....
.... the Catholic cavalry wing is smashed upon the rocks of Louis XIV's well drilled infantry!
The Result is a big 20-5 win - at last!
Post Match Summary
Hoorah! Give thanks to the god who lookes down on Frenchemn everywhere,for delivering a great victory for the French here this morning.
Admittedly the French also lost, but they were old and tired and less sophisticated when it came to keeping clean underwear refreshed on a daily basis, so this is a minor element of my analysis of the causes of success
Yet again I have proved that not moving much and having better troops than my opponent is a strategy I am more than capable of executing,which is undoubtably to my credit
One moe victory and mid table mediocrity beckons. What's not to like here....?
Hannibal's Post Match Analysis
Degenerate and base art thou if you think this game was anything other than the random actions of the Fates and Lady Chance in giving you an opponent singularly unequipped to deal with your embarassingly one dimensional force.
Hang cur, hang, you whoreson, insolent noisemaker who claims victory from a position where your Horse,the flower of yoru army, started facing nowt but air - what aforethought did you fail to make to see how the enemy deployment was developing so clearly yet you did'st not react?
You are a most notable coward, an infinite and endless liar, an hourly promise breaker, the owner of not one good quality - although to be fair in this game you did manage to spot that your opponent had little choice but to dash himself on the rocks of yoru army, and I did notice that you focused on keeping a solid line instead of haring off across the table ina mad attack only designed to disrupt your ability to fight properly.
Even so,5 games in it s along time tolearn how to use yoru army and foce an opponent to come to you. In this,your intellect is not replenished, and instead of being a Great Captain,you are only an animal, only sensible in the duller parts
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