Renaissance roll call ...

It is that time of year ... inventur, the roll call: Counted 400 with additional approx. 40 in the making...

I hope I get to 3 large pike blocks per 64 OR 5 pike blocks at 36 men.

But it will be a rare thing indeed to see these in a battle, as transport, time and other limitations put restrains on that vision...

"Ein Hauen und Stechen..." past 1525 somewhere between Ulm and Augsburg

We played the German Peasant War, the scenario of one of my last posts (see link: http://meneken.blogspot.co.uk/2017/12/the-german-peasant-war.html ), 28mm with amended P&S rules. The peasant mobs were scattered around the four winds and had a vaguely fortified camp. Bill was playing Thomas Müntzer starring as CnC in this fictional setting. Angus played the Bürgermeister of Vlissingen (actually in the Netherlands in the real world, but who cares...) and the Truchsess of Waldburg and Peter was joining the Swabian League as the famous Götz (after the Peasants failed to appear on the Negotiation point), I was helping Bill more or less efficient with the "northern" peasants.

It was a slow affair, as all Renaissance battles were, and it was more like a cluster of skirmishes. The fact that these pesky little metal pikes need a bit extra time to set up didn‘t help either ... so we are short on time. But I dare to say that my constellation of forces and possibilities worked. Maybe next time I will just let the commanders do the negotiations (today they HAD to be accompanied by a unit) and the way the set up wasn‘t clear from the start (as the "mercenaries could ave joined the Peasants as well) left the players without hope of developing a strategy (of course some of them never do). But I will still use scattered forces, woods and swamps, mercenaries that could join and tip the balance or just break away ... and of course negotiations!!! ...

Maybe even a real re-fight with a "what-if" bonus of some real Peasant war slaughters ...

But I enjoyed it a lot and think there is room for more in games to come

The initial set up

The Tross of the Truchsess coming in from Ulm

"Vlissingen" and surrounding rebels

The added value of mercenary robber knights

1st turn and the Truchsess lost his  command roll ...

the swamps to the south hinder him to attack the peasants directly

The north east corner where Reisläufer might join your side

The central peasant camp

In the NW corner the Swabian League Bürgermeister is in negotiations with the Reisläufer

Götz v. Berlichingen and his retinue arrives ...at the side of the Swabian League!!!

The Truchsess Georg v. Waldberg and his men-at-arms press forward...

The “Bauernjörg‘s" best side ...

On the NW corner the peasants succeeded to be joined by much needed Stradioti

The medium guns of the Truchsess unlimbered right in the middle of the field

The mounted crossbowmen of the League zoom in ...

The Heavy cavalry is concentrating in front of the peasant camp

The mercenary Reisläufer in the camp are getting nervous ... with Thomas and some box of branded lager ...

on the west the Swabian League keeps concentrating

still they do not dare an attack on the camp

On the North east the peasant are leaving the woods to get to the camp ...

... but the Argulets of the Truchsess are in-between ...

A light cavalry clash in the centre of the field ...

Still the paid Landsknechts stoically hold the line in the camp

The Bürgermeister is finishing off peasants in the the North East ...

... a few try to flee, but ...

in the Eastern Woods some rogue rodeleros of the peasants are giving the doppelsöldners grief

but slowly the rope is tightening ...

.. from the West some stradioti relief, too few too late ...

in the centre the Landsknechts of Götz are massing up

And events rodeleros are slowly exhausting themselves ..

The Pikeblock of Götz (starring as Black Bande) is joining up with the Truchsess ...

in fron of the camp

Somewhere at the North-West Frontier 1897 shortly after eight

"They came to our land to be kings, but we didn‘t let them. We made sure their empire ended right here where our firing range begin... "

What a lovely evening an 28mm and an "The Men who would be Kings" (TMWWBK) game with Angus playing the British, while I was drafted into some* Afghan tribe to defend the valley and honour of said locals. The British needed to collect 6 tokens spread over the table to win, while we,  the enemies of the empire, needed to cross their evil planning to win.

Also I occupied a lovely castle – what‘s not to like? The Brits as usual just advanced. In this game the units also get certain traits, which is why Angus ended up with tree fearing Gurkhas and myself had an extra sharpshooting gun on the top of mentioned citadel. Two units were equipped with modern rifles, I let them "amuse" the approaching infidels.

My inferior cavalry (in quality but not in numbers) all died in the attempt to block the experienced British riders. A phyrric victory as just two meneken survived, enough to take the 1st token of my side of the table, but not enough to play a further role in the battle.

So my men got shot down by incoherent British fire, while my gun took good aim and softened the aggressors to mushy pies. In the end two token were left next to the castle and too many brave defenders of the faith made it possible that another piece of red left the atlas that glorious day, poor Victoria!

*For deeper informative historical evidence please visit:
http://www.edinburghwargames.com/probing-the-mamund-valley-1897/

otherwise a potpourri of impressions below: