A Return to the Renaissance

.. Specifically the 17th Century wars between the Grand Duchy of Medetia and the Kingdom of Fleurie.

It’s been a while (over 3 years as it turns out) since I last deployed these 6mm armies and played a game. The terrain was still on the table from the recently-played Franco-Prussian War battles so I decided to recycle things and change the setting from Alsace to Northern Italy. I set things up pretty randomly, aiming for a nice looking table with a few interesting features.

The key feature and focus of the scenario was the small Medetian fortification of San Michele, a watchtower positioned in the bend of the river, and currently under siege by the Fleurian army. Makeshift defences have been thrown up by the defending garrison, and they are about to receive an attack from two directions at once. Overlooking everything is the hilltop town of Belletri, surrounded by its vineyards and orchards.

With a perfect sense of timing, the main Medetian army has arrived on the scene and what was just an attempt to capture a small outpost is about to expand into a major battle. It should certainly be colourful.

No lengthy battle report, but plenty of pics (click to expand as always) and the odd caption to go with..

The battlefield and initial Fleurian deployment as they prepare their assault:

 

 

 

 

Massed Fleurian and allied cavalry:

 

The Medetians arrive with masses of their own:

 

And then there was a lot of fighting, some intense action, and gallant moments:

 

Naturally the first Medetian casualty was an important General…

Push of pike (diagonal for some reason):

 

 

Fleurian mercenary pike come up to support the cavalry:

Dragoons dismount among the vines to harry the enemy:

Reinforcements arrive, Hungarian types for Fleury:

Cossacks for Medetia:

Exiled Scots for Fleury:

The battle rages in the centre:

 

Heartened by their army’s success, the Medetian locals tool up and get stuck in, managing to bring down the newly-arrived hussar commander!

 

Finally, as the afternoon wears on, the Fleurians are exhausted and concede the field:

Leaving the fortress in the hands of its tenacious defenders:

I enjoyed this game a lot, and it wasn’t clear until the very end who was going to come out on top. The figures are now back in their storage trays, and I won’t leave it so long until next time.