Pike & Shotte: 1690

Jim's French
v.
Mark's Grand Alliance

Both armies were 500 points.  The French had 2 infantry divisions each 4 musketeer, 1 guard, 2 guns, a Maison de Roi division of 4 and a cavalry division of 4.  The Alliance had 2 infantry divisions of 4 musketeers with pike coys, a heavy cavalry division of 4 and a mixed division of 2 cavalry, 2 grenadier & 4 guns.

Both sides put all their infantry in the centre and all their cavalry on the French right (nearest the camera).

The French advanced their infantry to attack the enemy right and to secure half the near village to cover the flank of their attack.  Their cavalry held back out of range of the Allied battery on the hill.

The Allies advanced their cavalry cautiously, defended on their right and occupied the half of the village they beat the French to.

The French advance on their left gained an advantage in concentrated fire, but poor command dice prevented them from exploiting their initial success and the Allied infantry hung on.

In the centre, the infnatry exchanged fire in the village.  French couldn't throw either a save or a rally dice for love or money and despite being in buildings their units gradually melted away and suddenly, the division broke.

Seeing the infantry faltering and the enemy cavalry within reach, the French had now sent their cavalry forward with an advantage of 6 to 4.  Initially they were successful, breaking half the enemy cavalry, but the surviving Allied heavies counterattacked in their turn and the opposing heavy cavalry divisions both broke.

The army break test agreed to was at least 2 divisions broken, but at least one infantry division broken.  This meant that the French army was now broken as they had already had an infantry division broken.  Every other Allied division was 1 shaken unit off being broken, but the French had not been able to finish any of them off.   There's a lesson there.

This was our first try at the 1690's period - the end of the era covered by Pike & Shotte.  We used 7 years war or Marlborough period troops with a few pike stands added in and they looked the part.  The rules worked well - the game felt right (even if the dice didn't).