This is a report of a battle played in an ongoing Medieval (well, early Renaissance, really) campaign which I am running.

General Background

The game is set in Northern Italy during the 1480's. There are six players, divided into two three-player sides: The Imperialists (Hapsburgs) and the French (Valois). Each player represents an Italian tyrant who has allied himself with one of the above superpowers. Venice, Mantua, and Genoa are the Imperialist citystates, while Milan, Parma, and Ferrara are the French city-states. Each of these players began with three cities, with eight cities unclaimed.

There are 26 total cities on the map, which covers the area from Florence north to the Alps, and from Venice west to the French border. The game ends when one of the two sides controls 18 of the cities, at the end of a 6-turn gameyear. At that time, the single player on the winning side who controls the most cities is the winner of the game. There are two ways to control cities: By direct conquest, and by faction points. If a player has more faction points than any other player in a given city, then he has the loyalty of that city. Players can "lend" faction points to each other; in addition, players gain faction points by winning battles. Normally, players buy faction points at the start of each game year.

Troop types available are as follows:

Knights: Gendarmes in plate armor
"Light" horse: Commoner cavalry in partial metal armor, without lances (fight as heavy cavalry)
Foot knights: Infantry in plate armor, armed with polearms
Pikemen: Heavy infantry with pikes
Halbardiers: Heavy infantry with polearms
Routiers: Medium infantry with various handarms, usually low-quality troops
Crossbowmen: Light infantry with crossbows
Artillery: Heavy guns and light guns

The battle rules are a pre-publication set which we have been playtesting, entitled Flamberge. When a battle is to take place, I lay out the terrain for the entire 'operational hex" on a map of smaller hexes, each representing one foot across (perfectly fitting my Geo-hex. oddly enough). An operational hex is 13 feet across. Unless the game is a straight-up meeting engagement, the defending player may then select a battlefield covering an area 8 feet by 6 feet within three feet of the operational hex's center.

At the start of the game, each side must declare "attack" or "defend." An "attacking" side then has one day of battle (16 turns) to break the enemy's army morale. A "defending" side merely has to survive. If one side is attacking while the other defends, the attacker gets a +1 on its initiative die rolls. If both sides defend, then no battle takes place -- the two sides are just watching each other.

At the end of a day's fighting, if one side's army morale has broken, it must retreat, suffering some additional pursuit losses. If an attacking side fails to break the enemy's morale, but its own is still intact, it may choose to fight again for a second day. At that point, it regains losses as if it had lost the battle, while the defending side regains losses as if it had won the battle.

If both sides were on the attack, both regain losses as if losing. Any figures which became exhausted during the fighting remain exhausted on the next day. Exhaustion is sort of like being shaken, but not quite as bad. This process continues until one side's morale finally breaks. I have found the above to be a good way of forcing the players to commit themselves to an attack -- it is very frustrating to go through all the trouble of setting up the battle and arranging schedules so everyone can make the game, only to watch a 16-turn "do nothing?' battle.

Background to the Battle

This game was fought toward the end of the second gameyear. During the first year, the Imperialists fought a couple of minor battles, both victories, and consolidated their hold on the western side of the map. The Venetians also took a couple of cities. During the second year. the Mantuans captured Milan, and the Milanese captured Mantua. the Milanese were much the losers in this exchange, losing a major battle against the Genoese at Pavia, and eventual losing all of their cities.

The Parmesans and the Ferrarans were also lackluster in their performance (a lot of deaths due to illness, assassination! etc.), not really gaining or losing any cities. By the fifth turn of the second season, the Imperialists held a total of 17 cities, and were besieging Piacenza (loyal to Parma), where the remnants of the Milanese army (Dave Gibson) were holed up. If they could capture this city, they would win the game.

At the start of the fifth turn, the Parmesan leader had just "died" and been replaced by a much more energetic successor (Dave Richmond). Dave had forces at Cremona and Pavia, while the Ferrarans (under Arthur Brooking) had an army at Modena. Dave put together a plan to force-march and attack the Genoese (Tim McNulty) before they could breach the weakening walls of the city. By spending tax points, and cajoling the referee, the Parmesans built barges at Cremona to let their army cross the Po, and join the Ferrarans and Pavian forces on the south bank. this combined army then marched northwest along the Via Emilia, approaching Piacenza from the southeast.

Tough Decision

Apprised of'the approaching army, the Genoese had a tough decision to make. If they stood and fought, they would be fighting with their backs to a river (see Battle Hex map), with an enemy-held city on their flank or rear. If they withdrew, then the game would continue, and several cities key to the Imperialist cause (Brescia, Crema, and Bergamo) would be vulnerable to an end-of-year raid. After considerable thought, the Genoese decided to fight.

