'Oi That’s My Pig!', a Dark Ages game using Dux Bellorum

Editors Note: Ok I know these are Vikings, but who illustrates Scots and Angles raiding?

Setting:

A band of 'Scottish Persons' have been 'Biden' their time and have now illegally crossed the border through a gap in the old roman wall, it’s a lovely wall, probably the best ever; the weather is both bitterly cold and wet but this hasn’t deterred them, not even the presence of 'Ice' stopped them. Once across they head south as fast their furry feet can take them (I don’t know any Scottish people but as I live in Wales I assume there’s not much difference between our Celtic cousins), looking for warmer climes and something to steal/permanently borrow. As they near a small fishing village they can see a glow in the distance …. Is it the warning beacons or just the forest on fire because someone forgot to refill the duck pond?

The game starts as they approach the village, their scouts tell them that it is weakly defended and full of pretty animals (sorry that should read plump).

And So:

The Beacons are lit, Grimsby calls for aid! Will Rochdale answer the call?

With the terrain causing problems the Scottish raiders split into two roughly similar groups trying where possible to group move so as to get into the village as quickly as they could before help arrived. The mounted skirmishers rode out on the left wing with their eyes on some cattle at the far end of the village whilst the infantry advanced on the village. What defenders there were formed up into a shieldwall and chose a blocking position and hoped for the best.

The game would be determined by how many of the animals the Scots could grab and get back off their table edge with each figure counting as one point.

The villagers skirmishers were soon cut down by their opposition but the shieldwall stoutly defended the entrance way, giving ground slowly despite facing two groups of warriors and it needed the General's companions attacking from behind to finally end their valiant resistance.

With the village cleared it was every man for himself as figures split off from their groups to snatch any animals they could get their hands on, as the pig pen was broken into a cry was heard, 'Oi that’s my pig !' as the umpire decreed that one particular porker was worth double points.

Noticing a stand of six cats guarded by someone looking suspiciously like the club president after having fallen down a well and possibly still living in it; a single raider made a grab for the animals. Very little of him remained afterwards and no one made that mistake again (a straight dice throw determined the winner, the raiders bag contained a collection of variously numbered D6’s, the umpire's contained D20’s). Well at least I was having fun.

By now the first groups or reinforcements had arrived, the Scottish mounted skirmishers never made it to the cattle as they fell under a hail of arrows but the terrain hindered both sides and the Angles arrived into the village in dribs and drabs. One group on the right wing managed to save a few of the sheep as their new owners struggled to get them away and then faced off against a Scottish unit across a stream, despite being Noble warriors they couldn’t force their opponents back and vice versa with both sides trying to cross and getting pushed back losing figures as they did so.

The Angles recaptured the now almost deserted village destroying the remaining raiders acting as a rearguard and pushed on after the retreating Scots.

Meanwhile on the Angles left wing more reinforcements had arrived threatening to cut off the Scots but again hindered by the terrain and a stout defence by Scottish bands sent to hold them off this didn’t make any headway.

All over the board single Scottish figures were herding their reluctant plunder back whilst the remaining groups faced off the pursuing Angles however the animals were not being that cooperative as they only had a single move each turn (as opposed to two by everyone else).

Each herder had to pass their activation roll each time to move (an 8 on two dice), if this failed they were offered the option to roll the umpires white dice. For some reason they were suspicious of this at first but as desperation set in the first brave sole asked for the dice . . . which turned out to be a scatter dice and on the whole worked out in their favour. Some people should be more trusting.

The end was drawing near and the Angle leader and his companions had by now caught up with his Scottish equivalent. The Scots were slowly pushed back losing round after round, other raiders tried to help but the Angle General was still getting the better of the fighting. As more Angles cleared the village they moved to join their leader and forced the other Scots to turn and face them. Pushed back again the Scottish general, seeing that his men had now managed to get their stolen animals off table, ordered a withdrawal and the rather battered Angles having had the worst of the fighting overall let them go.

