Bourguignonne Marches! 22JUN1621

        Having spent 1620 training and re-arming (and desperately trying to develop some effective cavalry) the Regency Council For The Proper Meal (a.k.a. RCFTPM, or more commonly, "The Council") had decided on a strategy to block the Ferndalain invasion of northern Gluttonia by marching north and cutting the supply lines running west out of Mozzarella. To put this plan into action they assigned three fully equipped and trained tercios  and two brigades of newly-minted Mounted Arquebusiers. Leading this formidable force was the renown General,  Luis Francisco de Benavides Carrillo de Toledo, better known by his title; Marquis of Caracena, or simply Caracena. Leader of the forces of Bourguignonne during the famous Battle of Hamburg in1619 he had been the mastermind behind the training and equipping of two new tercios and the establishment of a mounted arm to compliment the hard-hitting foot troops.

 

the  Marquis of Caracena

        Caracena looked at the rows of corpses at his feet and wept, his brave soldiers has been sacrificed to the "wisdom" of The Council. He turned to adjutant and swore, "If only the wise men who sit on their asses and tell us how to fight would have allowed me to bring some heavy guns those forts would have fallen without a loss to our side." He waved his hand dramatically toward the hundreds of fallen soldiers, "Instead we lose time and make martyrs, Damn them, damn them all!". He looked at the dusty columns forming up under the harsh June sun. "Now we have lost the initiative, the Ferndalians know we are coming and are certain to have a warm welcome prepared".

       Duke Stephen "The Jovial" read the note he had been presented with a knitted brow. "It seems that Bourguignonne has awakened from it's slumbers. Mankowski was wise to build that fort on the road through the mountains." He looked up at his generals and a grin spread across his face, "And our artillery has arrived just in time to give those Proper-Mealers  a full helping of cannon balls! There is but one way that they can approach us, deploy the troops and position the cannon between the infantry formations, we will see just how bold they are with a belly full of iron!"

 

the forces of Bourguignonne, three full-strength Tercios and two cavalry brigades

opposing them the Ferndalian force, four medium cannon, three battalions of foot and two strong brigades of heavy cuirassiers with a company of halbardiers hidden in the village

 

the Tercios moved ahead at a rapid pace seeking the melee they knew they would win, 

the cavalry rode forward tepidly covering the infantry's flanks

 

having little fear of their newly-formed opponents the Ferndalian cuirassiers charged boldly forward driving off one regiment and pushing back the other

 

on the other flank things were moving rather slower 

as the Bourguignonne Horse were hiding behind a woods

 

 

cannon fire disordered the left hand Tercio the halbardiers swiftly 

took advantage of the gaps in the ranks to deliver a crushing charge

 

 

this caused a sight rarely seen in Epicurea, a Tercio in full flight from a melee

I made the situation worse by failing to pass me Discipline check

 leaving the troops to rout away from the battle

 

in the same turn the cuirassiers caught an arquebusier unit and destroyed it

things were not looking good for Buorguignonne

 

 

despite all this the other two tercios plowed majestically forward

 

at this moment I managed to get all of my generals to fail their Orders test

 and left my troops without leadership of any sort

 

 

the Ferndalians finished off the remains of the Buorguignonne cavalry 

leaving the two surviving tercios surrounded in a sea of enemies

 

battered by the relentless fire of the cannon and now lashed by the musketry of three enemy battalions the foremost tercio broke and swept away the laggard formation

        Duke Stephen dismounted and with a loud laugh  ran toward the smoking cannon, "My sweet children you surpass my dreams!" he leaned over and kisses the cannon before sweeping up a gunner in arms and hugging him breathless. "See them run! The vaunted Tercios of Bourguignonne! Frightened away by the work-a-day mechanics of Ferndalia! Vodka for all my men and double for my gunners!"