Burgundians vs Swiss - posted by Josh Barton, 29 August 2020

Another week, another Swiss army being aggressively neutral. This time my Burgundians got to defend against Bruce's Swiss with Blade(O) and Cav(I) instead of the Bd(X) of Alistair's army. In theory I should be an easier match up but there is still a mass of Pike to deal with!

I had spoken to various people and took various advice on board and came up with a plan of breaking up the pike block with light troops and trying to just kill part of it. Because of that I wanted a nice open field for the cavalry to maneuver around so defending was to my advantage. Through sheer luck also ended up with a very nice gentle hill in the middle of my deployment! Game on.

I started with the gendarme and cavalry command on the left flank, and an extremely weak right flank of just a few psiloi. Bruce deployed in a echelon formation, with his left flank the most advanced facing the thin line of handgunners.

On the first bound I moved my light horse out to block marches, and also moved to flank the longbow, but barely moved the column of knights. Bruce turned the pike to face my cavalry, breaking up the Swiss right. In response I turned by knight column and marched them over to my right flank to face the more aggressively advancing Swiss. The light horse and mounted bowmen would have the job of continuing to disrupt and delay the Swiss right while the knight, artillery and psiloi dealt with the forward elements on the left.

Things started off well for the Burgundians, with the longbow quickly killing the inferior cavalry and the light horse making a total mess of the Swiss right and center. They were eventually killed but not before the pike phalanx was broken apart.

The Burgundian artillery were also effective, killing several bases of Swiss pike in the center, further isolating the Swiss left wing who became bogged down by Psiloi. Both the Swiss left and right wings were close to being disheartened... All a Burgundian victory needed was for the knights to smash through the one deep line of ordinary blade and turn the flank!

Unfortunately, and as is becoming a common feature of my armies the gendarmes utterly failed. They lost every combat to the blade (O), and even being 6 - 1'd twice. This was enough to break their command and dishearten the artillery, who were beginning to be pressured by the advancing Swiss center.

As before the artillery held on for longer than they had any right to, killing several more Swiss as they marched up the hill. The lowlands pike also counter-attacked and took out a few pikemen from the hitherto untouched center.

It wasn't enough though. Charles the Bold was fittingly killed by a Swiss halberd at the tail end of the charge of the gendarmes. Shortly after the artillery command was finally broken down by superior pikemen, giving the Swiss a comfortable 23 - 2 victory.

Bugger.

I got a bit disheartened by the sudden turn the battle took as I honestly felt as if I'd done everything I could and things had worked out as intended, all I needed to do was roll higher than the blade and it could have been a hard-fought victory. As it was the kn(O) failed, I'm really becoming skeptical as to whether they're worth the 12AP, - I don't think they've killed a single element in the four games I've used them in. Still the Swiss are a tough army to beat it seems and there is no accounting for dice. 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/824840264342234?post_id=1596260977200155

The feinting knights. Sadly they would soon be fainting knights

Bruce's wonderful Swiss. You've got to love the colourful pike look

The Burgundians defending a hill. You couldn't hope for better terrain!

Sorry Bruce, I had to post this!

The Burgundian lights advance to delay the Swiss while the knights turn to attack the far end

Hopefully a killing ground for the 16 pike and 4 blade!

Italian light horse being annoying

The light horse brake up to ZoC the Swiss whenever possible

Zweihanders, easier to deal with than halberds (apparently)

The Swiss right flank becomes messy as the artillery begin to rain down on the isolate Swiss left

Ultima ratio Duccum

The light horse are surrounded, but they've done their job

A blur of combat?

The Swiss line breaks up as the Gendarmes line up for a charge

Ready lads?

Things are going really well for the Burgundians - the artillery are even able to kill pike in combat!

The Gendarmes charge in to the Swiss blade

meanwhile the artillery line begins to crumble. They did an excellent job again

Post Gendarme charge - the knights have broke and are about to rout, the artillery are on their last legs, and the Burgundian blade were not enough to turn the tide

• Russell Briant

  Keep at it. Getting your army in the right place for a normal distribution of dice to work is the key skill. Bad knight dice doesn’t make the army or what you are attempting wrong.

  Good old forward Swiss neutrality eh!

  Aggressive neutrality is the best defense....

  

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  •  · 1d
  • Josh Barton

    

    Author

    that and really big mountains

    

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    •  · 23h
• Allen Yaxley

  What did you do to the “Bruce”. 

  

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  •  · 1d
  • Russell Briant

    Allen Yaxley

     the “Bruce” is clearly showing his ‘my neutrality is being impinged on (by Burgundians living in Burgundia, within 200 miles of the Cantons of Switz - that’s practically an incursion)’ face.

    

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  • Josh Barton

    

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    I told him to smile 

    

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    •  · 23h
• Vincent Cholewa

  

  Thank you for posting Josh and hang in there. It sounds like you had a plan well sorted. With a line of 4 vs 4 combats with a quick kill in your bound you would expect the knights to win. Damn those dice 

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  • Josh Barton

    

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    Thank you Vince. We'll see how I go next week

    

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    •  · 23h

• Kelly Gay

  I think I can help. Josh, burn your dice and then buy new ones. Then roll higher than your enemy is every game from now on. 

  

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  • Josh Barton

    

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    haha they rolled really well until the knight got involved!

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    •  · 23h
• Dirk Heinsius

  Now you know how my Fatimids felt after facing your English

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  •  · 20h
  • Josh Barton

    

    Author

    good point!

    

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    •  · 20h
  • Russell Briant

    Josh Barton

     a good point along with many other good points travelling at 100 miles per hour will do that...

    

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    •  · 20h
  • Russell Briant

    

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    •  · 20h

• John Garvey

  They are just peaceful traders. They just want you to buy some cheese.....

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  •  · 20h
  • Josh Barton

    

    Author

    yeah but it had holes in it, and they won't accept refunds

    

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    •  · 20h
  • John Garvey

    Josh Barton

     I confess I have a Later Swiss army in 15mm. Actually, I have two.....

    

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    •  · 20h
• John Garvey

  Also, are you aware that there is an old DBM list convention that Burgundians are called the OTA, or “One True Army”?

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  •  · 20h
  • Josh Barton

    

    Author

    no, I didn't know that - what was it a reference to?

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    •  · 4h

Gerard Lelieveld

Sounds like your tactics were sound! Pike are hard to deal with. Knight charges go like that sometimes. A 6 one on the first combat starts a roll on that collapses the whole line. It can just as easily go the other way for the blade! Sometimes you can have the best setup and the dice god's have the last laugh

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• Russell Briant

  Gerard Lelieveld

   I’ve long wondered if dice gods lol or if they instead smirk, or quietly chuckle at dashed rollers?

  These and other important questions trouble me deeply... … 

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  •  · 5h
• Josh Barton

  

  Author

  Thanks Gerard, my dice do seem to leave me when I use the knights - I reckon it may be their Frenchness rebelling against an English player 

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  •  · 4h
• Russell Briant

  Josh Barton

   are you implying Burgundians are French! Sacre bleu! Non! Non! Non!

  That’s what their fight with is about - je non-Franc mon ami … 

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  •  · 3h
• Vincent Cholewa

  

  Gerard Lelieveld

   on a world much more disc-like than ours:

  “Gods play games with the fates of men. But first they have to get all the pieces on the board and look all over the place for the dice.”

  

  

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  •  · 2h