College of Kings

Battle of the Catalaunian Plains – background Part 2

In this post I will continue the discussion about the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains. I will just pick up from where I left off in the first post.

XL continued.

This section continues with a discussion about the battle that the Visigoths had engaged in: “(209) Here King Theodorid, while riding by to encourage his army, was thrown from his horse and trampled under foot by his own men, thus ending his days at a ripe old age. But others say he was slain by the spear of Andag of the host of the Ostrogoths, who were then under the sway of Attila. This was what the soothsayers had told to Attila in prophecy, though he understood it of Aëtius. (210) Then the Visigoths, separating from the Alani, fell upon the horde of the Huns and nearly slew Attila. But he prudently took flight and straightway shut himself and his companions within the barriers of the camp, which he had fortified with wagons. A frail defence indeed; yet there they sought refuge for their lives, whom but a little while before no walls of earth could withstand.

From this section MacDowall infers that the Alani were defeated and routed and the Visigoths were then on the edge of breaking. Syvanne states that the Ostragoths managed to defeat the Visigoths after having engaged in a battle for many hours. At the very least both authors have embellished the account and inferred information that is just not there.

What we can say is that the battle of the Catalaunian Plains seems very confused with close fighting between the Ostragoths and Visigoths. We can also say that Attila was in the area. The cause of the death of Theodrid does not seem certain, but it does seem likely that the Ostragoths were within spear range of him and his lines.

The statement that the Visigoths separated from the Alani does not imply to me that the Alani retreated. Rather it says “the Visigoths, separating from the Alani, fell upon the horde of The Huns”. This suggests that the Visigoths were doing the movement causing the separation when the they fell upon the Hun. Falling on the Hun, in turn, suggests that they were advancing. This interpretation implies that the Alani were not retreating and the Visigoths were not defeated. Rather the Alani remained in position and the Visigoths advanced.

The other factor to consider is that Aetius had put the Alani between the Visigoths and Romans in order to reduce the possibility of them routing or deserting. Given all of these factors, I just find no evidence to support the contention that the Alani had routed. If such a significant event had occurred, it seems likely that Jordanes would have mentioned it.

The other item worth noting in these sections is that Attila had a camp fortified with wagons, but it was referred to as a frail defense. I take from these statements that the camp fortifications had been assembled quickly and that it was not a prepared defensive position. This information is consistent with a retreating army suddenly finding itself under threat and assembling makeshift fortifications.

Sections 211 and 212 discusses how both Thorismund and Aetius independently both became mixed up with the enemy in the darkness and confusion as night set in. These statements again point to the confusion of the battle.

Section 212 and 213 discuss the events of the next morning after the battle of the Catalaunian Plains was essentially over.

My current Hun forces. I have about 100 Huns but I plan to increase them to about 180 for the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains. [In this photo they are being used as Tatar for the 1651 Battle of Berestechko, hence the cossack wagon in the foreground and the Polish cavalry opposite].

XLI

Section 217 is the most interesting part of this Chapter and relates to the number of troops involved: “In this most famous war of the bravest tribes, one hundred and sixty five thousand are said to have been slain on both sides, leaving out of account fifteen thousand of the Gepidae and Franks, who met each other the night before the general engagement and fell by wounds mutually received, the Franks fighting for the Romans and the Gepidae for the Huns”.

It suggests that 165,000 men were slain. I have interpreted this number as being a combined number from the Roman and Hun sides. In a previous section of Jordanes (182) he suggests that Attila had an army of 500,000, (not necessarily all on this campaign).

There is considerable discrepancy in books that people have published on the size of Attilas army at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains. MacDowall suggests that Attila had 5-10,000 Ostragoths, 10-15,000 Hun and 5-10,000 Gepids. As far as I can tell, he bases these numbers on the statement that Attila could not forage enough to support an army any bigger. On the other hand Syvanne estimates 100,000 Hun, 40,000 Ostragoth infantry and 60,000 Ostragoth Cavalry and 50,000 Gepids. Plus troops of various nations.

Given that major battles of this type could have 30-35% casualties, I could see the estimates of Syvanne being a lot closer with troops from both sides combined being in the range of 500,000.

The other factor that supports the higher numbers is that Jordanes states that there were 15,000 casualties the night before in the battle between the Gepids and the Franks. While it is easy to get numbers wrong when you approach several hundred thousand, it is more difficult to get numbers wrong at the 15,000 level. This 15,000 dead would have made a significant dent in the armies of both sides if the numbers presented by McDowall were correct. Such a devastating combat would have been discussed in more detail.

The Hun supply situation.

I would like to thank Michael Blodgett for some of his insights in helping me develop some of my thoughts on the Hun supply situation. MacDowall suggests that there were only 10-15,000 Hun warriors at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains. He suggests that it could not have been any more as The Huns could not forage enough to support an army any bigger. I would like to challenge this assertion.

