Renaissance Elizabethan Campaign Board Game: Tutorial Testing

Next up, wargaming , the Renaissance period, Elizabethan style courtesy of GMT games and The Virgin Queen (see below):

DBR is the designated rule-set, I sense many battles between the Turks, Spain and England. 

Is this the first Elf of Xmas? (Mystery)

Have I spotted the first "elf" of Xmas?

According to my Renaissance campaign friends no, it is a legitimate element of a DBR (Thirty Years War period) Army List (see below):

In the manner of a "competition without prizes" but bestowing prestige and praise from friends on clever or correct answers .. "What is it"? He certainly rides a strange four-legged beast, but some may argue there should be more white, of a snowy nature, on the base (see below):

Note: This is not a extra cast-off from the second Hobbit film GW collection!

I will be intrigued if there are any answers, next week I will post the answer as it was told to me, in a comment.

Have fun thinking on this one :)

PS Sadly I do not own this figure, which is a composite from legitimate historical figure ranges and purchased from reputable historical figure manufacturers, nothing 'fantastical' at all about it.

The Infantry Battle: "Many Face a Few" (Vienna Battle Part IV)

The battle drew to it's climax. 

My wing of horse 'pulled back' (tactical not cowardice) to delay any combat on my flank for as long as possible. My mission was to guard the flank of the Protestant guns (who had dealt death all day) while the infantry went in and won the battle for the Protestants Princes (see below)

My wing (above) was the one part of the battlefield where the HRE outnumbered the Protestants as in the centre of the battle field the situation was dramatically reversed (see below): 

The HRE troops faced a devastating "combined arms" attack as guns, shot, pike and mounted pistols all spoke (see below):

The Catholic troops in the centre were brought within a a stand of demoralisation and could not continue to fight it out at a distance (see below):

Meanwhile I was trying not to "lose any men/ground" or "give the HRE any glimmer if hope" as I prepared to face a HRE 'death or glory' charge (see below):

In teh centre the HRE commander decided that desperate times called for desperate measures as the HRE infantry and their "C-in-C's cavalry" piled forth 'while their morale was intact', hoping for 'sixes' from their dice and asking for 'ones' in return from their enemy (see below): 

It was not to be a day for HRE 'heroes' as the HRE  central command broke, ending the game and opening the road and this starting the 'Siege of Vienna' justr this time not y the Turks (see below):

Inches away from combat the HRE cavalry backed away and I did not even have to roll a combat dice all game, but still even as a mere spectator it was a 'job well done' and a satisfying game played to a conclusion in an entertaining evening (which is a big plus).

Closing to Contact (Vienna Battle Part III)

My "wing of horse" follow orders and "pins" my adversary within 20 cm to stop any 'march movement' away from the enemy and also protect the vulnerable flank of the Protestant guns which are blasting away at the enemy Pike in murderous fashion. I am tempted to charge in and turn the Catholic flank but that house is probably full of hidden musketeers (see below):

The Protestant infantry chase away the 'newly revealed' Catholic 'wing of horse'. As four legs is faster than two legs they disappear using multiple march moves (see below):

To my concern they reappear facing my side of the table. Perhaps this is not going to be so quiet for me after all. I pull back my Pistol armed cavalry and place my Dragoons in anticipation of holding off an attack on the valuable Protestant guns. My light cavalry are left as a harassing screen to stop this 'march move' nonsense going too far (see below):

A wider panoramic view sees my flank in the context of the central infantry assault going in (see below): 

The Protestant killing infantry attack is poised to go in. Already two Catholic artillery stand have been lost as well as a Pike and Shot unit. The Catholic centre is already approaching its break point (see below):

Next: The infantry "musket volley" and "charge"

Flushing the Enemy Out (Vienna Battle Part II)

The HRE target the advancing Protestant infantry and by scoring a good dice roll remove and enemy unit of shot, exposing the vulnerable Pike behind. First blood to the HRE (see below): 

