It was time again for a bit of an Renaissance slaughter and what better oblique power relation could provide such pretext for a truly blood thirsty hack&slay scenario, than the German Peasant War (1524-1525). We just imagined one of the peasant horde, under the leadership of a certain preacher would have had the support of a local robber baron and his shabby contingent of landsknechts and some soeldners, and just about made it to a hill in front of a German forrest. All in 28mm, Pike&Shotte ruleset (plus some house rules) and in technicolor!
Bart volunteered to play the rebellious peasants, while I was jumping in for the Swabian League and the infamous "peasant strangler" Georg Truchsess v. Waldburg. While the peasants mobs were just cannon fodder, at least the rebels had some renegade landsknechts from a local robber baron to back them up (at swordpoint!).
On the other side, Georg v. Waldburgs landsknechts weren‘t exactly from the caliber of the compatriots fighting on the other side of the alps around Pavia at this time. His contingent were missing men-at-arms and multiple pike blocks ... ach, no staff these days!
Bart had the first turn and some of his peasants actually managed to attack. He kept his landsknechts (the real soldiers) on the hill and send his "deplorable" peasants peux a peux into the fire! (Each mob had a command, but only with a staff rating of 7!) It wasn't easy, but his dice rolling was just as bad as the fighting abilities (or the lack of it) of his farmers.
On the other side my arrogant noble approach was gliding nearly into a defeat, when two of my mercenaries weren't "satisfactoriously" rallied and just "went home". In the end just ONE unit of light cavalry and some light guns were the survivors of this massacre. Obviously (as usual) not one rebel ... but it could have been easily the other way if Barts fortune would have been different at the start.
It wasn‘t certainly the clear cutdown that it should have been ... a dent in the reputation for Georg!
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| Initial set up! |
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| The right flank of the peasants! |
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| The left flank of the peasants! |
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| Georg v. Waldburg's landsknecht contingent! |
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| The peasant archer attack the arquebusiers! |
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| The light horses clash! |
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| The peasants seem to wait ... |
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| The Swabian League light cavalry charge! |
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| And some angry monks who hate the peasants! |
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| And the arquebusiers attack! |
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| Then some mob charged an unlimbered light gun! |
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| The peasants advance piece meal ... |
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| The lines of the rebellion get thinner! |
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| The pike block advances! |
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| The hill on the flank is in the hands of the mobs! |
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| The crazed monks actually break one mob! |
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| Only to be broken by the next in turn! |
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| The nobles horse charge the peasants! |
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| The robber baron mercenaries stay inside of the wagenburg! |
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| The landsknechts rebel and league clash - bad war! no quarter! |
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| The nobles mop up the mob! |
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| The clash of the doppelsoeldner is long and brutal! |
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| Then the large pikeblock gets countercharged from several sides! |
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| The mob on the flank just don't want to die! |
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| The big pike block breaks - it looks dire for the League! |
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| Georg throws everything in even light guns and hackbuts! |
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| All rebels attack the last Doppelsoeldner of the Truchsess! |
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| And in the end the mob on the left flank perishes! |
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| Only the foot landsknechte of the robber baron on the hill continue! |
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| Some unsuccessful rallying ... |
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| ... depletes the ranks of the Swabian League even further! |
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| The last rebellious doppelsoeldner clashes with the nobles! |
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| .... and get slain! |
One of the bloodiest battles we fought. I don't remember the game, where I lost all my troops and commanders. Good to see the hills are back on the table. It changes a lot!
ReplyDeleteThank you Bart! I guess you‘re right, I also can‘t remember ANY battle that fierce ... and it could have gone the other way (with a little bit more luck)... :)
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