Gentleman Pensioners Sunday Game

 A couple of weeks ago I posted (link) that our Sunday game following the Phalanx Show would be an Eastern Renaissance battle.  What follows is a brief resume of that battle.  The situation was that an Allied army of Muscovites, Poles and Cossacks was trying to stop an Ottoman army (with some Tartar allies) from attacking the city of Kiev.

After a fairly ineffective exchange of long range artillery fire, the Ottoman forces began their advance.  The two Ottoman cavalry wings, preceded by a screen of skirmishing horse archers attempted to drive off the Allied horse archers.  In the centre a number of Azab units, both missile and melee moved forward, with Janissary units in a second wave.

Azab units about to cross the gully on the Ottoman right

The Ottoman advance was not very well co-ordinated (the Azabs could not be given brigade orders, so had to test unit by unit for movement), but did draw the fire of the Allied infantry, which was the Ottoman commander was hoping would happen.  One Azab unit did pay a heavy price, being routed before it could even fire it's opening volley.

An Azab unit routed by losses from artillery and musketry

On the Ottoman left, the cavalry battle was fierce, with several units destroyed, but the Ottoman commander was drawing more and more of the Allied cavalry into the fight. 

As the Ottoman infantry neared the Allied centre the Allied units were tempted to attack piecemeal, with varying results.

Ottoman infantry bearing down on the Allied centre

It was on the Allied left that the first real crisis came.  An Azab unit charged forward against the line of wagons covering the right flank of the Allied centre.  Through oversight, or ineptitude, the infantry commander had not garrisoned the wagons, so the only defenders were the gun crew.

They didn't offer much resistance and the chance was there for an attack on the flank of the Allied infantry.  Fortunately, the Azabs faltered and a small unit of Haiduk and a unit of Polish levy were able to drive them back.  The Allied left wing cavalry were also struggling.  After an initial success, they were repeatedly driven back, giving space for more and more Ottoman cavalry to cross the gully

The Ottoman right wing cavalry crossing the gully and pushing back
the Alliance left wing cavalry

In the centre, one unit of Soldatski had been routed, but a unit of Streltsy moved forward to attack the Azab advance.

That Streltsy attack was successful, the Azabs routing.  However, behind them were units of Janissaries and they proved a tougher nut to crack. 

Not invincible though, as a unit of Cossacks proved on the left.

By mid - late afternoon, after 4-5 hours of gaming the Ottomans had made some progress.  On both flanks their cavalry had the upper hand.  In the centre, although they had taken losses, the Allied formation had broken up with units making un co-ordinated attacks.  A third wave of janissaries and the Sipahi of the Porte were available to exploit any gaps.  For their part, the Allied army had committed most of their infantry and also some of their cavalry reserve.

The Allied left

The Boyar cavalry on the Alliance right are committed to hold
back the Ottoman light cavalry

However, approaching are the provincial sipahi

The participating Gentlemen Pensioners
Will, Chris, David, John and Steve

A most enjoyable game.  Thanks to Steve for hosting and organising things and to Gwen, his wife, for the lovely lunch.   Thanks also to Will, Chris and John who although not familiar with the rules made the game the success it was.

Gentleman Pensioners Weekend 2024

 The weekend of the Phalanx Show at St Helens is coming up soon.  Once again we will be running a game in support of the Lance and Longbow Society, this year provided by Will.  On the Sunday, Steve usually hosts a game and this year it will be an Eastern Renaissance 'bash'.

We will be using Steve's 8 x 6 table and almost 1000 25mm figures.  The battle will involve an Ottoman army, with some Tartar allies confronting an 'Alliance' army of Muscovite, Cossack and Polish/Lithuanian troops.  Here are a few photos of the initial deployment.

View along the table from behind the Alliance left wing

The Alliance centre flanked by wagons

The Ottoman centre, Janissaries and Spahi of the Porte

Ottoman right flank

Soldatski and Cossack foot

Hopefully, a report of the show and the Sunday battle will appear in a fortnight's time.

