After a long break from the table we decided to venture back for another round of the Thirty Years War. Crafthole returned to his guise of Captain-General Krafhollern,
last seen a couple of years ago giving the revolting Bohemians a good pasting, whilst Stuart, after some prevarication, decided to deputise as his lieutenant. I took on Bethlan Gabor's mantle with some Ottoman allies as he continued the fight against the Hapsburgs after the crushing of the Bohemians in an attempt to get favourable terms for a truce.
After rolling for aggression the Transylvanians were, historically enough, invading.. Krafthollern therefore chose the bulk of the terrain in the form of a wood, a village, a difficult hill and a gentle hill. I chose a rough hill, a gully and a marsh with both of us getting the obligatory free road. Almost all of the terrain ended up on my side of the board, except the wood, which was ideally placed to provide the Hapsburgs with a site for an ambush. This meant much of Krafhollern's terrain was placed to be as useless as possible for me.
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| Starting dispositions. Transylvanians to right, Hapsburgs to left. The wood in the foreground is a prime location for an ambush. |
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| Stuart's command on the Imperial right. Cuirassiers, grenzers and carabins supported by pike and shot |
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| Krafthollern's two commands on the Imperial left. Again mixed cavalry and foot in a combined arms approach, supported by artillery in redoubts |
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| The Transylvanian left. Haiduks and Wallachians take position on a rough hill. Behind them Boyar lancers, Viteji and skirmishers prepare to cover the flank. |
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| To their right are Ottoman allies, a mixture of Sipahis and Jannissaries with Anatolian sharpshooters covering the flank in the marsh. To the rear can be seen Azabs and Segman |
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| The Ottomans start by cautiously advancing, However from this point a series of truly poor command rolls leave them paralysed in the face of a bold Hapsburg attack. A strike force of Crabats edge around the Ottoman flank |
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| On the other flank the Transylvanians are not having much more luck as they dance around ineffectually trying to make the best of some bad rolls. All the Hapsburgs have to do on this flank is sit and wait, providing a convenient dump for any low command rolls. |
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| Finally the Ottomans get a command roll just high enough to send some Segman to slow the flanking Crabats down, but not for long... |
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| Further along Krafthollern swings around into the Ottoman Sipahis, leaving behind a small force to cover the sharpshooters in the marsh. |
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| The Sipahis manage to hold off the attacking reiters and swing around in turn into Krafthollern's force. |
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| The result is a disaster as the Ottomans have no effect and are blown away by Krafthollern's superior fire power. |
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| The Crabats breaking into the Ottoman baggage is the final straw. |
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| The Ottomans flee the field hotly pursued by Krafhollern whilst the Transylvanians desperately try to reorganise the collapsing flank |
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| As the Hapsburgs sweep in on the Translyvanian flank, the Boyars mount a desperate charge into Stuart's force. They can make no impression on the Imperial line however and are systematically mown down as they charge in. |
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| The Transylvanian sub-commander desperately tries to cut his way through the Hapsburg line but is soon surrounded |
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| Imperial Targeteers emerge from the woods onto the Translyvanian flank to complete the slaughter |
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| Haiduks and Wallaichians prepare to make a last stand. |
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| Meanwhile some Anatolian sharpshooters, all that remains of the Ottoman force, creep around the marsh waiting for the cover of night to make their escape |
So an emphatic defeat for Bethlan Gabor who is forced to abandon his alliance with the Sultan in Istanbul and acknowledge the suzerainty of the emperor.
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