A win for the Scots by 1 or 2 points

Stay turned for part two later in the year

Oi that’s my Sheep!

Rules: Dux Bellorum liberally interpreted by me

Figures: Gripping Beast, Foundry and Footsore

Buildings etc. Gripping Beast, Hovels, 1st Corps

Animals: the above plus Pendraken

This has been a Mr Steve production

Legends of the Old West - The Magnificent Seven.

Our first meeting in March 2025 saw me put on a wild west game to the excellent, if out of print, "Legends of the Old West" rules. (readily available as a free PDF on the Net though) The scenario was based on the 1960 film, "The Magnificent Seven", with Yul Brunner, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, Robert Vaughn, James Coburn & Horst Buchholz, facing off against Eli Wallach and his Mexican bandits.

Out of print, "Legends of the Old West" rules.

The scene started with Calvera and his thirty odd bandits returning to a Mexican village that they intended to pillage for food and supplies, before going into the hills for winter. This was what they had been doing for years and they left the villagers enough to live on, so they had the strength to plant and reap next year's crop. Except this year was different. The villagers had sold everything of value they had, to raise money to employ seven gunfighters to protect the village.

Calvera and company had ridden into the village square, only to be confronted by the seven gunfighters. Calvera was confident, as he had the numbers to ignore these few and then firing started. With seven or eight of his men being killed in the rout, Calvera raced back up the road.

It was at this point our scenario started.

The "Magnificent Seven" were, what the rules call "Legends", with the exception of Chico, who was

just a minor "Hero". All had six guns and four also had "repeating carbines". The "Legends" had special abilities and traits suited to the characters portrayed in the film. For instance, Lee had "Fearsome Reputation", which meant anyone trying to shoot or melee him had to pass a Pluck test first or freeze in fear. He also had a Pluck of 2, as his bottle had gone and he was often a quivering wreck ! Three of the "Legends" formed one group in the East of the village, with the other group being on the Western side. Chico led a third group of machete armed villagers, who were split between East and West.

Calvera's bandits were thirty strong and split into three groups of nine, each led by a minor or, in the case of Calvera, a major "Hero". To make life easier for bookkeeping, all the bandits were "Festooned with Pistols", which meant they never suffered an "out of ammo" or 'jammed" result for their handguns; they simply drew another pistol. A number of bandits also had "cavalry carbines" and Calvera had a "repeating carbine".

The bandits noted the new walls all round them, so chose to ride across the stream and regroup. Taking his own and one other band round the village to the West, Calvera sent the other bandit group round the Eastern edge of town. Reacting to these moves, the Eastern group of gunfighters, led by Chris and played by Nathan, engaged Sam's bandits as they crested a rise, dropping one with a long range shot.

In the West, Chico crouched on a roof, firing at Mike's bandit group, whilst Bob led his men straight into the village.

Sam had decided the ground was for plebs and led his men across the roofs of the buildings. Crossing a gap between buildings, one bandit failed his leap roll and hit the ground badly, dying in the process. Meanwhile the rest of Sam's group took cover in some rocky terrain, whilst Nathan moved his group and some villagers to meet them. Nathan's group came under fire from Bob's bandits and took up position behind a wall, to return fire.

Meanwhile, in the West, Mike's bandits dismounted behind a sturdy building, as Matt moved up his villagers. Some villagers were cut down by fire from the bandits, but then a hand to hand struggle ensued, as Chico and more bandits exchanged fire. Soon Chico was aided by fire from Britt and Vin and bandits started to fall to both fire and machetes. The villagers were starting to wilt though and were forced back. Chico rushed downstairs to block two bandits entering the house, as a throwing knife from Britt felled one.