Retribution is swift as the Protestant Princes target the (superior) enemy artillery piece and it is a troublesome gun no more. This does not bode well for the HRE Pike blocks. The Protestants have a 3:1 advantage in artillery now (see below):

My wing of horse are in no particular rush to do anything in particular as they suspect the built up area is teeming with hidden shot units. All I do is to make sure I do not occlude any potential targets for my artillery (see below): 

The Protestant infantry soon mount "the hill" to see what they can see (see below):

A wing of HRE horse that is flushed out of its hiding place (see below):

The HRE sub commander does not fancy his chances against the Protestant forces so uses his interior lines to retreat the left facing infantry along with his 'wing of horse' into the centre of the HRE position. At least they should be cosy and warm there!

Renaissance Campaign: The Road to Vienna (Vienna Battle Part I)

The HRE has detailed a force to side astride the main highway to Vienna. The rules are DBR and the HRE troops are roughly outnumbered by odds of 3:2. They have been instructed to "die hard" and inflict as many casualties on the enemy as possible. The HRE is not present but his thoughts are with his troops. Two infantry commands are placed on the board. The third (cavalry?) is kept off table as it is "out of line of sight" of the Protestant Princes (see below, leading off the photograph is a huge patch dead ground obscured from view by a large hill in "no-man land")

The Germanic Princes deploy their infantry mass (supported by blocks of Pistol Cavalry) to "walk" straight over said 'obscuring hill' to see what is over the other side. In the centre is a large cannon with two supporting guns (which intends to pick on some Pike Blocks) with the Protestant right wing comprising of horse (Dragoons, Pistols and Light Horse) in a "hold the flank role" (see below): 

My (Protestant) flank:

Three Dragoons with some very nice "rough cover in front of them", a block of six Pistols (the type that like to get stuck in rather than shoot at range) and four Asiatic looking fast light horse who again go hand-to-hand rather than shoot (see below):

Against the infantry block of shooters in front of me (in a terrain piece "to boot") I think I'll probably be watching most of this game.

However I cautiously advance to stop the enemy from march moving away, which effectively means keep something within 30 cms but outside of the 20 cms which is the Shot shooting range (see below): 

Meanwhile the "mass" of Protestant infantry steadily advance to wards the hill (see below, the beginning of the hill is just seen to the left of the photograph):   

Next: What lies over that hill?

The Thity Years War Campaign has now "Started"

The glorious campaign map from the GMT game (of same said name, i.e."Thirty Years War") in the flux of opening play (see below):  

Of extreme interest is the opening rapier like strike into the heart of the "Catholic" Holy Roman Empire by the Germanic "Protestant" Princes threatening the very "Gates of Vienna" itself (see below):  

Despite his forces being heavily outnumbered the Holy Roman Emperor decides fight outside the capitol in the hope of buying time (at least another turn) rather than by holed up inside Vienna like a rat, awaiting the simple siege roll of a dice (unable to effect the outcome). Her at least he stands the chance of inflicting damage on the attackers which ultimately may make his relief attempt easier.

So much for the grand strategy, what about the battle?

Next: Battle for the Road to Vienna

The Battle of Bedford Beetfield: 1644 ECW Hypothetical [7] Parliament Falls

Conclusion: 

The Royalist left command attacks, attempting to overrun a Parliament light artillery piece and in the process hold back any reinforcements to the Parliamentarian center. It all hangs on a dice roll (see below): 

The center looks terrible for Parliament, a clumsy looking Parliamentarian column has been formed in a desperate attempt to force an 'opening' against the Royalist line, but at the same time it is being massively outflanked by Royalist shot and pike (see below). Even worse is the fact that the Parliamentarian center is now worn to near breaking point while the Royalists have been carefully husbanded and are still fresh.  