Return to the Steppes

 For our latest game, Steve and I returned to the 17thC struggle between Muscovy and the Ottoman empire.  Our scenario came from the 'Task Force' supplement to the 'By Fire and Sword' rules published by Wargamer Games Studio Ltd.  It includes examples of task forces for 10 states, from Denmark to the Crimean Khanate, plus the City of Gdansk. from the 1640's to the mid 1670's.

Here is a photo of the map for the scenario; the objective is to control the hills, each one being worth 2 points.

Each force had 5 units of light cavalry, two of which were allies; Cossacks for the Muscovites and Tartars for the Ottomans and 2 units of 'feudal' cavalry, sipahi or boyars.  For infantry, each force had a mixed 'levy' type unit and one of muskets.  The Ottomans had larger units of light cavalry, so the Muscovites had an extra unit of infantry, a small unit of town streltsy.

The Ottomans won the initiative and their infantry made good progress towards the central hill, with the two units of Sipahi covering their flanks.  On the flanks, the light cavalry were surprisingly restrained.  To the Ottoman left, one unit of Tartar horse galloped off towards the Cossacks, but the other remained rooted to the spot.  On the opposite flank, the skirmishing horse archers refused to move, but one unit of light cavalry did venture forward.

The Ottoman centre moves forward

Learning of the Ottoman approach, the Muscovite commander had been somewhat concerned for his baggage train and ordered his servant Cossack unit to guard it and had brought forward his streltsy to support the Border Dragoons.  This did give him some quality infantry, but it meant that he was now outnumbered in both horse and foot.  

On his right, the Cossacks saw the opportunity to attack the isolated Tartar unit and charged.  In the centre, the Boyar cavalry failed to carry out their orders to advance and one of them became disordered in the confusion.  This uncertainty seemed to spread the the infantry, who were also reluctant to move forward.  The left wing cavalry at least claimed the hill nearest them and the skirmishing horse archers moved around it to harass the Ottoman light cavalry which had advanced.

The Cossack - Tartar clash

Even with the advantage of a supporting unit the Cossacks came off worst in the first round of melee, only just avoiding being driven back.

In their second move the Ottomans pushed home their advantage in the centre.  The Azab musketeers took control of the central hill and the Sipahi charged the Boyar cavalry.  Both failed to counter-charge and took the impact at the halt. One managed to win the first round of melee, but the disordered unit of Boyars lost and became shaken due to casualties. On the Ottoman right, the light cavalry at last obeyed orders and moved forward and the two sets of skirmishing horse archers ended up in melee.  The Streltsy fired an ineffective volley at the Azabs and the Border Dragoons inflicted some casualties on the Levy which became disordered.  Once again the second Tartar unit failed to advance.

The Muscovite commander decided to attack the Levy and ordered the Border Dragoons to charge.  Although they moved forward, they failed to reach contact and then took casualties from close range fire.  The Streltsy remained where they were, supporting the Boyars to their right.  On the Muscovite left, one light cavalry drove back the nearest Ottoman unit, but became Shaken in the process.  The other moved forward to support the horse archers.  On the right, the Cossacks fighting the Tartars, broke and fled, but before the remaining Cossack unit could take advantage, the second Tartar unit at last followed orders and raced forward to confront them.  In the centre, one Boyar unit had gained the upper hand over its opponents, but the other began to falter.

Tartar success

Seeing their opponents falter, the Levy charged forward and got the better of the initial clash.  The Streltsy were ordered to charge into the melee in support of the Border Dragoons, but as they did so they were hit by a volley from the Azabs and suffered significant casualties.  Their participation was enough to rout the Levy, but both Muscovite units were now Shaken and within charge range of the fresh Azabs on the central hill.  On the right, the Tartars quickly dispatched the remaining Cossack unit, though both Tartar units now needed some time to reorganise.  The disordered and shaken Boyar unit routed, meaning that the infantry now had their flank 'in the air', but the second Boyar unit had routed its opponents and was now free to come to their aid.  On the Muscovite left, the light cavalry battle was swinging in favour of the Ottomans.  The skirmishing horse archers had been driven from the field as was the second unit of light cavalry.  This meant that only one unit of light cavalry remained.

