The Wars of Religion - Capture the Hills

 Deployment: Both sides are trying to claim the central hill and have weighted their cavalry onto their left flank and infantry on the right. The Spanish Catholics also have artillery overlooking the cornfield.

Turn 1: The Spanish guns tear into the protestant line, even disordering the highly disciplined Swiss!

Both sides push forwards towards the middle, but the French cavalry commander takes his elite cuirassiers in a dash behind the lines to intercept the Spaniards on the far flank.

The wily Duca di Parma seemingly ill deploys the Italian tercio, provoking the enemy reiters into a hasty attack. Rapidly reforming the tercio the shocked reiters are sent reeling back. 

The Spanish tercio wins the race to the summit. But the Swiss guard rapidly reform and are led by their king in a daring assault. With the odds stacked evenly fate hangs in the balance, but a stray bullet slays King Henri and the Swiss retreat with heavy losses. 

Elsewhere the Catholic Gendarmes advance through the cornfield, but are greeted with a withering fusilade from the Huguenot musketeer regiment and dragoons. 



Turn 3: The artillery booms out, again disordering the badly mauled Swiss. 



The Gendarmes come charging out of the cornfield into the redeployed cuirassiers and the exposed musketeer regiment. In both cases their gallantry exceeds their marshal prowess. Against the cuirassiers they are easily scattered. Whilst against the musketeers they get in amongst the footmen and slaughter many, before they are dragged from their saddles and clubbed to death. 




All along the line units begin to exchange fire, not yet willing to risk a melee. On the right the infantry close within point blank range while the reiters pull back to safety.



Turn 4: A detached manga sniping from the cornfield finally convinces the battered Swiss that their position is untenable and they retreat. 

On the flank the mounted arquebusiers continue bloodying each other with an endless rain of shot, with the French argoulets disordered and pushed to the brink. 

The Picardy regiment at the foot of the hill fires on the oncoming English, inflicting heavy casualties.

The cuirassiers advance into the field, but receive a withering volley from the retreating mounted arquebusiers, badly disordering them. 

Turn 5: Another unit of cuirassiers slams home into the detached Spanish shot, easily cutting them down. 

On the far flank the Spanish mounted arquebusiers get the best of their duel, putting their enemies to flight. 

In the centre the Duca di Palma once again lures his enemy, this time the hugeunot shot, into forming a forlorn hope and making an ill advised assault on the elite Spanish tercio. The few survivors flee for their lives.

The English regiment has more success. Charging headlong into the Italians despite their losses, cutting into their pike block and disordering them. 

With time running out the Protestants know they must take the hill soon or sound the retreat. At last the landsknechts are committed to the fight. Weathering volleys as they climb the slope, the Germans push onwards fearlessly and in the bloody melee force the elite Spanish tercio back yard by yard. 

Turn 6: The disciplined Spaniards reform and counter attack. The Landsknechts triumph turns to dismay and they soon weary of the fight, ceding the high ground back to the Catholics.

In the cornfield the Catholic horsemen fight indecisively with the cuirassiers, buying time for their infantry in the centre.

In a desperate bid to secure the hill, the wavering musketeers are ordered to advance. But their courage fails as the Spanish artillery barks out once more, scattering the regiment. 

The Italians hastily reform their formation and confidently repel the English regiments final attack.

With the light failing and only the near mutinous landsknechts anywhere near the hill, the French Protestants decide they must retreat to preserve their forces. Spanish Catholics win!