The fight on the Parliamentarian right results into two rounds of "standing draw" where both sides avoided deadly do-or-die situations. A lot of dice rolls but no stands lost (see below): 

Parliament's attack fails and then the front ranks of Parliamentarian pike succumb to deadly Royalist shot and artillery. The center Parliamentarian formation breaks and becomes a huddled mass of struggling humanity, lowering pikes and asking to parley (see below):

And so Parliament fell in the year of Our Lord 1644 and the monarchy was retained ... roll on the next campaign (This time with tanks please and no DBx rule systems!)

The Battle of Bedford Beetfield: 1644 ECW Hypothetical [6]

The Parliamentarian Right:

Strategically the plan was to pull troops from the secure right flank to reinforce the Parliamentarian Center and be a form of reserve. What occurred was a comical sequence of marching "up a road" only to march "back down the same road" with a Pike Block. The C-in-C bequeathed only a few PiPs to this third command, which meant the 'strategic' plan stayed but a twinkle in the "mind's eye" of the Parliamentarian commanders. When the Royalist horse turned up and threatened the baggage the command was effectively pinned (see below):  

A minor fire-fight broke out as the Royalists tried to press a point but they suffered under 'bad dice' rolls representing good Parliamentarian marksmanship. The Royalist right lost two stands of shot recoiling into their own cavalry - by a quirk of fate dying by the very DBR rule which was 'refused or deemed unacceptable' to the other Royalist (Right Wing) command (see below, at one time there had been four Royalist shot). The less said about DBR's rules of 'recoilment' the better methinks ;) 

Finally interior distances meant that a thin wall of Parliamentarian Pikes sealed off the Royalist horses root to the Parliamentarian baggage (see below). But more Parliamentarian stands were being fixed in position by an inferior Royalist force, which meant ultimately the Parliamentarian Center was being hard pressed.

Indeed the center of the battlefield was looking very messy (see below). Gradually the Parliamentarians were getting worn down. The Parliamentarian Pike had been committed while the Royalist Pike Phalanx was  moving out from a reserve position lining up for a deadly "push of pike". The Parliamentarian command was forced to commit to several do-or-die combats, suffering badly from their absence of artillery.

To ensure no reinforcements could be committed from the Parliamentarian Right to assist the in peril center of the battlefield the Royalist Left gamely "did their duty for Rupert" and fixed the enemy (see below):

What would become of the middle?

The Battle of Bedford Beetfield: 1644 ECW Hypothetical [5]

Subtitle: Trying to get an answer to the question of WHY we play wargames and reasoning to find out when it is best not to play ones that disagree with digestion: 

After his recent run-in with the almighty (they were very God fearing folk in the days of 1644) the Royalist General leaves a "be back later note at the pearly gates" and decides to fight his way out of trouble (see below). The battle is confused and hectic and many more dice are rolled:

However despite numbers and terrain (where the Royalist cavalry were forced back onto the rough of the "Beetfield") were on Parliamentarian side the DBR "dice" go in the way of the Royalists and it was Parliamentarian stands that started disappearing (see below) urk!

The Royalists sense an opportunity to roll it up but somehow lose their "luck of the devil" General in a freak 'I read it in the rules' moment of DBR history - an odd/even roll on a troop type in an enemy/friendly bound that results in a push back being turned into a kill (or something) when 'the moon hangs over yonder tree'. To his great and ever lasting credit it was the Royalist player pointed this out to a bemused group of DBR players who were lost in the complexity of DBR arcane law. Reading the various sets of DBx rules is sometimes more "legalese" than common wargaming sense but the upshot was that the Royalists were suddenly within a hair's breath of going demoralised (see below, the Royalist General had been in the top left corner bit is now 'gone' to Parliaments amazement).  

If the previous picture showed the noble side of the DBR sporting player explaining 'how he died' the next picture shows the fictional "billimeter" nonsense that DBR (or any) rules can degenerate into. Any loss from the Rolyalist command now means "the end of their right wing", so when the little red horsemen (see below bottom left quarter) suffered a recoil from the shooting from Parliamentarian pistol and light artillery it should have been "Goodnight Vienna" as it recoiled into friends/enemies facing the wrong way, but the Royalist player invoked the "blind billimeter DBR defense". Groan ... my head started swimming.

