Good Times, Bad Times....The Destruction of the Bridge of Boats, July 12th, 1620AD

a contest of conflicting plans

       The siege of central Vienee had gone on since December, the city managed to hold on to some of the surrounding farmlands and was able to gather supplies from there but, by the time Spring had arrived, things were truly desperate. Butter and heavy cream for making sauces were in short supply. White flour for pastries was nearly gone. Most spices were nigh unto impossible to find and even sausages were rising in price. Surrender was looking more and more like the only remaining option.

       Enter the hero, Victor von Hastenburg, the First Imperial Engineer of Ferndalia, he convinced Peter the Famished that as the Small-Platers controlled the eastern shore of the Upper Gluten River they should build a bridge of boats across and supply the city by that route. Many scoffed at his idea, the river being nearly 3/4 of a mile wide at that point. Von Hastenburg swore it could be done and wagered to pay for the bridge himself if the attempt failed. Faced with such confidence (and suffering no loss if the effort came to naught) Peter gave his approval.  Von Hastenburg set to work and had the bridge assembled and in operation by the end of May despite the problems raised by The Plague. The capital was saved!

       The Proper-Mealers were blissfully unaware of all this until a cavalry patrol pushing down the north bank of the spotted the vast span reaching across the river . They were chased away by the Small-Platers but the cat was out of the bag. Many stratagems were employed to try to break the bridge, first a barge laden with combustibles was launched downstream but that was diverted by the stalwart Small-Plater guard boats. Next an intrepid crew of soldiers drifted downstream on a foggy night with axes intending to cut the hawsers holding the bridge in place, this time they were thwarted by the bells that the engineers had craftily hung on the ropes, the ringing of the bell brought the guard boats out again. Eventually it was decided  that only a proper expedition would be able to capture the end of the bridge and cut it loose from it's moorings. A force of cavalry and fast-marching infantry was assembled from the garrison of North Veinee and sent down the Old Post Road (a little-traveled byway that hoped to bypass the enemy's cavalry patrols).  All would have been well except for one small detail, a spy in the boarding house of the Proper-Mealer officers. The shoe would be on the other foot, the Proper-Mealers would not be executing a surprise attack, they would be walking into a trap. 

 

the terrain, north is to the right

 

the Small-Plater force

A. a brigade of Veteran Mounted Arquebusiers

B. a brigade of Cuirassiers 

C. a Foot Brigade, 2x Shot and 3x Melee companies

D. a Foot Brigade, 2x Shot and 3x Melee companies

E. the blocking force, 2x Clubmen (workmen), 2 x Light Guns, one unit of elite Clubmen

 

the Proper-Mealer strike force

A.  a brigade of Veteran Mounted Arquebusiers

B. a brigade of Cuiassiers

C. a Foot Brigade of 3x Shot 

D. a Foot Brigade of 3x Shot  

E. a brigade of Veteran Mounted Arquebusiers

 

the approach march of the Proper-Mealers

 

then they spotted the roadway had been blocked, the jig is up, 

they have been found out, and, hey!, what's that moving in the woods?

 

a view looking north along the road

 

as the cavalry round the corner a single cannon shot is fired

the troops along the road have told off a brigade of foot to observe the activity in the woods

 

the PM cavalry press forward firing at the troops manning the road block and,

 far to the north, at the troops emerging from the woods

 

after much delay the SP sneak-attack from the side road finally appeared; the PM  force turned the rearmost Mounted Arquebusier brigade around to deal with this threat, to the south the ambush force began to emerge from the woods as the PM heavy cavalry moved forward to clear off the blocking force, they discovered that the abbatis was simply a row of chopped-down shrubberies instead of a proper obstacle and pushed through it

 

fire had become general all along the line but few casualties were incurred

 

to the rear the Mounted Arquebusiers were masterfully successful at evading charges

 (Trunkmonkey was white-hot when rolling Discipline Tests all night long!) 

the upshot of it was that each evade moved them closer to the rest of their force

 

things began to go to pieces at the blocking force,

 first a unit of workmen fled from the fire of the Mounted Arquebusiers....

 

in an attempt to relieve some of the pressure

 the San Patrico's company attacked the enemy Mounted Arquebusiers

 

with surprising success (unusually good die-rolling by yours truly) 

they shattered the enemy horsemen and killed the attached general

 

but the PM force ground forward, the cuirassiers crossed the abbatis to 

confront the "elite" armed mob supported by fire from the Mounted Arquebusiers

another unit of cuirassiers followed in their footsteps

 

far to the north the Mounted Arquebusiers continued to stymie the advance of the flank attackers

while in the center the ambush force had completely broken cover and was running to catch up with the PM trooops

 

the San Patricos swiftly learned the disadvantages off acting as the "meat-shield"

 for the other troops as they were pummeled by fire from the enemy shot, these shot were doubly annoying as they would evade away if charged!

 

meanwhile, on the other side of the abbatis the cuirassiers put sword to the gunners

 

and then ignored the fire of the next armed mob, in the center the Shot continued to pepper the SP melee companies with fire and far to the north the the  Mounted Arquebusiers continued their heroic delaying action

 

and to the south the PM troops began to exit the battle space to continue on their mission

 

retiring but never routing the Mounted Arquebusiers baffled every effort to bring them to combat

 

as the cuirassiers did away with the last of the armed workmen

 

having dispatched the mobs the cuirassiers now were in a position to take the SP melee companies in the rear, the weary San Patricos turned to willing to sell their lives dearly so that the others could continue to hunt the PM Shot troops

 

their mission completed, the bent-but-never-broken

 PM Mounted Arquebusiers turned and raced to rejoin their fellows

 

as the cavalry hurried southwards the Shot units laid 

down a furious fusillade that slowed the SP melee companies

 

as more and more PM units exited the southern area of the battle the San Patricos went down in glorious defeat trying to stop the relentless press of the cuirassiers 

       As the battle wound down the PM force moved with dispatch toward its objective; the eastern terminus of the bridge. Outpacing the enemy they fell upon the few remaining guards at the bridge with little mercy and set to work cutting cables and burning the structure. Knowing that the (by now furious) SP force was just a short few hours behind they loaded the infantry into the barges that had formed the bridge and sent them floating downstream toward friendly shores. The cavalry turned northeast and marched into the countryside trying to get back west by a circuitous route.
       An important but costly victory for the Proper Meal faction as the northern part of the capital is nearly denuded of troops and the infantry are drifting southwards with every minute! The cavalry have a long and uncertain march back home and will have to dodge enemy patrols as they move. The real question remains; can the Small-Platers get themselves sorted out to conduct an assault on the northern portion of Vienee before the fortress can be reinforced?