Fight 'Em 'Til You Can't

 

Ferndalian Minister of War, Igor Mankowski, and his dream;

 a Duchy of his own, stretching across all of northern Gluttonia

       The Comte du Fromage smiled as he viewed the Small-Plater forces arrayed against him, "We shall show our Gluttonian allies how to conduct a proper assault. Nothing like their bungled efforts at the Blutiger Bach two weeks ago" he proclaimed with a satisfied tone, "Now let us have breakfast before we get on with today's work". The Freedonians had spent the past weeks maneuvering around the siegeworks of the Ferndalian invaders seeking to get a feel for the enemy's response time and the strength of the ring of earthworks that surrounded the city of Vienee. 

       At long last they had found a gap  in the line right near the village of Stalzdat, granted it was a position that needed little improvement; a continuous line of hills that covered the road that the Ferndalians were using as a supply route. A single redoubt covered the lone gap in the hill line, hosting a pair of cannon aimed right down the road. The Comte was aware that it was a strong position, but he had a three-to-one superiority in Horse and his Foot doubled the number opposing him and he felt confident of the outcome of this contest.

       Duke Stephen "The Jovial" sat his horse on the ridge looking at the Freedonian army forming up in front of him. In the dim morning light he could see that they easily outnumbered him by a significant margin, he turned to his aide-de-camp, "Send riders to the others. This is where they test us, and it will be today! Hurry now and tell them to move with the utmost dispatch!". As he rode along the ride he encountered the brightly-dressed Pretender to the Throne, Hanz de Flamboise. The erratic youth might be as mad as a March hare but in battle he had proven to be an inspiring and fearless leader capable of swift decisions and having a fine tactical touch.

        Hanz rode toward him smiling, "The enemy outnumbers us by quite a bit, eh?" he swept his arm toward the north. "Try this" he said abruptly as he held out a small package wrapped in paper, "My personal chef, McDonald,  came up with it yesterday and I find it most amusing", Duke Stephen unwrapped the proffered item to find a biscuit sliced in half with a bit of ham, a fried egg and some cheese thrust inside, he shrugged and took a bite. A smile spread across his face, "Yes, My Lord, it is most delicious!". Hanz smiled widely, "I know!"' he exclaimed "Ronald is a master at making simple things into something wonderful. I had several of these issued to all my soldiers!". He turned to the north and gazed at the long line of Freedonian troops moving into position. "I trust that help is on the way", he said with a note of certainty. "It is M'Lord, but we will have some hard fighting before it arrives". Hanz nodded, "And if it doesn't?", he asked evenly while gazing at the ever-larger force drawing up before him. Stephen grinned at him, "Then M'Lord, you fight 'em 'til you can't. We are all going to die someday, why not die a hero?". Hanz turned and looked at him, "Well said my friend, but I have no intentions of dying today, and neither should you". At that moment the cannons boomed forth the announcement that the battle had begun.

 

just some geographical pointers to make the after action report easier to follow

 

the deployment position of the Gluttonian Small-Platers 

they took maximum advantage of the terrain

 but both flanks were hanging in the wind

 

the deployment of the much larger Proper-Mealer force's left wing

 

and the Proper-Mealers right wing 

quite simply their mission was to drive straight through the line of hills

 and get into the enemy's rear area and wreak havoc

 

the battle opened with a rapid advance by the Proper-Mealers and the firing of the medium guns

riders were frantically dispatched to the east and west seeking Small-Plater reinforcements 

 

the Proper-Mealers cavalry right away made for the gap 

between the Tiny Woods and the woods on the Big Hill 

this potentially could turn the right flank of the Small-Plater position

 

desperate to even the odds the Small-Platers opened fire 

on the enemy Shot as soon as they were in range

 

firing became general all along the line as the Small-Platers tried to whittle-away at the shot companies before the enemy could get their  powerful infantry formations into the fray

 

then Proper-Mealers also took advantage of their perponderance of Horse to send six regiments to the west  to turn that flank as well, in reply the Small-Platers sent two regiments to slow them and prayed fervently for reinforcements

 

in the center the cannon were proving incapable of stopping the enemy infantry who closed rapidly,  in the far west a welcome regiment of Small-Plater Mounted Arquebusiers arrived bringing the balance to only 2:1 in favor of the Proper-Mealers

 

the next turn saw equally welcome reinforcements arrive on the eastern flank as well, but they were badly strung out in road columns and would take a long time to make their presence felt

 

meanwhile, in the center, the wall of Proper-Mealer infantry advanced unhindered,

at this point the two enemy/brothers, Hanz and Franz could see each other through the gunsmoke

 

despite punishing fire from the cannons the fearless Proper-Mealer infantry marched on

 

in the west firing was continuous along the line

the advantage here went to the Small-Platers

 

realizing that their flanking move was likely to be thwarted

 the Proper-Mealer cavalry engaged the slow-arriving Small-Plater Mounted Arquebusiers