Attila had a good supply situation. He probably had food and supplies provided by the Bishop of Troyes. Also as Jordanes states (192), ”That portion of the earth accordingly became the threshing-floor for countless races”; in June the whole area would be flush with food – it was a bread basket for the whole region. Also, less than 100 miles behind Troyes were the friendly Franks around the Neckar river which would have provided supplies.
Attila on his march to Orleans probably set up intermediate depots, maybe at Sens and Montargis. Even though he did not get supplies when he arrived at Orleans, he probably had an excellent supply train that was fully capable of supporting a sizable army. In addition, the land at this time of year was probably plentiful and he had a supply line through friendly territory.

Even though the Hun are routinely portrayed as Nomadic people living solely off the land, by 450 AD hey had a Kingdom with a center of power in Pannonia. They were quite capable of creating supply lines and securing supplies from friendly peoples through which their supply lines passed. I do not see that the army size is limited by foraging ability alone.

Also, I just do not believe that Attila would engage in a campaign to eliminate the threat of the Visigoths by marching to their homeland with only 10-15,000 Hun troops.

An alternative theory for the battle.

Attila was retreating from Orleans in the direction of Metz. He wanted to retreat as quickly as possible so as not to be trapped by the combined Roman and Visigoth army. The terrain in this region consists of a number of parallel ridges running north to south. These ridges had gentler slopes on the West side and steeper slopes on the East side.

On the route from Orleans to Metz there are two sizable rivers the Seine and the Marne. For the crossing of the Seine, Troyes is the most logical option as it is the only major route in the direction of Metz; also Attila was familiar with Troyes. For the crossing of the Marne, there are several options, including Chalons.

Approaching Troyes is possible from the direction of Orleans on one of two roads passing through the gaps in a ridge West of Troyes. One road goes West from Troyes through Fontvannes and the other goes South West from Troyes, through Auxon. It is possible that Attila used both roads.

Crossing a river, even at a crossing would present a bottleneck due to the convergence of troops. This would cause the gap between any pursuing army and Attila to close. I therefore regard it as likely that any pursuing army caught up near either the Seine or the Marne. For now I will assume it was the Seine, but the argument that I am going to make could equally apply to the Marne.

Between the Seine at Troyes and the nearest ridge is about 8-10km. If the main bulk of Attila’s forces were bunched up at Troyes, preparing to cross the Seine, he would have an excellent view of the ridge in the distance. He would be able to see his rear-guard or a Roman/Visigoth advanced guard, or both, crossing the ridge. The initial Frank/Gepid clash referenced by Jordanes could easily have been an advanced guard / rear guard action at the ridge.

The sight of this threat to his troops on the plain would then be obvious to Attila, as he would have his back to the river with a larger army advancing. As the ridge is a defendable location, it would then be prudent to send troops to reinforce/capture the ridge to prevent a threat to his forces on the plain.

I could then see the battle being a large meeting engagement at the ridge. The Romans would be coming along the road from the West and the Visigoths from the road to the South West. The Alani could have been coming along either road or across country. I could then see the fight developing as more and more troops arrived from both sides.

The map below is a current map showing the topography of the region. I have indicated the ridge to the West of Troyes and the two road providing the axes of advance. The plain between the ridge and the Seine at Troyes is clear to see. The Riviere-de-Corps that was discussed in the first part of this blog discussion is also visible between the Romans and the Huns.

In my next post I will discuss how I can see the battle of the Catalaunian Plains with these dispositions developing in line with Jordanes. My main goal is to take Jordanes and see if a battle consistent with the statements made by him makes sense. It is my contention that it does.

Battle of the Catalaunian Plains – background Part 1

My next big project is going to be the 451 AD Battle of the Catalaunian Plains. This battle was between the Romans and The Huns. I have been reading about this battle and this post discusses the information that I have read and some of the contradictions that I have found. The post is getting quite long so I will split it into two, with the second part coming in a few weeks time.

The books that I bought are the “Military History of Late Rome 425-457” by Ilkka Syvanne as well as “Catalaunian Fields AD 451” and “Conquerors of the Roman Empire – The Goths”, both by Simon MacDowall. I also obtained a coy of the public domain writings by Jordanes, “Origins and deeds of the Goths”, translated by Charles C.Mierow. Both of Syvanne and MacDowall quote this Jordanes text as one of their primary sources of information as it represents one of the only complete texts about the battle.

Although in parts of this blog I may be critical of some of the assumptions and conclusions of both Syvanne and MacDowall, I should say that they have both provided an excellent starting point in understanding the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains. They were particularly useful as there is very little information out there about this major battle. I fully recommend all three books for anyone looking at gaming this battle.

My main criticism of both authors is that they clearly state that the most complete account of the battle is Jordanes (a 6th century Roman bureaucrat) and that they have used his account as a primary source. However, they use parts of the text to support their view of the battle, while ignoring or misinterpreting parts of the text that do not support their view. To me this approach is not entirely consistent.

I should say that both authors come up with a different interpretation of the battle of the Catalaunian Plains based on the same starting information. Both accounts seem plausible when taken in isolation and as a war-gamer, both would make an excellent game. So to start with I have two potential battles to fight. However, I just wasn’t feeling comfortable with either account.

In order to review the battle, I too will go back to the Jordanes text and then discuss some of the assumptions of both authors along with my views. Due to the age, the Jordanes text is in the public domain so I can quote it directly. As I want to respect the other two authors copy-write, I will not be quoting their texts directly. You will need to purchase the books which are very reasonably priced.

The Jordanes text is divided into chapters numbered by Roman numerals, and then sections with standard numbers. I will go through the text in sequence giving these numbers. Some sections have not been included as they add no useful information for this discussion. One item to note is that I have used the translation of the original text done by Mierow; I am aware that there could be errors, but I have a very poor knowledge of Latin and I cannot contribute anything in relation to the translation.

Chapter XXXVI

Section 191 lists the allies of the Romans. “Now these were his auxiliaries: Franks, Sarmations, Armoricians, Liticians, Burgundians, Saxons, Riparians, Olibriones (once Roman soldiers and now the flower of the allied forces), and some other Celtic or German tribes. I will get back to this when I discuss the number of troops involved.

Section 192 discusses the location of the battle “And so they met in the Catalaunian Plains, which are also called Mauriacian, extending in length one hundred leuva, as the Gauls express it, and seventy in width. Now a Gallic leuva measures a distance of fifteen hundred paces. That portion of the earth accordingly became the threshing-floor of countless races. The two hosts bravely joined battle. Nothing was done under cover, but they contended in open fight”.

Given that a Roman pace is 1.48m, the size of the Catalaunian Plains can be calculated to be 222 km x 155km (138 miles x 96 miles). This section really doesn’t tie down the location of the battle in any detail.

Chapter XXXVII

In Sections 194 and 195 the Alans are discussed. The Alans occupied Orleans, then known as Aureliani. “But before we set forth the order of the battle itself, it seems needful to relate what had already happened in the course of the campaign, for it was not only a famous struggle but one that was complicated and confused. Well then, Sangiban, king of the Alani, smitten with fear of what might come to pass, had promised to surrender to Attila, and to give into his keeping Aureliani, a city of Gaul wherein he dwelt. (195) When Theodorid and Aëtius learned of this, they cast up great earthworks around that city before Attila’s arrival and kept watch over the suspected Sangiban, placing him with his tribe in the midst of their auxiliaries. Then Attila, king of the Huns, was taken aback by this event and lost confidence in his own troops, so that he feared to begin the conflict. While he was meditating on flight–a greater calamity than death itself–he decided to inquire into the future through soothsayers”.

These sections show that the Alans were on the side of the Romans, but were not the most trusted allies. Once Attila had seen Theodorid and Aetius at Orleans, he began is retreat to the Catalaunian Plains.

XXVIII

Section 197 is critical. It discusses the layout of the battlefield an the disposition of the Roman army. “The armies met, as we have said, in the Catalaunian Plains. The battle field was a plain rising by a sharp slope to a ridge, which both armies sought to gain; for advantage of position is a great help. The Huns with their forces seized the right side, the Romans, the Visigoths and their allies the left, and then began a struggle for the yet untaken crest. Now Theodorid with the Visigoths held the right wing and Aëtius with the Romans the left. They placed in the centre Sangiban (who, as said before, was in command of the Alani), thus contriving with military caution to surround by a host of faithful troops the man in whose loyalty they had little confidence. For one who has difficulties placed in the way of his flight readily submits to the necessity of fighting”.

This passage is where I have problems with both authors. The text clearly says that the battlefield was a plain rising by a sharp slope to a ridge and that both sides wanted to control the ridge. Both authors make the case that the ridge is Montgueux Ridge a few miles West of Troyes. There is evidence that the battle occurred in this general area as another source, the Chronicle of Prosper claims that the battle takes place 5 miles from Troyes.

Syvanne makes the case that “subsequent details prove that the hill was located on the Roman left wing” without citing any such proof. MacDowall claims that this hill was on the Roman right wing, again without citing any proof. Jordanes if read without interpretation states that the battlefield was a plain rising by a sharp slope to a ridge. It does not say that part of the battlefield (Roman left or right) was a plain rising to a ridge. I will come back to this critical point when I discuss the brook details in section 208.

The section also states that the Romans and Visigoth seized the left. Having just discussed the ridge, I read this as the Romans and the Visigoths seized the left slope of the ridge. It then goes on to say that the Visigoths were on the right wing and the Romans were on the left wing, with the Alani in the middle. If both the Visigoths and the Romans seized the left slope and if they were on opposite flanks of the army, then the slope must have run the whole length of the army.

Section 198 discusses The Huns initial positions for the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains. “On the other side, however, the battle line of the Huns was arranged so that Attila and his bravest followers were stationed in the centre. In arranging them thus the king had chiefly his own safety in view, since by his position in the very midst of his race he would be kept out of the way of threatening danger. The innumerable peoples of the divers tribes, which he had subjected to his sway, formed the wings”.

