My Metal Meneken: June 2021

Sunday, 20 June 2021

1503 - Bad war on the hills - Early Renaissance somewhere in Italy

This time it needed to be: 28mm, Early Renaissance, Pike & Shotte (with amended useful rules), all fictional and over House Party ... Campbell choose the Imperial side, while Bart chose to fight for the French King. I lined up both parties relatively near and parallel to each other with a little hill in the middle. Both sides had 5 commands (all 8), 5 guns, 3 pike blocks, 2 shotte units, 2 two-handed weapons units, 1 sword&buckler unit and 6 cavalry units. No modesty or complicated strategies needed, just an opportunity to enjoy early modern warfare carnage in a simple clash.

The French just had better horse 4 heavy cavalry units (the Gendarmes!!!) and two Swiss pike blocks, (and two tokens to re-roll a failed command to simulate the quick Swiss), while the Imperials had all the heavy guns and one large pike block and two normal ones.

... And so they were needed as Bart failed two times his battallia roll in his 1st turn, but then the second token did the trick - the Swiss were on the hill! On the other side of the table we were witnessing the usual, the Imperial and French Horse were marching up to engage in a heavy metal clash of prestige and feathers, we all had apparently the same thoughts were this would end. While the Imperial gun men were drowning the field in noise and blood.

BUT then somewhat miraculous happened. We all saw the gendarmes and men-at-arms clash and inflict high casualties on both sides, lots of units were shaken and ...

... the French failed their break test ... and some subsequent support break tests ... ouch! The German Imperial cavalry, for the first time since I play these era (along 7 years), dealt the French a heavy blow. Their main Gendarmes d'Ordonnance were shaken and for the rest of the game stuck (due to some failed rally orders).

In the centre and on the hill the fighting intensified, Doppelsoeldner and halberdiers and pikeblocks clashed, Swiss vs Landsknechts and vs Landsknechts - all out Bad War no quarters were given.

Due to time and space limits we had to end this, but the final toll showed 6:4 for the Imperials - congratulations again Campbell, "the Slayer of the French" henceforth shall you be known. And this wonder of the metal clash really "stunned" the French cavalry in more than one way!

Initial set up

The rules

The French centre with some Gascoigne pavise men

The Imperial ordonnance - heavy guns

The Swiss swiftly march forward

The Swiss battalia is on the hill

The Bande Neri follows suite

The German fire and advance with their cavalry!

Some skirmish on the hill

The seconds before the Gendarmes clash

The seconds after ... where are the French?

The French cavalry seems to struggle

Swordsmen and Swiss heavy halberdiers clash

The German Imperial horse has the French Gendarmes shaken!

The guns roar

The Spanish rodeleros can‘t break the Swiss

even with their extra combat result dice!!!

The gendarmes d‘ordonnance of both sides lick their wounds

The pike blocks start to move in

The mounted crossbowmen keep the gendarmes in check

The Swiss halberdiers die

On top of the hill the fights are getting bloodier ...

The first pike blocks clash - Bad War!!!

The French horse stays checked

More carnage on the hill

The French cannot get their gendarmes back from shaken

The Spanish swordsmen in front of some Schwyzer

The only Swiss arquebusiers are hacked down...

The Blood table on the left the French (6 units) vs Imperials (4)

Wednesday, 9 June 2021

1870 - Night falls at Kicheren III - Franco-Prussian War

This is the conclusion of the fictitious battle at Kicheren, 1870 (10mm, Black Powder plus amends) at the beginning of the Franco-Prussian War, where Campbell (as Prussian) last time (https://meneken.blogspot.com/2021/06/1870-bloody-noses-at-not-so-kicheren-ii.html) got stuck in the killing zone of the chassepots and had to stall his attacks. Bart kept to his strategy rather not to let the Krupp guns shot him down, than attack or move his guns within range, and there fore into the Krupp killing zone.

Both had licked their wounds, and the last ammunitions were being distributed, the cavalries were exhausted - now something had to give. Campbell advanced with his guns and picked more and more at Barts infantry and guns, and that started to hurt. At some point Bart did some countercharges, we had some exchanges, more death rides, and finally two miscalculated charges, that would cost him the victory, albeit the tactical, as the Prussians were running out of ammo as well!!!

The literally last charge of an healthy Prussian reserve regiment on a French guards position, which was beaten up by Krupp guns earlier, was sending the guards into the ground. The French flank was open, the French centre was just consisting of a few guns... the end was near and as the gentle night had thrown a blanket of mercy over the slaughter ... we concluded the battle as a minor Prussian victory and over.

Campbells cavalry outnumbered the French, but most of it was, like his right (soft) flank, disordered and in no form to chase anything.

Plus most of his guns were silent now, as just few of them had ammunition. He kept the ammo for the last long-ranger in his assortment of Krupps. But he had one foot in the door/on the line that the French so valiantly defended for so long until they attacked.

Bart/the French was/were in no better condition: his guns most out of ammo or destroyed, almost all his cavalry gone, with only his left flank more or less in tact - they would have made a retreat over night.

So congratulations to both, first Campbell for an excellent victory, you finally managed to break Barts flank, and as well, to Bart for holding out so long and fighting a cavalry fight against all odds for so long. If he wouldn‘t have recklessly committed two final charges (the last charge syndrome), we concluded he might had won the day ... but he didn‘t. And yes, it was an attrition battle in the end.

We all agreed we had lots of fun and next time, Bart maybe gets my Prussians pretending to be Bavarians, as he dislikes playing Prussians (good for me for the Seven Years War, hehe), while Campbell gets the French guard ... next time when we play 10mm that is ...