In the East the villagers had rushed one of Sam's bandits, Sam decided a bandit on the roof could even things up and fanned his six-gun at the villagers. Now fanning is not accurate and leaves the pistol empty (not an issue when "festooned with pistols"), but fanning a six-gun into a close quarters fight risks friend and foe. Sure enough a villager was dropped, quickly followed by a bandit. Oops ! Not down heartened, Sam persisted with fanning throughout the game, whenever he was in range, earning himself the nickname "Sam the Fan". When Chris joined the party another bandit found himself filled full of lead. With Bob also shooting across the table and killing Bernardo, the first Legend was down.

Things were hotting-up in the East, with bandits forcing Chico back into the house. As others held off Britt. Chico was driven back to the roof and coolly invited the bandits up to fight him there. Britt threw a knife at one of the bandits who was shooting at him and he dropped to the ground. 

More bandits and heroes fell and the remaining villagers gave up the ghost and fled.

The battle was nearing a climax, as Chico battled on against the bandits on the roof, whilst Britt and Vin shot it out with Bob's intact gang.

In the East Lee was killed and Chris wounded, but Sam was down to his last bandit !

After several more rounds of fighting and multiple "Head for the Hills" tests on both sides, Calvera and his men could take no more and ran.

The game gave a full day's play and some great cinematic moments. I didn't like Chico's character in the film, but in the game he was "de man" ! The less said about Chris the better really.

Many thanks to Bob, Sam, Mike B, Nathan and Matt for taking it all in the spirit which it was intended. Especially Bob, as he couldn't hit a barn door with a shovel for most of the game.

Vince

The Great Italian Wars, Battle of Marignano 1515 - Furioso.

The Battle of Marignano 13th-14th September 1515 - Milek Jacubiec.

 

Introduction: 

The Battle of Marignano (modern Melegnano) was fought on 13th -14th September 1515, 10 miles southeast of Milan. The battle between King Francis I of France and the Swiss Confederacy, had a long-lasting effect because Switzerland became neutral and has remained so ever since; individual Switzer’s would continue to serve as mercenaries however. This battle was during France’s third campaign to capture Milan; but why were the French always trying to do so?

Why the French Claimed Milan: 

The repeated French campaigns to capture Milan do not make much sense until we address France’s claim. In the late medieval-era the Kingdom of Lombardy, was ruled jointly by two brothers, Bernabo Visconti in Milan and his younger brother Galeazzo in Pavia. King Jean II of France was captured at the Battle of Poitier in 1356, and the English demanded two million crowns in ransom. Galeazzo Visconti offered six hundred thousand crowns towards the ransom, in exchange for Jean’s daughter, Princess Isabella de Valois, marrying his son Gian.

Isabella of Valois (1348–1372), c14th century - unknown French artist

When Galeazzo died, his heir Gian poisoned Bernado, moved to Milan and became the sole ruler. Bernabo’s grand-daughter Valentina, was married to King Jean’s grandson, later Charles V. This did

not go down well in Paris as this undermined the Charles/Valentina's line in inheriting Lombardy and

Milan. When Isabella de Valois died (naturally) Gian married his uncle Bernabo’s daughter (and his

cousin) Caterina Visconti; this further undermined France’s claim because daughter Caterina’s issue

had preference over grand-daughter Valentina's issue. Isabella Visconti (nee de Valois) had one

surviving daughter, who married into the French royal house of Orlean and Catarina Visconti (nee

Visconti) had two sons.

On Gian’s death Caterina’s first son Gian-Mari became Duke but he was very unpopular and soon

assassinated, so his younger brother Filipo-Mari became Duke. Filipo-Mari died unexpectedly

(something he ate?), leaving only an illegitimate daughter Bianca-Maria who was married to Milan’s

military-captain, the Condotieri Francesco Sforza.

Francesco Sforza and Bianca-Maria Visconti.

In the succession struggle that followed, Bianca-Maria and Francesco Sforza came out on top; Francesco Sforza becoming The Duke of Milan. The French royalty saw their claim to Milan as way superior to that of an illegitimate daughter, married to a soldier of fortune. These dynastic machinations were the basis of the de Valois’s claim to Milan and exemplifies the difference between renaissance Italy and the rest of Europe. In Italy somebody with the drive, talent and ambition could rise-up in society regardless of their background; elsewhere your ancestors were the deciding factor. 

