1600 – Something: Poles and Danes

The second action of the Summer 1603 was based around the Danish invasion of Poland. The Danes, in command of the Baltic, landed in Pomerelia, This was the result of long-standing Muscovite diplomacy in setting everyone on their borders against each other. The Danes had moved inland, and local Polish forces rallied against them.

Being local forces, the Poles were drawn randomly. This gave me a slight headache, as I drew 5 bases of winged hussars. Firstly, as local forces, I was doubtful that nearly half the army would consist of hussars, and secondly, I only have 4 bases. Another draw was called for, which turned up an army of 3 winged hussars, 2 pancerni, 4 light horse, and 3 shot, which felt a bit more realistic. The Danes, being a field army, had 5 cuirassiers, 1 mounted arquebusier, 2 pike, and 4 shot. I suspected that this might be an interesting mix of armies for the action, the Polish advantage in cavalry offset by the fact that a lot of them were light horse, and the Danish advantage in foot being narrowed by the quantities of Polish shot.

The terrain was a bit tricky, as well. Aside from the road, the Danes got the interesting bits, which also gave them a slight deployment problem.

Above, the Danes are to the left, their rearmost infantry regiment on the top of a hill, the foremost on the lower slopes. Their real problem is the wood, which has left their left wing cuirassiers looking a bit isolated. The Poles deployed with the winged hussars nearest the camera, covered by some light horse, and the pancerni on the other wing. The shot were in the centre, also with light horse.

The plan for the Danes was to stand generally on the defensive and let the enemy come to them, especially the foot up a hill, where I reckoned they would be able to stand against the Polish horse. The Poles aimed to get their foot into action against the Danish front regiment, where they reckoned a firepower advantage would tell. Despite the appearances, I did not think the Polish cavalry advantage was that great, so I needed the light horse to create some disorder, or preferably attrition, before the heavies could go in.

Sort of predictably, the wings turned into a very cagey affair, with neither side willing to commit or move into charge range. Given the evenness of the cavalry match-up, this seemed fair enough, and the light horse on both wings was engaged to try to create an advantage. In the centre, the Polish shot have closed in and are starting a musketry duel with the front Danish regiment.

A few moves later, and the situation on the Danish right, nearest the camera, is largely unchanged. On their left, however, the Polish light horse have succeeded, against the odds, in routing one of the cuirassier bases. The other is being withdrawn to the centre to avoid further losses. In the centre, the Danes have abandoned their defensive posture and attacked the Polish forces down the hill, with some success, although not decisively as yet.

It started to get a wee bit complicated. The Danish foot started to rout their foes, while the Polish general, sensing an opportunity, started to position a base of hussars to take them in flank. Seeing the risk, the Danes started their second regiment moving up. Meanwhile, the victorious Polish right has started to turn in towards the centre in the hope of further discomforting the Danish foot.

The above is a shot from above and behind the Danish rear. More of the Polish foot has been routed in the top left. The base of hussars we noticed last shot has charged the victorious Danish foot in flank and routed them (the Danish general survived), except for the left-hand shot base, which was charged and routed by the Polish right-wing pancerni. On the Danish right, both sides are still watching each other closely, while the light horse duel.

While great swathes of both armies flee, the battle developed around the second Danish foot regiment. The remaining Polish shot, now led by the general, attacked, not entirely successfully. Meanwhile, the Danish left wing cavalry, now in the centre, charged one of the pancerni bases pursuing some Danish shot and routed it. On the Polish left, things are still a bit static, while the Polish right-wing light horse trots around seeking a target.

Eventually, getting a bit desperate, the Polish left, although outnumbered, charged. One base of cuirassiers was routed, while the second base of hussars was repelled. As seen. The infantry fight was resolved by the Danish general turning a base of pikes onto the flank of the Poles, routing them, and also getting the general. Ouch.

Both sides were required to make morale rolls, however. The Poles were 10 points down and rolled for a withdrawal. The Danes were also 10 points down and rolled a withdrawal. Scattered and exhausted, both forces drew apart.

I suspect I made a few mistakes with both sides in this game. The Pole relied too much, as it turned out, on their shot. These did well but were never going to take out 6 bases of Danish infantry. They could also have made better use of their pancerni, once it was freed from their right. It was unnecessary to have both bases charge the lone Danish shot base they routed, and it left them vulnerable behind Danish lines. The final charge of the hussars could have gone better, but did, ultimately, I suppose, get them the draw.

The Danes were perhaps a bit too cautious. They probably did not need to deploy their left wing beyond the woods, although I was concerned about being outflanked. This was a correct worry, as they were, but it was not a serious as I thought it might be. They were also probably too slow to move the second regiment of foot up, which might have led to the unnecessary loss of the first regiment. Things to ponder, tactically, anyway.

Strategically, the draw means that the Danes are clinging to a toehold on the north coast of Poland, but the remains of the army desperately need reinforcements. The Polish field armies are, of course, currently employed in the Crimea, so it is quite a long march to restore the position in the north. We shall see what happens next….

1600 – Something: It Is All a Bit Crim..

