The Ambush at the Brenner 1524

It was about time ... the Kaiser needed reinforcements for the built up towards Pavia, so the Venetian Alpine side became a dangerously stretched supply line for the Imperials. In our little What if scenario the Kaiserlichen had to juggle an artillery train through a mountain gap just when some Venetians arrived to challenge their trespassing. Me and Angus were trying out some Pike&Shotte Rules Plus amends and he in particular wanted to try out his newly Ventetian Rodelerii!!

So each got 2 pike block plus some auxilliari units and guns and The Imperials had to juggle the heavier guns across a 8x6 table or at least two of them!

The start of the battle was slow as usual, my Gendarmes and heavy cavalry didn‘t move for 3 turns! But also Angus decided stage an attack from the north but kept his units out of charge distance.
So I went in with some of my sword and bucklers and Doppel-söldner in reckless small charges, which cost me  5 units in the end ... while Angus Venetians slowly dribbled down the mountain slopes. He actually made a bit of a fuzz as he contested the Rodeleros combat dice ... saying there were just too small to contest a pikeblock on their own ... well he had 2 units of them... maybe we change their  hand2hand value to 4 next time ...
The slowliness of my gendarmes paid out for Angus this time, as they weren't there, when his heavy cavalieri slashed through my stradioti lines and definitively blocked the way out for my gun train.

Well it was late in the evening, but you can argue that, that was it for the imperial guns. Either they would be wasted at a stand off or captured by getting away so - it was a club first – the Venetians had won!!! And beware of the Venetian Rodelerii! Even if Angus didn't thad a chance to try them out this time, I guess he has by now a pretty good idea what they can do to a Pike block.

Figures by me and Angus, mostly Perry's, Foundry and Warlord games, Flags by me or Flags of War or Petes Flags, Terrain By the club, Scenario by me,

The Imperial Landsknechte are finally moving in!

The Artillery train at the beginning ...

The light guns support the blocks!

My light Horse tries to get away from the enemy

The Venetian gun lines are at the northern hills 

The Venetians wait ...

still less movement as I hoped for ...

The blocks are forming 

The guns train covered by the blocks

sneakingly marching  towards the east ...

behind a wall of pikes

The Doppelsöldner  charge 

The Fugger block moves up too

My Spanish Rodeleros hit the Tyrolean pike block ... Angus was not amused 

My Arquebusiers attacked the gun and got traversing fire of the Venetian crossbowmen ... ouch!

Forward with the guns!!! 

Mayhem in the centre!

The Fugger block moves in ...

But then the Venetian Elmeti strike!!!

A last pike charge fails ...

the initial plan

The story set up

The gun train ...

The Venetian  stats with some copy & paste errors

our special rules

The Imperials (with some copy&paste errors)

It was like a tango with lions, but drunk at a bar ... We played Seven Years War, Peter and Campbell the French and me, Michael and Michael the Holy Roman allies (Hessians, Hannoveranians and Horses), but I cannot exactly tell which of the three Michaels I actually was. The rules we "used" were General de Brigade, but could be infused with a lot of "die Kriegskunst" or other radioactive cake, as Angus played the francophile umpire.

We the HHH could deploy at the crossroads, while the French came on in marching order. The objective said crossroads. Therefore the French got double the units and some veteran units, which was fair enough as Campbell normally dices count for nothing.

So ... a lot of "friction", we all felt like Austrians. But then the "Horse Michael "moved demanded all ADC dice and the artillery support to beat the French Horse, well why not... which he nearly did in the end. The centre Hannoveranians were just static and Michael (the Hannoveranian) just gave a good fight and barrage to all what was grey uniformed and moving.

Me the, Hessian Michael, was most of the time hessitant (cough ...) and got hit hard, but not destroyed.  I don't know how but the French loving umpire declared a French victory in the end ...  how the hell did that happened?

Miniatures and absolutely fairly balanced scenario by Angus. I know now why the war took seven years ...

some Edinburgh Regt as Hannoveranians

The French ... just too much!

the initial deployment with Horse Michael showing the dircection of the attack

 

The French slugg forward

and we fire back!

The French don't move

their artillery unguarded in the middle ...

Add And we took the hits ...

The Brits are off into the woods ...

more French moving ... 

Our centre from the French point of view .. our CinC texting for advice ...

and then the clash of cavalry!!!

but it didn‘t went well for the Royal Maison ... 

the French gaining ground

but the Horse is in retreat ... 

my Hessians just take it ...

But then a whisper went around the French Horse something about free wine ... 

... and more to come ... 

more sluggish slaughter

but the totally ordinarily and common Leib Regiment just took it ...

the clash in the centre 

back and forth

and then the recuperating French cavalry slaughtered ours and that was it. La Fine.