Is Bad Dice Rolling Infectious?

This is the questions we all had to ask ourselves following a fun game of Impetus Baroque at the Club on Wednesday.

Rob (B) and I were playing a small Impetus Baroque Game using the supplement and the Basic version of Rules.  We were playing against Mick and Bob.  

We have created a quick scenario were the Parliamentarians (played by Rob (B) and I ) emerged on the to table in column of march and the Royalist (played by Mick and Bob)  were waiting for them.  The terrain was laid out like a Valley mouth, the idea being the Royalist were trying to stop the New Model from breaking out.

Orders of Battle

These were taken straight from the sample armies on the Impetus Baroque Beta Lists

New Model Army

3 Units of Trotting Cavalry 2 of good quality 1 slightly less so.

3 Units of Pike and Musket units of good quality

1 Artilliery Piece.

The Royalist

3 Units of Galloping Horse

3 Units of mediocre foot

1 Artilliery Piece

Deployment

The Royalists were deployed amoungst some enclosed fields on either side of a small village with their cavalry massed on one (the left) flank

The New Model Army came on in column of march, Cavalry First, then foot and then artilliery.

A more one sided game I have yet to play!  Rob (B) had command of the Parliamentarian Cavalry and I had the foot and cannon.  We marched on and spent some time organising ourselves in to a battle line.   Mick and Bob were in a well defended position so decided not to interfere.

We then advanced but  did not co-ordinate the attack so the majority of the  Cavalry headed off to take on their Royalist opposites and the Infantry rumbled forward supported by a single unit of Cavalry and the Artilliery.

The Royalists had good positions and it was impossible to isolate any units as each were well  supported by cavalry or artillery. 

Things started badly when a unit of Royalist Foot got 2 hits against the lead Cavalry Unit.  A dreadful saving throw pretty much reduced the units effectiveness to zero. 

This set the standard for the rest of the game with myself and Rob (B) rolling bad roll after bad roll.  For those who have not played Impetus (and you should because it’s great!)  A successful hit is a dice roll of a “6” or a double-5's with the strength of the unit and tactical factors determining the number of d6's rolled.  A saving throw must then be made by the target player the which require low dice rolls.  ("1" generally been a pass and a 6 being really bad news.)  What was happening here is that both myself and Rob (B) were throwing plenty of 6’s and plenty of 1’s…just not necessarily in the right order!

In fact the extent of the truly appalling dice rolling by Rob (B) has tempted me to arrange to play him as an opponent soon.  Bob did raise and interesting point however....It may not be Rob (B)'s rolling but my own legendary dice throwing that was infecting Rob (B) and that as soon as he sits far enough away from me, things will surely improve!  Watch this space for an update!

Getting back to the game: Unit after unit was blown apart by our opponents without so much as causing a powder burn to the enemy!

It was all over very quickly with 50% of the supposedly superior New Model Army being destroyed without causing a single casualty.

Conclusion.

To be fair Rob (B) and I did not really think much about our attack and we certainly could have co-ordinated it better.  Rather than exploit Mick and Bobs static defence we rumbled forward.  We had no superior numbers and so such an attack was suicide.  All the same; the shear predictability with which our  distastrous rolls mounted became hilarious.  It really needed to be seen to be believed.

It was great fun but I would like to replay it again.  Probably give the New Model a slightly stronger force to counter the Royalist defensive position and probably discuss with Rob (B) first so we come up with  a more thought out plan of attack.

Rob (S)

Beware the Lion of the North!

Thirty  Years War - Swedish v Imperial

Rules - Basic Impetus Baroque

This was an adaption of a scenario based game for Thirty Years War using the Basic Impetus rules with their Baroque Renaissance add-on supplement.  The original scenario was written around the Battle of Lutzen 1632 but focused on one element of that battle; Bernhard’s assault on the Imperialist artillery batteries situated in front of some windmills.

I had arrived late so it was a case of getting the toys on to the table as quick as possible and cracking on with it.  This was different to the original scenario but had the Imperialists as defenders anchored by a village and enclosed fields to their right.

I was commanding the forces of Wallenstein for the Empire and Mick was playing the part of the Swedes.

Order of Battle.

Swedish/Protestant

Bernard’s Regiment which was 3 units of Pike and Musket (P&M) of good quality but their preponderance of pike meant they had a negative firepower modifier but a positive modifier in melee.

Supporting this were two other P&M Regiments 3 units each (Leslie and Wildenstein’s Regiments) and a Regiment of Bernhard’s Lifeguard Cavalry (3 units of Galloper Horse).

The Swedes also had one Artillery Battery.

