Poles v. Ottomans

A couple of months ago we did a Poles v. Ottoman battle that was a decisive win for the Poles.  Tonight we used the same forces but gave the Ottomans more defensive terrain.

The Ottomans (Mike, Leigh & Chris) deployed first - behind the river.  They put their 2 heavy cavalry brigades & swarm of light horse on rising ground on their left & their 3 infantry brigades on their right.
The Poles (Jim, Steve & John) then deployed 27" away from the river.  3 cavalry brigades on their right, 3 infantry brigades on their left.

 The Polish cavalry is advancing rapidly but their infantry is being delayed by poor command dice.

The Polish cavalry charge up the hill driving back the cloud of skirmishers, but the Ottoman cavalry with an uphill advantage augmented by hot dice are no push-over.

Casualties are high in the cavalry fight, but the Ottomans are gaining the upper hand.  Meanwhile poor command dice has continued to hamper the Polish foot.  Their slow advance allowed the artillery to inflict significant damage before the Polish musketeers could shake them. The Jannisaries then advanced past the shaken gunners to the river line.

The end is nigh for the Polish horse.

The Polish pikes have finally charged across the river.

All 3 Polish cavalry brigades have been broken while the Ottomans lost only 1 of their heavy cavalry brigades.  Their foot had some success near the village, but the attack on the left went nowhere.  The brigade attacking the Janisiaries has also broken & the Poles have failed their Army Break Test.

It was a very different result to last time with these armies.  The terrain, good tactics & a bit of luck gave them a crushing victory this time.