6th of July 1494, The Battle of Fornovo

We might have the Syphilis, but we were victorious! – All the Italian Renaissance plunder will go to Paris!

Jack joined in with a couple of Italian pike blocks and arquebusiers, so that we could actually play the historical battle (albeit some of the flags weren't right, but hey, I still need to buy them).

The French and the Italian were tithering around in the original one, and it was a short club game, so I decided we will play on a 6x4 foot table and deploy each side of the river in cosy distance, otherwise these Renaissance game can be a very slow affair.

Bart and me were the French, with Bart taking over the guns and the Cavalry, and Angus and Jack were the Italian side. They just divided the army so Angus got on pike block of Landsknechts and all the rest north of them including the camp and the impressive gun battery. If you just give the boys guns, then there are happy.

The French had to get the baggage train (move 6") up to the top side of the table and the King (the CinC) and they would win the game. So Bart and me we just recalled the Cavalry, some more or less elegant, and ordered the pike blocks to the 3 fords and the bridge and  tried to fend off the Stradioti and the men-at-arms to get the way free for the art-ladden mules to get to the alps.

The stradioti / men-at-arms attacked or gun battery and annihilated  all of them (one gun did blow itself out of the game though) but were in turn defeated by the infamous French Gendarmes d'Ordonnance - sure we payed a high price, due to enemy proximity and some awkward reordering, but its the result that counts. Also due to the inexplicable incapability of Antonio Urbino (aka Jack) to move his troops for crucial 3 turns, the French successfully blocked the centre with their pikes and are the declared winner!!!! The Italian team tried to circumvent this by agreeing prematurely that they didn't see any chance to stop the train, but then argued the French didn't reach the table edge in time. Philistines!

But we all agreed that it was a pretty nice looking table with a lovley little battle. The Paper, Stone, Scissor thing is not for everyone, its complicated, I know. I personally could have done with a bit more pike slaughter, but somehow the pike blocks deterred the Italian Horse. "Well someday, maybe ,when the blocks get disordered ..." (to the music of "When the Belfast child sings again")...

Maybe we do a re-fight with the same troops and same objectives, but with free deployment.

The figures were from me (mostly Perrys or Foundry-Perrys) and Jack and the flags were of course, Flags of War, and the Terrain was by me, Angus and the club.

Barts rap:
http://asienieboje.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/fornovo-1495.html
Angus rap:
http://www.edinburghwargames.com/Journal%20110.htm

The initial deployment half way historical ...

Fornovo with dubious brewery

The French south flank

The Italian lager, errm camp, I meant 

Shouting profanities over the river

The French start to re-deploy, shut the fords!

The French at the river 

The Italian stumble over hills

One Italian Men-at-arm nearly were persuaded to charge a pike... 

The evil Imperial gunnery!

The Large Landsknecht block is at the river, but does not attack 

Finally the French knights beat the Stradiots ...

... and the road is free!!

Bullets are hissing over the marshy river bed

still the Landsknechte do not push for a pike

the German Gendarmes (the palatine at the front)

and even their Feldschlangen cannot prevent the inevitable

The Italians ante Fornovo

... but there go the mulies, who could hinder them?