Imperial 

Two Regiments of P&M Foot made up the core of the Imperial Forces, one of 3 units and one of 2.  (Waldstien and Alt Sachsen’s Regiments respectively)

In support of this was a single unit of Croat light horse and two units of Trotter Cavalry (Destour and Holk).  Holk’s unit was slightly weaker to reflect his poor performance on the day.

Finally a unit of Skirmishers (Dragoons) and two artillery pieces made up the Catholic order of battle.

Deployment

Swedish.

A double line of P&M units, three in front and three in the rear with a single unit of foot thrown out to the left to push up against the enemy dragoons and one of the Artillery pieces.

On the right were the Swedish Cavalry.

Imperial.

Two lines of infantry, three in the front and two at the rear but the rear units 12cm back from the first line.  These deployed between the two artillery pieces.  On the left two units of the Trotting Cavalry with the Croat light horse as a screen.  The right was anchored by a unit of Dragoons lining the walls of an enclosed field.

Things did not start off two well for me.  I advanced my cavalry on the left intending to cause some disruption to the enemy’s cavalry with my light horse and slow them down a bit.  Trouble is I forgot we were playing basic Impetus where there is no evade rule for light horse (there is in the full rules).  My Croats were quickly dealt with by Bernhard life guard without loss.

The Swedes advanced across their whole front.  Their Artillery was practically out of range at the start so only had a 1 dice roll per turn (6’s and double 5’s are hits in this game).

The Imperial troops held their ground and allowed the Swedes to close.  It did not take long before both blocks of infantry were exchanging fire, the Imperials having the better of it because of their supporting Artillery on their flanks.

However meanwhile, the Swedish Cavalry had smashed in to the Imperial Horse Regiments, they held their ground for a few turns but were no match for the Swedish Gallopers once in the thick of a Melee, they did good work but were eventually destroyed. The Swedes were then able to charge and destroy one of the Imperial Artillery batteries.

On the Imperial right the dragoons had been sent packing by a single unit of Swedish foot.  This unit was in an awkward position though and had to manoeuvre to try and bring itself in to the rest of the fight.

 The Imperial left was now open.  However the gap between the 1^st and 2^nd line of infantry now paid off.  The 2^nd line wheeled to the left and deployed at right angles to the first line,

To the front the Imperials were now starting to suffer.  The better firepower of the Swedes and the fact that some of the units of the second line had moved up to extend the 1^st line meant that they were outnumbered and out gunned. 

Eventually, this told and in quick succession, two units on the 1^st line were destroyed and the remaining unit was so heavily reduced as to be practically ineffective.

The 2^nd line which had wheeled left to prevent a flank charge by the Cavalry was now open to a flank attack by the advancing Swedish foot. 

However this was academic.  Mick had succeeded in destroying well over 50% of my army including my Generals unit and so the field belonged to him.

Conclusion.

These rules play really well for this period.  The limited number of units and unit types mean the game flows quickly.  (Compare it to my comments on the previous blog concerning Polemos).  It looked right on the table was good fun and what was pleasing for me is the army lists I have devised led to a result similar to that on the day (at least initially).  The imperialist lost the Windmill Batteries but Bernhard took such heavy casualties in the assault that he was too weak to resist a counter attack later in the day.

I have played Impetus a lot over that past year or so and I have to say that I find the rules so logical and simple to understand that they always lead to interesting and fun games.  The Baroque supplement is excellent and I can’t wait to use this supplement with the full rules allowing for larger armies.

Rob (S)

20^th January 2011.

6mm Great Northern War.

0^th January 2010

Polemos Great Northern War

Swedish vs Russian.

Rob (B) a new member to the club (now bringing the number of Robs at the club to 5!)  He has been kicking his heels in a Wargames Club-less area of the South for a few years and was eager to dust off a lot of his 6mm miniatures and try and game of Baccus’ house rules for this period.

Rob provided the gaming table courtesy of the Games Workshop modular set which comes in its own carry bag! the terrain (Baccus) and two armies of 6mm, Swedish and Russian (again Baccus), both wonderfully painted and based.

Nobody had played Polemos previously and so we expected things to be slow.  Rob (B) and I had both read the rules leading up to this pre-planned game.  Even though I loved the design of the rulebook, especially the pencil drawings throughout (reminiscent of the early Warhammer Rule books) I had struggled to understand some of the content and did not find it as easy to read as say Black Powder or Field of Glory.  Anyway playing the games usually clears up any ambiguity so we set about sorting out armies and deployment.  Rob (B) was going to referee while I played the Swedes and Mick played the Russians.

Deployment

Relatively conservative for the period.  The Russians took up a defensive position with 2 brigades of foot across the right to centre and 1 brigade of Dragoons and another of Cossacks (Light horse) on the left occupying a hill.

The Swedes had a brigade of foot on the left, a brigade of foot in the centre and then two brigades of Cavalry lined up one behind the other on the right.

Things started off pretty well.  It was pretty much a case of advance to contact as we just wanted to see how the rules played rather than anything else.  Mick sent his Cossacks out to his far left in wait for the inevitable Swedish charge on his Dragoons.

 The Swedes advanced under bombardment from the Russian Artillery, the first Brigade getting close enough to the Russian Dragoons to charge.  The Charge faltered and they were then caught in the flank by the Cossacks.

Unfortunately that is about as far as we got as from this point things seemed to really get bogged down.  The amount of tables one has to refer to in respect of charging, firing or melee is bad enough but then each table seems to have a long list of modifiers that one then has pore over.  Now I appreciate that this was the fist time we had played the rules and that things will speed up as one gets to know them.  The trouble is we were all so put off by how long it took to achieve anything that it is unlikely we will feel enthusiastic about revisiting this particular rule-set any time soon.

The rules are well thought out and do have their merits.  The idea of "tempo bidding"  to determine who goes first is an outstanding concept that adds an extra layer of tactical consideration which I think once you have some experience becomes the real key factor in winning and losing.  However,  the mechanics of combat system in  my view  are simply too unwieldy to be able get even close to finishing a game in one evening so the rules are not really suitable for a game night.  I do intend to play a few more games at some point as it would be unfair to simply write them off on one bad experience and as I say, I love the tempo bidding system.

I have Principles of War for this period but have not played those yet, I think I will try and arrange a game so that we can compare the two and apply a bit of balance to my first impressions which are somewhat negative.

On the up side, Rob’s 6mm figures looked excellent on the table top.  I personally hate painting this scale but there is no doubt that once deployed on the table top in numbers they give an outstanding sense of grandeur and scale.  The accompanying villages and woods (all again made by Baccus) added to what was an aesthetically excellent table top!

“It’s a fine line between Groundbreaking and Idiotic.”

Black Powder Rules Battle Report.

An incident filled game of Black Powder Napoleonic’s involving Me (Rob S), and Derek against Nigel and Mick with John acting as Umpire and Bob M acting as tactical consultant, studio audience and with his sore throat a kind of movie trailer voice over guy.

The Scenario was French versus Austrian. The French are outnumbered but have better quality troops. It is a straight forward Attack against Defence with the French trying to delay the Austrian advance. There is a thick fog which has hidden the French positions leaving the Austrians having to advance blind to contact.

The French had 3 Brigades. The 1st Brigade had 2 large regiments of Guard and one standard regiment of Line together with a battery of Artillery.. These were deployed at the start of the game by showing John where they were but not placing the miniatures on the table. The 2nd Brigade (3 units of Line and a battery Artillery) and 3rd Brigade (2 regiments of Cuirassiers and a battery of horse artillery) Started the game “off table”

The Austrians also had three brigades consisting of a Brigade of Line Infantry a mixed Brigade of Landwehr and Line Infantry and a Cavalry Brigade.

The game began the Austrians marching on to the table in march columns, evenly spaced across the table with their cavalry being on their left. Upon spotting the French brigade on a ridge to their front they quickly deployed in to line in order to advance and engage.

The French were fortunate as John rolled for each of the off table Brigades and they appeared immediately. Derek had command of the 2nd Brigade and I had command of the 1st Brigade (in the centre) and the Cavalry Brigade on their right. Derek immediately formed his infantry in to Attack Columns and advanced forward in the hope of out flanking the Austrians. The French had deployed well and as long as their superior cavalry could keep the Austrian Horse at bay things were looking good……..Until that is I deployed my cavalry.

On came the French Cuirassiers, the flower of European Cavalry in what after some discussion was labelled a Cavalry Attack Column…… despite the fact that they were immediately in the potential charge reach of the Austrians they did not deploy in to line and continued in this formation along side their horse artillery that remained limbered.

This of course began the discussion as to whether I had intentionally created a new, novel and groundbreaking Cavalry formation or, that I was a complete idiot. The following two turns would settle the debate emphatically.

Of course the Austrians after a short pause to look at each other and smirk charged forward, passing their command roles easily and smashing in to French Horse and Artillery who, given that they were in column had 1 attack dice compared to the Austrians 7. Needless to say that it was all over very quickly with the French either being completed destroyed or retiring off the table.

To compound matters; I also made what must be politely described as an “interesting” decision to march one of my guard infantry battalions out of the centre of my line and off a hill to engage the Austrian Foot at close musket range. Now obviously the plan was that the volley of close range musket from the French elite would be enough to break the Austrians lead regiment who were already suffering considerably from my guns on the hill. What I forgot to consider (apart the battalion of unengaged Austrian Cavalry to my right) was that every time I try to be clever, bold or in fact take any kind of gamble; multiple “1”’s will be rolled. Which of course they were and the Guard Battalion found itself faced with short range artillery to it’s left, Austrian foot to it’s front and the glistening sabres of Cavalry to it’s right. The collective gulp of my troops echoed across the battlefield.

