Tadeusz Podolski looked up from the document that he was reading and squinted at his brother, Krzysztof, "Are you sure of this?" he asked, his voice loaded with anticipation. Krzysztof smiled, "Yes, we found that in a local post office just a day ago". The document in question was a invitation to a local Ferndalian noble to attend a Grand Cotillion at the Summer Palace of Peter the Famished on the 23rd of July, Anno Domini 1620 in Camembert. "But we have only a week to get there", Tadeusz worried. Krzysztof patted him on the shoulder, "We are just over 120 versts away, three days journey without tiring the horses and we can capture the oppressor himself. Think of the fame! Think of the freedom! Think of the prestige! Frozonia will be forever independent, our father's dream will at last become true".
Tadeusz felt his pulse quicken at the thought but, ever the cautious planner, he unrolled a map of northern Ferndalia, "Show me again your proposed route". As his brother pointed out the plan of action and described the different inbound and return trips he felt the confidence grow in his mind. "Take the whole army except the levies, we will make a great show of activity with the Husarska trainees along the northern approaches to distract Ferndalians. Return victorious!" He reached out and they shook hands, "For Father!" he proclaimed, "For Frozonia" he brother returned.
Five days later............
"That can't be right! Frozonia has no Tercios and are sworn enemies of the Proper Meal faction in Gluttonia! Who would be such a traitor as to serve the King of Ferndalia?" Krzysztof roared. "Keep the carts moving, we will see if they are made of stern enough stuff to face the Husarska!" he ordered as he raced to the head of the column. Already hounded by Ferndalian troops from both flanks and the rear Krzysztof had no need of further bad news This expedition had already been a disappointment when they had found that Peter the Famished had not yet arrived at his Summer Palace due to a resurgence of the Plague. A disappointment only salved by the hijacking of two of Peter's most prized collections; his complete collection of Wolfgang Puck Signature Series cookware and the only complete collection of autographed Julia Child cookbooks known to man. That, and the burning to the ground of the Palace and all of its outbuildings. Krzysztof gave orders as he passed that the Husarska should form up and be ready to charge.
As he passed through the swirl of light cavalry scouting to the front of the column he spied the infantry formation ahead of them. A compact block of densely packed pikemen surrounded by musketeers. It sat neatly tucked into the only pass in the Camembert Hills that would allow a wagon train to cross. This was like a week of bad news all packed into a single moment. Not in living memory had a Tercio been broken by cavalry, and almost all of Krzysztof's troops were horse. He turned and rode back along the line issuing orders and marshaling his men.
the Frozonian army, en-route home with the captured Wolfgang Puck Signature Series Complete Collection of cookware and the only complete collection of autographed Julia Child cookbooks known to man, encounters a problem
East is to the right, north to the top, west to the left and south to the bottom
it certainly looks like a Tercio
smells like one too!
as if things couldn't get worse Ferndalian forces begin to arrive on both flanks,
on the right a cloud of mounted arquebusiers boldly (foolishly?) confront the Husarska
while on the left a column of dust shows itself to be two brigades of Ferndalian horse,
one of mounted arquebusiers, the other heavy cuirassiers, the Haiduks hurry to occupy the town
in a world of bad news things keep getting worse, now the following force has arrived,
more of the same, mounted arquebusiers, and heavy cuirassiers,
the Haiduks promptly opened fire on the left hand column of Ferndalian horse
and were assisted by the clouds of Lisowczycy skirmishers
with the left contained and the right being pushed away by a brigade of Husarska a Coriagiew forms on the road next to the village, this is an attack column specially developed by the Frozonian cavalry locally it is known as the "Pain Train"
the Tercio engages the skirmishing light cavalry
as the right hand mounted arquebusiers flee from the threat of the Husarska
one unit was foolish enough to engage them in melee,
it did not end well for the mounted arquebusiers
Note; I have been asked about the various discs on the battlefield. The large ones are Order discs, they are all green on one side and a color on the other, the colors reflect one of the six orders possible under the rules, the small discs are Wear markers reflecting the amount of casualties a unit has taken
with the light troops out of the way the real fight begins, Husarska vs Heavy Cuirassiers
the fire from the mounted arquebusiers has done some damage to the Husarska
but will it be enough to tip the scales? the Husarska have already thrown back one charge by the cuirassiers and look prepared to do so again
the Coriagiew has formed and is now ready to charge to Tercio, but wait! that is no Tercio just two units of Ferndalian foot pretending to be one, this should be a different matter
but, to everyone's surprise, the sturdy Ferndalian foot rebuff the attack and drive off the Husarska!
on the left the Lisowczycy occupy the attentions of the mounted arquebusiers
as the Haiduks pound the slowly approaching cuirassiers with a hail of shot
alas there is little left to retard the advance of the trailing force of Ferndalians
with things looking decidedly grim to the front, left and rear the Frozonians
redouble their pressure against the right hand column of Ferndalian horse,
arquebusiers empty a saddle here and there, but victory in melee is firmly with the Husarska
and more are on the way! the fate of the right hand Ferndalians may well be sealed
not having a way to carry off the the looted treasures the Frozonians set the wagons alight
seeing no way to rejoin their friends beyond the village the Lisowczycy begin to retire to the west,
from the village the Haiduks continue their barrage of fire at the surrounding enemy cavalry
in a vain attempt to slow the press of Frozonian cavalry
the cuirassiers and mounted arquebusiers threw themselves ferociously at the Husarska,
with predictable results
but all was not well for the Frozonians,
they were now taking fire from the approaching enemy horse behind them
the fire emptied a few saddles
but the Ferndalains were powerless to catch the retiring Frozonian horse
seeing themselves surrounded by enemy horse, and not fancying the idea of serving as a rower on one of Peter's galleys, the wily Haiduks broke cover and dashed into the mountainous woodlands of the Camembert Hills, the fire aboard the wagons was extinguished but the damage had been done!
In setting up this little aside I assigned values to how effectively the local governors would react to the invasion by the Frozonians. On the inbound route few made any effort at all to stop the invaders, the Palace troops particularly were completely taken aback. The return trip was another matter. Alerted now that the enemy was in their midst, and with the dual atrocity of burning the Summer Palace and the kidnapping of the King's collections I gave the governors a "plus one" to their die rolls for reacting. They didn't need any of it, they all scored a maximum response and the wheels were set in motion for a very bad outcome for the Frozonians. I was tempted to play the "Hand of God" and re-roll some of the responses but resisted the temptation. As it was the Frozonians made the right decision and cut their losses, saving the precious Husarska but leaving the looted treasures.
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