The section also states that The Huns with their forces seized the right side of the slope. This analysis suggests that the starting positions were two armies on the opposite side of a ridge which ran the entire length of the battlefield. On at least one side of this hill were plains. I just do not see how the text of Jordanes supports the ridge being at one end or other of the battlefield.

Section 199 to 200 discusses the Ostragoths and the Gepids. the key point from these sections is that the Ostragoths faced off against the Visigoths. this would place them on the left flank of The Huns. In this section it does not specifically say that the Gepids and other nations were on the Hun right, but with The Huns in the center, I would regard this placement as reasonable.

Section 201 is interesting and has potentially led to some false conclusions by Syvanne due to the initial assumptions about the ridge being only on one flank. “Attila alone was king of all kings over all and concerned for all. So then the struggle began for the advantage of position we have mentioned. Attila sent his men to take the summit of the mountain, but was outstripped by Thorismund and Aëtius, who in their effort to gain the top of the hill reached higher ground and through this advantage of position easily routed the Huns as they came up”.

From this section Syvanne has assumed that because the ridge was only on one flank that both Thorismund and Aetius must have been together on that flank. If instead the ridge runs the length of the battlefield, then both Thorismund and Aetius could have taken control of the entire length of the ridge with one on each flank. There is no evidence that Thorismund was with Aetius. Syvanne suggests that he is with Aetius as some sort of hostage to keep the Visigoths loyal. This statement just does not hold with section 197 which states that Aetius had surrounded the Alani with a host of faithful troops (one of which were the Visigoths on the right of the Alani). The Visigoths cannot be both faithful troops and potentially disloyal.

As a side note it is possible the both Aetius and Thorismund used cavalry to gain initial control of the ridge. I have no evidence to support this possibility but it is interesting to consider, particularly when trying to recreate the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains.

XXXIX

Sections 202 to 206 discuss Atilas words to his troops after being repulsed from the initial assault of the ridge. I won’t go into these sections in detail but there is an interesting point from a gaming perspective. Attila says “Who, moreover, made armed men yield to you, when you were as yet unarmed?” This section implies that the Hun, at least in part, were now using armor.

Also Attila says about the enemy in Section 204: “Let us then attack the foe eagerly; for they are ever the bolder who make the attack. Despise this union of discordant races! To defend oneself by alliance is proof of cowardice. See, even before our attack they are smitten with terror. They seek the heights, they seize the hills and, repenting too late, clamor for protection against battle in the open fields. You know how slight a matter the Roman attack is. While they are still gathering in order and forming in one line with locked shields, they are checked, I will not say by the first wound, but even by the dust of battle”.

This clearly shows that the enemy are on the hills and not on the Plains as postulated by MacDowall. It also indicates that they formed in one line with locked shields.

XL (sections 207 and 208)

This chapter is where I have one of my major differences of opinion with MacDowall. In sections 207 and 208 it says: “And although the situation was itself fearful, yet the presence of their king dispelled anxiety and hesitation. Hand to hand they clashed in battle, and the fight grew fierce, confused, monstrous, unrelenting–a fight whose like no ancient time has ever recorded. There such deeds were done that a brave man who missed this marvellous spectacle could not hope to see anything so wonderful all his life long. For, if we may believe our elders, a brook flowing between low banks through the plain was greatly increased by blood from the wounds of the slain. It was not flooded by showers, as brooks usually rise, but was swollen by a strange stream and turned into a torrent by the increase of blood. Those whose wounds drove them to slake their parching thirst drank water mingled with gore. In their wretched plight they were forced to drink what they thought was the blood they had poured from their own wounds”.

MacDowall makes the case that a brook West of Troyes is called “la Riviere de Corps (the river of bodies)” and that this brook could be the brook referred to in section 208. I think that this argument has considerable merit and place names can often be a reflection of history. MacDowall uses this name to justify his belief that the battle of the Catalaunian Plains took place just West of Troyes. My main problem is that la Riveiere de Corps is actually south of the Ridge of Montegueux whereas MacDowall would lead us to believe that the battle took place north of the ridge. This seems another case of MacDowall selectively using information from Jordanes to justify his view of the battle, while ignoring information that is contradictory.

Summary

In order to avoid this blog post becoming too long, I plan to cover the rest of the Chapters in Jordanes in the next post as well as discussing how I plan to recreate the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains. Some of the key items that I plan to discuss are 1) Did the Alans actually retreat as the authors suggest (spoiler alert – there is no evidence that they did) and 2) How many troops took part at the Catalaunian Plains as Syvanne and MacDowall have wildly differing views.

Historicon 2021 – Bicocca after action report.

Here is my Battle of Bicocca after action report. The 1522 Italian Wars battle was refought on Friday morning in the Grand Ballroom at Historicon 2021. It was originally for ten players, but we managed to fit in two or three extras.