Shortly after the complete destruction of this French Guard Battalion, Derek and I decided it was getting late and it was probably the time to call it a draw and pack up.

One has to feel sorry for Derek who was doing relatively well on the French right but suddenly found that the entire French line was about to be rolled up thanks to my “creative” Generalship.

The Black Powder rules do allow for rapid advances on the table top, especially with cavalry so the tip (which to be fair is given in the book) is deploy in line as march columns will be vulnerable on the tabletop as soon as they enter it.

The game should not have been as one sided as it was and the simple and fun scenario by John was enjoyed by all. Mick; has with these Black Powder Rules discovered his inner Cavalry General and thoroughly enjoyed Huzzahing his way across table top sweeping all before him.

I on the other hand need to have a word with myself.

Ramilies 1706

Marlborough’s finest hour (or four)


Marlborough is in this writers opinion England’s greatest general. His diplomatic abilities coupled with a supreme battlefield craft made him a true master of his art. The battle of Ramillies fought on the 23rd May 1706 out-shines (IMHO) even Blenheim as a case study in how to fight a set piece battle in the 18th Century.

Background.
The war of the Spanish Succession had been rumbling on for some years. The King of Spain and died without direct issue and there was a dispute between the European powers as to whom should take the throne. Charles II had bequeathed his crown to Phillip his nephew and through his sister’s marriage; the younger son of the Dauphin of France. This meant that the now Phillip V of Spain was an heir to the throne of France and potentially in a position to unify France and Spain under a single Bourban ruler.

The other major European players were obviously not happy with the spectre of a European super state (oh how they would weep now!), controlled by Louis XIV so looked to oppose the succession of Phillip by supporting the claim to the throne of Luipold I, A Habsburg and the current Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (what is now modern Germany).

Up until 1704 the armies of France had been thought invincible. However they were decisively beaten by Marlborough at Blenheim in 1704. Unfortunately Marlborough’s army; an alliance of English, Dutch, Hessians, and Prussians to name but a few had failed to take advantage of this victory despite Marlborough’s best efforts. The political wrangling between the factions would repeatedly diminish or reverse gains made on the battlefield.

By 1706, Louis wanted Peace for France but wanted to negotiate a settlement on his terms. To that end he resolved to launch a major offensive on all fronts in an effort to secure either a collection of local victories or one major victory before calling for peace talks and ending the ruinously expensive war.

After a number of victories for the French in Alsace (Eastern France on the Rhine) they felt that the time was right to go toe-to-toe with Marlborough. If they could send him packing then they would more than likely fracture the Alliance and get favourable peace terms.

Marlborough, convinced that the quickest way to concluding the war was to decisively beat a French army in the field was not coy in marching straight off to confront the French. He mustered at Maastricht and then marched towards the French army that were waiting for him at Ramillies.

Generals.
Marlborough
John Churchill the 1st Duke of Marlborough is a complex and interesting character and I would urge anyone to read his biographies that I have listed below. With the assistance of his belligerent wife Sarah he was able to use patronage and influence to rise quickly through the ranks of the army. Criticism has been levelled at Marlborough by some (including his contemporaries) for his use of influence. However I do not think he can be blamed given that for promotion in the English Army at the time; merit meant nothing and influence everything.
His reputation for avarice and his abandonment of James II of England during the “Glorious Revolution” certainly has left a stain on his reputation.

What is not in question is his ability as a military commander. His charm and affability was the mortar that held the fragile alliance of England, The Netherlands, Portugal and varying other states together. His organisational skills and those of this staff allowed him to out manoeuvre and wrong foot opponents repeatedly. Time and again he showed an unmatched ability to visualise the whole battlefield while at the same putting the blinkers on his opponent.

Francois de Neuvill, duc de Villeroi.
There are some commanders who though generals of high merit are unfortunate in that due to the vagaries of history do not get the merit they deserve. Villeroi does not fall in to this category. He had attained his position as Marshall of France based pretty much on his close relationship with Louis XIV. He was an excellent courtier and charming individual but most professional soldiers in the French army had very little respect for him as a military commander despite his obvious personal bravery.

He could not command the respect of his officers and simply did not have the skill or; at the age of 62, the drive to be able to take on a man of Marlborough’s calibre. On the day was simply outclassed.

Armies of the Age of Marlborough.
Infantry was now becoming the main weapon of the battlefield during this period. The advent of the bayonet and more specifically the socket bayonet had removed the need for bodies of pike men to protect the musketeers from cavalry. Now the musketeers could protect themselves while at the same time increasing their firepower.
Improvements in firearms and the rate of fire coupled with the use of the bayonet meant that bodies of troops were becoming increasingly linear in nature compared to the large square blocks and deeper formations seen in the previous century.

