Sarzana (1494) - Charles VIII's Italian War campaign game #1

Using the Italian War battle generator, the below terrain and initial deployments were acquired.  The French rolled up 2 gendarme heavy cavalry, 2 swiss pike heavy infantry units, 3 missile units (2 crossbow + 1 arquebusier) and no artillery.  The Italians rolled up 3 cavalry (2 men at arms and 1 stradiot light cavalry), a single pike unit, and 3 missile units (2 crossbow + 1 arquebusier) and 1 heavy artillery piece.  I did this wrong, per my own chart: light cav and arquebusiers are only supposed to be supplied 1 for every 3 (not 2) heavy cav or crossbow units, respectively.  

Initial, randomized set-up.

Since the Italians were defending they received a free, non-attacking move to adjust their deployments. Although defending, the Italians, however, actually had the greater number in strength points.  If a defender is outnumbered, they may buy earthworks at 1 SP per square edge until SP are equal with the attacker. This doesn't make sense for the attacker and I need a "equalizing" adjustment for an outnumbered attacker, although I'm not sure what, at this point. I'm contemplating that they can buy "heroes" or "notable officers" at 3 or 4 SP each (up til both sides are equal SP), which are effectively extra generals, but which do not count for victory points. Another option would be to deem an attack by a numerically inferior force to involve a strategy of some sort, such as a cavalry flank march.  Or perhaps the attacker gets the free re-deployment move and the defender does not?

Starting positions after defender's (Italian) free move.

Given that the forces were small, and that this was played with The Portable Wargame, the game was played in less than 30 minutes. 

Swiss advance.

The French pikes and crossbows in the center created a line between the villa to their left and the woods to their right and sortied against the landsknechts to no avail. 

Swiss pikes in the center have attacked the landsknecht pikes and bounced back.

The Italian men at arms swept towards the center and attacked the French line in unison with the landknechts.  On the far French right, the stradiots attempted to harass alone French crossbow unit, but were ultimately destroyed.

Italian pike and men at arms attack the French center.

The French then attacked the landsknect in the flank, won, and pushed through and attacked the men at arms in the flank as well. Both the landsknecht and men at arms fell back.

Swiss pikes use a flank attack to repel the landsknecht pike.

Meanwhile the French gendarmes on the French left made short order of the Italian crossbowmen, and pushed the Italians quickly towards their exhaustion point.

After the Italian attack in the center. Gendarmes on French left scatter Italian crossbowmen. 

Crossbowmen are classed as light infantry with an SP of 2, and I'm thinking these need to be classed up to "close order" missile troops with an SP of 4. "Crossbowmen" can be a blanket term in this era for non-pike infantry, and such units might be expected to fight reasonably well in close combat - I was not aiming for these to be skirmish-type units easily swept from the field.

French gendarmes attacking Italian crossbows.

The leftmost Swiss pikes then received a volley from the Italian crossbowmen, and errant bolt struck the French commander dead! However the French gendarmes, having cleared the left flank completely, came across and dealt the another SP of damage to the landsknechts, ending the game.

End of game, with French gendarmes have moved to the center and are attacking Landsknecht pike in flank.

Even though it was a mess of a game, it was a victory for the French (3 VP for 3 destroyed) over the Italians (1 VP for killing French commander), with no victory points for controlling quarters of the board.

Italian men at arms, who perhaps should have been more aggressive.

The game ending attack by the gendarmes into the flank of the landsknecht pikes.

Rolled for the next game. The French slide on the victory arrow. The Italians roll a 1 and skip up a level for "high optimism" - despite the defeat, the Italian cause has been buoyed by this display of resistance!

The French roll a 4 and advance to next battle square in the Tuscany/Florence region. Consulting the 1799 map leads to the designation of the Volterra locale as the next battle field!

I count this campaign/battle generator as a success.  I think the deployment randomizer is my favorite feature - the head-to-head deployment sequences (I place a unit, you place a unit) leads to rather phony and unrealistic deployments, I think.  There's a certain challenge in your units not being where you would prefer them at the beginning of the game.