Lance Fournies in the Fold

We played another Italian Wars game of Kings of War Historical.  Gabe played the French army, which consisted of two regiments of chevaliers, two men at arms, two cavalry, two Swiss pike, two crossbowmen, and two cannon. 

French on right, Italians on left.

I played an Italian army comprised of two regiments men at arms, two cavalry, three arquebusier regiments, three Landsknecht pike, one cannon, and two small cannons.  

French cavalry on French right flank.

For the scenario we placed an objective marker (a 1" cardboard chit) in the exact center of the board, and took turns placing one additional objective marker each somewhere on the centerline more than 12" from another marker and at least 3" away from any terrain pieces. At the end of the game (6 turns), if a friendly unit was within 3" of a marker, it scored that objective.  If an enemy unit was also within 3" of the marker, it was not scored for either side.

Initial deployments viewed from Italian right. Landsknechts started in the woods.

The two houses could be occupied.  They counted as height 2 (so they could shoot over other units), counted as cover (-1 to hit if shot at) and hindered charges (-1 to chargers to hit).  I just acquired the old 2019 Clash of Kings supplement, which includes siege rules, and incorporated its "Tower" rule to the houses - a shooting unit within the house could choose one facing each turn as its center point and measure line of sight from there. All of these rules worked well.

Starting positions - at the upper center you can see the "fold" between the two hills that the French nested their assorted cavalry within.  This kept them out of LOS from missile fire but in position to made a lateral charge or double move at the two objective markers.

Because objective points are not scored until the end of the game, this was the most both-sides-holding-troops-in-reserve game I have possibly ever played. This in turn made it a very interesting and enjoyable experience.

Landsknechts in Italian service tangle with Swiss in French pay.

At first both sides tried to hold back, with the exception of Italian arquebusiers and French crossbowmen moving up and into houses in the village at the center.  Italian Landsknechts took a direct hit from French cannon fire, and decided to advance on an objective on the Italian left. Hoping to lure the French out into the center of the field, the Romanian mercenaries on the Italian right on charged the French men at arms opposite them.  This Romanian unit managed to tie up the entire French left flank for almost three turns, as it scored a snake eyes on a nerve check (automatic pass) despite taking 21 casualties.

Romanian cavalry counterattacked from front and flank.

In the center, the Italians were able to disperse a regiment of Swiss pike with missile fire and a charge by the heavy cavalry. But by this point it was turn 5, so the French finally began committing their cavalry.
 

French starting to commit the cavalry, who had been sheltering in the fold between the two hills on the left.

In short order, the French were able to move within 3" of each of the objective markers. The troublesome Romanians, as well as some stradiots, were routed.

Landsknechts attacked from front and flank.

Romanians take 21 hits but pass nerve test anyway and stay on the table.

A thick melee on the Italian left.

The Italians had the last move on Turn 6, and although unable to route any of the French off the objectives, were able to also be within 3" of two of them, which causes those markers to not count towards either side's final score.

Landsknecht in waiting.

French have cleared the Italian cavalry from the French left flank entirely.

Situation before last turn.

Unfortunately, an oversight by the Italians caused a unit of landsknect arquebusiers to not move within 3" of the center objective marker - this allowed the French to score a solitary point and claim the field for the day!

Final combat on Italian left.

This really was an enjoyable game, with the addition of the objective markers really changing the entire look and feel of the game and both sides making very different choices than in previous games.