The English were beginning to use a more thinner wider formation where a Battalion would “fire by platoons”. What this meant was the each platoon would fire in turn. By the time the last platoon had fired then the first had re-loaded. The result was a constant ripple of fire coming from the line.

The French still stood by the tried and tested “Volley Fire”. Their formation would be slightly narrower than the English and deeper. The regiment would close and deliver one devastating volley at the enemy.

Cavalry was still important on the battlefield and continued to be the arm which would deliver the coup-de-grace to a wavering opponent.

The Battlefield.
The two armies met at the seam between the Plateau of Mont St Andre and the Plateau of Janderenouille. A deep stream known as the Little Geete cuts its way north creating a gully east of the villages of Autre-Eglise and Offus. To the south of these villages running East to West is the Maastricth to Charleroi road and the River Mehaigne. At the head of the Little Geet, south of Autre-Eglise and North of the Mahaigne is the village of Ramillies.

Deployment
Villeroi had chosen the ground as being a good defensive position in which to draw Marlborough on to him. He anchored his left flank to the village of Autre-Eglise and in long concave crescent round to his right which was secured on the River Mehaigne. There is divided opinion as to whether or not the French actually garrisoned Taviers or in fact deployed behind that village anchoring on the River Visoule which runs in to the Mehaigne and with the marsh ground to their front. My view is that there seem very little benefit from occupying Taviers as on the map it would seem that the difficult marsh land would be to your rear and make any withdrawal of re-enforcement difficult.

On the French right the first line was made up of the Maison du Roi, arguably the best cavalry in Europe at the time. They were supported behind by Bavarian Cuirassiers and Dragoons. The centre including Ramillies and Offus had Walloon and Bavarian infantry with support behind from Walloon and Bavarian Cavarly. The Villages of Offus and Autre-Eglise were garrisoned for defence with barricades and loop holes cut in to buildings and walls for musketry.

The French also deployed some hefty artillery batteries in front of Ramillies and the two northern villages all of which were well positioned with good fields of fire.

The Allies lined up with Orkney on the left opposite Offus and Autre-Eglise with his English and Dutch Infantry supported by Lumley’s Cavarly. On the right were the massed Squadrons of Dutch and Danish Cavalry under Overkirk, supported by detachments of infantry.

Marlborough recognised two things as he looked over the battlefield with the French arrayed in front of him. First that the French deployment had formed a concave crescent formation, this meant that his lines of communication were longer than his own and the shape of this line would make it more difficult to move units around the formation. Also: Villeroi had over extended slightly in order to reach the banks of the Mehaigne leaving his troops spread thinner than Marlborough’s. Secondly was the terrain itself but we will come to that later.


The Battle
The battle opened with skirmishing on the Allied left and an attack against the French left. Orkney led the first line of English Infantry across the Little Geete on the Allied right, towards the villages of Offus and Autre-Eglise. At this time the English were starting to create a reputation for themselves as determined, disciplined troops and their advance caused Villeroi concern.

Marlborough realised that Orkney probably could break through on the right but getting cavalry in sufficient numbers over the stream to support him was going to be difficult. The was probably a French Cavarly reserve to the rear which would cut the English apart once they broke in to the open. As such, and much to the annoyance of Orkney, Marlborough ordered him to withdraw to his start line. The attack on the left whether a planned feint or probe certainly had the desired affect on Villeroi who focused on this part of the battlefield and started to pull troops from his centre to re-enforce his left.

Meanwhile, Overkirk, in command of the Anglo-Dutch troops had launched an assault on Ramillies itself and to support this, unleashed his cavalry squadrons across the plain to the south of Ramillies. The Dutch and Danish cavalry smashed in to their French opponents and though initially having the best of it, the Maison-du Roi, the kings of the Europeaon Cavalry rallied and counter attacked with skill and aggression.

Marlborough immediately recognised this as a threat. When he deployed he had noted that the terrain on his right was such that he could mask his troop movements and could start bringing troops from his right over to the centre without the French noticing. He began moving his supporting cavalry on the right along to his centre to add weight to Overkirk. Villeroi was oblivious to this and continued to move his troops to the left to re-enforce Offus and Autre-Eglise.

Marlborough threw himself in to the Melee on the Allied right while his re-enforcements were manoeuvring and nearly came to grief. In one story after being unseated from his horse, he was being assisted in mounting another by a Colonel Bingfield when a stray cannonball flew between the Dukes legs decapitating Bingfield!