Bicocca after action report

The battle was laid out on a “T” shaped table using 4 sets of 5′ x 8′ tables. The battle involved over 1600 figures in 28mm, all of which I painted since I got back into the hobby in 2017. All of the terrain was also hand-built, kit assembled or kit-bashed.

Without going too much into the Historical details of the battle, the Spanish had set up defensive positions along a sunken road near the Villa Bicocca north of Milan. Their left flank was protected by a marsh and their right flank was protected by a large drainage ditch. The Spanish were supported by their Landsknecht allies and the Milanese army was arriving from Milan to protect the bridge across the drainage ditch.

The overall table layout with the French – Milanese cavalry engagement in the foreground.

Against the Spanish was the French army. The French commander did not want to assault the prepared Spanish positions. Their Swiss allies threatened to head back to the Cantons if they did not attack and so the French commander reluctantly agreed. The French also had the Black Band of Giovanni as a scouting force and the army of Venice approaching the Spanish from the marsh side.

Our battle differed from the actual battle in that we allowed the Venetians to attack through the marsh and we allowed the French to commit significant forces to attacking the bridge over the drainage ditch. These changes meant that the Spanish were threatened not only from the front, but from both flanks. The Spanish overall commander would have to decide how to commit his forces to defend against these threats and these choices ultimately proved critical in deciding the outcome of the battle. Now to begin the Battle of Bicocca after action report.

Initial Spanish deployments.

The main Spanish force of arqubusiers and artillery was deployed at the field defenses at the sunken road. These troops were supported by two very large Landsknecht pike blocks. Out front of these troops were four units of Spanish Jinetes which are light cavalry. The Jinetes were to remove the Black Band screening forces so that the artillery at the defense could fire on the advancing Swiss pike.

Spanish Jinetes out front of the defenses at the sunken road.

In reserve at the camp were four Spanish Pike blocks, some Spanish artillery and a unit of Spanish knights.

The Landsknecht pike blocks with the Spanish reserves in the camp behind.

Arriving on the Spanish right were the Milanese cavalry and infantry. Their role was to protect the bridge across the drainage ditch on the Spanish right.

The Milanese cavalry on the left with their infantry near the church.

French initial deployments

The French Gendarmes and other heavy Cavalry were on the French left facing the Milanese. The open table was designed to allow a fast moving cavalry battle.

Next to the French cavalry, near the vineyard were the French infantry.

The French infantry consisting of two pike blocks and four units of crossbows.

In the center were the two massive Swiss pike blocks. They were ready to assault the prepared defense head-on. Supporting the Swiss was the French artillery and the Black Band of Giovanni to screen the pike blocks. the table was set up as a “T” shape to allow the Swiss room to advance against the defenses.

Swiss Pike blocks on the starting line. One from the rural cantons and one from the urban cantons.

On the French right were the Venetians. Their job was to get through the marsh and pressure the Spanish right through the Villa Bicocca and its gardens.

In the background the Venetians can be seen emerging from the marsh.

Opening moves

On the left the French cavalry wasted no time engaging the Milanese cavalry. This resulted in a sweeping cavalry battle that lasted most of the game. The Milanese player fought this battle very well, but just had no dice luck. His efforts did result in keeping the mighty French Gendarmes away from the Milanese infantry.

The early stages of the massed cavalry battle.

Covered by the bold French cavalry advance to their left, the French infantry started to make progress towards the bridge over the drainage ditch. The Milanese infantry moved to engage them. All of this was done with the sound of church bells coming from the church (this was not done with Renaissance technology, but by bluetooth speakers and my iPhone).

Hand to hand fighting between the French and Milanese infantry.

In the center the Swiss Pike blocks started their advance. Ahead of them fierce fighting erupted between the Spanish Jinetes and the Black Band.

The Swiss advance was so fast that the French artillery got left behind, as in the real battle.

The Venetian tactics

On the Spanish left, near the marsh and Villa, was perhaps the most decisive of the opening moves, and the one that would have the most impact upon the result of the battle. The Venetians were only a small force consisting of light cavalry (Stradiots and mounted arquebusiers), foot arquebusiers and a couple of pike blocks. The light cavalry, unimpeded by the marsh, made a lightning raid towards the sprawling Italian gardens at the back of the Villa.

The speed of this advance spooked the Spanish commander. Rather than send a small screening force to protect the easily defended villa, they sent the entire Spanish reserve of four elite pike blocks towards the gardens. In addition they moved one of the massive Landsknecht pike blocks towards the villa. The Landsknecht pike block therefore vacated the position behind the field defenses and was no longer able to defend against the advancing Swiss pike blocks.

The massive commitment of Spanish reserves against the advancing Swiss.

Not only did the Venetians draw the pike blocks across to face them, but they enticed them to advance through the gardens. The advance of the Spanish through the gardens was slow due to the need to stay in formation. It therefore took them a long time to make progress. More importantly, every turn that they spent advancing into the gardens would take a turn to get back out to support the main defenses.