A rare success for the Muscovites

The Border Dragoons take on the Levy

The Muscovite centre on the brink of defeat

The Streltsy turned to face the Sipahi, but this left their flank open to an attack by the Azabs.  The Border Dragoons could not help as they had pulled back to rally.  The Boyars charged across to attack the Sipahi, but lost the melee and became Shaken.  The Muscovite commander had no choice but to save what units he could and fall back to the wagons.

A thoroughly deserved victory for the Ottomans, who were quick to seize the opportunities as they arose.  Many thanks to Steve for an enjoyable game.

  

Blunders on the Danube: an eastern renaissance scenario for Pike and Shotte

 Another outing for the Ottomans this week; this time attacking rather than defending.  The scenario is set in the Danube valley with the Ottomans advancing westwards and Imperial forces falling back.  One Imperial brigade has been left as a rearguard to give time for a convoy to cross a tributary of the Danube.  The rearguard has drawn up in a narrow gap between two marshes, close to the vital bridge.  Hasty defences have been erected and the Ottomans are marching towards them.

An overview of the table with the Ottomans on the left.  A unit of skirmishers is deployed across the front of three units of levy with small units of tufecki musketeers on each flank.  Behind them are two units of janissaries with a unit of assault infantry in the centre.  In the rear are three units of cavalry, held in readiness until after the infantry have broken through and cleared the way to the bridge.  On the right are the Imperial infantry, three units of Austrian infantry behind the hasty barricade, with two units of Hessian infantry in support.  As a final reserve, a small unit of Austrian cuirassier were held at the back.  Some cheveau de frise had been placed in front of the Imperial position.

With a fanfare the Ottoman infantry began to move forward.  Some units of levy moved faster than others, but the units of tufecki made good progress and were soon in position to on the flanking units of of Austrian infantry.  On the Imperial left, the commander of regiment Herberstein reacted strongly to be shot at by the tufecki.  Exhibiting what was later referred to as "an uncharacteristic lapse of judgement", the colonel of the regiment ordered an advance.  Herberstein climbed over the barricade,becoming disordered in the process, but were prevented from reaching the tufecki by the cheveau de frise.  After suffering another volley, the remnants fired one back and inflicted heavy damage on the tufecki.  With their morale shaken, the tufecki were saved by the advance of the levy, which drew upon them the fire from Herberstein.

Herberstein and the tufecki

The cheveau de frise, which had prevented Herberstein from charging the tufecki, now saved them from the levy, who were halted by the obstruction.  In the following exchange of volleys both sides became shaken and the firing died away as officers tried to restore order.

Stand off on the Imperial left

In the centre, the Ottoman skirmishers had managed to find gaps in the obstacles and were now sniping away at the Austrian infantry, waiting for the rest of the front line to advance and clear the cheveau de frise.  They fulfilled their task of taking the fire from the defenders which would otherwise have been directed at the dense masses of levy.  However, inevitably, they had to fall back to rally due to the level of casualties. By then the main assault was ready and the levy swept down on regiment Metternich which was holding the centre of the defences.  The first push was held, but as more levy piled forward the Austrians began to waver.  Lowenstein advanced from the second line to support them, but it was too late, the Austrian regiment was forced to retreat disordered.  

Battle is joined in the centre

And the right is threatened

The levy surged over the barricade and pursued them, forcing the Austrians further back, they were only saved from destruction by Lowenstein charging into the Ottomans.

On the right, Furstenburg, supported by the light artillery were trying to hold against another levy unit.  The commander of the rearguard had ordered forward the cuirassiers to support the infantry, but they  found that the position was deteriorating.  

