I have recently been playing a few battles using the new Ancient and Medieval rules To the Strongest (TtS!) (
http://bigredbatshop.co.uk/pages/about-to-the-strongest). TtS! uses grid based movement (no measuring) and card draw to resolve game mechanisms like activation, combat and rallying (no dice) making for a streamlined and fun game that so far have encouraged historical tactics and results. Army morale and win/loss determined by the allocation of "victory medals" to each army based on number and type of units. These medals are lost when units are lost - if you reach 0 then you lose. I wanted to use the rules for Italian Wars which is just out of reach of the rules' coverage but not too far out. I made a few modifications - Artillery: TtS! artillery has a risk of causing damage to the user (unreliability of early gunpowder weapons) but I removed this risk to reflect the advancement in technology; Arquebus: TtS! has handguns but limits them by not allowing them to form formed missile units and limiting their ammo to 2 fires (vice 3 for bows) but I allowed formed units for Spanish arquebus and allowed base 3 ammo chits for arquebus; finally I created a simple modification to reflect Spanish colunella tactics by allowing Spanish pikes to interpenetrate designated arquebus "sub units" as if they were light infantry (this also meant that the formed Spanish arquebus could also evade behind their supporting pike. Otherwise TtS! will not allow interpenetration of formed units).
I chose a scenario from the rule book - Time is of the Essence which has the attacking player start bleeding victory medals after the first turn. For this game the French mercenary landsknechts were demanding overdue pay so the French commander needed a quick victory against the Spanish to loot the next town. The French army was formed into three commands - the disgruntled landsknechts; the French artillery with Italian allies; and the French gendarmes supported by Gascon crossbows and stradoits.
The Spanish also had three commands - 2 colunella commands with a pike block and 2 arquebus units plus some supporting genitors and heavy cavalry, and a command of Imperial landsknecht and the Spanish artillery.
The French had decided to go with 2 hammer blows on each flank - gendarmes leading the left attack and Landsknechts on the right. The French artillery opened up and took first blood by eliminating the Spanish artillery and a unit of skirmishers. This ended up being the total contribution of the French artillery - the rest of the game they expended copious amounts of ammunition for no effect. Still it set the stage for French advance.
On the left the Gascons and gendarmes were able to eliminate some pesky genitors and got into position to charge the Spanish General's gendarmes and arquebus (through poor activation and decision making the Spanish General had left the arquebus out of pike support). On the right the French landsknecht with the "Black Band" leading the way threw themselves forward. In the face of the Black Band charge the Spanish arquebus evaded behind its pike setting the stage for "push of pike". The other Landsknecht pike block advanced on the Spanish arquebus that had stood their ground.
The French were losing victory medals to the clock but had not lost any units while the Spanish had been slowly bleeding units. The French Gendarmes charged their Spanish counterparts and both army commanders were in the fray. Both fought with honour and ended up with wounds but the French prevailed and the Spanish knights left the field and the Spanish pile of victory medals was looking critical. The other French Gendarme unit faced only a unit of lowly arquebus and it looked like the Spanish right would crumble. The unsupported arquebus proved unexpectedly tough, however, and were able to hold off the gendarmes. The gendarmes refused to be beaten by peasants and readied for more charges but arquebus volleys laid low the flower of French chivalry and the French lost a unit of gendarmes. Meanwhile on the French right the Black Band had the Spanish pike at breaking point but were unable to push them over the edge while another unit of Spanish arquebus proved resilient and withstood the other landsknecht band.
Combat continued and both sides were on the verge of breaking - The French blood was up and they made another push on the left with stradoits attacking the Spanish baggage and the gendarmes having maneouvered onto the flank of the Spanish pike now bereft of cavalry support. The French were in a winning position on the left and probably should have withdrawn on the right and tried to rally some disorder off the landsknecht to avoid the possibility of losing the battle at the last hurdle. Unfortunately the French commander decided to keep pressing the landsknecht attack despite the odds now being slightly in the Spanish favour. This decision cost the battle - the arquebus shot the last out of the facing Landsknecht pike and with the loss of three victory medals the French had no more. The French had failed but it had been a nail biter - a bit more consideration by the French and the battle would likely have been theirs. They had also been tardy about bringing their Italian allies up into the action - Italian knights, crossbow and arquebus supporting either the landsknechts or gendarmes could have been decisive.
An exciting game. I have now played three Italian Wars battles using TtS! - the French have won 1 and the Spanish 2.
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April 19, 2024, 09:43:30 AM
October 20, 2012, 06:24:29 PM