The Venetians, once they had sucked the Spanish in, kept on harassing them with mildly effective shot as they slowly withdrew back towards the safety of the marshes – not wishing to engage the vastly superior Spanish forces. This was a tactical masterpiece by the Venetians, who Paul, who commanded some of them, will talk about for years.

The middle battle.

On the Spanish right things were not going well for the Milanese cavalry. Despite excellent tactics, the dice just would not roll for their commander and their force was slowly reduced by the relentless French Gendarmes.

This French Cavalry victory protected the flank of the advancing French infantry and allowed them to battle and push back the Milanese infantry after much fierce fighting.

The clergy watch as the French infantry advance. Points to those who can recognize the figures on the French command base.

The French continue battling the Milanese

In the center the Swiss Pike blocks continued their advance. The Spanish Jinetes fought valiantly to try and clear out the Black Band skirmish force to allow the cannons on the field defenses to open fire on the Swiss Pikes.

With the Swiss pike almost at the defenses, the Spanish commander realized the tactical error of over concentrating on the Venetians. It was too late to recover.

The wooden dowels show the position of the pikes in the garden.

The end game

On the Spanish right, the French infantry continued to make progress. The Spanish moved their reserve artillery to fire on them from the other side of the drainage ditch, but this fire was ineffective. The French would go on to capture the bridge, leaving an unopposed advance to the Spanish camp – with all of the reserves committed against the Venetians.

The last line of defense, the Spanish artillery.

Even the geese along the banks of the drainage ditch don’t seem worried by the Spanish artillery.

The final French infantry move to capture the bridge before the march into the Spanish camp

In the center the Swiss reached the field defense. The pike block from the urban cantons was almost unopposed with the Landsknecht pike block that was due to face them having been diverted against the Venetians. The arquebusiers put up a valiant fight for a turn, but were never going to stop a massive Swiss pike block.

The Swiss pike block from the rural cantons also hit the defenses. They were met with the Landsknechts in prepared positions. The clash of pikes between the two was intense and lasted three or four turns. Eventually the Swiss got the upper hand and managed to push back the Landsknechts, but the battle was close until the end. We were left wondering if the both Landsknecht pike blocks had remained at the wall and had even been supported by a couple of Spanish Pike blocks, could the result have been different? I suspect that the Spanish would have held.

The lone Landsknecht pike block looking at the mass of advancing Swiss.

The final result

In the end both Swiss pike blocks crashed through the defenses at the sunken road. Nothing was between them and the Spanish camp. With the camp being attacked by the French infantry and the Swiss Pike, the battle was over. The Venetians were the only forces not to make it to the Spanish camp, but they had been instrumental in the result of the battle.

Conclusion

I hoped that you enjoyed seeing and reading this Battle of Bicocca after action report. The battle had gone very differently from how I expected it, but that made it more fun. With attacks on the Spanish center and both flanks, the game was always going to come down to both the frontal assault of the defenses and how the Spanish deployed and committed their reserves. I had not expected the Spanish to over commit against the Venetians, even to the point of pulling the Landsknechts away from the defenses. The Venetians tactics were a masterclass.

I hope that everyone that played had a good time. The positive comments that I received from players and those that walked by were pleasing, particularly as this convention was the first time I had hosted games at a con.

I was also very pleased to receive an award for the game. This made all of my efforts on this Italian Wars project for the last three or four years worthwhile.

Update 27th November: HMGS just officially announced the Best of Show award and it was awarded to my Battle of Bicocca game. Considering the number of great looking tables at Historicon (see my last blog post), I was honored to receive Best in Show.

I am now considering what to do as my next project. The favorite may be the 451AD clash at the Catalaunian Plains between the Romans and the Huns. That project would need about 1500 cavalry – it wouldn’t be ready for 2022, but maybe 2023.

My personal favorites at Historicon.

My last post was an after action report of the Battle of Berestechko (1651) that I put on at Historicon in 28mm on Thursday morning. My next post will be an after action report of the Italian Wars Battle of Bicocca. In the meantime, I thought that I would do a quick review of some of the other tables that I saw and liked. Here are some of my personal favorites at Historicon.

I have to apologize to a number of people that put on excellent tables, but I was so busy looking and talking to them that I forgot to take any photos. The first was Joe Swartz that put on an excellent 28mm barbarian cavalry table. Joe was also very helpful in lending me both pliers and a baggage cart over the weekend. The second was Doug Fisher and his friend Richard who put on an excellent 15mm Roman assault on a hill fort, as they were in the ballroom where my table was located, I spent quite some time talking to Doug over the weekend and it was always a pleasure. There have been many photos posted of this game, which was well attended throughout the weekend. Next was Nigel Marsh who put on an excellent looking 28mm ECW game of the 1644 attack on Shaw Village; this game was everything that you could want visually. Another game that was very pleasing visually was the Aztec game by Mark Morin. I have been watching blog posts of his building the terrain and it was a pleasure to meet him in person. Finally there was the campaign style games for the Battle of Stalingrad put on by Miles Reidy. I don’t feel too guilty about not taking photos of this game as LWTV have and will cover it extensively. Miles was a pleasure to meet and offered kind words and support to me at my first convention putting on a game.