On the other side of the hill the Ottoman commander was having problems of his own.  His second line was lagging behind the first and his cavalry simply refused to move.  In exasperation, he galloped from his command position on the hill and over to the cavalry commander.  He explained in clear and concise language what the result of further delay would entail for the health of the said cavalry commander.  Clearly inspired, the commander ordered the advance and the light cavalry moved forward.  However, the sipahi remained rooted to the spot.

A rather terse exchange

In the centre, the Imperial commander was getting nervous.  Lowenstein had charged the levy unit which had broken through, but they were repulsed with heavy loss.  The only thing which saved the Imperials at this point was that the levy had taken heavy casualties and needed to rally before they could advance again.  This gave Lowenstein just enough time to rally and then fire a volley which sent the levy running back in rout.

This was only a temporary relief because on the Imperial right, the Metternich regiment, having dispersed the Ottoman skirmishers was now charged by the third unit of levy.  They fired a good volley as the Ottomans charged home but it was not enough to stop them.  Perhaps disheartened by this and events to their left, they began to give ground and this gained pace.  The commander managed to rally them but this left the cuirassier unit trying to hold off the levy.

Metternich rout

On the opposite flank the charmed life of the Herberstein regiment came to an end as a unit of janissaries added their fire to that of the levy and the tufecki.  This volume of fire proved too much and Herberstein routed.  Erbprinz were now faced by the janissaries who charged them.  Again a volley was not sufficient to stop the Ottomans and a brutal contest took place over the barricade.  The Hessians were isolated and had taken heavy casualties and failed their break test, routing.

Herberstein rout

As do Erbprinz

The defences had now been breached along their entire length.  The few Imperial horseman could not stop the Ottomans, the only hope was to retreat.  The Ottoman levy cleared the remains of the barricade away and the Ottoman light cavalry flowed through the gap. 

When Steve and I discussed the game afterwards we both thought that the levy units were given too many melee dice on our factor sheet.  Even with bonus for held cover the Imperial infantry struggled to hold their ground.  This will be looked at before we play another game involving the Ottomans.  An interesting twist was that in the previous two or three "Pike and Shotte" games blunders had been noticeable by their absence.  In this we had half a dozen, one of which sent Herberstein out of the defences.  Another curio was the inactivity of the Ottoman cavalry; the sipahi failed to pass a single command test all game and therefore remained rooted to the spot.  This is obviously an extreme result, which caused some hilarity (and perhaps a little frustration), but is unlikely to occur again soon.  However, they say the same about "once in a century floods/droughts/heatwaves" don't they.   

  

A small portion of Vienna, 1683

The inspiration for this week's game came from a post on the League of Augsburg blog. (link).  The game pictured was on a far larger scale than I could contemplate, but it could provide a basis for an experiment pitting our 'Grand Alliance' figures against some Ottomans.  Looking at the maps in Wheatcroft's "The Enemy at the Gate" I settled on Lorraine's advance close to the Danube.  The allied force was predominantly infantry (12 battalions, organised in 3 brigades) with some cavalry and artillery support.  Their task was to clear the Ottomans from an earthwork and then advance eastwards towards the main defences.  Opposing them was 1 unit of levy infantry, a small janissary unit, a small unit of azab skirmishers, one unit of horse archers, one of light cavalry and a unit of sipahi.  The Ottoman commander could call for supports, but what actually arrived depended on a dice roll when the reinforcements were due to enter the table.

Above is a photo of the terrain for the table.  The river is fordable for infantry and cavalry, artillery need to use the ford; the boggy area is impassable to all troops.  NB the cavalry in the lower left of the photo are not deployed there, they will enter behind the infantry.

For the Ottomans the objective is to delay and allied advance and give time for the decisive attack on the weakening defences of Vienna.  The allies need to make quick progress and draw forces away from the attack on the city.  Steve, as the allied commander, knew what troops he could expect as reinforcements and approximately when they would arrive.   As the Ottoman commander, I could request reinforcements but only had a vague idea of when I could expect them.  Once the appointed time arrived, I would roll a d6 and that score would determine which force, from the list available would deploy on my baseline.

