Later Polish vs Italian Condotta (Milanese) - posted by Vince Cholewa, 9 January 2022

A big thank you to Pedagogue Et Al (a.k.a. Wayne Watts) for our game at the Hutt Club yesterday. A good win to Wayne, 25-0, and very much the blowing out of cobwebs I needed to (hopefully) not embarrass myself at the Featherston Grand Prix (Waitangi Day weekend, February 5-6). I used later Polish and Wayne used Milanese from the Italian Condotta list. We played 400AP on an 8'x5' table.

It was good practice for me to have to deploy first on a table dense with difficult going: a 1FE marsh, a maximum size 1FE BUA, 1FE and 1/2FE vineyards, and a 1/2FE orchard. There was also a gentle hill in the middle of Wayne's deployment area, hard up against the BUA and touching the base edge.

Really importantly, something for me to remember, again, impetuous knight sub-generals need to do at least one PIP point of something. Yesterday's wee disaster included a sub-general, who I had not held or moved, bursting through two of his own command's elements of knights, who were then spent!

Overall, I think my plan of pushing forward on my left, the more open side, and flank marching on that side was okay. My execution, however, was not good. Poor PIP dice throughout most of the game did not help but, of course, an important part of the game is how we adapt our plans to the PIPs.

On my right, Wayne had refused that flank, using Swiss Ps(S) handgunners in the BUA and horde (O) on the hill to control the centre. A small reserve of condottieri knights were on the hill above the horde. I fluffed around on this flank: There was a possible way to storm the hill - too risky, so I fell back; then the condottieri reserve moved towards my left where my attack was building - I went forward around the BUA towards the hill again. The hokie tokie manoeuvre is seldom a good one! By then, my command was in three groups and, to rub salt into the wound, I rolled one PIP, forgot the sub-general was impetuous and he burst through his own knights. This took the pressure off Wayne's flank and he could advance the 16 Swiss pike down the middle with no fear of their flank being turned and they broke my command in front of them.

On my left, my flank march (six Lithuanian light horse, one cavalry and their sub-general) rolled 5 on the fifth bound but rolled one in the sixth bound so could not come on, then rolled two in the seventh bound so could only march on once in one group. The right place but too late.

My manoeuvring on this flank had been barely okay at best and I had taken casualties I did not need to, and had missed opportunities I could have taken. My centre breaking was enough to break my left and my total losses were then one ME over half.

Great to chat with Wayne during and after the game, and thank you again for the suggestions and providing an excellent example of how to handle a medieval army.

See you all at Featherston

https://www.facebook.com/groups/824840264342234/posts/1977000995792816 

Selfie! Me and Wayne.

Wayne, thinking, and a view of the table showing the density of terrain. I prefer a billiard table!

Same bound, with this pic down the table from my right flank where my flank match would, eventually, arrive.

Swiss mercenaries

Italian crossbowmen in the front with the Milanese CnC and condottiere knights behind

The horde on the hill

Shawn Comrie

My Gallic DBM army is almost all impetuous. I've often found I needed more skill to control my own army instead of fighting the enemy! Thanks for your detailed description. Lovely figures and table.

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•  · 16h
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  Vincent Cholewa

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  Shawn Comrie many thanks. I hope to do better at the Greytown Grand Prix!

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  •  · 14h
• Shawn Comrie

  Good luck. Losing has the advantage that you tend to learn more then win you win all the time. I've been playing a guy in Australia on the WGCG world ladder, Fog2 online and lost 4 close games in a row. When I looked at his position on the ladder he is 2nd and I am about 191! (Feel bit better about it now;)

  

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    Vincent Cholewa

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    Shawn Comrie absolutely! I learn far more from my losses than my wins.