 

in the Tiny Woods the lone Shot company traded barbs with opposing Mounted Arquebusiers, 

Shot and an infantry Battalion; only the cover of the woods saved them

 

accepting, and ignoring, fearsome fire from the two cannon the Proper-Mealer Foot stormed the redoubt and put their tormentors to the sword (or pike as it may be) this titanic effort left that battalion badly mauled, elsewhere the Proper-Mealer Foot moved into position for a push of pike

 

through a concentration of firepower (and some lucky dice) the reinforcing Proper-Mealer Mounted Arquebusiers managed to eliminate one of their opposing numbers and inflict some harm on the other

they did not escape unscathed themselves

 

at the Tiny Woods the Proper-Mealer Foot grew tired of the sniping and charged directly into the woods to drive off the Shot company hiding therein, despite being disordered their numbers told and they shattered the Shot company; the hilltop position of the Small-Plater  force was about to be well and truly flanked, throughout these actions both Hanz and Franz were in the thick of the fight, heroically inspiring their troops

 

far away to the west things were looking bad for the Small-Platers, reinforcements were tardy in their arriving and the position was in dire danger of collapse when, by a stroke of luck, the commander of the Proper-Mealer cuirassiers was killed in combat, with his falling the heretofore aggressive cuirassiers became sluggish and disjointed (explanatory note; under the Tercio rules once a brigadier is killed his troops have to pass a Discipline check every turn to follow orders for the balance of the game)

 

concentrated fire finally eliminated the Shot unit in the woods on the Long Hill leaving a lonely Proper-Mealer Foot unit as its only defender

 

but in the center things were looking better for the Proper-Mealer cause, taking advantage of their uphill position and the fact that they were shooting while standing stationary the Small-Plater Foot had successfully repelled both attacking Proper-Mealer infantry units, the flank on the other hand.....

 

away to the east the Small-Platers were gradually gaining the upper hand on the Big Hill

and another reinforcement had showed up in the form of a Shot company

 

only the disruption caused by the Tiny Woods saved the 

Small-Platers from being taken in the flank on the next turn

 

while in the center the injured but still dangerous Proper-Mealer Foot

 gamely returned to the fight, driving one Small-Plater battalion back from the hilltop

 

as more Small-Plater cavalry slowly appeared in the east they were thrown

 directly into the fight to slow the advance of the Proper-Mealer Horse

this is where the loss of the cuirassier commander was crucial, 

for two turns the cuirassier regiment on the road behind the 

Small-Plater Foot on the hill stood unmoving, awaiting orders from their long-dead leader

 

desperate to protect the rear of the embattled Foot on the Long Hill the Small-Plater Mounted Arquebusiers threw themselves at the enemy cuirassiers, they saved the Foot from a rear attack but were badly bloodied in the process, by this point both armies were beginning to look like punch-drunk boxers, still on their feet and swinging but increasingly unable to land a telling blow

 

in the next turn two critical events occurred, the Small-Platers won the initiative which allowed Hanz to turn his battalion to face the flanking attack and the remaining Small-Plater Foot delivered a volley that broke the spirit of the Proper-Mealer Foot to their front

 

to the further discomfiture of the Proper-Mealers the Small-Platers reinforcements continued to dribble onto the battlefield as another Shot unit joined the forces just as the combined firepower of three units of Mounted Arquebusiers drive off another Proper-Mealer Horse unit

 

the following turn saw Hanz lead his troops victoriously against the flanking battalion, driving it from the field of battle, this suddenly tipped the balance sharply in favor of the Small-Palters

 

the Middle Hill belonged to the Small-Platers once again, 

and most importantly there were no opposing troops to contest that effectively

 

in the east the Small-Platers had hung on by the thinnest of margins, 

trading space for time and rolling unusually lucky dice

 

at the end of the battle the Proper-Mealer left flank had been reduced

 to two  Mounted Arquebusiers regiments and one rather shaky Foot unit

 

in the west the constant dribble of Small-Plater reinforcements had been just enough to slow the powerful flanking thrust of the Proper-Mealer Horse and the Foot had been able to (barely) hold onto Long Hill, the loss of the cuirassier commander was catastrophic for the Proper-Mealers who would have likely rolled up this flank several turns earlier had he survived

 

the center of the field was nearly vacant,

 tended to by two regiments of Small-Plater Mounted Arquebusiers

       Duke Stephen looked upon the retiring Freedonian troops with satisfaction, the fight had been long and hard and he had been fearful of the outcome on several occasions, but Triumph had smiled on the arms of Ferndalia today. Through the clouds of smoke the young Hanz rode toward him, "See I told you that we would be victorious! I shall be king yet!" Stephen shook his head in amazement at the blood-spattered figure in front of him, "Your Majesty is injured?" he asked with concern. Hanz glanced at his bandaged limbs, "Just a nick, oh, and a bullet, and a bit of a pike....but nothing of consequence", he smiled, "This is a fearful thing we do, but I have never felt so alive as I do today!"