The allied advance was slow and methodical with the infantry crossing the river without becoming disordered.  As they advanced, the light artillery came under fire from the Azabs I had placed in the building and both guns deployed to drive off these irritating musketeers.  Soon the gun in the redoubt found the range of the advancing allied infantry and the combined grenadiers began to suffer heavy casualties.  This eventually routed the small unit and they had to be rallied by the commanding general.  The grenadiers' sacrifice had preserved the regular infantry battalions from the Ottoman guns during their advance.  In an attempt to stop the allied advance, the Ottoman light cavalry moved forward.  On the Ottoman left, the horse archers threatened the infantry's flank and on the right the lancers charged the Danish foot.  A close range volley failed to stop the light cavalry but the casualties it inflicted reduced their resolve.  Driven back in the melee, they commenced a slow retreat, drawing back far enough to attempt to rally.  The Danes had not got off scot free, having suffered significant casualties.

The light cavalry charge the Danish foot

On the Ottoman left, the archers had been shooting at the infantry, but inflicting little damage.  With the allied cavalry taking it's time to get forward, it was up to the second line of infantry to take some action.  A few volleys were sufficient to force the archers back and relieve the pressure.  Back on the right the sipahi charged the Danish infantry.  Charging home through the close range volley they inflicted heavy casualties which routed their opponents.  However, they had taken sufficient casualties themselves to prevent them following up.  To avoid the volleys from a supporting regiment they had to fall back to rally.

On the far right, the light artillery had eventually managed to drive the azabs from the building, clearing the way for an advance on that flank.

By now, the allied cavalry had moved forward and made their presence felt.  On the right, the Erbach regiment charged the horse archers, who attempted to evade, but were caught before they could move.  It was a rather one-sided affair, with Erbach coming through unscathed while the archers fell back.  Erbach followed up, pushing the Ottomans back again.  Before the archers could recover they were charged again by Erbach and driven from the field.

Erbach drive off  the Ottoman horse archers

By this point the Ottoman commander was a worried man.   More allied troops were crossing the river and the remainder of the first wave of attackers was outflanking the redoubt.  His cavalry were still not fully recovered from their earlier fighting and the allied cavalry was pressing forward.  He only had one reserve, a small unit of Janissaries.  Then reports came to him that reinforcements were arriving.  Looking back towards the city he could see cavalry and infantry approaching their familiar banners fluttering in the breeze.  Assuming the cavalry would occupy the rampaging Erbach, he place himself at the head of the Janissaries and led them to the left to attack the allied infantry on that flank.  Charging through the close range volley the Ottomans crashed into the allied line.  In spite of their best efforts they could not prevail and had to fall back.  The enemy gave them no chance to recover, charging their opponents and routing them. 

The Janissaries routed

Fortunately the allied infantry had suffered heavy losses and needed time to rally before they could continue to advance.  In the redoubt, the levy ignored this reverse and stood to their front.

The Ottoman cavalry arrived in the nick of time.  A unit of sipahi charged Erbach, confident in their superior numbers.  They received short shrift from their opponents, who quickly drove them from the field.  On the opposite flank, the original unit of sipahi, now rallied charged the allied infantry and stopped them in their tracks.  The position there was still perilous, the Veningen Gendarmes were working round the flank of the sipahi and only a unit of light cavalry was in a position to stop them.

The Ottoman commander ordered the infantry reinforcements to fall back to the next line of defence, as to advance any further would achieve little and may well only serve to increase Ottoman losses.  He then mustered what forces he could and began to try and get them back to the main line of defence.

