Troops on the table!

Today I got to send my figures to war at last in my new gaming garage, with my good friend Jamie.

We played out a fictional skirmish set in 1477, with the French occupation of the County of Burgundy and the subsequent rebellion led by certain members of the nobility. In this scenario, Simon de Quingey led a force of Burgundians and German mercenaries to intercept a larger French force under Gaston du Lyon - he had to hold out until Guillaume de Vaudrey arrived with reinforcements.

We played the game using my own homebrew set of rules, which went pretty smoothly I think.

I was able to take some photos during the game, and can give you a brief rundown of what happened. Perhaps in the future I can write up some more detailed battle reports. The photos came out really well, though I really need to hurry up and paint a backdrop so we don't have to see the garage walls!

Here's a pic of the game on turn one, with most of the French having just entered stage left. The Burgundians have taken up good defensive positions behind the fences and hedges, and are awaiting for de Vaudrey to arrive (he can be rolled for from turn 3 onwards). There's a clash of light cavalry about to happen on the left flank. There are also a few more French infantry units yet to enter the table, and they have a large heavy cavalry unit which can also be rolled for from turn 3 onwards. As it happens both sides reinforcements turned up very late in the game!

The Burgundians and Germans held their positions well under the leadership of Simon de Quingey. They had one artillery piece which managed to slow down and disorder the French infantry advance very effectively. The small cavalry clash went in their favour to begin with, but surprisingly the outnumbered French horsemen did manage to push back and drive off their opponents. When the first French unit reached the fences and attacked the German mercenaries it could have gone either way - they were outflanked by more Burgundian horsemen but held their ground, the cavalry retreating. They were then reinforced by a second group, but things went against them and they were routed, with Gaston du Lyon himself being taken out of action! The Germans had been badly shaken though, and both sides wondered where their reinforcements had got to.

Burgundians line the hedgerows

The artillery prepares to fire

The French infantry advance is disordered

The disorganised assault begins

Fierce fighting which could go either way...

Eventually de Vaudrey arrived on the Burgundian right flank with a large force of German pikemen. The French cavalry reserve entered the field opposite them at the same time. Rejuvenated by the new arrivals, most of the Burgundian line now surged forward into the open field. The French cavalry attempted a charge against the wall of pikes but were perhaps predictably driven back, and with too much of the infantry line having been broken or shaken, and their commander felled, things were turning against them and they quit the field. A narrow victory for Burgundy! 

The long-awaited reinforcements arrive

French cavalry hope to turn things in their favour...

The Burgundians and Germans surge forward to victory!