BatRep: Agnadello 2

With the Agnadello battle still out on table, Richard accepted an invitation to a one-on-one remote game.  I jumped at the chance to face Richard, again in a 1:1 game.  See Mikata Ga Hara for our last two-player game.  After receiving the Battle Briefing and reading the account of the first Agnadello game, Richard opted to play the underdog Venetians.  For Richard's account of the battle from the Venetian POV, please visit Reckless at Agnadello for a comprehensive look at the battle.  Richard's account captures the essence of the conflict quite well.  Hopefully, the two reports complement each other.

Without further delay, on to battle!

Armies deployed and ready for battle.

With the armies deployed and ready for battle, I wondered which strategy the Venetians would employ.  Would Richard fight a defensive battle since his army is positioned behind defensible terrain or would the Venetians take the fight to the French as seen in Game #1 linked to above?  The French held no such concerns.  To win the battle, King Louis must attack.

Carpi's Battle defending the forward ditch.

French poised to attack.

While the French army lurches into motion, the Venetians waste little time in revealing their strategy.  They plan to take the fight to the French! 

In the Venetian Army, Alviano's Right Wing skirmishers are sent forward to harass the enemy.  In Carpi's Left Wing, both pike blocks, the Cernite Square on the left and the Provisionati Square on the right move into the ditch. No waiting for the enemy here! 

Carpi moves up!

As the Cernite Square climbs up and out of the embankment, it is attacked by a body of Swiss pike.  The Venetians are pushed back tumbling into the ditch.  With a taste of success, the Swiss follow up in pursuit.  The Venetians are caught and are pushed back once again.  Following this second clash, the Swiss fail to pursue.  

The Swiss attack driving the enemy back.

In pursuit, the Venetians are driven back again!

In an attempt to disrupt the harassing fire from the French guns, Carpi orders his Stradiots forward to deal with the threat.  Unprepared for such boldness, both guns are overrun while the gunners scramble to save themselves.  Both guns are lost as the Stradiots continue cutting down the fugitives in pursuit.  Tough blow for the French King to lose these valuable guns with such seeming ease. 

The Stradiots charge the guns!

The guns are overrun, and the crew are dispatched.

Emboldened by the unexpected success of the Stradiot light cavalry, Carpi's Provisionati Square emerges from the ditch to strike a body of Gascon crossbow.  The Gascons, surprised by a large body of pike to their front, fail to get off a volley before the pikemen come crashing in.  Unable to stand against such force, the Gascons retire to the rear having suffered light casualties.  Content with their efforts, the pikemen fail to pursue.  A gap now opens up between the two French wings.

Gascons are attacked...

and driven back.

Flushed with success to his right, Carpi leads his Men-at-Arms forward and into Chamont's Gendarmes while his heavy guns bombard the French line.  In a prolonged clash, Chamont and his Gendarmes gain the upper hand and the MAA rout.  Carpi is killed in the chaos.  Chamont pursues as the Venetian heavy cavalry scatter.  With no cavalry on the Venetian Left, that flank is ripe for turning.

Carpi attacks Chamont...

Carpi falls.  His MAA scatter with the French in pursuit.

With Chamont's Swiss at the ditch, the Venetian Left renews the attack.  Following some mostly ineffective artillery fire, the Cernite Square attacks again.  The Venetians come on in the same way, are defeated, and retire in the same way.  The definition of madness, certainly!

Venetian pike attack...

and are repulsed, again!

Carpi's Provisionati Square sees better luck.  Having crossed the ditch, the pikemen advance toward a body of crossbow.  As the Italians close, the Gascons release a volley causing casualties and disordering the pikemen.  Still, the pikemen come on and drive the Gascons back.  Following in pursuit, the Italians veer left smacking a second body of Gascons from the flank.  The Gascons fight valiantly but are destroyed in the hand-to-hand combat.  The pike block suffers heavy casualties as well.  The French Center and Right have suffered heavily at the hands of the Venetians.     

Pikemen drive off the Gascons...

before turning to another target.

In a valiant fight...

Gascon crossbow are overwhelmed and scattered.

Alviano sends his two pike blocks into the ditch and hurriedly brings them up to support Carpi.  Is it too late?  Even with supporting Gascon crossbowmen being roughly handled in their rear, the Swiss pike block maintains the attack.  Into the Cernite Square the Swiss plunge once more.  Once more the Venetians are forced to retire with many Italians left dead on the field.  Before the Venetians can regroup, Chamont leads a cavalry charge into the now wavering pike block.  Destruction is everywhere as the Italian body of pike collapses.  The survivors bolt for the rear with Chamont in pursuit.

Swiss continue the attack...

driving the enemy back to the high ground.

Chamont chases off remnants of the Cernite pikemen. 

While the battle swings to and fro against Carpi, is the French Left remaining idle?  No!  The King sets his wing into motion in an effort to counter the problems he sees developing off to his right.  With enemy skirmishers controlling the center of the battlefield, a body of French pike move up to drive them off.  Light cavalry move up to clear the left.  Having cleared the front of skirmishers, the King leads his Gendarmes forward, passing through his light cavalry to face off against Alviano and his MAA.  In a sharp clash, Alviano and his MAA are sent to the rear and into the woods.  Following up in pursuit, a body of Stradiots stand in the King's path.  These too are dispatched.

French pikemen drive off enemy skirmishers.

The King drives off enemy cavalry...

as more Italian skirmishers are dislodged.

Confined in the woods, Alviano tries to reorder his MAA.  Unfortunately, just as he reorders his cavalry but before they can reposition themselves, Louis and his Gendarmes hit the MAA in flank.  Disordered upon contact and already wavering from earlier efforts, the Italian MAA simply melt away.  This Battle of Agnadello is over.

Alviano and his MAA are suddenly struck in flank...

and dispatched just as quickly.

So, the battle comes to a close with a French victory.  Thanks to Richard for providing a stimulating and enjoyable contest.  Great game and really good fun.  I was surprised to see Carpi attack over the ditch on T1.  Perhaps there should not have been such a surprise since Mark performed the same ploy in Game #1.  Richard's attack with Carpi's Stradiots was inspiring.  Those horsemen cleared out both guns and opened up the French Center.  In future games, this may be a tactic that is difficult to prevent.  The Swiss proved formidable foes handling enemy pike blocks routinely.  The Butcher's Bill below illustrates the carnage especially to Carpi's (green dice) Wing.  With an Army Breakpoint Clock showing a +12 point differential to the French, this was a major victory for King Louis and me.

Butcher's Bill

Next up, Richard and I gather for a rematch next Monday.  We swap sides and see how I fare commanding the Venetians.  Will the Venetians adopt an offensive or defensive posture?  Should be fun!  Game lasted about three hours replicating the historical outcome.