The additional squadrons being fed in to the Allied line now started to pay dividends,

De Guisgard, the French Cavaly commander had been doing good work but the disparity of numbers now started to tell. He was pinned to his front just trying to contain the onslaught of the Dutch and when a gap opened in his lines on the right, 21 Danish Squadrons burst through, re-formed to the rear of the French, and charged.

The French were now massively outnumbered on the right and only at this point did Villeroi realise that he had been focusing on the wrong part of the battlefield. He desperately tried to bring his Cavarly reserve to bear but it was too little, too late.

The Maison de Roi broke and the whole French line started to collapse from right to left.

Orkney now re-crossed the Little Gheet and burst in to Offus, the remaining Allied Cavalry on the Left, The Scots-Greys Regiment picked their way across the stream and attacked in to Autre-Eglise where they inflicted heavy casualties on the now panicking garrison.

Before long the entire French army was in complete disarray and in full route to the North and west.

It was during this rout that the French suffered their worse casualties. The French and Bavarian commanders only just escaped capture.

The Allied cavalry were now unchained and pursued the retreating French mercilessly. It had gone midnight before Marlborough ordered an end to the pursuit.

By dawn the next day the extent of the defeat became obvious. In a little over 4 hours the Allied had broken the French army and in the pursuit that followed inflicted between 8000 and 12000 casualties (dead and wounded) and 7000 to 10000 captured.

Aftermath
Marlborough had managed the battle wonderfully. He identified crisis areas quickly and acted decisively he probed and felt his way along the French line to find their weaknesses and was able to deliver the maximum of weight behind he chosen axis of attack while at the same time keeping the French entirely in the dark as to where the blow would fall.

Unfortunately once the cannons went silent the same old rivalries and in-fighting began amongst the Allies and as the cracks in the alliance widened Louis was able to avoid Ramillies becoming the decisive battle of the war that it should have been.


Sources

Please bear in mind I do not unfortunately have access to primary sources and so this piece has relied on my reading of secondary sources in books and the internet. I would be happy to receive any suggestions of amendments or points of discussion.

Marlborough: Britain’s Greatest General - Richard Holmes

Marlborough: His Life and Times - Winston Churchill

Blenheim: Battle for Europe - Charles Spencer.

http://www.britishbattles.com/spanish-succession/battle-ramillies.htm

http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_ramillies.html

I am also going to add some further content to this article on my website including maps and orders of battle, it is a working progress so please keep checking for updates.

http://keepyourpowderdry.webs.com/index.htm

Wargame Update - A New Project.

I have been looking for a new 15mm Scale Project to run along side my (always) ongoing Thirty Years War and English Civil War 15mm scale Armies, by 18th Century Great Northern War Armies and my War of the Roses 28mm army.

So where has my eye settled, Romania. Or more precisely Wallachia circa, 1460 and the infamous Vlad III, Tepes “Vlad the Impaler” . Now this guy really had"a mean streak a mile wide". When he wasn't slaughtering his own nobles (Boyars) he was picking fights with the much bigger and more powerful Ottoman Empire. A fascinating and mysterious characher he deserves an article all to himself but my purpose here is to to talk about the army I am trying to build around this character to use in my frequent forays in to table top wargaming.

I have a later Medieval Polish army which I have been using with mixed success (ahem). This has given me an appetite for the colourful and varied Eastern European armies with their mix of Western European style armoured, Chivalric Knights and the lighter, composite bow armed cavalry so favoured by Muslim and eastern armies.

My cautious nature does not lend itself well to using Cavalry heavy armies effectively but it is challenging being outside my comfort zone. (Give me a shield wall on a hill and I’m happy).

So where to start? Well to begin with was the army list. My Ordero f Battle. I am basing it for the excellent Impetus Rules by Dadi & Piambo. They have a list for an army of this period together with options for Hungarian allies. I have browsed the list and got an idea of the core units I need. Basically, heavy cavalry, medium bow armed cavalry and light horse.

Next is finding the miniatures. Well Essex Miniatures (http://www.essexminiatures.co.uk/) are always a good start because of their comprehensive catalogue; however Donnington Miniatures (http://www.donnington-mins.co.uk/) also have some excellent Eastern European figures including Voynuks and even “impaled victims” which I just couldn’t resist.

I havegot the core of figures to start building the force; a camp and a few units of Light Horse and Medium Cavalry. However now I want to start collecting information on the dress and uniforms of the troops to make sure I can give the army the right “feel”. This, I have to admit I am struggling with. Getting hold of the information on the armies from this region is proving difficult, especially in English. The problems being that if you Google anything about Wallachia in the 1460’s you get nothing but pages and pages on Vlad himself and not his army.

Osprey do a book on Hungarian army of the period which is of use and I have found a war gamer in Glasgow that has just completed and similar army so I have contacted him for tips. I may have to wait until Fiasco (the Leeds Wargaming Show) in October and get some more resource books from the traders there.

