Under Pressure; The Second Battle of Gruyere 19DEC1620

 

the Comte du Fromage and his generals

 

       The Comte du Fromage stood before his generals and raised a glass "To the health of his Majesty, Louis XIII, King of Freedonia, Ruler of the Western Seas and Guardian of the Faith" he exclaimed, the assembled generals shouted their assent and drank their draughts. "That being said we must now consider what we need to do to guarantee our own good health" the weary Comte intoned. 

        "Our army is assembled as one entity now, we have the town secured behind us but it's walls are ruined. I blame myself for that but the situation remains, before us will stand the hastily-raised militia of Ferndalia. Do not take them lightly; they outnumber us two-to-one and are well armed despite the rawness of the soldiers. They fight for their homeland upon its sacred soil against an invading army. I know Duke Ivan personally; he is a brave and ardent man who will spare no effort to drive us into the sea. We must batter that army into ruins to ensure that they will not molest us over the coming winter as we rebuild the walls of Gruyere and secure the port. As you well know the Western Fleet was supposed to be here a week ago but the winds have been persistently from the East and The Lord alone knows when that will change; we must consider that we will be left to our own devices for the time being." 

         There were murmurs among the assembled officers about the Navy and the wisdom of relying upon them  as a means of supply. The Comte squinted at them with his one good eye and growled, "I'll hear none of that, we all serve the King as best we can, ships can no more sail upwind than you can march on water. They will arrive as soon as they physically can, my brother commands that fleet and he is twice as brave as I am. Our job is to find a way the engage and defeat the enemy on the morrow." 

       He turned to the large canvas sheet upon which displayed a rough map of the lands just south of Gruyere, "We will use the town to anchor our northern flank and deploy all our cavalry on the southern flank to stop the enemy from turning us. The 8th and 9th Regiments of the Line will drive toward the enemy body to violently assault it, we cannot afford to become engaged in a firefight where their numbers can wear us down. Green troops fear the blade more than the bullet and our sudden onset will make them think of the comforts of home! The 6th and 7th regiments will bridge the gap between the town and the center of the line. Due to the vast number of enemy soldiers facing us we will offer them parole if captured; they are free to go but they will be stripped of their coats, boots and weapons before being released. We can't imprison them all and I don't care to stain the King's honor by slaying prisoners......that is a Nordlander thing to do. Now go, attend to your troops and ensure they have had a good meal before this long day begins"

       Ivan the Bitter saw to the billets of the late-arriving units. He would have to force a battle on the morrow and the extra manpower was most welcome. His only concern was the quality of the soldiers, three months training and they would be a force to be reckoned with; today they were as green as Spring grass. It sickened him to have to ask these youths to face the battle-hardened forces of the Freedonians but at least they had a crushing superiority in manpower. He ordered his secretary to assemble the generals at his tent so that they could consider plans for the coming battle.

      After the officers had been seated he stepped to the front of the tent, "Gentlemen, we have before a formidable task. We must ask our barely-trained soldiers to defeat the veterans of Freedonia on the open field.  Our men are willing, but we all know how easily frightened green troops can be, we will have to lead by example. I, for one, would rather die on the battlefield than have to explain my survival after the retreat of my men, I expect the same from each of you. Our plan is simple; we will engage all along the front to keep the Freedonians from maneuvering. We will engage in fire combat as our men are far better at shooting that drawing blood with a sword. As units tire they will be relieved with a unit from the second rank. Our Horse will endeavor to turn the flanks of the enemy while the Foot keep the enemy's center busy. We must absorb the blows of the enemy without breaking, fear is a contagious thing and we can't have our troops fleeing without fighting. I will not lie to you, this is a serious challenge but I have no doubts that you are up to the challenge." He raised his glass, "To victory" his officers echoed his shout.

