Fornovo (1495)

I ran games based on the battle of Fornovo four times in 2018 (playtested once, ran twice at Enfilade that year, and then once for the Portland club after), but never played it myself!  With the need for a simple gridded game as part of the fifth annual (proxy/virtual) Ambuscade gaming event, Fornovo was a good choice, and it was played as the second of three games played in three days. And besides, my Italian Wars collection has grown and changed since 2017, and I can set up a somewhat more accurate depiction now (the 2018 version had too many arquebusiers and not a single crossbowman).

Starting positions, with French at the bottom and Italian league at the top, and the river Taro in the middle. There are two Italian stratiot light cavalry units just visible on the left as well.

In the interest of having a reasonable playing time, the Italians had 12 units plus two guns and the French had 9 plus two guns and four baggage pieces.  In the rush to put three games together in three days I perhaps did not make the victory points as well thought out as I could have.  The French baggage is clearly trying to escape off table, moving 1 square a turn, and the Italians should get points for seizing baggage pieces. 

Italian line at game start.

If I ran this again, I would use more "standard" victory points of most units destroyed and "control of the field," with perhaps a single VP if all four baggage units move off table.  Instead we ended up playing an "escort duty" style game which became somewhat silly towards in the end, in my opinion.

The Italians surge towards the river Taro.

The Italians wasted no time and moved quickly to cross the Taro river.  The French prepared a defense, but were then caught off guard when the Italian stradiots were able to almost make contact the baggage.

The two Italian stradiot units can be seen on the right threatening the French baggage train.

The French quickly adjusted, however, repositioning some of the Swiss pikemen to protect the baggage.

Swiss pikes can be seen to have blocked the stradiots to the right. 

A combination of Swiss pikes and French Gendarmes were then able to drive off the stradiots - but the front of the baggage train had lost a move so perhaps they did their task?

Italian guns firing on the French.

Meanwhile, the Italian men at arms were coming across the Taro and began tangling with French gendarmes and Swiss pikes.  The idea was to soften them up a little until the landsknecht pikes and numerous units of crossbowmen could cross the river and bring superior numbers to bear (hopefully).

There are three units of Italian men at arms in the center left, doing their best to put pressure on the French. 

Unfortunately, because the French were slowly but steadily moving one square towards the table edge every turn, this mean that the Italian center and left (where the majority of their crossbows were) started the game facing the French center and right, by the time they cross the Taro only the French right was still before them. 

Swiss pikes prepare to receive attacks.

What was worse was the French guns and Gascon crossbowmen at the end of the French column were able to sit still and repeatedly fire upon the Italian cavalry and infantry who continously tried to traverse before them.  The Italians were thus stuck making half-hearted attacks against the French rear/right and not bringing enough strength against the French front/left where the baggage was.

French King Charles VIII's unit took several casualties at the start of the game and spent the remainder leading from behind his army.

Those pesky Gascons and French artillery!

The Italians did end up dispatching a Swiss pike unit and did end up capturing a French gun, but half of the French baggage slipped back to France, the remaining Italian units on the table were almost entirely at half strength or less.  

End-of-game or close to it. 

Even though 40% of units starting the game had not been removed from the table, the Italians conceded the game early as there was little appetite for last-ditch attacks by half-strength units throwing six dice against 12-dice-throwing defenders.

This was yet another exercise of the recent grid-based games and also of playing Lion Rampant with no activation rolls for movement or shooting (a morale test was required to charge or counter-charge, or for guns to offer closing fire).  As with the previous games, both sides were much more able to make tactical decisions and try and implement them, and in this particular scenario, the Italians were able to bring their army across the river and to engage the French quite quickly - in the prior four plays large portions of infantry on both sides spent most of the game in or close to their starting positions.

Some of the beat-up Italian units, a men at arms with four casualties and a disordered Landsknecht unit.

This game makes me wish there were more set piece battles in the Italians Wars - many involve asymmetrical deployments or one side behind substantial defenses.  I may have to rethink how I represent historical battles (perhaps loosen up on deployments and just use history to suggest terrain and army composition - this is how a lot of my English Civil War games get set up), or even consider creating a fictional campaign to generate battles.

Here are the unit profiles, and some of the modified rules used for this game:

FRENCH ARMY

FRENCH GENDARMES

Att To Hit 4+ / Def to Hit 5+

Move Rate: 4 squares

Morale: 2+ / Stamina: 4

Special Rules: Counter-charge on successful Morale check; Pursuit

SWISS PIKES

Att To Hit 4+ (5+) / Def to Hit 3+ (4+)

Move Rate: 2 squares

Morale: 2+ / Stamina: 3

Special Rules: Pike Block (use first To Hits unless in rough terrain or until unit suffers 50% casualties; always use 4+ Defense To Hit vs other pike units)

CROSSBOWS

Att To Hit 6+ / Def to Hit 5+

Move Rate: 2 squares

Shoot Rng: 3 / Shoot To Hit 5+

Morale: 4+ / Stamina: 2

Special Rules: Skirmish (move half and -1 to hit);-1 to hit if target more than 2 squares

CULVERIN

Att To Hit -- / Def to Hit 6+

Move Rate: 0

Shoot Rng / Shoot To Hit: 

    Short Rng (1-2 squares): 12 dice @ 4+.
    Med. Rng (3-4 squares): 9 dice @ 5+ 

(4 dice if ½ strength)

     Long Rng (5+ squares): 6 dice @ 5+

Morale: 5+ / Stamina: 1

Special Rules: May offer closing fire with successful Morale check. May share a square with another friendly unit. Cannot move during game, but receives one move of 2 squares before first players regular turn.