The Armies

The Genoese army consisted of: C-in-C's #1 and 2; Sub-generals #2 and 3; 10 grade B foot knights (unpaid); 41 grade C pikemen (unpaid); 22 grade B pikemen; 38 grade C crossbowmen (unpaid); 23 grade B crossbowmen; 17 grade B mounted knights; 33 grade C light horse; 12 grade C halbardiers; 8 grade C gunners: 2 light guns; 1 heavy gun. Total: 146 infantry, 50 cavalry, and 3 guns.

The Parmesan/Ferraran army consisted of: Ferrarans: C-in-C #1, subgeneral #1; 16 grade C crossbowmen; 13 grade C halbardiers; 9 grade B foot knights; 12 grade C light horse; 6 grade B knights; 8 grade L) routiers (unpaid) - probably not good troops to put in the front line! Parmesans: C-in-C #1 and 2, subgenerals #1 and 2; Milanese subgeneral #1; 6 grade B knights; 6 grade B knights (Milanese); 33 grade C light horse; 21 grade B foot knights; 29 grade C pikemen; 27 grade C' crossbowmen; 10 grade D routiers; 8 grade C gunners; 1 heavy gun. Total: 133 infantry, 63 cavalry, 1 gun Genoese inside Piacenza: C-in-C #1,2; Subgeneral #1; 9 grade B foot knights; 3 grade C light cavalry 15 grade B knights; 6 grade C crossbowmen; 7 grade C gunners; 1 light gun.

The Parmesans also had their depot inside Piacenza. They ordered this burned, and the smoke of burning food and war supplies drifted like incense across the battlefield. The Genoese set up their army facing southeast along the crest of a large, steep ridge, with the city itself on their left flank. (We used my daughter's Playmobil castle to represent the walls, with siege lines surrounding it one foot away). This made good use of their advantage in infantry, since cavalry charging up the hill would lose impetus.

At the start of the game, the French had to declare when (and if) the city defenders might sally forth. They elected to do so on turn 4. The Milanese light gun was mounted on the walls of the city, and took several annoying enfolding shots at the Genoese during the game. The French were on the attack. They set up with the Ferraran army on their right and the Parmesans on the center and left. In general, their plan was to attack the weaker Genoese cavalry with their own, then turn on the infantry in the center.

The Genoese plan was to advance with their pikemen and crush the enemy cavalry, then turn on the infantry. The Parmesans advanced with their knights in the center against the pikes, while their superior light horse drove back the Genoese light horse on the Genoese far right flank (farthest from the city). Unfortunately, the Parmesan light horse pursued the fleeing Genoese off the table. In Flamberge, when a unit pursues off-table, it is assumed to disperse to loot and pillage, and does not return to the battle. Drag, huh?

Battle

In the center, the Parmesan knights managed to turn about and retreat a bit, which tempted the pikemen down off their steep hill -- a major error on the part of the Genoese, as it turned out. While this was happening, the Ferrarans advanced near the city, driving back some weak Genoese defenses. Next to them, the Parmesan light horse in the center attacked a body of Genoese light horse, driving it back after a fierce melee. However, as the Parmesans advanced (again Dave's wishes), a body of Genoese knights hit them in the falnk, routing them.

This fight was particularly confused because the light horsemen had become intermixed with a unit of Genoese crossbowmen facing the sally from the city. At one point their were light horse, knights, crossbowmen, and foot knights intermixed, and also fighting across a line of fieldworks!

But the battle was being decided in the center. The Genoese pikemen had advanced to within a couple of feet of the enemy baseline when they suddenly realized that their flanks were entirely unsupported. At this point they halted and formed squares. Once in square, it is difficult to emerge again, so the men stood stolidly while enemy knights pinned them and enemy crossbowmen began to decimate their ranks.

The Parmesan general sent a messenger under flag of truce, offering to let the Genoese army leave if they would surrender their pikemen. The Genoese refused this otfer, and the battle played itself out. After three more turns, the Genoese army morale finally broke. (Army morale breaks when half of an army's point value is killed or routed). The surviving Genoese units began retreating toward their baseline, closely pursued by jubilant Parmesans, Ferrarans, and Milanese. All of the hapless pikemen in the center were killed or captured, and the Genoese lost two of their guns as well (they only got one light gun across the river to their rear in time).

Aftermath

When the dust settled, the remnants of the Genoese army were about 20 miles (2 hexes) west of Piacenza; the French allies did some pursuit damage, but with so much of their light horse dispersed or routed, they could not do too much. On turn 6, none of the players turned in a move, so all of the forces just stood.

As things stand, all of the players have done their builds for the third game year. the Imperialists, although somewhat downcast, still have about twice the money resources as the hard-pressed French, who find themselves in much the same position as Napoleon if he had won at Waterloo. The question for the upcoming game year will be: Can the Imperialists organize their still-superior forces in time to crush the French, before the French can recapture enough cities to put themselves firmly back in the game? I will turn in a later article to present the answer.

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