I Won't Back Down; a battle outside the walls of Gruyere

        The Comte du Fromage sighed and looked up from his charts and maps, "What is it now?" he asked in an exasperated tone as he addressed the courier. The cavalryman bowed low and presented a sealed envelope to the Comte, "I would never have interrupted you but my General said this was most urgent".  The Marshall took the message, broke the seal and glanced at the the text of the communique.  "My good man you must see my cook for a quick meal, I want to see you back here within the hour". The courier bowed and withdrew.  

         The Count returned to his charts and maps, furiously concentrating on the dispositions of his troops and the map reflecting the progress of the mine below the walls of Gruyere. Unhappily satisfied that his worst suspicions were confirmed he sat down for a moment to gather his wits. After a couple of glasses of claret he called for his secretary, "It seems that our Frozonian friends have left us in the lurch, the Ferndalians are marching against us as we speak. We will have to cancel the assault and move troops to block the advance of the Ferndalains. Damn it! I should have insisted that we bring heavier guns! A battery of 18 pounders and these walls would have been dust weeks ago, instead we are forced to tunnel like rats beneath the ground. We will leave troops to cover the minehead but we will have to abandon the rest of the works. Two Squadrons and the Grenadier companies will stay; I will take the rest of our force and stop the Ferndalians. Leave word for the engineers to fire the mine as soon as is possible, we may need to have the fortress slighted if Fate treats us poorly".

         Duke Ivan "The Bitter" drove his men hard trying to cover ground before the Freedonian invaders could react. "March, my sons! The faster we move the less we will bleed!" He marched next to his green troops setting an example with his relentless energy, dismounting  and trudging along the muddy roads with his men. None dared to shirk their duty when a sixty year old Duke was marching next to them despite the soul-crushing pace. The miles from Cheddar were covered in just ten days at the cost of hundreds of stragglers but the Duke knew that time was more important than manpower. He needed to force a battle on the Freedonian invaders before Gruyere fell and provided them a base with access to the sea. The frantic messages from the city as they had followed the progress of the mine beneath their walls gave urgency to the Duke's normally impatient temperament; he drove his men not out of a sense of cruelty but out of cruel necessity, time was not their ally.

 

 

 

the Ferndalian army; left to right; 

three regiments of Mounted Arquebusiers, four Modern Squadrons (raw)

 and three further regiments of Mounted Arquebusiers

 

the Freedonian force; four Shot Companies,

 the 8th and 9th regiments de Linge (reformed battalions, flintlocks) 

the Fifth through Eight Regiments of Mounted Arqebusiers

 

 

the Ferndalians were still deploying from road march as they approached the Freedonian position, their foot were in a solid mass in the center while cavalry moved out on both flanks

The Freedonians placed the solid rock of their Regiments de Linge on the hill in the center with the Shot Companies spread to the left and the cavalry to the left.

 

 

The Ferndalian troops continued to spread out their formation as they marched forward sending a brigade of cavalry far to the west as if to march around the large woods, 

the Freedonian Shot Companies  advanced to begin the skirmish fight

 

            on the next turn the troops exchanged fire all along the line                         

 

in the following turn the exchange of fire went in favor of the Freedonians,

 particularly on the flanks

 

the sheer weight of numbers began to tell against the Freedonians in subsequent turns

 

but the battle-hardened regiments de Linge were able to drive off a battalion of raw Ferndalians as the Shot Companies boldly hung in the fight to distract the more numerous Ferndalian Horse

 

but the Ferndalians were not to be deterred, another regiment threw themselves fearlessly at the veteran Freedonian troops; they were defeated but the Freedonians were growing weary

 

the Comte du Fromage surveyed the field  and decided that he would be better off retiring behind his still numerous cavalry rather than risk losing critical troops in a gamble for victory

 

Duke Ivan the Bitter pressed the issue as best he could but the Freedonian superiority in cavalry covered the retreat of their foot in relative safety

 

        The Comte du Fromage shepherded his troops back toward the rest of his army, they marched with their heads held high, they had fought well and knew that the Marshall had only ordered the retreat to preserve their lives and military options. As they marched  the word spread that the mines beneath the city walls had been fired and vast stretches of the city stood defenseless.  Even a lowly corporal knew that this put the Ferndalians in a bad situation, the city that they had come to rescue was now without walls and the enemy army still stood ready a short distance away. The Comte passed orders forward to the troops still before the city that they should retire to the south a short distance and await the arrival of his portion of the army.

       As the Freedonians moved to the south Ivan the Bitter rode swiftly toward Gruyere, his heart fell as he crested a hill to see the walls laying in ruins. Now he would have to rally his young soldiers and defeat the Freedonians in the field, they could not hope to hold the city without fortifications. At least he would have a few days to rally his stragglers and resupply.