ITALIAN LEAGUE ARMY

MEN AT ARMS

Att To Hit 4+ / Def to Hit 5+

Move Rate: 4 squares

Morale: 3+ / Stamina: 4

Special Rules: Counter-charge on successful Morale check; Pursuit

LANDSKNECHT PIKES

Att To Hit 4+ (5+) / Def to Hit 3+ (4+)

Move Rate: 2 squares

Morale: 4+ / Stamina: 3

Special Rules: Pike Block (use first To Hits unless in rough terrain or until unit suffers 50% casualties; always use 4+ Defense To Hit vs other pike units)

CROSSBOWS

Same as French.

STRADIOTS

Att To Hit  5+ / Def to Hit 6+

Move Rate: 5 squares

Shoot Rng: 2 / Shoot To Hit 5+

Morale: 5+ / Stamina: 3

Special Rules: Counter-charge; Skirmish (move three squares, -1 to hit if target more than 1 square); Slippery

CULVERIN

Same as French.

SPECIAL RULES:

• PIKE BLOCK: A unit of 6 or more models which is not in rough terrain or Wavering with this rule has both Attack and Move at 6+ and the unit Attacks and Defends with +1 to their dice scores. Pike Block units do not receive the +1 to Defense Value if attacked by another pike unit. If an Attack ends with both units still in contact, the enemy must retreat (unless the enemy is also has Pike Block). If a unit with Pike Block enters rough going, no longer contains at least 6 models or is Wavering, it does not receive the Pike Block bonuses.

• SKIRMISH: This unit may choose to make a half move and execute a ranged attack either before or after this movement takes place at -1 to hit.

• PURSUIT: If this unit has charged or counter-charged an enemy unit, and the result of the melee is that the enemy Routs (a result of 0 or less on a Morale test), then this unit will move towards the enemy table edge in a straight line and stop at the edge. If this line brings it contact with another enemy, it will attack it. If that second melee also results in a Rout, the victorious unit will not Pursue a second time. If the table edge is a terrain feature, the unit will stop in the square in front of that feature. 

• SLIPPERY: (a) When charged by an enemy unit this unit will automatically move two spaces towards their starting table edge, unless they opt to counter-charge (test to do so).  The attacker will follow this unit up to its full movement, and if it ends up adjacent to the target unit it, melee is resolved with target using regular defense value. (b) This unit has the Pursuit rule, but may opt to making a shooting attack at -1 if it is eligible to engage in second melee instead of attacking.

• DOUBLE-PAY MEN: When attacking an enemy unit with the Pike Block rule, the target enemy unit will defend on a 4+ and not a 3+. 

RULES FOR GRIDS:

A. MOVEMENT

1. Diagonal moves are not allowed.

2. Mounted Men At Arms move 4 squares, stradiots move 5.

3. Infantry moves 2 squares

4. Light artillery moves 2 squares

5. Culverins and other heavy artillery cannot move at all, but receive one free move of two squares into a “forward position” at the beginning of the game.

6. Artillery units may share a square with another friendly unit, including another artillery unit.  Dice for shooting and melee attacks by a single units against two units sharing a square must allocate 2 of 12 (or 1 of 6 if halfstrength) dice towards the non-artillery target.  If both units in the square are artillery pieces, divide the dice evenly. 

B. RANGES

7. Crossbows: 3 squares
   Arquebusiers: Short 1 square, Long 2 squares
   Light Artillery: short range 1-2 squares, medium 3 squares, long 4-5 squares
   Culverins: short 1-2 squares, medium 3-4 squares, long 5+ squares

8. Line of sight is calculated from center of originating square to center of target square (use a stick).  If the line passes over a square that contains another unit, or obstructing terrain such a a building or woods, then there is no LOS.  If the line touches the corner but does not cross the square, there is LOS (this is possible at direct 45 degree angles).

C. SKIRMISH ORDERS

1. All units armed with ranged weapons, and light artillery, may make a half move and shoot at -1 to hit.  This can be move/shoot or shoot/move.

D. ORDERED ACTIVATIONS/REACTIONS.

2. Move, Shoot, Skirmish actions are considered automatic, and no activation roll is required.

3. If attacking an enemy unit, the attacker must pass a Courage test. Usual modifiers apply.

4. A Countercharge and Closing Fire action requires a Courage test.

E. COMBAT

5. An attacking unit can attack an enemy unit in an adjacent (but not diagonal) square. IF the defending unit is in a building, or woods, or behind an obstacle, and loses the melee, the attacking unit will “carry the position” and move into the square vacated by the enemy.

6. Attacks on Guns:  Guns will always test against Morale to offer closing fire (at close range). If the attackers take casualties and fail the morale test, they fall back to the second square from of the gun. If they pass the morale test, they will “carry the position” and move into the gun square. The gun crew is assumed to flee. No melee is fought.  If the gun is sharing the square with another non-gun unit (see above), the attacker will fight a melee with that unit (if it weathered the closing fire from the gun).  If that unit loses and retreats, the gun crew flees and, again, the attacker moves into the gun square and captures it.

F. RETREATS

1. A unit retreats half a move after losing a melee or failing a Rally test. Retreat moves are always towards controlling the player's starting edge. If the retreat is into a square occupied by another friendly unit, the retreating unit will pass through that unit (and any others) until it reaches an empty square.  Units passed through must pass a Morale test or become Disordered (although they are not required to retreat from failing this test).  If the retreating unit is retreating because it lost a melee, but did not become disordered, it too must pass a Morale test or become disordered due to it retreating through friendly troops.