(For those interested in the plain inanity of it all: The stacked up combat behind the Royalist stand in question was a recoil result of a base depth and the thing to remember is that a base depth is always shorter than a base width - as in "you can'na change the laws of Physics captain". The gap is therefore a 'base depth' wide and the recoiling larger 'base width' is trying to fit into it - impossible sire BUT the table and stands had been shuffled and knocked slightly in the course of play and the 'physical bases' weren't uniform size SO the very same "sportsman of the highest noble order" is turned into a HEELS IN THE MUD OVER MY DEAD BODY so after a long debate Parliament gave way [sigh] - this despite showing him the photographs above - we let it pass, but their and then I vowed to burn my copy of DBR and make this the last game I play argh it brings out the worst of a gamer, myself included. It is Impetus for now on for me!)

Did it matter? Nope, because next turn my mounted troops from the right flank swarmed over a Royalist hanger on was dispatched and the Royalist right wing command was now demoralised and broken (see below):

Thus ended a tiring wargaming night. For the record "no quarter" was taken over this last stand but the owning player of the figures stopped me short and said I was not allowed to break the figures off the base despite the urge, only kidding. 

;)

The Battle of Bedford Beetfield: 1644 ECW Hypothetical [4]

Parliament rolls high on their PiP dice (see below), but what can we do with them?

Parliamentarians from the right try and trundle to the left (see below) sounds vaguely logical:

Parliamentarians on the left perform all sorts of strange line out manoeuvrings (sounds more like DBx now), with the dragoons out front displaying reckless abandonment considering the proximity of the Royalist psychopathic cavalry (see below):    

Er, told you so, this is going to hurt (see top left) as the enemy Royalist General runs them down, ow! 

The infantry battle in the Beetfield closes in range so you can see "the whites of your opponents eyes" (see below). No stand losses more of a wiggling of the lines:

After mowing down one stand of Dragoons a second stand becomes a follow on target and thus seems bound to become a "speed bump" to the Royalist General's search for battle filed glory (see below). Being in the Parliamentarian army seems to be one endless learning experience of "what not to do" with the various different troop types at ones disposal! But there is a humorous moment as a Parliamentarian Light Artillery piece unexpectedly guns down a charging Royalist cavalry stand (see bottom left below versus the previous picture - two above): 

Things all get very messy, as the Parliamentarian dragoon doesn't "read the script" and inexplicably rolls good dice 'and fights the Royalist General to a standstill' so the Parliamentarian General tries to seize his moment and kill the opposite number (see below middle):

But it all goes horribly wrong (aka bad dice) as Parliament bounces off the Royalist General's armoured hide and another brave Parliamentarian dragoon alas dies (see below): 

The Royalist cavalry seems to have brought the luck of the devil with them.

The Battle of Bedford Beetfield: 1644 ECW Hypothetical [3]

Parliament scrambles to deploy "to the edge pf the world" before the Royalist Curaissier's charge hits home (see below):

The Parliamentarian right wing (me) tries to find something useful to do. The plan was to get its infantry as a reserve for use with the middle command (see below): 

"Bang" a crumpled explosion denotes the end of 50% of the Parliamentarian 'Heavy Cannon'. Not the time to roll a "one" when your opponent rolls a "six" (six below):

The "Beetfield" musketry dual commences. Nine Royalist shot to the eight Parliamentarian (see below):

The far left of the Royalist line of battle, a wing of horse and shot starts its journey to take the long way round to the Parliamentarian defended right hand side hamlet (see below): 

The poor old crop in the "Beetfield" gets trampled underfoot (see below) as the Royalist and Parliamentarian shot exchange "hand bags at dawn" and shuffle their lines:

Here comes the Royalist Cavalry juggernaut (see below):

Brace yourself 'Percy' the Cavaliers are coming.