Portable White Mountain (3)

 

We left the action last time with Confederation spoiling attacks along most of the Imperialist front stalling their advance. The cavalry thrust on the Imperialist right had been met, contained and defeated; two Confederation tercios were being assailed by horse and guns around Remy; the cavalry attack to the left of the woods, though overrunning a gun battery, was being defeated; and close by Ruzyne reinforcements have sustained the embattled Imperialist cavalry. 

As the victorious Confederation horse rally, the Imperialists push a tercio far out to the right. An artillery battery covers the resulting gap in the line, to bring the milling Confederation horse under fire. It will take time for the reserve infantry to firm up the line, though there is probably little enough that three depleted cavalry units can achieve here.

In fact, gunfire soon scatters one of those units. At about this point, Turn 6, with yet another unimpressive activation die roll, the Confederation gives thought (well, I did) to breaking off the spoiling attacks. The Imperialists are beginning to establish an ascendancy, losses are mounting, and there seems to be a need to consolidate the main line.

And then the Imperialists go and make an even dismaller activation roll. Gunfire, useful as it is in knocking holes in enemy troops (especially tercios) is taking up a good deal of Imperialist time. Three batteries in action leaves just 5 units doing anything.

Priority is given to the situation on the Imperialist left wing. The harquebusiers in the centre having seen off the enemy attack, they now swing over to catch an already depleted cavalry unit in the flank.
The decision already having been made to break off the action, the freshest cavalry unit is already in the process of withdrawing close by the walled park.

This leaves the two - now reduced to one - depleted units holding off for as long as possible the concerted attacks by three Imperialist units. Destroying one unit by fire action, there is no follow-up onto the last remaining.

For a wonder, the Imperialists win the initiative for Turn Seven, and promptly cast a truly horrible activation roll. Tilly and Co are finding it really hard to chivvy forward the unengaged parts of the army. Its front cleared, the tercio between the wood and the river ought to be advancing, but too much is happening elsewhere.  

The Confederation response is equally sluggish. Much of their effort, apart from pockets of close action, is being spent firming up their main battle line.

It seems' however, that the Confederation commanders are starting to get a better grip upon events, and win back the initiative. Having formed the plan to consolidate their line, they begin to pull back the most forward units, apart from what remains of the tercio embattled near Remy. That formation is doing a fine job stopping up the bottleneck between that village and the copse. Considering the single gun battery in action, a middle-range activation roll (10) is pretty useful!

And, of course, the Imperialist response remains as lackadaisical as ever. There's three tercio there behind Remy, and a unit of harquebusiers as well, and none of them have stirred all day. There are others out of the picture no more energetic. 'They are robbing me of my victory!' raves Graf Tilly, shedding fistsful of hair...

The Confederation has at last formed something of a flank on their left, the intent gradually to pull back and in towards the flank gun emplacement. The depleted remnants of the forward tercio continues to fight what has become something of a covering action whilst the Confederation consolidates. Nearer Ruzyne, an Imperialist tercio has begun pushing forward in the face of enemy gunfire. Close by that village, the Confederation cavalry having been driven off or routed, two harquebusier units close upon the right-flank enemy tercio and begin shooting it up.

This is probably the last action of the day, as gunfire and pistolry cuts the grey tercio to ribbons (2SP left from 6). Although the Confederation army has reformed their line, very little of their cavalry remain, and losses have somewhat demoralised (exhausted) the army as a whole. 

The remaining pictures show the overall situation as the battle sputters to close. Although the Imperialists retain, and have increased, the edge they began with, their sluggishness has deprived them of a decisive victory.

Readers will no doubt be disappointed at the anticlimactic outcome. Most of the cavalry on both sides were in action, but there was no 'push of pike and dint of butt'. Three of the six Confederation tercios saw action, and two of them took 9SP hits between them. One Imperialist tercio got to shoot its muskets, advanced towards the enemy, and took losses to incoming. One only. I suppose that might indicate to what extent the Imperialists did in fact get the better of the fighting.

Thirty-four Strength Points the Confederation lost: ten from the infantry, the remainder from the horse - the equivalent of 8 out of 13 units destroyed. The Imperialist losses were not far short of that: 32SP overall - surprisiongly many in that last Turn.  Take three from the guns and one from the infantry: the Imperialist horse lost 28SP. Wow.

Both sides, then, had reached their exhaustion points, the Confederation on Turn 7, the Imperialists on Turn 8. The temptation is that, one side having reached its exhaustion point, the other gets some extension upon theirs in order that a decisive result might be achieved. On the other hand, although this battle amounted to a lot of costly skirmishing, the overall narrative struck me as altogether plausible. Not all battles end decisively. Have to admit though, it was exciting while it lasted!

'History' would probably record this as a tactical Imperialist victory, but one indecisive and barren of material or moral fruits.