Tuesday Night Thirty Years War Action

Worries lay heavy on the head of the Imperial General as he led his men into battle this week : all were to be left upon the field.

Having fought two large battles with lots of cavalry on each side in the last week, I thought that although the Tuesday night gang had asked for another Thirty Years War battle to continue to gain familiarity with the rules we should be more modest in numbers of units and do more of an infantry vs infantry match up this week.  So, when Tim and Gareth arrived on Tuesday night it was to find a 4' by 4' table ready with almost all my infantry lined up waiting for deployment.

The terrain was simple.  On one side, a wooded hill lay in each corner.  The other side had a line of woods along it.  Running across the field was a stream that would require an action test to cross.  It was positioned closer to the side where the Imperial troops would deploy.  The Protestant army would have to choose whether or not to try and rush forward to engage the Imperial army as it crossed the stream, hoping that it might disorder their line, or to wait for the enemy to come to them further back where they would have the benefit of close support from their artillery.

The Twilight of Divine Right rules allow a variety of ways of differentiating units in effects.  Apart from the different categories of infantry, cavalry or artillery, each unit can be rated as large, small or standard size, Raw, Trained or Elite quality and Determined, Wavering or standard for morale.  So far we have not used this last variation, which either adds one morale loss point to the unit's normal allocation (Determined) or takes one away (Wavering).  In dicing for the units when designing the scenario I added this variation into the mix.   

The result was an Imperial army of 4 Early Tercios, one rated as a Determined, Musket Heavy unit (so 6 morale loss points instead of the usual 5) three as Pike Heavy (so less troubled by cavalry and good in hand to hand fighting with other infantry), one of which was wavering (so only 4 morale loss points).  These were supported by a battery of field guns, a Raw musketeer detachment (-1 on morale tests and very vulnerable to cavalry), two regiments of Harquebusiers (one Raw but Determined, the other Waivering) and two of Cuirassiers (one small, the other Elite but Waivering).

For the Protestants, their four Dutch style cavalry units also rolled very varied qualities.  One was Raw, one Elite, one Small and the last Small and Determined.  Together with a battery of field guns, they were the support for eight infantry regiments.  Two of the infantry regiments were pike heavy, one being elite.  One regiment was musket heavy, of Raw quality.  The other five were mixed (3 muskets to 2 pikes).  One of these was Waivering, one Raw, one Determined, one Small and Raw and only one had no variations from standard.  The Protestant commander would have to think carefully about how to array his line to face the massive Imperial Tercios.

I decided to sit back an watch the game unfold as umpire.  The draw for sides saw Gareth take the Imperial force while Tim took the Protestants.

Imperial Deployment : two Cuirassier Regiments in the foreground, followed by limbered artillery, three Tercios in the front line, one in reserve, Musketeers at the end of the line and the two Harquebusier Regiments beyond.

The Protestant line : artillery deployed on the hill in the foreground, a double line of infantry beyond and all four cavalry regiments massed in the distance on his left.

Both sides moved forward, eager to get to grips.  The Imperials have moved up to the stream and must now start testing to cross, the Harquebusiers moving out on the left, looking to get on the Protestant flank using the small wood to cover their own flank when they advance.  A pair of Protestant infantry regiments are blocked from moving by their cavalry which has scented a weak point in the Imperial musketeer unit at the end of the line.

The Imperial artillery unlimbers by the stream while the Cuirassiers, under bombardment from the Protestant guns, fail an action test to move and cross the stream.  Two of the Tercios and the Musketeers pass tests to cross but the middle Tercio fails.

The Protestant line presses forwards, part of the cavalry threatening to charge the musketeers, the other part turning to face the Harquebusiers now crossing behind the wood at the top.

Looking from the right of the Imperial position with both Harquebusiers now clear of the stream but not yet in position to be of much help to the exposed musketeers.  The middle Tercio and the Cuirassiers have both passed action tests to cross the stream while their artillery has caused the Protestant right-most infantry (at the top of the picture) to fail to advance.  That leaves the centre four Protestant Regiments closing with the Tercios and the cavalry about to charge the Musketeers.

First contact on the Imperial left as Cuirassiers successfully charge infantry

At the same time the Harquebusiers advance to fire on the Protestant cavalry opposite them.  The Imperial General has put his weaker unit in the front line!

Action becomes general all along the line.  The cavalry charging the Musketeers have failed a charge test and are halted in firing range!

In the centre, both sides' Determined units are going head to head

At the second attempt, the Protestant cavalry charge the Musketeers.  They fail their morale test.  The General joins them to re-roll.  A 4!  The General is killed and the unit still fails though is not immediately routed.

Fire from the Harquebusiers is grinding through the Protestant cavalry, one regiment having routed, but now the lead Imperial regiment fails a test and is reduced to only 1 morale loss point.  Ominously, two Protestant infantry units are moving back to cover the gap that would otherwise open up if the last of their cavalry units gives way.

The musketeers have failed their next morale test, losing their last morale point and being removed from play.  The Protestant horse has a clear field ahead of them if they can cross the stream and get at the Imperial rear.

The struggle in the centre has been intense.  In the foreground, the Imperial Cuirassiers have managed well but failed to inflict major damage on their opponents.  The lead Cuirassier Regiment has just failed a test and fallen back behind its support line, the Protestants pressing forward in reply.  Beyond them, the Tercios have been doing better, with the best Protestant unit now down to its last morale loss point.

A sudden end!  In the centre, the Protestant line is weakening as their best unit is destroyed.  The reserve Tercio has been turned to face the threat of Protestant cavalry moving to the rear while the Tercio on the end of the line has moved forward into clear space to try to threaten the enemy infantry that have turned to face the Harquebusiers that have now destroyed the second of their opposing cavalry units.  The Protestant cavalry that destroyed the Musketeers have failed tests to cross the stream and are now under bombardment from Imperial artillery repositioned (by dint of fortunate dice rolling to limber up again) on the hill.  But, the weakened Harquebusier unit fails a morale test caused by fire from the Protestant infantry.  It routs.  With half of the units in that wing of the Imperial force now lost, it must test for cohesion.  As its general is dead he cannot add his quality factor to the roll so a 4+ is needed.  A 3 is rolled.  With only two wings in the army, the army must now test, needing a 5 to pass but failing to get this.  So, the gallant Imperial troops must quit the field, unable to recover the body of their general from the stream where he lay beneath the hoofs of his assailants.

Stunned by the sudden end - but grateful as time was getting on and both Tim and Graham have much work to do - we did not linger for long to review what had happened.  The loss of the best Imperial General early in the action was a disaster.  If his rating points had been available to add to the wing morale test it would not have failed.  Whether the Protestants would have been able to convert their advantage in cavalry at the end into a decisive lever against the Tercios is uncertain.  I have left the table set up so may play out a few more turns solo to see what happens when Tercios in melée with the Protestant infantry are also under threat from cavalry.  That will be the end of Thirty Years War battles for a while as I am off on my travels again after Easter and on return am hoping to play out a campaign of the Lamian War between the Greeks and Macedon after the death of Alexander.