The Third French Campaign to capture Milan: 

In the DWG post of 18th January 2025 about the Battle of Cerignola, link below, the history of the first two French campaigns in Italy is covered; there were four campaigns in all.

Devon Wargames Group - The Great Italian Wars, Battle of Cerignola

When King Louise XII (1462-1515 of the second campaign) died without a male heir (his daughters were precluded by Salic Law), his cousin Francis (1494-1547) became The King of France. At his coronation, Francis had The Dukedom of Milan included as one of his titles. Immediately after his coronation the 20 year old Francis, began planning a military campaign in Italy. Francis’s great rival was the Hapsburg Emperor Charles V and Francis wanted to strike in Italy before Charles and his allies could strike in France. The previous two campaigns had not yielded much for France and there was now an, albeit rather shaky, anti-French coalition composed of The Papacy, Milan, Venice, Hapsburg Spain & Austria and England, but the members often fell-out with each other too.

Francis I painted in 1515 - Jean Clouet.

The Campaign: 

The Italian army, under the direction of Pope Leo X (member of the powerful Florentine ruling and banking family, the Medici’s) deployed to defend the expected Alpine passes the French would use. As Venice had allied itself to France, more troops were deployed on the eastern boarder of the Duchy and Spanish troops were marching northwards from Naples too. 

Francis audaciously crossed the Alps by a previously unknown pass, the Col d’Argentiere; his descent into Piedmont was totally unexpected and threatened to out-flank the Papal forces. A daring French cavalry raid captured the defender’s commander, the Spaniard Prospero Colonna, 600 horses and much loot; the now leaderless Spanish army halted. The Papal army began to fall back towards Milan so as not to be cut off. But crossing of the Alps had been exhausting for the French too, as new roads had been built for the French artillery train; Francis preferred to negotiate.

In all of this, nobody had given much thought to the Swiss mercenaries that made up much of the Papal army. The Milanese nobility thought the Sforza’s usurpers, and the commoners thought them tyrants; the Sforza’s relied so heavily on the Swiss that Milan was as good as a protectorate of The Swiss Confederacy. Fearing that the population of Milan might welcome Francis and they would be cut off from home, the Swiss mercenary troops hurriedly marched back towards Milan and Francis met them near Marignano. 

Portrait of Mathieu Schiner (c.1465-1522) - Unknown author.

Francis parled, and the Swiss initially agreed to him becoming The Duke of Milan, in return for their wages and a promise of safe-passage to Switzerland; but the representative of the Swiss Confederation, Cardinal Matthaus Schiner a firm ally of the pope, persuaded the Swiss otherwise. It was close to sunset on the 13th of September 1515, when news reached Francis that the Swiss were deploying for battle.

The Battle: 

The Swiss formed up in their usual three pike block formation with a forlorn-hope of halberdiers; the forlorn-hope advanced rapidly to seize the enemy artillery. Even though the French had been caught by surprise, the attack was only partly successful, as the French had carriage mounted guns, not fixed bombards. Soon French formations were joining the fray, including their Landsknecht pikemen. The Swiss loathed Landsknechts and visa versa, as usual in these cases, both forces flew at each other. 

The French cavalry had driven off the Swiss forlorn-hope and recaptured the guns, but the Swiss pikemen were pushing forward. Francis and the cream of France’s chivalry charged the Swiss head-on or in the flanks. As the daylight faded both sides were caught in a deadly game of push, shove, fall back, regroup, charge again. By 10pm it was too dark to tell friend from foe and the fighting died down but neither side would yield the field; Francis slept in his armour under a gun carriage.

A contemporary painting of Franco-Venetian forces driving back Swiss mercenaries and German Landsknechts at the Battle of Marignano, 1515 - Attributed to Maître à la Ratière.

