Field of Glory Renaissance in Farnboro 2012
Later Imperial Spanish vs Thirty Years War French
Game 3 vs 30 Years War French 1636
Game 4 vs French Italian Wars 1500
So, barely time to break stride for a quick BK Double Cheeseburger at the local shopping centre, dodging the locals on the way....
...and we were off and running yet again into games 3 and 4, the first of which saw me fighting the man with the most Renaissance haircut (actually, "cut" isn't quite right is it - although I suppose "style" also hardly fits the bill. Maybe I just stick with a plain and simple "hair"?) on the UK competition circuit, Paddy and his TYW French army.
The lists for the Later Imperial Spanish and Thirty Years War French from this game, as well as all the other lists from the games at Farnboro 2012 can be seen here in the FoGR Wiki. The Thirty Years war French are also reviewed below in this short video featuring Philip and Fernando from Madaxeman TV
The field of battle had a good number of, well, fields on it, scattered liberally all over the place - one day maybe the Renaissance gaming community will get over its obsession with using walls and hedges but that day was certainly not upon us this particular Sunday as everyone had some new 28mm terrain to deploy, and deploy it they would.
With the Frenchies probably light on Horse I had deployed all of mine over to one side in the clear ground, and the two Elite Kiels were looking to push past the enclosed field dominating the middle of the park and swing round to the right to reinforce the Spanish Caballos Corza's charge. The French meanwhile seemed to be building a huge plan on the shaky foundations of having multiple 2-base units of Dragoons to boost their unit count, as well as some pretty infantry
Paddy had foolishly deployed a Hill in the terrain section, which had been moved by me and ended up as an Artillery Position of some reknown. From its lofty peak my gunners surveyed all they could see with distan and interest
Rules hint - Artillery on a hill can shoot over pretty much anything, so the chance to move a Gentle Hill into your own deployment zone is a rare treat not to be missed.
Over on the left the Croati had their usual job - mess around, slow down the enemy and don't die. Over a thousand separate units of TYW French Dragoons begged to differ...
The solid wall of Spaniards advanced across the open terrain between the fields, looking for Frenchmen to engage and destroy.
The French were deployed as if they had been tipped out of the box rather than as part of some clever master plan...
In particular a unit of Dragoons was in a textbook position of danger - attempting to skirmish in front of their own lines but the massive crush of randomly scattered infantry formations behind them would make it tough for them to find a route to escape through when they inevitably and eventually felt the need to withdraw.
Rules hint - Dragoons can't interpenetrate their own foote
Adding insult to injury, the French also had fielded some units of Warlord Games
Having learnt their lessons well the Spanish moved like greased lightning and fairly quickly one of the elite Tercios was swinging round the edge of the field towards the rather shocked and artillery-battered Frenchmen, who were still grinding their teeth in garlic-flavoured disgust at their inability to shoot the Dragoons who were patently in front of them
Rules hint - Dragoons cannot be seen beyond 3 MU when they are in an Enclosed Field, so they remained safe from the Frenchmen unless they were to move any closer...which would bring them also closer to the Tercio!
The Caballos Crappios Average Horse had found a perfect solution to their relative incompetence - by pinning the 2 French Dragoons they in effect had created a shield from some of the enemy musketry and gunnery - and the pinned Dragoons could only fall back and remain in front of the Caballos, meaning they the Spaniards could now effectively shepherd them back towards their own lines and then defeat them at their leisure... Ouch!
Some of the Frenchies were textbook Warlord Games
The French Dragoons got as far away as they dared, but still remained in range of a Caballos Corzas charge. But the French were confident, as their Cheapskate Cuirassiers
Rules hint - Dragoons have to take a test to stand in the open against enemy Battle Troops who charge them - so even if they wanted to (probably hoping they would be destroyed and so not burst through their supporting troops) they still might not be able to stand and take a charge. But in this position, if they evade they will "burst through" the Pike and Shotte unit behind them, causing a cohesion drop as there is no room to flow round the supporting unit. This cohesion drop would make the Horse vs Pike & Shotte battle a lot more interesting....!
The Spanish Cuirassiers
Rules hint - Allied Generals can only influence units in their own, allied command (unless you are using one of those funny combined armies where something different to this general rule is specified in the army list book)
The Spanish, this being one of the few rules they actually know, and having spotted in advance that the French CinC had probably forgotten it, gloat....