In spite of multiple distractions, both wargaming-related (rebasing and pondering AI) and non (I do have a bit of a life which is not wargaming, you know), the 1600 Something campaign has now reached the Summer of 1603, and things have been hotting up.

Winter 1602 saw various nations raise more forces. The French replaced the army lost to mutiny in Champagne, while the Palatine raised a garrison in the United Provinces. The Austrians raised a second army in Bohemia, and the Danes a garrison in Jutland. The whole of northern Europe was beginning to resemble an armed camp. Along the way, the French critical initiative roll indicated that an advantageous diplomatic marriage had been enacted, which added 5% to their currently paltry GOOS score. On the other hand, the random event was a leader dying, who turned out to be the Spanish King. He was replaced by another monarch, with a new initiative roll (17), which made Spain a joint equal in initiative. The Poles got a move card, which they deferred until the spring.

Spring 1603 saw the French attempt some internal subversion in Spain, which failed. Palatine and Denmark were still busily raising forces, in both cases trains, because they cannot fit any more armies into their territories. The Poles got another move card, and so managed to move an army to the Crimea, with a supporting army in Little Poland. They made their GOOS roll with the Tartars there to boot.

By the Summer of 1603 turn things were getting a little complex. Austria tried some diplomacy, which backfired as a rebellion started in Bohemia. Even though the rebels got Bavarian support, they were outnumbered by Austrian forces, and a peace was negotiated. The Danes, being in control of the Baltic, moved an army to Pomeralia, invading Poland. The Poles, meanwhile, had subverted Sweden into attacking Muscovy, and the Swedes moved into Ingria. The English fumbled their initiative roll and suffered a diplomatic embarrassment, losing 5% from their GOOS score. And, finally, the Ottomans moved their army into Crimea, summoning the Tartars to their aid.

Given that the Poles had already made their GOOS roll with the Tartars, only half a Tartar army rallied to their overlords. The Polish army in the Crimea already had support, so it was 18 bases of Poles against 12 Ottoman and 6 Tartar bases. The Tartars were a card drawn army, of 3 light horse, 2 mounted arquebusiers, and a spahi. The DBR army lists have the segbans as dragoons, but given the Steppe nature of the operational area, I really do not believe that. Mounted arquebusiers seem to fit the bill better.

The Poles had 4 lancers, 5 pancerni, 4 shot, and 4 light horse, while the Ottomans had 5 cavalry, 3 light horse, 2 janissaries, and 2 militia bases. The Estimable Mrs P politely asked whether I had enough soldiers for the task, and I did, just about, borrowing some Mongol horse archers to stand in for Tartars.

In the picture above, the Poles are to the left. The Tartars are on the right, nearest the camera, while the Ottomans are on the far side with the cavalry deployed in depth because of the slightly cramped nature of the terrain. The Polish light horse and Pancerni, in their centre, are actually on a hill, while off to the left is another base of Pancerni and the Polish sub-general.

The Polish plan was to hold the hill, keeping the Pancerni on it ready to charge down it at any passing foe. The hussars were kept back on the left to pummel anyone who came close, while the shot were to hold the line of the stream, inconveniencing anyone who came close. The Ottoman plan was for the Tartars to cross the stream and deal with the Polish shot, while the cavalry advanced and deployed in more space, and the foot advanced to assault the hill.

The Ottoman plan went a little awry from the start. The Polish light horse, even though outnumbered, gave a good account of itself, and the Tartar horse archers were diverted to prevent the flank of the Ottoman army (their foot) from being exposed. Meanwhile, the Tartar mounted arquebusiers are crossing the stream while the Ottomans are failing to deploy due to lack of tempo points and the need to manage the light horse.

The way the ally system works is that the Tartars get 1D3 tempo points and the Ottomans get 1D6, while the Poles, being a unified army, get 1.5 d6. The Ottomans and Tartars cannot trade tempo points and have to make their own bids. This, on occasion, left the Tartars a bit short, and so their horse archers were picked off by some manoeuvring Polish Pancerni.

You can see some of the horse archers fleeing stage right, while the remaining base will not last much longer. On the near side, the Polish shot has caused some havoc among the mounted arquebusiers. On the other hand, the Ottomans have got their janissaries moving, although their cavalry is still not deployed.

As is normal for cavalry battles, quite a lot happened in a short time. On the Polish right, nearest the camera, the mounted arquebusiers have been seen off by the pancerni, while the rest of the pancerni, across the stream, have routed the rest of the Tartars, and have now turned across to flank the main Ottoman army.

In the centre, the advancing janissaries have forced the Polish light cavalry back, while suffering some disruption themselves. On the far side, the winged hussars have charged and destroyed not only the first line of spahi, but also the second. The nearest base has smashed into some light horse, while the next along has careered into the remaining Ottoman spahis, now with the general (who survived the initial onslaught).

In the next round of combat, the Ottoman light horse went down to the onslaught of the hussars, and the pancerni hit the flank of both the Ottoman militia and the janissaries, routing another 3 bases. This was far too much for the Ottomans, and the army fled.