An enjoyable evenings game.  As you may expect, the allied infantry fire power could handle most Ottoman attacks.  The Ottomans could perhaps have done with more cavalry and they could certainly have done with more space, allowing them to threaten the flanks of the allies more effectively.  [A point made by Bruno Mugnai in his recent book ] .    Whilst compiling this post I happened to have a telephone conversation with my friend Alasdair, a former wargaming opponent now living in Scotland.  He said that he felt that even with his 12 ft table there was not enough space on the flanks to really represent the flanking tactics of the Ottoman army using 25mm figures.  Perhaps I should have gone for 15mm or even 10?

Some reading matter

Lockdown has at least given many of us the chance to either catch up on some of the books we have always meant to get around to reading, or to discover new ones.  Back in April, the Naval and Military Press had a sale and I took the opportunity to purchase several titles at a very reasonable price.  Volumes in the "Napoleonic Library" series were on offer at just over £3 each in hardback and it was impossible to resist getting copies of "Davout, The Iron Marshal" and the memoirs of Baron von Muffling.  One title I hadn't heard of before, but decided to take a chance on was Robert Goetz's "1805 Austerlitz".

 

It was a good choice.  The book covers the campaign up to the battle itself and gives an insight into the strategies followed by each side.  Significant events in the battle are covered in detail and accompanied by detailed maps which allow the reader to follow the fortunes of individual regiments or even their constituent battalions/squadrons.  The appendices include biographies of major figures,  a detailed order of battle and an assessment of the strength of the Allied army.  A thoroughly good read.

Helion titles were also available and I chose one volume in particular which had been on my reading list, John Barratt's "A Rabble of Gentility; the Royalist Northern Horse, 1644-45".  

Formed  in the aftermath of Marston Moor from the remains of the cavalry of Newcastle's Northern Army, the Northern Horse led a nomadic existence for the following 15 months.  They fought in Cheshire, the Welsh borders, the East Midlands and at Naseby, before their disintegration when cornered near Carlisle.  Their unruly behaviour and the desire to return to fight for the king's cause in the North, rather than close to Oxford, caused problems for the Royalist High Command.  Suggesting ways that rules could be tweaked to make some units more difficult to control than others perhaps?

One book that wasn't in the sale, but I had been awaiting the publication of was Bruno Mugnai's  volume on the Ottoman army.

At over 350 pages it is a substantial volume and contains masses of information on the troops, their organisation, clothing, weapons and battles.  There are copious contemporary illustrations, supplemented by the author's own line drawings.  I found the section on the Ottoman art of war particularly interesting, discussing the development of musket armed units to counter the armies of powers becoming more 'western' in their organisation and also the increasing influence of provincial troops over that of the sipahi and janissaries.  One thing that did let the book down was a lack of an index which would tie together the sections dealing with, say sipahi, in the separate chapters on organisation, equipment and dress. 

An Ottoman Raid

This week's skype game provided a first proper outing for my Ottoman army.  At present the units painted are primarily those which would appear in the provinces, rather than the main field army.  The majority of the infantry are levy, with a single unit of janissaries, a small unit of skirmishers and two light guns. There are two units of light cavalry and one of sipahi.  It was a fairly standard scenario with the Ottoman force raiding into the southern Muscovite lands.  The Muscovites have a local force of two urban streltsy units, two border dragoon units and a unit of servant Cossacks; backed up by a unit of Cossack cavalry and a unit of feudal horse. 

The Muscovites manning the defences

Outnumbered, the Muscovite commander has decided to concentrate his forces in a village, although one unit of border dragoons is holding a camp where the majority of the supply horses are held, there being no room in the village.

The field of battle before the Ottoman deployment

Informed by his scouts that the village ahead was held against him, the Ottoman commander deployed his force with the infantry on the right facing the isolated border dragoons the artillery in the centre and the cavalry on the left.  

The Ottoman cavalry prepare to advance

On the commander's signal the skirmishers moved forward, followed by the levy and then the janissaries.  The levy unit on the extreme right seemed to have been inspired by a preacher's speech as they surged forward chanting.  In no time they had left behind the other levy units and even the skirmishers, as they homed in on the border dragoons.

