Introduction
Charles V, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, received word that a Lutheran Swedish army was preparing to reinforce the Protestant foothold of Swedish Pomerania, with the intent of breaking out into Imperial lands and expanding the Swedish holdings in the Empire. Obviously, this would not do, and so, during a period of relative inactivity on the Ottoman front, he mobilized a part of the Imperial army, backed by Landsknecht mercenaries from Nuernberg, to move north and check this invasion.
Charles V and his Gran Capitan, the Herzog von Hohenfels and the Duke of Parma, moved an army of over 3,000 foot, 850 horse, and 10 cannon north, beginning in early May, and reached the Mecklenburg marshlands in early August.
Meanwhile, in Sweden, General Gustavus von Weimar was given command of an expeditionary force of five foot battalions and four cavalry regiments (totalling 2,400 foot, 840 horse, and 10 battalion light guns), and chartered by the King of Sweden to secure the Mecklenburg area. Their intent was to liberate and reinforce the Protestant Duchy of Mecklenburg,landlock the northern Imperial holdings, and dominate the trade of the northernmost Catholic principalities (not to mention make the Swedes rich!).
Unfortunately for von Weimar's expedition, a late spring thaw backlogged the Swedish mercantile fleet, which von Weimar depended on to make the crossing to mainland Pomerania. He was unable to cross the Baltic until mid-July. The next two weeks were spent in provisioning the army in the tenuous Swedish Pomerian foothold.
Finally, in early August, von Weimar moved out with his army into the Duchy of Mecklenburg. Unfortunately for him, he came equipped with entirely heavy forces (musket, pike, and cuirassiers). He had few reconnaissance assets at his disposal as he invaded the Empire. However, trusting in God, he advanced as rapidly as supply train would allow. Charles V, on the other hand, had a considerable number of foot and horse scouts at his disposal, as well as local intelligence from the loyal populace. He was soon able to pin down the location, composition, and disposition of the technologically advanced Swedish army. Through careful maneuvering, he was able to position himself in front of the Swedish advance. His forces were almost undetected in the marshy area around the small hamlet of Oberkyritzbach. [Initial Order of Battle]
Upon initial contact (see map 1), the Swedish deployed in battle formation on the northern side of the battlefield, with the five pike and shot battalions (the two westernmost with battalion guns) on the west (or right flank) under General von Weimar, initially anchored between the village and a large patch of soft sand. The cavalry wing, under General von Kniphausen, deployed on the Swedish left in and around the sand patch.
Charles, having the advantage of terrain and surprise, deployed on the south side of the open ground. On his left, San Lorenzo de Escorial's light cavalry were ordered to hold the left flank of the army by moving forward in the sandy area around the left flank swamp, and dismounting forward. Almodovar's tercio (under the direct command of the Herzog von Hohenfels) was ordered into the woods in the center of the field, and ordered to hold it.
To the right of the forest, he placed Groningen's medium guns, and to their right, de Bobadilla's tercio. Charles placed himself with his Imperial nobles along the river, to the right rear of the Landsknechte of Nuernberg (also under his direct control).
Battle Analysis
Charles seized the initiative early by advancing his entire army, minus the nobles, forward into the attack at 1400 hours. Weimar held his army in position to await developments. The forest and sand on the Imperialist left and center caused the de Bobadilla and Landsknecte tercios to outrun the rest of the army.
About an hour into this maneuver, a signal went up on the Swedish side and the entire army began to advance. Leading the counterattack was the Silverspre regiment, which charged the Groningen cannon crews as they were trying to deploy their guns. The Landsknechte crewmen were forced to abandon their guns, but this left the Silverspre horsemen to crash headlong into de Bobadilla's arquebusiers, breaking into their formation (see map 2).
An intense melee developed, with the rearmost of de Bobadilla's pikemen attempting to fill in to their left to drive the horse back. After a half an hour of close combat, they drove the Silverspre horsemen back, but before they were able to regain their formation, they were struck by the Hepburn battalion (leading with their musketeers).
Meanwhile, on the Imperialist right, the Bernhard regiment had maneuvered to catch the right front of the Nuernberger pikeblock, when a timely intervention by Charles V,leading his Imperial noble knights caused a swirling cavalry melee. After several minutes of intense fighting, the Bernhard regiment was destroyed and driven from the field, and the nobles were left to regain their composure just to the east of the sand. General von Kniphausen had foreseen this eventuality and had personally led the Usfar regiment through the sand to protect the Swedish left.
On the Imperialist left, the San Lorenzo de Escorial cavalry were in the process of dismounting at the forward edge of the sandy area surrounding the swamp, when they came under intense musket fire from the entire Swedish line. Letting their hot, Spanish blood take control, these dismounted cavalrymen charged across the open and stormed the Winckel battalion guns, taking horrendous losses all the way.
At just about the time they were overrunning the gun crews (1600 hours), the Duke de Parma arrived just south of the village, after having circled around the swamp to the southwest. He personally led the Reiters' charge into the Winckel musketeers, which broke and fled at contact. The lancers circled around and drove into the Dolsland musketeers shortly after, causing them to break as well (see map 3).
In the center, the Hepburn musketeers drove de Bobadilla's arquebussiers into rout (who in turn fell behind the pikemen to rally), and slammed into the still disorganized pikemen. As they were doing this, the Landsknechte had reoriented northwest and charged the rallying Silerspre regiment, forcing it back out of charge reach.The Vastergoetland battalion turned to face this new threat.
By 1700 (see map 4), the battle had become a see-saw affair, with the victorious Reiters under the Duke de Parma slamming into nad being driven back by the Winckel pikemen (thus saving the musketeers). The San Lorenzo dismounted arquebusiers continued their pursuit and destruction of the Winckel gun crews, and the Lancers pursued the fleeing Dolsland musketeers back into their parent pikemen.