The next morning the battle was rejoined as soon as it was light, but now the French artillery was ready and, as the Swiss advanced, swaths of men were cut down. Still the Swiss closed rank and pushed forward, leading to more desperate fighting. 

Eventually, news arrived that the Venetians were near and realising that the battle was lost, the Swiss withdrew in good order. The carnage had been terrible, 14,000 Swiss, innumerable Landsknechts, alongside French cavalry and foot too. Many noble French gendarmes had been killed and others wounded multiple times. Francis knew his army was near-beat so he ordered them not to pursue as the remaining Swiss marched out of Milan and back towards home. 

Massimiliano Sforza, circa 1496-1499 - Giovanni Ambrogio de Predis.

In 1516 the French and Swiss signed an agreement of perpetual peace that has, more or less, continued to this day. Francis now boasted that he was more successful than both Hannibal and Caesar combined, for crossing the Alps and for vanquishing the Swiss (Helvetti). 

Maximilian Sforza (above) surrendered Milan to Francis a few days after the battle and went into comfortable imprisonment in France. But the Sforza’s, with the help of the Hapsburg Emperor Charles V, would get Milan back in 1521 and Francis would have to fight for it all over again in 1525.

https://www.alternative-armies.com/products/furioso-renaissance-wargame-rules-digital-paid-download

How the game played: 

We used the Alternative Army rules set called Furioso, which is specifically written for this period and has the right feel. The set up was my interpretation of the historical start to the battle, with units joining in gradually as the hours progressed. The forces and their characteristics are based on the army lists provided in the rule book.

The orders of battle:

French - three leaders, two light guns, two field guns, four units of landsknechts and one French pike block (8 bases per unit), two units of Gendarmes and two of Archers (four bases per unit. Four leaders were provided for the French and they were invited to choose two as the third one must be King Francis himself. Leaders can be rash or cautious – there are no cautious leaders in this battle – and add to unit activation and combat. Apart from Francis, who was designated rash, the French chose Charles of Bourbon and a Landsknecht commander, both bold.

Swiss - three leaders, one vanguard pike block of 12 bases, one centre block of 16 base, one rearguard of 12 bases and three units of Halberdiers 4 baes each. Five leaders were provided for the Swiss, one per pike block, but they must be assigned blindly to each pike block, representing their electoral leadership system. Like the French, Swiss leaders can be rash or cautious – there are no cautious leaders in this battle – and add to unit activation of combat. The Swiss deployed two bold commanders for their vanguard and rearguard and a rash general for their main pike block.

The French start with just their guns on the table. The Swiss attack with their three pike blocks in echelon starting with their vanguard pike block deployed on the left flank and their three units of halberdiers on the table. As the game progressed the French could bring on two units per turn and the Swiss one pike block. The stream that intersects the table counts as an obstacle that units must halt at before crossing.

Initially some good shooting by the French artillery delayed the left flank halberdier attack and then the vanguard pikes though some poor initiative dice; it was all their commander could do to keep them moving forward. In the same move French landsknechts were marching onto the field opposite the Swiss vanguard. But the Swiss main block and rearguard troops had no such hesitation as they deployed onto the field and seeing yet more landsknechts, their traditional enemy, they were soon advancing impetuously towards them. 

Now the Swiss vanguard seemed to find its spirit and began to advance more resolutely with its halberdiers charging a French artillery battery. The French tried to hitch up and evade the charging Swiss but to no avail were caught in hand-to-hand fighting. The French artillery men were made of stern stuff and just about managed to defend their guns long enough for Landsknechts to reach their positions.

The main Swiss pike block and halberdiers, urged on by their rash leader, charged into the nearest facing landsknechts and a terrible melee began. In these rules, traditional enemies fight two rounds of melee in each activation, to represent the furious nature of their combats. The Landsknechts suffered badly from these types of attack, not just from Swiss 'furiousity' but some uncanny good dice throwing by the Swiss players too! As the battle progressed the Swiss slowly but inexorably got the upper hand.