The first unit to model and paint will be the camp. I’ve opted to go with Baueda (http://www.baueda.com/) who do excellent resin tents. I have ordered one Ottoman Turk Tent and another Western European style tent. I’ll mount these on a large base and surround these with the impaled victim miniatures I got from Donnington. I appreciate it won’t be exactly Historically accurate but I think it will help to give the army that east-meets-west feel I’m looking for. The impaled figures will give it a lovely morbid, appearance leaving the observer no doubt whose camp it is!

I will post pictures once each unit is completed and keep updating regarding the project. I the mean time, any comments or tips on where I can get information on a medieval Wallachian Armies would be greatly appreciated.

Lutzen 1632

I find this battle fascinating for so many reasons but given it’s timing, location and the fact that we here in England were worrying about our own domestic problems at the time it is not as well known as say Marston Moor or Naseby.

This battle had everything though, two outstanding commanders of very different schools, huge numbers of combatants, ebb and flow, a controversial and undecided outcome and the death of two of the protagonists. What more could one wish for?!

BACKGROUND
The Thirty Years War had been raging across what is now Germany, The Czech Republic and much of Europe for nearly 15 years. The complexities of the causes of the conflict are mind boggling and I do not pretend to understand them all. It is seen as a religious war between Catholics and Protestants but this simple sectarian justification masks the fact that in the end, as always it came down to dynastic rivalries, imperial expansionism and greed in the guise of religious zeal.

To keep the context of the battle simple I will refer to the two forces as Catholics and Protestants but let me be clear that this in no way to suggest that the armies were all either Papists or Puritans. Soldiers across Europe at this stage were whatever religion got them pay and food, and it was common for individuals to desert one camp for another and then back again depending on the conditions and prospect of loot. Even the armies commanders were prepared to consider a change of allegiance depending on which way the political winds, or gold was flowing.

THE PROTAGONISTS

Albrecht von Wallenstein
Supreme Commander of the Forces of the ( most Catholic) Habsburg Monarchy.
He was essentially a soldier of fortune who had played the system of raising regiments and obtaining contracts from the government so well that he had become one of the richest and most powerful men in the area. The ruler of a the Duchy of Friedland. His wealth and ambition caused concern for the Emperor; Ferdinand II and he was released from service in 1630. However after a series of defeats by the Protestant forces of Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden he was recalled.
A very capable commander his gifts were in the organisation and logistics of an army. Not lacking in tactical prowess he was getting a bit long in the tooth by 1632 to lead from the front.

King Gustavus Adolphus II of Sweden.
Probably the most famous commander to come out of this period, his tactical doctrine and fantastic leadership qualities have some list him as one of the great military commanders. A number of Protestant Scottish soliders served under his command and what they learnt from the charismatic King would be applied a decade later in the English Civil War.

Gottried Zu Pappenheim
A born again, devout Catholic and outstanding Cavalry commander he raised a regiment of Cuirassiers (heavy cavalry) and conducted an outstanding campaign behind Adolphus’ lines of communication which slowed the Swedish King’s ability to re-enforce his army quickly.
He was killed during this battle while leading his Cavalry straight in to the action.

OPENING MOVES.
Winter had come early to this part of what is now in central Germany. Wallenstein was convinced that given the conditions the fighting for 1632 was over and that both sides would now look to consolidate what they had and billet their armies in winter quarters. He sent Pappenheim with his Corps ahead and then marched his main headquarters towards Leipzig.

Adolphus on the other hand, not to be put off with heavy fog, sub zero temperatures and dreadful marching conditions decided that he wasn’t yet done for the year. He got intelligence of the fact that Wallenstein has split his force and resolved to attack!

Adolphus knew (roughly) where Wallenstein was and so on the morning of the 15th November 1632 he marched his army towards Lutzen hoping to intercept Wallenstein as he marched up the road that passed through this small town to Leipzig.

On approach he reached a large stream called the Rippach and on the other side of this was a regiment of Croat cavalry. Unfortunately for the Protestant King these outstanding light horseman put up a hell of a fight and seriously delayed his advance.

The result: Wallenstein was warned of Adolphus’ approach and sent word to Pappenheim to get his Bohemian backside back to Lutzen and to not spare the horses! (or words to that effect).

With the delay, Adolphus could not attack on the 15th as it was already late afternoon. As such he camped in battle array with a view to launching his attack first thing on the 16th November.

THE BATTLE
The following morning Adolphus set off towards his target. It was bitterly cold and a thick fog sulked across the area. This caused further delay for the Protestants who took a long time to get in to position for the advance.

