DBMM Forum
General Category => Battle Reports => Topic started by: Barritus on May 18, 2013, 03:28:34 PM
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Well, I had my first game of DBMM in a few months earlier this week, with the Burgundian Ordonnance taking on Doug's Medieval Germans (Imperial).
I was the invader, choosing summer. My terrain selection of a river didn't arrive, while Doug chose a couple of gentle hills and a couple of woods. One gentle hill was in the middle of Doug's deployment zone, while the other was out on his left at the front of the deployment zone. Between it and the edge of the table was one wood. The other wood was in my deployment zone, but too small to have any influence on the battle.
Doug deployed three commands - a large centre command and two small flank commands. But what commands! The small commands each consisted of a Reg Kn (S) sub-general, a Reg Kn (S), a Reg Kn (S)/(I) wedge, a Reg Kn (I) DBE and a Baggage (S) wagon: small but perfectly formed (15 ME each). The large command stretched between the two hills, echeloned back to Doug's right. In the middle, behind TF, were Bd (I) and Bw (O); at each end of that line were blocks of Pk (O); on the forward hill were Art (I) and (S), more Bd (I) and some Ps (S) (about 38.5 ME I think). Combined with some Bge (I), the two small commands were both potent and, to an extent, expendable, while the large command was going to take a lot of work to deal with.
I also deployed three commands. On my left was a large command of 1 Reg Kn (S), 8 Reg Kn (O), 2 mounted Bw (S) and 1 Reg LH (O), under the command of Duke Charles (27 ME). In the centre was a command of 6 Kn (O), 2 Bw (O) and 4 DBEs of Bw (X/S) (24 ME). On the right were 6 Ps (S), 4 more DBEs of Bw (X/S), 2 Bw (S), 2 Art (O) and 3 LH (I) (20 ME). I had some fortified Bge (O) in the rear.
I planned to use Duke Charles's knights to overwhelm Doug's right wing, then fall onto the flank of Doug's centre, while the centre command (4 Kn dismounted as Bd (S)) faced Doug's centre. The right would hang on as grimly as they could. Accordingly Charles's command got the highest PIP dice, the middle dice went to the centre command and the small dice to the right wing. Doug gave the low PIP dice to the centre command and averaged the other two dice.
It was, as they say in the classics, a game of two halves.
In the first half, everything went right for me. In the second half, it didn't.
Early on the artillery knocked over a Bw element sitting behind the TF (no protection against artillery), while Doug advanced the Bd over the hill towards my Ps. On my left Charles's Kn snaked forwards and the centre advanced more slowly. Doug's two mounted commands also advanced, one each towards my wing commands; his centre largely stayed put.
First action was on my right, where Doug charged most of his mounted command towards my Bw (X/S). There they died, although his Bge (S) wagon fought better than I expected. On the other hand, my 3 LH (I) held off a Kn wedge and a Kn (S). But once the standard wagon was gone, I surrounded and destoyed that command's general, breaking the command.
Action then shifted to the opposite wing, where I clumsily deployed Charles's column into a couple of lines. Doug's Bge (S)-supported Kn (S) fell on my Kn (O) who outnumbered them 2 to 1, and proceeded to grind them down. One notable contact was between his Kn (S) and mine, with my LH (O) constantly charging into the rear, to no effect, for about three or four combats.
In the centre, I moved the sub-general with the two remaining mounted Kn to a point behind the Ps (S) of the right wing. They charged the Bd (I) where the Ps (S) had been repulsed or spent. But numbers counted and the Kn were flanked and destroyed. The crucial combat saw the sub-general himself killed, breaking the command.
Meanwhile, over on the victorious right wing, I moved the general over to face Doug's C-in-C. Doug obliged and charged in, killing that general with a 4-1 dice result.
On my left, I managed to destroy the Kn (S) and the Kn (S/I) wedge, but I missed a couple of other flank hits. Doug, however, was able to knock over the 5 Kn he needed to break my left wing, and this was enough to break the army. Doug had lost his left wing, and his right was disheartened. He'd lost a few elements from his centre, so was also close to breaking. All in all, probably about a 17-8 win to Doug.
Thanks to Doug for an entertaining game which, as they also say in the classics, had it all - even an artillery duel (which Doug's guns won) and violent swings of fortune.
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it was fun.. I was actually trying to see how small an element count I could get in a 400AP army ;-) And my eBay Medievals were an odd mix - but fun. I am now going to try and find the largest artillery park in an army list - (Burgundian?) as I seem to have acquired inadvertently about 10 or mixed gonnes, bombards, and organ guns..
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I believe the Ming have the largest number of allowed elements of Artillery, but for armies that can sensibly use European guns then the Burgundians should indeed be on top.