Pike and Shot
Part 2

Battle of Hummelburg 1680

Turkenkrieg Revisited

by Pat Condray

The second experimental game represented the Turkenkrieg of the 1680's using a form of KRIEGSPIEL or THE WARGAME, (perhaps debatably) less realistic than Kaiserkrieg.

In a general way the Turkenkrieg should appeal to the colonial wargamer as much, perhaps, as to the pike and shot fan. Certainly there was not the weapons disparity which applied to the Zulu War of 1879. However, the Turks and their subject/allies were generally less well disciplined than western troops and lacked pikes, boar spears, and plug bayonets in proportion. The janissaries were competent musketeers, well trained and more willing to resort to scimitars than the average 1630 musketeer was to draw sword. The irregular infantry used here had only scimitar and shield or buckler. They are not the armored but agile younger sons of the nobility who sliced up pikemen for Spain a couple of centuries earler. They are, however, a threat to the European pike/bayonet squares.

In this game the Spahis-regular Turkish cavalry, are rated marginally inferior to the run of European heavy cavalry in head on combat. In reality the disparity was probably greater but this permits a reduced numerical disparity. The light horse, whether dragoons, hussars, croats, valaques, or timariots, were treated the same. European squares and mixed infantry and heavy cavalry were credited with the ability to fight on after most initial melee reverses. In 5 out of 6 cases loss of a melee leads to rout.

Another advantage of pike and mixed infantry is their ability to advance into cavalry forcing them to fight or withdraw. This applies to light horse in all cases and to heavies when caught in flank, rear, or disorder.

THE BATTLE OF HUMMELBURG

The Turkish hordes in this game included 2 mixed infantry units, 4 of sword and buckler troops, and 6 of musket armed janissaries. The infantry numbered 21 to 24 fugures each. Turkish horse numbered 11 units of 6, 7, being spahis, the remainder I ight horse. There were also 1 heavy, 2 medium, and 1 light guns. I have never been sure whether each figure represented 25, 33, or 50 troops. I suppose 33.3 would do nicely. The guns with 5 gunners represent batteries of 4-6 pieces.

The Christians including Lutheran Saxons and an Anhalt contingent of uncertain faith, numbered 7 mixed battalions and 1 of musketeers with boar spears (the Saxon Guard) supported by 2 light and 8 heavy cavalry units, 1 unit of Polish Hussars, 4 medium and 2 small guns.

Opening dispositons are shown on Map 1. Owing to a shortage of players, I abandoned my unbaised reporter role and gave Bill Rutherford choice of armies (and sides of the field) which left me with the heathen Turks. The position of the latter was anchored by two hills on which guns were posted.

To the left I placed a heavy and medium gun at the top of a two level (cavalry speed reduced 4" each contour) hill supported by one of my mixed units, presumably Protestant Hungarians or some such. On the far right I posted a lone medium battery supported only by cavalry and the uphill factor. I actually figured that it would be lost if any serious effort was made on it.

On the plain I deployed a long line of cavalry backed by musketeers who in turn were "supported" by the sword and buckler types, behind whom were a few janissary detachments to encourage the laggards. The mad scheme was to let the cavalry go out and cause trouble if flanks and rears opened. Otherwise they would fall back through the musketeers, who would close if things looked favorable, if not, fall back firing. The second mixed unit waited at Hummelburg with limbered guns to move out and form a pivot for manuever. The sword and buckler types were to be herded over to wherever outnumbered and unsupported infantry could be found. My left was initially light on horsemen and I frankly planned to let the enemy come to the grand battery rather than advance on that front.

Bill did just that - launching 3 battalions and 4 squadrons straight for the hill (all Bavarians). Much to my surprise, the guns quickly fond the range of the Bavarian cuirassiers, mowing them down like wheat. The infantry was somewhat behind and separated, so it was possible, by sending over some Spahis, to cut up the surviving cuirassiers and overrun a light gun. In fact, the Turkish light horse overran a town behind the Bavarians and the Bavarian Foot Guard was briefly inundated by a horde of cavalry. However, after being beaten in a melee, the Guards retreated into a square that the Turks chose not to close with. The other units pushed past light cavalry foragers but with little effect.

On the right Bill formed a line of horsemen and advanced them from his left to in front of his left center. The line included a unit of Polish Hussars and several of cuirassiers, so I began to shift my horsemen left and right to "get on their flank" or "get out of their way", depending on how you are looking at things. The battery on the hill opened a continuous fire at, but apparently not on, the Polish Hussars, and the ominous line bore down on my "wall" of musket armed janissaries.

Since they were pretty useless against horsemen, and there were hardly any among the Bavarians, I shifted the sword and buckler types towards the left. They passed behind the mixed infantry which had moved out and formed square under the central hill.

The crisis came along very quickly. Quickening their pace the European horse crashed into spahis and janissaries along a frontage of several squadrons. Fortunately the light horse at the right of his line met spahis and were flanked by others. The latter, however, while victorious in the melee, went under 50% due to remarkably effective infantry and cannon fire. Three heavy cavalry squadrons crashed into 2 units of janissaries, which fired with some effect but stopped no charges and broke on impact.

By that time my flanking parties had reached the top of the hill on my right and on the next turn came crashing down on Bill's heavy cavalry-one unit of which shrugged off their charge, but the feared Polish Hussars, taken in flank by 2 units, gave way. Advancing Austrian infantry were by this time driving in some of the flanking light horse but were only in time to cover the retreat of the now broken cavalry line.

In the center the Saxons had occupied the low hill in support of 2 batteries, which, with 2 others on the Europeon left center, supported by the Anhalt contingent, were laying down a crossfire on the 2 Turkish batteries in front on the mixed infantry. To offset this, 2 janissary units, en route to attack the Bavarian infantry (or escape from the European cavalry) paused to pour a heavy fire of musketry on the 2 batteries. As I recall, 4 gunners fell on each side.

At this point, with most of his cavalry out of action, but most of his infantry more or less intact, my opponent conceded. Given the staying power of the European infantry, and the fact that no Turkish infantry was in direct contact, an orderly retreat seemed practical. Final dispositions are shown on Map 2.

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