The levy advance with speed.

The Ottoman cavalry was advancing at a steady pace, wary of approaching too close to the village; indeed the Muscovite light artillery had already begun to fire at the leading regiment.  Concerned that his own artillery seemed to be lagging behind, the Ottoman commander personally led one of the batteries forward, though to be honest, his presence did not increase the speed with which it was advancing.

For his part, the Muscovite commander had hoped his cavalry would move over to support the border dragoons, but the Cossacks were reluctant to advance and the chance was lost.  The border dragoons had been firing at the approaching Ottomans but although they had inflicted casualties, it was not enough to slow the enemy advance.  They would need to depend on their defences to hold up the attack.  In this they were sorely disappointed.  The original plan was for two levy units to attack, but the precipitate advance of the right hand unit meant they attacked unsupported.  Even the skirmishers were unable to help, they had been struck by a volley from the streltsy and had to fall back to rally.

The Muscovite light artillery prepares to fire at the Ottoman cavalry

Undaunted, the levy closed up to the chevaux de frise, ignored the volley from the defenders and fired a volley of their own.  Although behind cover, the dragoons took heavy casualties and control evaporated.  The survivors took to their heels, abandoning their defences and running towards the village.  As they emerged from their defences and entered the open area near the village the dragoons offered a tempting target for the Ottoman light cavalry.  It was one they did not decline.  Galloping through the flanking fire from the village, they hacked and stabbed their way through the unfortunate Muscovites, eliminating them as a fighting force.  

The border dragoons rout

and are cut down

On cutting their way through the border dragoons, the Ottoman cavalry saw the Cossack cavalry and charged them.  The Cossacks were caught at the halt and proved unable to withstand the Ottoman attack.  They had to fall back to rally, but the feudal cavalry came to their rescue driving back the Ottomans.  As the broken unit routed back, the feudal cavalry followed up, against the wishes of it's commander.

One unit of ottoman light cavalry routs

Meanwhile the Ottoman infantry were beginning to bring pressure to bear on the village defences.  Still with their artillery lagging behind, the levy approached the village.  The unit on the left struggled against an accurate defensive fire from the streltsy, the central unit was fortunate that the cavalry conflict shielded it from fire.  The irresponsible advance of the feudal cavalry left them open to a charge by the remaining unit of Ottoman light cavalry.  This charge was met at the halt by the feudal cavalry, who absorbed the initial shock, but were unable to drive off their assailants.  Seeing an opportunity, the Ottoman cavalry commander ordered the sipahi to reinforce the melee.  As the mass of cavalrymen fought, they obscured the advance of the Ottoman infantry.

A general overview before the Ottoman assault

Eventually numbers prevailed and the feudal cavalry were overwhelmed, routing.  The Ottoman light cavalry were shaken and unable to advance, but the siipahi were in good order and, passing through the light cavalry, followed up their victory.  A dire consequence of the cavalry melee was that the streltsy unit which saw the feudal cavalry defeated became disordered.  This reduced their ability to withstand the assault by the Ottoman levy infantry.  The gun crew who had provided sterling service suffered heavy casualties and the remainder fled.  With their defences crumbling, the streltsy also wavered and a final push by the Ottomans had them falling back.

To the left of the levy the janissaries had also charged against the village.  After a fierce struggle they too forced their way over the defences, routing the streltsy facing them.

The defences breached

With the defences breached, his best units driven back and only a servant Cossack unit remaining to him, the Muscovite commander ordered a general retreat.  Fortunately for him, the Ottoman troops were more concerned with looting the provisions stored in the village than pursuing the beaten Muscovite troops.

An interesting first outing for the Ottomans.  We experimented with allowing a levy unit which rolled low enough to obtain three actions to go 'fanatic'.  The rules state that this advantage lasts until the unit goes shaken.  It seemed odd that it persisted even when the unit didn't move; so we decided that in future the fanatic status would only last for the move in which 3 actions were obtained.