Back with the 1600 – Something campaign, you might recall that a defeated Muscovite army withdrew from Estonia to Latvia. The Latvians, given a failed Muscovite GOOS roll, were not too impressed with this and local forces rallied to see off the threat. You might wonder why the Muscovite army went that way, but this was because there was not really room inland from Estonia for another army, as a withdrawal to Novgorod would force the Muscovite army there into garrison. And anyway, the Muscovites still harboured ambitions for a port on the Baltic.
The Latvians, therefore, as a local force, drew randomly from the German Minor States list. They got four cavalry bases, four pike bases, three shot, and one light horse base. The Muscovites, given the casualties last time, had reverted to a wholly Muscovite list, consisting of six cavalry bases, two streltsi shot, two Cossack light horse bases, and an urban Cossack pike and shot base.
The terrain really did favour the Latvians, with a nice hill within their deployment area to put the infantry on, and plenty of terrain on their side of the table to make life difficult for the Muscovite cavalry. After some consideration, the latter decided to mask the Latvian right and centre with some cavalry and the infantry, and to try to overwhelm the Latvian left with light horse and cavalry.
Not much happened in the early part of the battle. The Latvians were reluctant to move off the relative safety of their hills, and so the Muscovites had to slog across the field to get at them. You can see in the foreground the Muscovite right hook getting into position. Lurking behind the trees on the left is the Muscovite general and some more of the cavalry, who are hoping to strike the Latvians centre-left when the Muscovite right has done its job.
As you can see above, an extensive firefight has started in the centre, and it is not proceeding to the Muscovite advantage. You can also see there is a fair bit of smoke drifting about, as I am using the rules piloted in the previous battle. The wind speed is 3, which is fairly light, and it is blowing from the camera side of the field. I am now thinking of adding some weather rules, but I’ll need some which are appropriate to different regions of the world.
The action proceeded with a lot more smoke hanging around. The firefight continued to go in favour of the Latvians. One base of Streltsi has already been routed, two more are shaken and stranded in front of the Latvian infantry. The Cossack pikes were left to their own devices and attacked the Latvians on the hill, only to be routed by the latter’s pike. In the foreground, the Muscovites are working on their cavalry traffic jam, hoping to get a charge in on the Latvian left.
Continued good shooting from the Latvians has seen off another base of streltsi, and the Cossack shot are rocking as well. In the foreground, the Muscovite general has charged with his cavalry up the hill. The Latvian shot have been driven back shaken, but, after initial success against the pike, the Muscovite cavalry has been driven back down the hill. The Muscovite general survived this (a first, I think, in the campaign), but the morale check caused by the fleeing foot has caused the Muscovite army to waver.
The end came fairly quickly. The Latvian shot, peering through the gun smoke, saw off another Muscovite foot. The Latvian pike on the hill, commanded by the general, advanced down the slope to rout the shaken Muscovite cavalry they had just recoiled, while the left wing Latvian cavalry advanced into the wavering Cossack light horse and routed them as well. A Muscovite success was routing the Latvian shot on the hill.
The constant stream of losses had sapped Muscovite morale, although a good roll (considering the initial score was minus 2) meant that they ‘only’ went to withdraw status. Conversely, a poor Latvian score meant that they wavered. The Muscovite general, incidentally, survived the rout of his cavalry base.
However intact, the Muscovites only have five bases left from the initial twelve, and so retreat is the only option. The Latvians managed to hold out, with the loss of a single base. I will have to work out what the Muscovite army does next. At present, I think disbanding it is favourite, as I do not think the Muscovites have the money to repair it, and there is not really anywhere to move it to to recuperate.
That was an interesting action, I think. The Latvian defensive position was always going to be a tough nut to crack for a cavalry army, and the Muscovites nearly made it work. A slightly better roll on the uphill cavalry attack on the Latvian main position could have given them the upper hand. On the other hand, their infantry was simply shot to pieces by the Latvians. This was just good dice rolling rather than anything else. As it turned out, the Latvians could have put their second pike block on the hill as well, and then the Muscovite attack would probably have failed more quickly. As it was, neither the Muscovite left, nor the Latvian right got into action.
So, in spite of their best efforts, and the help of dastardly French diplomacy, the Muscovites have, for the moment, failed to get to the Baltic coast. Mind you, they do have a fleet on the northern coast, but that is a bit hampered by lack of support, and being a Swedish unit that defected. It may have to disband, and Muscovite strategy might need reorienting away from the Baltic towards the south. We shall see.
Next along, I think, we have the Ottomans taking on the Austrians in Bosnia, at the behest of the Venetians. As I have just had two distinct defensive victories, some rooting for the offence might be needed. We shall see.
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