As the sun fell below the horizon the French gendarmes arrived and launched their first charge of the game driving off the right flank Swiss halberdiers. But now it was dark and the game came to a temporary halt (lunch break to you and I).

Overnight both sides had drawn-off their positions and half of the casualties’ incurred on the first day were returned to their armies. The Swiss, pleased with the previous day’s action and confident of the morrow, formed up at the stream intersecting the battlefield consolidating all their troops into three pike blocks. 

The French had completely reorganised their deployment with massed artillery and all their pike men into a battle line, even though some of the landsknecht units were a bit depleted in numbers. The French cavalry was deployed off-table on both flanks waiting for the Swiss to advance. If the artillery could cut down enough Swiss and the landsknechts hold the line the cavalry could attack the Swiss flanks; in the early morning sun battle recommenced.

The Swiss needed no second bidding and soon all three pike blocks were impetuously advancing towards the French. The Landsknechts advanced enough to keep the Swiss off the artillery and as the Swiss charged the landsknechts for yet more terrible slaughter, one of the smaller landsknecht blocks crumbled under the onslaught. But the centre Swiss pike block was just about held as it seemed overnight the Swiss dice rolling had returned to average and a small improvement in the French too.

The flanking Gendarmes charged the exposed Swiss pike block sides, but the sheer size of the pike block absorbed the impact of Francis and his nobility, who bounced off. The French artillery was starting to make some progress with barrages of hail shot on the unengaged parts of the Swiss pike blocks though.

But nothing could stop the Swiss who absorbed everything the French could throw at them, their pike blocks being thousands of men strong and they charged and pushed forward again seemingly unstoppable. At this point Charles of Bourbon claimed to have met some approaching Venetian reinforcements, so we concluded the game.

Afterthought: 

The rules include army lists with point values for each unit type, so I had made the two armies as near as even as possible. Perhaps this was a mistake and the size of the French landsknecht blocks should have been larger, as well as providing the French with more artillery since it seemed to under-perform, relative to the historical battle. The French should have been allowed to deploy faster on the first day too, stopping the Swiss from overwhelming their pike blocks so ferociously. As the umpire there is nothing you can do about dice rolling however.

The rules are written for 15mm figures and while information is provided for playing with 28mm the players agreed that we need to give more thought to this. We seemed to get confused about base sizes quite easily, partly because a fair number of our figures were not based consistently. I hope to put on a few more games this year, in the run up to our refight of the Battle of Pavia in December.

Thanks to the players, Alex, JJ, Chas and John. Figures are Perry, Wargames Foundry, Mail Fist Miniatures et al. Thanks to Alex Chas Paul and Vince for lending figures, even though the latter two didn’t play in the game.

Stephen H

Positively No Badgers at Albuera - Carnage & Glory

With the plethora of rabbits, badgers, stoats and Lego men gracing our club’s gaming tables recently, I thought it time to redress the balance and put on a game for the hard-core historical war gamer. 

A bit of fox hunting or should that be 'chasse au renard' as David takes us on a wild goose chase of a mixed-up game recreating Albuera - well sort of.

I was also worried for the sanity of our Chairman and hoped to lure him away from the Dark Side. With the promise of using Nigel Marsh’s excellent computer moderated rules, Carnage and Glory 2 as a further sweetener, I was fairly confident he would leave his ships in dry dock and find his land legs again. And so it proved to be. 

La Albuera Church

Diorama by Curro Agudo Mangas in Luis de Morales Museum

I had started to sort out my British and Portuguese army and I was keen to get them on the table. I had also been fascinated by the battle of Albuera after having read many years ago Jac Weller’s book, ‘Wellington in the Peninsula’ and I had been particularly struck by the black and white photos of the largely unspoilt battlefield. 

