A BIG BATTLE

Other FoG:R AARs

Approximately 1000 points of Field of Glory: Renaissance. Early 17th Century French (Malcolm) and English New Model Army (Dale) vs. Late Imperial Germans (Bruce) with Late 30YW Protestant allies (Brian). The battle was fought on May 29 2011.

The Germans were apparently marching through the French countryside, destroying villages. The French were not too troubled by the destruction though as their army camp was extremely well stocked with cattle, chickens, barmaids, and sheep. The Germans won the initiative.

I cannot speak to the German plan, but the French plan was push a strong French right and the New Model Army into the hinge between the Catholics and Protestants and break through the enemy armies there, because generally the link point between two armies is the weakest point. Alarmingly, the Germans massed four cavalry formations at that supposedly vulnerable hinge.

The French deploy with some depth, placing their militia in the rear to provide support. The far left flank is to be held by a light horse and two light foot units: The Forlorn Hope. All of the offensive weight of the French is on the right.

The Germans are generally balanced across the front and the Imperial cavalry is placed where it can stay linked to the protestants. The Imperial infantry, with regimental artillery, will severely outclass the French musket* infantry in firefights. The French have the only significant artillery and it sits squarely in the center of the battlefield.

The forlorn hope scrambles forward to try to begin tying up the Germans.

The French artillery turns to soften up the area where the main attack is planned to go in. They get very lucky early on and the very expensive German determined horse begin to lose men to the artillery at an alarming rate.

On the French left, the forlorn hope light horse charges the Imperial Cossacks and though they are fairly equal in quality, the Cossacks are almost immediately destroyed and sent fleeing to the rear. Had that battle gone the other way the remainder of the forlorn hope would have been overrun by Cossacks within moments.

On the French right, both sides pause in their advances to make final adjustments to their lines. Too late, the protestant horse realize that they are committed to frontally charging two units of well ordered pike & shotte infantry. The odds are decidedly against them but they tell themselves that they can break off if it doesn't go well.

The French battle line adjusts itself and thins out its line. The artillery continues to be effective.

The French are trying a different technique with their cavalry: hoping to keep it in close support of the infantry and trying to keep narrow frontages so that opposing determined horse can not take full advantage of their width. They are impatient for the New Model Army horse to close up and fill the gap to their right.

Imperial Cavalry charges home but they would suffer horribly at the hands of the French horse, with infantry support. However, when the Protestant horse impacts with the English foot, the infantry bend and while one unit suffers heavy casualties, the other unit is quickly fragmented. The general of the New Model army rides into the fray to bolster his men.

The German cuirassiers are broken and the French horse pour through the gap in pursuit of what remains. They cannot avoid the protestant infantry to their front but perhaps they are inspired by the success of the enemy protestant cavalry against the English pike blocks.

The view from the German side. The German cavalry is mauled by both artillery and French cuirassier. The infantry line is disrupted. A Fresh infantry unit placed to screen the French artillery is already fragmented and about to break. The German center-left seems to be in danger of imminent collapse.

But suddenly everything changes. All of the English foot breaks and runs. Their General is left, a corpse, in the bloody mud behind them. The remaining cavalry of the New Model Army is disrupted by the shock of this collapse and now leaderless, they will be incapable of rallying. The protestant cavalry has taken some 30% casualties but are still in fine spirits as they pursue the broken infantry.

The French Cuirassier and Chevaux-Leger are easily hurled back by the protestant foot and must break off and rally before trying another attack. The French Queen is rallying her favourites. The cavalry of the English try to recover the situation somehow as the Protestant horse successfully reins in their pursuit and turns to find new prey.

In the center, the Germans get a chance to exploit their superior firepower and can calmly, efficiently advance with supporting units to shoot up the foreign regiment of the French. The artillery continues to throw back any unit put in front of them.

The Germans try another cavalry charge to support the protestant infantry but the French Guard repulses them bloodily. The loss of this German cuirassier unit would result in fragmenting the protestant infantry.

Things get tense on the French left. The forlorn hope is still intact and still falling back. This slows down the Germans but does little damage to them. The light horse though has some success finally in their firefight with the German commanded shot and they finally get up the nerve to charge. This would break the small unit.

The unengaged protestant infantry tries to get into square to face cavalry threats from multiple sides but they cannot manage the cohesion check. The French cuirassier and Guard infantry, with their Queen fighting in the lead, are quite handily carving up the protestant infantry to their front now. What casualties have been suffered by the Guard have come from fire form the German commanded shot.

As the battle comes to a close, the German right flank continues to make slow but steady progress. The center though is near to shattered and the once magnificent mass of German cavalry is all but gone. 

Also all but gone is the New Model army. Only 20% of the force remains under arms and their general is lost. The protestants fared remarkably well for what they were facing and though their position is dire at the end of the fight, they are intact and still able to bring the fight to the French.

It is declared to be a French victory, though it is not decisive. It might well be noted that no actual French units broke. One way or another, it was all foreigners.