By the rivers of Burgundy

[Erpingham]

Chris recently asked for more folks to write battle reports so this is my contribution.

In that alternative world which is Medieval DuxB, recent developments have moved from multi-unit testing to time for a real fight.

I used the two forces which have been providing the testers, because they were on the table (the advantage of a permanent table).  So the Anglo-Burgundians faced off against an admittedly weak version of my Free Company (no cavalry and bulked out with ribalds).  Both sides mustered 9 units, with 2 lots of skirmishers with the Burgundians, 1 with the Free Company.

I went with the terrain I'd been using for the tests, with slight adjustments.  The Free Company had encamped on a hill in one corner of the board, their right flank covered by an impassable river and facing the main road.  They had placed a skirmish team to watch the ford from a clump of trees.  The Burgundians had pushed a force across the ford and formed on the line of the road.  A strong force of longbows and a cannon (!) deployed on the river bank opposite the camp.  Rather sportingly, they held back two units of MAA (it wouldn't have been a fair fight otherwise).

The action opened with the Burgundian skirmishers screening the left of their trans-riverine force while an assault group of two cavalry squadrons and Flemish militia attacked the hill.  The FC commander had just deployed a line of archers with ribald supports at the bottom of the hill (he was relying on a second line on the hill to tackle the inevitable breakthrough).  There was a minor side show between the skirmishers (the FC skirmishers were ultimately wiped out, despite hiding in their covert) but the main business saw the chivalry of burgundy hurl themselves against the first line.  Minimal casualties on the way in, flat, firm ground - pretty inevitably two FC units went down, the ribalds on impact.The cavalry surged round the foremost infantry on a spur of the hill but they held.  Meanwhile the Flemings, who had been screened by skirmishers, hit the second longbow unit, who broke.  Also meanwhile, the massed firepower on the far bank of the river had taken out the unit of crossbowmen covering the flank (though the latter wiped the gun crew).  Move four thus opened with FC 4-1 down in units lost (both armies with break point at 5).  Some heralds watching thought it was all over, to be honest. 

At this point, the FC MAA launched a desperate attempt to rescue their beleaguered infantry, surging down hill into the milling mass of Burgundian cavalry.  Encouraged (i.e. no longer suffering flank attack), the infantry rallied and in this move 4 Burgundian casualties were suffered.  Both  cavalry squadrons held but the tide was turned.  For the next couple of turns, the Burgundian assault team struggled on.  The support fire slackened without a clear shot.  Soon it was 4-3 with the assault team down to one weakened squadron, who had rallied back.  But the Burgundians were not to be denied.  The right flank FC infantry unit was on its last legs too, having narrowly broken the Flemings.  With the Flemings gone, they were open to the longbowmen  and a massed volley finished them.

So, an enjoyable hour.   It went from walk over to fine balance (it could have been 4 all at one point, resting on a morale test for the Burgundian cavalry).  But looking at the viability of the remaining units, the FC guys couldn't have come back from that point. They had no shooters left whereas the Burgundians had three undamaged bow units and two skirmish teams, so could have stood off and finished them by shooting if they didn't withdraw.  In terms of a game narrative, nothing particularly odd happened.  The history books will record that the Burgundian force had caught the routiers in their camp by the river and inflicted a sharp defeat, though not without losses.

If I was going to redo this, there are a couple of things I'd modify.  Better balancing the sides so two top units didn't have to sit it out.  Probably strengthening the FC side with more MAA.  One interesting variation would have been to dismount the Burgundian MAA and assault the hill on foot.

Addendum : Following feedback elsewhere, I've attached a sketch plan of the initial dispositions to help readers orient themselves.  Apologies for the basic nature but I'm learning as I go along.  I've put this together in Powerpoint, as suggested in various places on the internet.

[Patrick Waterson]

That is quite good, Anthony: the diagram looks tastefully done and makes the narrative a lot clearer - not that it was obscure to begin with.

[Imperial Dave]

very nicely written and the diagram is welcome and well done