The main bridge in front of Albuera - see Oman's map below

The lesser bridge over the dried river bed

When I visited the glorious Fields of Grief in 2018 it had hardly changed. Alas not on my next visit four years later when solar panels were encroaching over the ground at an alarming rate. So with all that in mind, a game based around the battle of Albuera with no mention of any of our furry friends seemed an obvious choice.

French view of British firing line

Looking down the British firing line with the French approaching from the right of picture

At the battle of Albuera, Soult performed a flanking attack on the allied right whilst pinning the allied centre, held by Alten’s brigade, and the allied left, held by Hamilton’s and Collin’s Portuguese brigades. The allied right was held by Lardizabel, Zayas and Ballasteros Spanish brigades which famously held off the French flank attack, giving Beresford time to reinforce them with Colborne’s, Hoghton’s and Abercromby’s Brigades. 

Having passed through the Spanish lines, the British became involved in the most bloody and murderous fire fight of the Peninsula war and it was in this action that the 1/57th earned their nickname 'The Die-Hards'. 

That was all the background I needed for the scenario but for an excellent account of the battle I would recommend ‘The Battle of Albuera 1811: Glorious Field of Grief’ by Michael Oliver and Richard Partridge.

So what would have happened, I wondered, if the Spaniards didn’t stand, and Beresford did not have time to reinforce his right flank? With our game in no danger of being interrupted by the sound of furry feet we saw the allied Division of the wily Maj Gen Lowry Fox pitting his wits against the cunning of Gen de Corps Jean Renard. I flipped the axis of the battlefield to faintly disguise its true identity, changed the name of the village and with players appointed to their brigades, the following orders were issued to the opposing Generals.

Major General Lowry Fox

A strong enemy force of Divisional strength is attacking from the West. You must hold the village of El Tejón and prevent the enemy from capturing the road leading East.

General de Corps Jean-Baptiste Renard

Capture the east-west road running through El Tejón. The majority of your Brigades are advancing from the West, but General de Division André François Moineau’s Cavalry Division and one other Brigade have conducted a flank march and are in position to attack the enemy’s flank from the South. The Divisional artillery may be attached to either attacking force.

The table setup at start of play

With most of the toys on the table, I fired up the laptop and away we went.

And things got going pretty quickly. Both Belette’s and Furet’s brigades launched an all-out assault on the Allied right and the village of El Tejón. None of this preliminary bombardment and softening up the enemy stuff. Straight in with the bayonet. Except you have to get through a fair amount of lead first to say nothing of struggling across a river or a bridge to get to grips with your opposite number.

The allies were fairly confident they could hold their ground, but their feathers were decidedly ruffled when several routing battalions of Spanish troops materialised on their left flank and proceeded to push through the orderly redcoats, who nevertheless held formation whilst heaping derision on their white coated so-called allies. The reason for the discomfiture of the Spaniards soon became apparent when Renard’s sly flank attack appeared.

Furet’s brigade had suffered badly in their attempt to press home their attack, and with their Brigade commander mortally wounded, shot in the head whilst gallantly leading his men forward, the attack was faltering. 

Belette’s Brigade assault on El Tejón was fairing little better with the 2/17e Légère Regiment being severely mauled by musketry trying to cross the smaller bridge. An heroic charge by 2/28e Légère Regiment on Bull’s horse artillery resulted in some success, Bull being forced to pull back and losing a gun. Unfortunately, General de Brigade Michel Belette had neither the impetus nor the support to take advantage of this minor success.

With both French Brigades embroiled in their respective attacks, Brig- Gen William Burrow’s Brigade was free to withdraw and strengthen Brig-Gen Daniel Horsepath’s Brigade which was preparing to meet the flanking attack.

Brig-Gen Archibald Dogerty was not too pleased to be so readily abandoned but decided the best form of defence was attack so he attempted to drive off Furet’s weakened brigade. However, as he was going against the defend orders given to him by Fox, his battalions were reluctant to fully engage with the enemy. 