Now on to some of my personal favorites at Historicon that I did take pictures of, as the games were well spread out and I was occupied for a lot of the time with my games, I am sure that I missed some great looking tables. However, these pictures, plus the games that I commented about above, were my personal favorites of the tables that I saw.

First is the outstanding Test of Honour Samauri game by David Hill. In past years I have played in David’s game when it was much smaller. However, this year David went big and the result was amazing as you can see in the photos. I don’t know where he will go from this display at future events, but I can’t wait to see.

The next photo is from a game that I played in on Wednesday night by Mike Fatovic that pitted 1/700 scale modern Chinese ships against Western navies. The rules took some getting used to and we managed to loose our Chinese carriers quite quickly, but we did put a dent in the landing force sent to capture our island. As you can see the whole event was visually superb. Mike was also very supportive of myself and other people putting on events at Historicon.

The next table that I saw that had great scenery was the Hunting King Alfred game by Greg Wagman and LWTV. This table shows what can be accomplished on a reasonably small table.

The next two games were my favorites for Best of Theme. They were the Brazen Chariots games by Adam Wine and the Vietnam game by Tom McKinney and LWTV. I don’t know how the judges would choose between these two for Best of Theme. both were perfectly executed and include interesting terrain construction techniques.

The next game that I liked was by Mark McLaughlin and Arofan Gregory. It was the 333BC clash of the Macedonians and Persians. Some great looking figures on display. They also took time to tell me what was going on.

A game that I wish I could have joined in was the Leonardo Da Vinci and the Prince of Foxes game by Jeff Wasileski. This game was just eye candy. When Jeff puts this game on again, I will be first in line. I also just realized that this game was a theme game, so yet more competition for Best in Theme. He also put on a Die Hard game that drew a great crowd.

The final game that caught my eye was the Wars of Ozz game by Scott Hansen. Not being into fantasy I cannot pretend to understand this table, but it was one of those tables that you just cannot walk by without stopping to stare at it. My mind could not have come up with half of the things on the table, and everything was well painted and constructed.

That concludes the list of my personal favorites at Historicon. As with any kind of review it is purely subjective. I am sure that there were tables that I missed and that others had their own personal favorites. Next up will be my after action report on the Battle of Bicocca.

Historicon 2021 – Berestechko after action report.

I arrived at the hotel at around 2pm on Friday, having arranged an early check-in. I had made sure that my room was on the same side of the hotel as my games and I was lucky to be on the second floor. This made transporting my figures both from the car to the room, and from the room to the table, easy. I was settled into my room by 3pm and I had sorted out my figures and terrain into two piles, one for each of the two games I was running. I then explored the hotel and spoke to a few friends before enjoying a modern naval game at 6pm. At the end of the game I had a quick beer before getting an early night so that I could get up at 5am to start setting up the Battle of Berestechko for a 9am start. What follows is the Berestechko after action report.

Initial deployments.

The table was ready to go thirty minutes early which felt good. In the above picture in the foreground is the cossack peasant and non-register cossack wagon tabor. Above them on the left is the register cossack wagon tabor with some dismounted cossack cavalry between the two. On the upper left side of the table are the massed ranks of Tatar cavalry.

I deployed the Polish on the right with the infantry and artillery in the foreground. The Polish cavalry were then deployed starting heavy Pancerni and Winged Hussars. Above them are the Polish style cossacks and finally the noble levy.

Here are some pictures from the Cossack side:

Opening moves

We had places for eight players which were all sold-out. Seven of the eight showed up, which I was more than happy with for a 9am game on the first full day of the convention. Even more importantly, the guys that showed up were a fantastic bunch of people. All of the players got stuck in to the game, were friendly and made the game a joy to run. Now on to the Battle of Berestechko after action report.

The Polish objective was to destroy the two cossack wagon tabors. If they destroyed one the game would be considered a draw, if they destroyed none then it would be a cossack victory and if they destroyed two it would be a decisive victory.

The Poles started boldly with an advance all across the line.

Christopher starting the Polish Cossack Cavalry advance

Leslie starting the Polish Noble Levy Cavalry advance.

The Tatar cavalry moving out quickly to engage the enemy.

The cavalry battle on the cossack left would go back and forth for many turns of the battle. Although the Tatar theoretically outmatched the flamboyant Polish Nobel Levy, some great dice work by the Polish gave the Tatars some initial set backs and even destroyed a few units.

A close up of the Noble Levy Polish cavalry.

Polish Cossacks engaged with the Tatars.

I made some rule modifications to reflect the style of Battle in Eastern Europe. I added a cavalry formation called “open order”. This formation does not exist in the rules; it is essentially skirmish order, except that the cavalry can charge.

The Cossack right.

The advance of the Polish infantry starts.

On the cossack right, the Polish infantry started their advance against the two wagon tabors. They seemed undeterred by the defenses ahead of them.

The massed cavalry charges can be seen in the background as the Polish infantry advance.