Everything is well set for a spectacular Spanish victory as the two sets of Cuirassiers
Of course, the best laid plans of mice, men and Spanish Cuirassier
Now in desparate straits, the Spanish General moves to help the Average horse - they simply need to charge home and hope to ride down the enemy, whether that be the Dragoons who may elect to stand, or the French Foote
Elsewhere on the field the pace of events on the Spanish mounted wing has gotten ahead of the rest of the action, but the gist of what's happening is that the French shooting is proving deadly to the advancing Tercios, whilst the return fire from artillery, Dragoons and Tercios is having absolutely no effect. The lead Tercio has already lost 1/3 of its complement
The Croati meanwhile have accidentally gotten themselves shot down to DISR by retreating French Dragoons, and as a Spanish foote unit seeks to shepherd the Dragoons into a corner where the Croati can maybe look to run them down, a Spanish General moves in to help out with the Croats morale.
The morale of the Spanish Horse however is a far more fragile thing, and almost as soon as the battle is joined, both units are broken and in full, painful retreat - and adding insult to injury the German Kurassier then drag the Spanish General - supposedly the decisive advantage in this part of the field - from his horse during the initial pursuit and his is gone, lost and killed, leaving the Spaniards with ony one general on the park, and leaving the Franco/German left wing with a rather surprising victory built on the twin foundations of incompetent deployment and lack of knowledge of the rules regarding allied commanders.
The Spaniards flee in disarray, drawing the German Kurassier horse ever close to the Spaniards guns and baggage in their pursuit. Hoorah....not
At least the first, somewhat depleted, Tercio is now into combat and its innate Eliteness and all round competence can start to take effect against the, erm, Superior French unit led by a General, which is therefore of essentially the same morale grade, but which still remains at full strength despite many rounds of being shot at....oops
The German Cheapskate Kurassier, their job well done despite being only 2/3 the number of figures as the Spaniards, turn in towards the Iberian artillery park
But France is not having everything her own way - the Tercio starts well, taking down a base of the French Foote
With the Spanish Horse, and with them the Spanish right flank now entirely absent, the middle ground of the battlefield has been totally overrun by Tercios, leaving the French cowering in fields and corners. But even so, there are surprisingly few targets, and surprisingly little time for the Spaniards to achieve anything of note against the large French army....especially as the Tercio in combat seems to have just been reduced to 3 bases.
The Croati, led by a general for extra movement suddenly realise that they have an urgent appointment on the opposite side of the table to the one they are currently operating on - if they can delay the German Kurassier Horse for even a turn or so it might help save the Baggage Camp and in so doing stave off total defeat
Speaking of total defeat, astonishingly the first Tercio into combat is suddenly wiped out by a couple of rounds of excellent French combat - the French Foote
With no generals around, and no luck on the dice, the second Elite Tercio breaks from shooting alone only a bound or so later. The Spanish army is bereft of options with all its good troops fled or dead. The game is over, a crushing defeat from the very best of beginnings, won by the dice of fate for France against the best efforts of its commanders incompetence!
Rules hint - Good dice will get you out of almost any bad situation, even ones caused by your own actions.
The Result is a somewhat unfeasible and wholeheartedly undeserved 25 to nil loss for the Later Imperial Spanish
Click here for the report of the next game or read the post match summaries first;
Post Match Summary
¡Qué vida más triste! What a shambolic shambles! How can God himself punish such a devout Catholic as myself in such a way! And against the French as well, my dear dear neighbours in both the North of Spain and also those odd bits of the Low Countries that I accidentally but entirely justifiably happened to own for some short time until quite recently. ¡Cuántas arañas!
The plan was brillient, and executed with much dash and Elan, and the enemy seemed to be doing all they could to try and thrust victory down my throat with both of their hands and a side ration of garlic butter. So to see it snatched from me in such a robust and downright painful way is harsh in the extreme
Looking back, I can see naught which I would do differently save roll better dice in combat. And that my dear fellow is a difficult thing to plan for,or we would all be generals of the highest order in each battle.
I think this should, despite the scores, be counted as a victory for Spain, and anyone who disagrees can besame el culo
Hannibal's Post Match Analysis
Dice? Dice? The luck of the Dice is not upon you, however luck follows success like a whore following the baggage train, and never hung poison on a fouler toad than with you this game my friend.
Even I, the harshest critic of critics, the arch nemesis of incompetent tacticians and besmircher of martial reputations ill gained and bgotten through thievery can offer some sympathy at this unwarranted rogering. The French were undone through their own incompetence, yet the advantage that you contrived to engineer from such stupidity remained wafer-thin. An equal combat with one side having a General? An average Horse unit against Disordered Pike and Shotte? Neither of these are Queens of curds and cream when it comes to ensuring succes rests before you on a platter, ready carved and succulent to the taste.
In all reality, you saw a hairs-breadth of advantage and you rushed in to grasp it manfully. But as we all know too well, only Fools Rush In (Where Angels Fear To Tread)
Let's hope this interminable day is soon over for I grow bored of your inability to be competent
Click here for the report of the next game
Game 3 vs 30 Years War French – 1636
Game 4 vs French Italian Wars 1500
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