Renard could see that Furet’s brigade was being compromised so he wrote an urgent order that Furet was to cease his attack and to defend. He gave a hastily scribbled note to the courier, a most courageous and very brave young man, but who was also remarkably stupid and who rode off in completely the wrong direction.

A heavy cloudburst swept over the battlefield, making any musketry ineffective. It did, however, allow the flanking forces to gain valuable ground although it took Gen de Brigade François Blaireau’s Brigade an inordinate amount of time to pass through the vineyards. Perhaps his battalions were doing what the French do best – foraging and filling their knapsack and their bellies with the grape harvest. Best not to think of the consequences but there were tears before bedtime. 

Renard’s sly flank attack appeared!

As the rain eased, General de Division André François Moineau had skilfully positioned himself to execute a magnificent charge with General de Brigade Joseph Bouvier Souris’s Dragoons. Unfortunately, Moineau found himself suddenly indisposed and his orders to charge failed to reach Souris, who watched the opportunity slip through his fingers. The friction of battle is often created by the players themselves, without the intervention of an external force. 

The assault on El Tejón continued with Blaireau’s Brigade being drawn in to support Belette’s weakened Brigade. Brig-Gen Loftus William Hare, seeing a gap opening between Belette’s and Furet’s Brigades ordered his two regiments of Portuguese Light Dragoons, the 1st and 7th, to cross the bridge and exploit the situation, causing some French battalions of Belette’s Brigade to cease their attack on El Tejón and form dense columns. 

The charge on the packed French formation by the 1st Portuguese Dragoons went as one would expect, with both sides suffering minimal casualties and the Dragoons withdrawing a respectful distance. A cry of, ‘Charge the guns!’ went up together with much tutting and shaking of heads, but despite the lack of moral support the 7th Portuguese Dragoons successfully charged and routed 11th Comp. 6th Foot Artillery Battery.

Despite increased pressure on Brig-Gen Daniel Horsepath’s Brigade occupying El Tejón, the redcoats continued to hold firm, trading volleys with both with Blaireau’s and Belette’s Brigades. Renard saw the advantage of his cunning flank attack slowly ebbing away. His position was made even more perilous when the replacement officer of Furet’s Brigade was unhorsed adding even more to the woes of that Brigade which had seen two battalions dispersed and the remaining four battalions in a sorry state. With his army moral near breaking point Renard decided the best course of action was to withdraw his army as best he could, covered by Moinea’s untouched cavalry division and to lick his wounds.

I cannot speak too highly of the computer moderated system Carnage and Glory, created and continually developed by Nigel Marsh. It simply produces a totally believable and thoroughly entertaining game with the appropriate touch of English humour. 

The support is second to none. I asked a rather rookie question to clarify a situation which arose in our game, and I got a response within a few minutes. If you want to try a computer moderated system and you have had your fingers burnt, give Carnage and Glory a try.

The End of Battle Summary Report that C&G produces, illustrating perfectly the story of the battle in the numbers it has created, with 2,737 French casualties with three battalions dispersed, one routing and an artillery battery dispersed, to the 173 suffered by the Allies indicative of the victory achieved. 

I am sure it was a relief to our Chairman to play a game where a menagerie of furry animals and birds weren’t rampaging across the table.

Wait- isn’t El Tejón Spanish for…. No, surely not. And what about Moineau? Isn’t that French for….

Flaky D wouldn’t be that sneaky- or would he?

My thanks to Nathan - the Fox and Burrow, Ian - the Horse and Hare, Mike - the Dog, John - the Fox and the Ferret, newbie Alex (welcome to the club) - the Weasel, Matt - the Badger and finally, with apologies, to JJ - the Sparrow, who had the wool, or should that be fur, pulled 'furmly' (sorry, just had to be) over his eyes, together with his two Brigade commanders, the Squirrel and the Owl.

Figures: AB

Mat: Tiny Wargames

Buildings: The Drum

Rules: Carnage and Glory 2