Mick's Swiss and Burgundians (Steel Fist Knights 29th July 2016)

[Steel fist]

Really good work.

[skip]

those look fantastic, the metalwork looks just right

[von Lucky]

This thread is filled with fantastic painted miniatures. Richard has come out particularly well. I'm going to enjoy following this thread.

[janner]

Very nicely done 

[painterman]

Nicely done Mick - first ones I've seen completed and always good inspiration for me (and I'm sure others too)>
Cheers
Simon.

[shandy]

Great work, looks very nice!

[Phil Robinson]

Nicely done, splendid looking armour effects.

[Mick_in_Switzerland]

Thank-you everybody

[Blackwolf]

They look great

[Mick_in_Switzerland]

My friend, David Knight visited us and stayed for a few days.  We visited museums and castles in Grandson, Hallwyl, Lenzburg, Luzern, Murten and the amphitheatre in Avenches.  We visited the battlefields of Grandson (1476), Murten (1476), Morgarten 1(1315) and 1386 Sempach (1386).  We also found time to play various wargames including Agincourt (1415) , Murten (1476), Villers-Bretonneux (1918) and Mirbat (1972).

Agincourt 1415
We played using Lion Rampant.  The English army list was the same as last time with Thomas.  The French were bolstered with more Men at Arms on foot.  We played twice and in both cases the English won quite easily.  The four units of expert archers dominated the muddy killing ground in front of the English stakes.  In future, I may downgrade them so that two units are normal archers and two are expert.

Murten 1476
Although I painted the armies and built the Grünhag in 2012, I had not actually made a scenario or played the game.  We used Lion Rampant again.



The Swiss army consisted of four pike units (Expert Foot Sergeants), four halberd units (Fierce Foot) and three Crossbow units plus a unit of cavalry (mounted Men at Arms).  In addition there was a large command group with flags for decoration.                          

The Burgundian force consisted of two units of Archers, two of Crossbow, two Men at Arms, two Pike (foot sergeants),  three Mounted Men at Arms and a unit of artillery.  The artillery were played as a crossbow unit, but with range of 36” shooting on 4+.  There were also some command figures for decoration.

The Burgundian infantry and artillery started behind the Grünhag.   Mounted forces could arrive one unit per turn from turn 4 onwards.  On turn 4, on a roll of 6, on turn five on a roll of 5+ etc. until all three units arrived.    Swiss victory condition would be three units behind the Burgundian lines, at which point the Burgundians would flee as in the Schilling illustration.  Burgundian victory would be when the Swiss were weakened so that this was no longer feasible.

We played the scenario twice and the Swiss won on both occasions.  However it was a close run thing so we felt that it was a good scenario.

The Grünhag was made from three wide sections at 24cm long, making 72cm overall.  It was a bit clumsy for play.  I will remake it as a simpler wattle fence without the ditch. I will make each section about 12 cm long so that they can be easily moved to simulate breaches.



Regards
Mick

[shandy]

Sounds like a fun game! The wattle fence looks great, did you make it yourself?

[Dave Knight]

It was great fun.  It was also a great feeling to have seen the battlefield, near contemporary illustrations and artifacts in the museums.  It really helped bring the game to life as did Mick's superbly painted figures and terrain.

[Atheling]

Looks really fab!! 

If only Charles hadn't been so 'off the ball' all the time- I do wonder if he would ever have got a victory..... 

Darrell.

[Mick_in_Switzerland]

@Shandy
The Grünhag was built from wooden sections on a acrylic base.  The wattle is barbeque skewers and some basket weaving material called „Peddigrohr".
This is described on page 4 (12th November 2012).

@Atheling
I think the Burgundian wars offer good possibilities for gaming. The armies are very colourful and have interesting mixes of troop types.  

Murten
I will certainly play Murten again.  The Burgundians had strong forces and well prepared defences, but were surprised by the Swiss.  As a game, the activation of the Burgundian forces  can make or break the battle.

Grandson
David and I are planning to game Grandson at some point.  It is also an interesting battle.  
The Burgundians were camped at Concise.  The Swiss army arrived in two parts from the East. The vanguard arrived along the lake edge road.  The Burgundian cavalry attacked the Swiss vanguard but then withdrew to allow the artillery to finish them off.  At this point, the second part of the Swiss army arrived from the forest road from the North East and above the camp.  This pincer movement turned the battle and routed the Burgundians.
The Swiss captured 200 cannon and a vast treasure in the baggage train.

Mick

[Atheling]

@Atheling
I think the Burgundian wars offer good possibilities for gaming. The armies are very colourful and have interesting mixes of troop types.

I utterly agree. You've also got the contrast in colours used for the Burgundians and the Swiss that makes for a positive plethora of 'contrasting' colour