Sunday, 29 May 2022

Burgundian Ordnnance vs Crusaders - posted by Josh Barton, 25 May 2022

This weekend I got to play Graham Starkey's Crusaders with my Burgundians. Charles was apparently invading the levant (no, don't ask how). The terrain was probably to both of our liking, with plenty of roads and difficult hills narrowing the fight to the right side of the board.
The crusaders began the battle aggressively, charging a block of knights and light horse out of an ambush on their far left flank. The mercenary bowmen and Gendarmes responded in kind, meeting the crusader knights atop a gentle rise. Unfortunately for the crusaders their mail was no match for the long English (Welsh) warbow and the archers killed two elements on the first bound of shooting.
As the cavalry engaged on one flank, the lowcountry pikemen were ordered to reposition from the left to support them. The crusaders had a large number of archers in the hills, but they seemed reluctant to attack the Burgundian lines giving the pike breathing room.
Seeing the knights in trouble, the crusader foot knights charged from their defensive hill to support them. They were too late to stop the knights from breaking, but they were able to gain a measure of revenge on the English archers and French gendarmes. Meanwhile the Burgundian gunners attempted to reposition a gun for a better firing angle, before giving up and leaving it close to where it started (talk about a waste of pips!)
On the left the tentative advance of the crusader archers met the remaining Burgundian defenses of handgunners and a smattering of crossbowmen. They were able to overrun the handgunners, but it was slow and costly going.
The battle was to be decided on the Burgundian's right however, as the Crusader dismounted knights buckled and eventually broke under the assault of the Gendarmes and pikemen, giving the Burgundians a solid victory.
Last time the dice were against me, this time... well two 5-1s right at the start largely dictated the pace of the game, with the crusaders on the back food from first contact. The one thing I noted to Graham after the game is that fighting the Burgundians piece-meal I don't think is a great idea, the small number of high quality troops can generally pull them through a limited engagement. Hitting the whole line in one rush stretches the Burgundian resources and can easily lead to a collapse (Alastair did this with his Swiss... twice). Whether the crusaders have the resources to do that is another matter mind you.
Positively this time the Burgundian gendarmes performed reasonably well, an unusual outcome, that I hope will become the norm in the future!
Ps. new phone camera 😃

https://www.facebook.com/groups/824840264342234/posts/2076711812488400/ 

[lots more pics on the Facebook group]






      • Greg Jennings
        Great report!
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      • Julian Hannam
        Beautiful figs. Good work
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      • John Edmundson
        The photos look good.
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      • Vincent Cholewa
        Admin
        Group expert
        Many thanks for the report, Josh. Bloody longbows! 😝
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        • Josh Barton
          Author
          Vincent Cholewathe more I play DBMM the more I appreciate how perfect they are as a tool. If you want something dead or broken up, Bw(s) can do it
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      • Russell Briant
        A Burgundian victory!?!?!?
        Your genre was a well written, eloquent and engaging batt rep, accompanied by artfully taken pictures in which the Gendarmes seize the decisive moment and wrench defeat from the jaws of victory.
        So I’m well shook
        Now awaiting news of the Persian defeat....
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