Hepburn continued to grind down the disrupted de Bobadilla tercio, driving them back on their rallied arquebusiers. However, the Hepburn pikemen were obliged to turn to their left and face the dreaded Spanish swords of the de Bobadilla swordsmen. The Landsknechte continued their charge forward into the Doenhoff regiment, which also evaded contact by falling back behind the rallied Silverspre horsemen. And the Usfar regiment under von Kniphausen continued their slow progress through the sand towards Charles' knights.
As the Duke de Parma's cavalry wing (with the now remounted San Lorenzo de Escorial arquebusiers) fell back to regroup south of the village, the main turning point of the battle occurred on the east end of the field (see map 5).
With the Hepburn regiment's breaking of the de Bobadilla tercio and supporting arquebusiers and swordsmen, and beginning to drive them from the field, the Herzog von Hohenfels decided that now was the time to commit the Almodovar tercio. Turning and reorganizing the pikemen facing to their left, he had them charge into the flank of the pursuing Hepburn musketeers. He attempted to bring the Almodovar swords to the east, but they were pinned against the trees by the Dolsland pike. The Almodovar arquebusier screen was also left in place to guard the pikeblock's flank from the advancing Vastergoetland musketeers.
Also around 1800 hours, the advancing Nuernburg arquebusiers,protecting the left flank of their parent pikemen, were driven into rout by the Vastergoetland pike. The Landsknechte pike attempted to charge the Doenhoff horsemen in a vain attempt to drive them from the field. However, they were unable to contact them and hence disordered when a counterattack came from the Doenhoff regiment, in concert with the Doenhoff musketeers (see map 6).
On the far right, the Imperial nobles, faced with being charged while rallying, decided to charge the Usfar regiment while they were still disordered by the sand. The superior weight of the knights, led by the Emperor, was all that determined the melee, with the Usfar regiment routing out of the battle as night fell.
As darkness overcame the north German plain, Duke de Parma made one more concerted cavalry charge against the Winckel and Teuffel battalions, but was driven off. Silverspre, now under direct command of the Swedish C-in-C, charged, drove back, and then routed the de Cavriana Lancers. The Nuernburgers were able to hold off the attack of Doenhoff and Dolsland's disorganized musketeers, as were Almodovar's supporting foot units. The attack of Almodovar's pikemen relieved the pressure on de Bobadilla, allowing him to regroup.
At this point, both generals sounded the trumpets for a general withdrawal to their own lines. Nothing of interest occurred during the night, but in the morning, Imperial scouts found that the Swedish army was gone. Charles V had succeeded in protecting the northern Empire this time, but the Swedes would be back.
Gaming Notes and After Action Review Comments
This clash of titans was conducted using WRG 2nd Edition rules, with 2,000 point armies on a standard two-foot by three-foot battlefield, as per the rules, and was played for 12 game turns. In game terms, Mark (Spanish/Imperialist player) lost 375 points to Grant's (Swedish) 672, a clear Imperial victory.
Both players enjoyed the large armies that 2,000 points allow and felt that this gave both of them enough maneuver units and subcommands to make for a complex battle. It also allowed for the ability to create a flank marching force (with the necessary sub-General to ensure that it arrived) without detracting seriously from the on-table force ratio. Grant very much disliked the size of the battlefield as too small for maneuver. Of course, Mark liked it for exactly the same reason.
Imperial Key Issues
The Imperial commander believes that the most critical item that affected the outcome of the battle was "Scouting--it makes a world of difference" (to coin a slogan). The fact that the Swedes were outscouted, while giving Grant the option of where to set up, ensured that Mark was able to analyze his strengths and disposition. Mark was then able to set up with a blocking force and distracter of the left to tie up the foot battalions, while putting his most powerful force almost entirely against the enemy cavalry.
It also allowed for a large all cavalry force to flank march in from either flank, which forced the Swedes to hold position without exposing a flank. This enabled the Imperials to carry the battle to their enemy's side of the board, which allowed routing Imperial units a chance to rally, versus the two routing Swedish cavalry units which exited the board before being able to break contact long enough to rally. Odds are that the routing lancer unit would also have been able to rally once it had lost its pursuers in the sand if there had been another turn or two.
Swedish Key Issues
The Imperial commander believes that the most critical issue was his lack of an aggressive pursuit. The Silverspre regiment charge with an immediate follow-up assault by the Hepburn battalion was very successful. As a Swede, he underestimated the effect of the Empire's best knights with a C-in-C commanding. The underestimation cost two cavalry regiments needlessly--the first by overconfidence and the second by undervaluing the effect of disordered EHC lancers with the C-in-C. He had hoped for a see-saw battle and perhaps a fortuitous win, not two losses.
The Swedish right flank was slow to retire musketeers behind pike in the face of enemy cavalry. Once the pikemen were in front, they repelled all cavalry assaults and set the stage for the Silverspre regiment and General von Weimar's glorious charge that broke the enemy lancers.
In retrospect, a more balanced even initial disposition would have kept the combined attacks on-going and the enemy off balance. The light artillery proved little value for their investment, and perhaps a small detachment of 12 musketeers would have made a better replacement, if not a small unit of cavalry. Imprudent cavalry charges cost more than he could afford. The Swedes were able to isolate, retire, and break enemy formations, but were unable to pursue effectively and complete the rout of enemy units.
Summary
This truly was an epic battle (with 2,000 points per side, how could it be not?) that was nerve wracking in the extreme, with the outcome hanging in the balance until the very end. It is also proof that a less technologically advanced army of lower average morale class does stand a chance if the conditions are right (or can be manipulated)--in itself, this proves the game system for us.