Wallenstein had problems. He was out numbered in cavalry and though he had time to throw up defensive works along the length of the Lutzen to Leipzig Road, without Pappenheim, his left open to being outflanked by the protestant cavalry. To try and deter an attack on the left he moved his baggage and camp followers up to occupy the area where Pappenheim should have been. (He even got them to make fake flags out of bed sheets to make them look more like soldiers).

This didn’t fool Adolphus who after finally getting his army in position at 11am ordered an all out Cavarly attack on the Catholic left flank while his infantry pinned the enemies right and centre.

Things went well when the Finnish Hakkapelitta Cavalry smashed in to the Catholics left and the fake troops from the baggage train remembered they had important engagements elsewhere and fled. The Catholic left was now open to turn and it was simply a case of rolling up Wallenstein’s battle line…Or was it? In true Cavalry style who should ride over the hill at this moment but Pappenheim ahead of about 2500 cavalry! He smashed in to the Protestant cavalry and saved Wallenstein’s left wing. During the charge, Pappenheim took a cannon ball to the chest, knocking him from his horse and leaving him mortally wounded. One of the most incredible items preserved from this period is the note found on Pappenheim’s body from Wallenstein pleading for him to return to Lutzen. The note which has survived to this day is stained with Pappenheim’s blood from the injury he sustained. It is a fantastic poignant piece of history which I feel really brings the battle to life.

At around the same time that Pappenhiem fell, Adolphus who had been charging around like a man possessed rallying and cajoling different elements of this army lost his way in the fog and smoke and got separated from his life guard. Unfortunately for him, he ran straight in to a troop of enemy cavalry who recognised him, shot him, stabbed him and then shot him again. So ended the life of one of the most influential generals of the period. In something akin to a scene from a Hollywood film, as the smoke and fog thinned, Gustav’s white charger cantered along the battle line, riderless. The story of the Kings death swept through the Protestant army.

The combination of Pappenheim’s arrival and Adolphus’ death marked a shift in the battle. The Protestent’s momentum stalled. The Protestant infantry that had been assaulting Wallenstien’s centre failed to the take the entrenchments and began streaming back to their start positions.

The loss of the Swedish King had left the Protestant army leaderless. In to this breach stepped Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar. He had been commanding on the left but upon hearing of the Kings death took command of the whole army. Obviously there was some discussion as to if he had authority to do so which was briskly settled when he shot and killed a Colonel who questioned his orders.

There is some debate as to whether the death of the King galvanised the army or whether Bernhard actually kept the fact of his death a secret. There can be no doubt at the very least there were rumours flying up and down the line that he was dead.

Bernhard reorganised his army and his Swedish Infantry once again threw itself at Wallenstien’s centre. This was a key position. The Catholics had placed three large batteries of cannon amongst three windmills on a ridge line. The Cannon were supported by entrenched musketeers along the road below the ridgeline. The Protestants threw everything at this position and finally took it as evening approached but at great cost and only thanks to some pretty poor showing by the Catholic cavalry reserve.

Wallenstein’s recognised at this point that his position was untenable and began an orderly withdrawal. This was about 6pm and though Pappenhiem’s infantry turned up about 6pm and wanted to counter attack the Swedes, Wallenstien refused the request.

AFTERMATH
There is some dispute over the extent of the Swedish Victory, Protestant propaganda obviously claimed a crushing victory but in reality the bloody assault on the Windmill Battery had cost them 6000 dead and wounded. The Catholics suffered less casualties but left the field in the hands of the enemy.

Though a tactical and strategic victory for the Protestants the butchers bill would have an impact on their ability to prosecute the war. They had lost their charismatic leader and the cream of their infantry. They achieved their objectives of pushing the Catholics out of Saxony but over the next few years, without Adolphus the Swedish interest in the war began to lose momentum and the Protestant cause lost direction.

Wallenstien would become less aggressive over the next few years and sensing the changing winds made overtures about switching sides. He had a number of enemies in the Habsbourg court including the Emperor and eventually his lack of political skill caught up with him he was assassinated by a group of men led by an English captain Walter Devereux on the 25th February 1634.

The Thirty Years War would trundle along bringing misery to tens of thousands for the next 16 years until the Peace of Westphalia in 1648.

REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING
If you have found this interesting please check out my website which is http://keepyourpowderdry.webs.com
I have a copy of this article but also some orders of battle and maps of the battle. Also a scenario for Impetus Barouqe (wargames rules) for the storming the Windmill Battery. I would be happy to receive any comments your have.

Lutzen 1632 by Richard Brzezinski http://www.ospreypublishing.com/store/L%C3%BCtzen-1632_9781855325524/

Europes Tragedy a History of the Thirty Years War by Peter H Wilson http://www.amazon.co.uk/Europes-Tragedy-History-Thirty-Years/dp/0713995920


Also

http://www.strategos.demon.co.uk/tywhome/Lutzen.htm