 

the battlefield, in this view North is to the right

 

the left wing of the Ferndalian army

 

the right wing of the Ferndalian army

 

the left wing of the Freedonian army

 

the right wing of the Freedonian army

 

 

the opposing plans

 

 

NOTE: in the following pictures North is now to the left

opening moves, the Freedonians move rapidly to the attack, 

they are matched by the Ferndalian left who hadn't counted on such a rapid engagement

 

to the North the independent Companies of Shot scrambled into the ruins of Gruyere's fort

 and the opposing Foot moved into range of one another, 

far to the North the Ferndalian cavalry moved quickly to begin a flanking move

 

the next turn fire became general all along the line, the Shot Companies proved to be frustratingly difficult to shift while the heavy cannon on the Large hill battered the Freedonian Foot

 

 

to the South the Ferndalians were unable to stem the rapid assault of the 8th and 9th Regiments of the Line, the attached Grenadier companies were especially effective at adding additional impetus to melees; the result being that two Ferndalain units were broken while the 8th Regiment was pushed back on the brink of routing

 

despite being outnumbered the Ferndalian Mounted Arquebusiers advanced boldly against the Freedonian Horse, nearly turning the southern flank of the Freedonian line

 

to the North the Ferndalian plan was working; the 6th and 7th Line were slowly losing the firefight against superior numbers while the enemy Mounted Arquebusiers began to turn their flank, wear markers were reaching dangerous levels among the Freedonian Foot

 

 

 in the next turn, the breakthrough came to pass, the Freedonian Foot managed to dispatch the last of the Ferndalian infantry in the center of the battlefield just as the Horse managed to drive back the Ferndalian Mounted Arquebusiers, the center of the field belonged to the Freedonians

 

despite continued success on their flank the northern half of the Ferndalian army was now at risk of being pinned against the sea 

 

 

the center of the Freedonian army began to rapidly

 move to surround the remaining Ferndalian forces

 

recognizing their danger the Ferndalians battered 

the nearest Freedonian Foot unit with fire

 

on the southern front the Mounted Arquebusiers gave 

good account of themselves as they covered the retreat of the Foot

 

 

having pounded the 6th and 7th regiments the Ferndalians then 

moved rapidly to disengage before the 8th and 9th could join the fray

 

fire continued all along the line with the Freedonians having the worst of it,

 the 6th, 7th and 8th Foot were all approaching the breaking point

 

but the relentless advance of the Freedonian right  could not be stopped

 

 

in the next turn the Ferndalians deftly retired 

as the Freedonians spent the turn rallying their Foot

 

in the center a company of Grenadiers  moved to capture the guns but a selfless charge by 

the Mounted Arquebusiers distracted them long enough for the guns to limber and retire

 

the end of the battle saw the shattered Ferndalian army in full retreat, but not routed, 

the battered but successful Freedonian army following at a respectful distance

       The orderlies carried the wounded Duke Ivan to the rear. Shot through the thigh and cut about the head and shoulders the old man grimaced in pain but uttered no words of complaint, "How fare the men?" he asked in a weal voice as they loaded him into the wagon. Assured that the troops were retiring in good order (which was a deliberate but outrageous lie) he sighed and gave orders to pass the command to the highest ranking of his surviving generals before passing out.

 

        The Comte du Fromage held a meeting of his officers, a decidedly smaller cast than had attended the meeting just the day before, "Well done my good fellows, well done indeed! The field is littered with the bodies of our enemies and we have sent four thousand home on parole with nothing but their small clothes on their backs. Our troops well stood the fire of battle and the enemy will think twice before approaching us again." He raised his glass "Huzzah! Three cheers to Victory, three cheers to the King and three cheers to our bold and loyal soldiers!"

 

        The next morning a galloping rider approached the Ferndalian camp under a white flag bearing a package for Duke Ivan. It bore a note with the inscription;

 

                 Dear Duke Ivan, 

                           It pains me to say that I have only just heard that you were wounded. I pray for your rapid recovery and the regaining of your full health. Please find these humble gifts a symbol of my esteem and best wishes. Your well being will constantly be on my mind until I hear of your recovery.

 

             Most Sincerely, Your Humble Servant and brother-in-law, 

 

                                                      Etienne Sebastien Cervalles,

                                                                                Comte du Fromage