That was a good game, and fun, with loads of cavalry hurtling about. The Ottoman tempo dice rolling was poor, and they never got their cavalry properly deployed, while the Poles always had sufficient for their needs. The only flaw for them was that the infantry consistently refused to cross the stream until near the end of the game.

In campaign turns, another defeat for the Ottomans and the rout of their army seems to indicate that the Empire is open for the picking. However, as the situation in the north has suddenly become serious, I am not sure the Poles can exploit it. Perhaps the Austrians, lurking on their border with the Empire, might take advantage.

1600-Something: The Advent of the Persians

Those few of you who have been following the 1600 Something campaign may have noted that the Ottoman Empire is coming under significant pressure. They are at war with Poland, and lost their northern army to the Wallachians. That loss sparked a round of diplomatic activity that led to a rebellion in Rumelia, which local forces managed to suppress. Then the Autumn 1602 move also gave them a Persian invasion of Mesopotamia. And this is where we have arrived: the Persians have invaded, and a local Ottoman force is blocking their way.

I have recently mused on the composition of the Persian army, and you can see it below. It consists of 6 cavalry, 3 shot, 1 militia, and 2 light horse bases. I picked these from my North Africa and Arab states collection, and I think it works, and is particularly helpful because they are all on sand coloured bases, which makes for easy recognition. The local Ottomans had 4 cavalry, 2 light horse, 4 militia, and 2 shot bases. Quite badly outnumbered in both cavalry and shot, I thought, but that is what you get from a random selection. It is, after all, part of the point.

The Ottomans, to the right, were in a sort of defensive posture. The shot and a militia base were on the hill on the far side; the rest of the militia deployed behind the hill to stop any outflanking efforts. The light horse was deployed up front, and the cavalry in two groups behind. The plan was to hold the hill and hit the Ottomans on the counter-attack with the cavalry.

With a distinct advantage in both cavalry and shot, the Persians went for a straightforward attack, with the infantry going up the hill and the cavalry in the valley. It should be said at the outset that the Ottomans had some of the worst combat dice in this game that I have seen for a while. I do not think that the outcome really reflected their deployment or capabilities; it was one of those battles that should have turned out differently, but did not.

It got underway innocuously enough, with the Persians executing their plans. The foot is advancing up the hill, attempting to shoot up the Ottomans on the top of it. The light horse is clashing in the centre, with the Persians driving their light cavalry forward to give room for their cavalry to advance. The Ottomans, due to a bit of a lack of tempo points, are sitting back a bit at the moment, and letting the enemy come to them, although they have shifted a base of militia from behind the hill to the top of it to face to onrushing Persians.

The crunch point is approaching in the picture above. The Persian fire has disrupted one base of militia on the hill, while the Ottoman light cavalry has suffered as well. The Ottoman general is bringing up some spahi to try to even things out, but he really needs to start rescuing what he can of the light cavalry.

Crunch was more like a bang, really. The Persian infantry attacked on the hill, and despite the advantage of the slope, the Ottoman infantry failed at every turn. You can see three of the four bases fleeing already, and the fourth hanging on by its cuticles, now downhill of the enemy. The Ottoman general saved one of his bases of light horse, but the Persian cavalry got to the other, and you can see it routing as well on the centre right.

In the foreground, in some better news for the Ottomans, their cavalry got the drop on the advancing Persians and charged. One Persian base has been routed (front left) while the other has resisted stoutly and, if the combat continues, it might go badly for the Ottomans if they get bounced. I told you the Ottoman combat dice were poor.

This, however, did not get the opportunity to happen. Both sides had to make a morale roll, and the Persians passed their rather easily. The base count for the Ottomans, however, was 4, which meant that their morale was a fragile 4 itself, and a poor roll dropped it to 2, a withdraw result. They clearly had had enough, and so the Persians were declared the victors.

That was an interesting action, I thought. I am still not used to cavalry-heavy armies, even though both of these had fairly substantial infantry components. The interaction of infantry and cavalry is interesting, too. Without pikes, I am a bit reluctant to expose the foot to mounted charges, so tend to hide them away in terrain. Thus, the Ottomans were up a hill. I seem to be in a bit of a defensive mindset, however, and possibly the Ottomans should have attacked down the hill at the oncoming Persians, which would have given them the advantage in the combat. On the other hand, they had already lost a base in the firefight, and I do not think the Ottomans had the tempo points to go for it.

Again, in the cavalry action, the Ottomans were a bit unlucky in the light cavalry combat, ending up with a shaken base, which they could not retrieve in time. On the other hand, they got the drop on the Persian spahi on the Ottoman left, but the day was rather summed up by the combat draw of the second base in its first round. Charges are supposed to sweep away the enemy, not get bogged down like that.

Still, it was a good game and not without its interesting points. Strategically, the Ottomans have now lost Mesopotamia, and the Empire is very open to invasion from the east. Even more worryingly for them, the Austrians are massing in Imperial Hungary, and the Poles in Little Poland. Still, they do have loads of money, and the rebellion is quashed. The next turn is Winter 1602, and we shall see what comes of that.