Moves in the Center.

Polish Pancerni and Winged Hussars get stuck in

In the centre the Polish heavy cavalry charged forward to engage the Tatars. The Tatars thought better of getting into hand to hand combat with these formidable units and chose to keep firing their bows and running backs. This tactic worked for a while and inflicted some serious casualties. However, it would not work for ever, and the Polish cavalry eventually caught up with their foes and inflicted terrible casualties.

Register cossacks unexpectedly come face to face with the Winged Hussars.

As a result of the Winged Hussars routing some Tatars, they came face to face with some register cossacks that had come out of their wagon tabor hoping to take on the Polish infantry. Facing the mighty Hussars they decided to quickly retreat back to the wagon tabor in search of safety.

Back on the cossack right

On the cossack right, Polish continued to advance even in the face of fire.

The Polish infantry continued their advance on the cossacks even in the face of musket and cannon fire.

The Cavalry Battle turns

Although on the Cossack far left, the Tatars had routed the Polish Nobel Levy, in the centre the Polish Cossacks, Pancerni and Winged Hussars had cleared the Tatars in front of them. However, despite fighting valiantly, the Winged Hussars had taken too much damage and had to withdraw from the field. Their retreat gave a short lived moral boost to the cossack side.

The Polish cavalry start to threaten the wagon Tabor.

With command of the center the Polish Cavalry split into two, one unit went to engage the remaining Tatars on the edge of the battlefield and the other moved aggressively against the flank of the Register cossack wagon Tabor.

The Polish infantry continue to take the Cossack wagon Tabor

The endgame

With Haiduks attacking the front and the Polish heavy cavalry attacking from the flank, the Register Cossack was the first Wagon Tabor to fall. As the peasant cossacks were taking casualties from the Polish infantry, the remaining cossack wagon tabor could see the writing on the wall and decided to concede.

With 650 troops on the table we finished this fast paced battle in just three hours. Although this was an hour quicker than we had planned, everyone seemed very happy to have played an exciting fast paced game. There was also the added bonus that they had an extra hour to race around the dealer hall before their next scheduled game. Hopefully this Berestechko after action report gives you a flavor of the game. Within the next week, I plan to do a report on the other battle that I put on – Bicocca 1522.

Bicocca at Historicon – laying out the table

With my game of the Battle of Bicocca at Historicon only three weeks away I have just completed the final pieces of scenery for the table. With it being a sunny day in Philadelphia I wanted to layout the main scenery items on my deck to check they all fit together. I also wanted to check that there will be enough maneuver space for the troops. As the terrain will cover three 5′ x 8′ tables, I have no space large enough in my house, so the deck was the only option. As it was a little windy, I did not layout some of the lighter items such as trees, vineyards and orchards.

The layout

The terrain will be two 5′ x 8′ tables side by side with another 5′ x 8′ table intersecting in a “T” formation. This last 5′ x 8′ table will be where the Swiss march up the table for the inevitable clash with the Landsknechts at the field defenses.

The 6 feet of field defenses which the Swiss must assault.

In the center where the “T” shape joins will be the 6 feet of field defense at the sunken road. The Spanish arquebusiers and Landsknecht artillery will man the defenses. The Swiss Pike covered by the Black Band of Giovanni will march up the table to assault the defenses. To the right of the defenses is the Villa Bicocca with the marshes in the back-ground. The Venetians will make their way slowly through the marsh to threaten the Spanish left flank.

Construction of the ditch

To the left of the field defenses is the drainage ditch with a bridge going across it. The drainage ditch itself is impassable and protects the Spanish right flank. The only way across for the French will be the bridge, which the Milanese are racing to protect. If the French get across the bridge they will be into the Spanish camp and in the rear of the Spanish positions.

I constructed the drainage ditch from a 1′ x 4′ piece of mdf. I then lined the edges of the board with Killing Fields fur, textured the edges, painted the surface brown and varnished the center to represent water. Finally, I added flock and other terrain items. The rocks were molded using Woodland Scenics molds.

In this photo you can see some of the geese that I added to complete the scene. The geese are from the Assault Group.

I am now comfortable that I am ready to put on the Battle of Bicocca at Historicon. The terrain fits together well. All of the players will have plenty of room to move their forces and fight. In addition, the terrain should look full once the trees, extra buildings and Spanish camp are laid out. The terrain will be a great back-drop for the 1600 figures that I plan to deploy.

Villa Bicocca for Historicon

Historicon is rapidly approaching with only 44 days left until the start of the convention. While I am still on track with preparations for my games, there is still a lot left to do. This weekend I completed another 36 figure Spanish pike block and 16 Spanish Arquebusiers. Now it is time to finish the Villa Bicocca and the gardens of the villa.

The villa itself was a combination of 6 kits from Charlie Foxtrot models. The kits are mdf, so I needed to add texture the walls assembly. I also had to scratch build the roof system to make them all fit together.

The field defenses link up with the Villa.

The first photo shows the front of the villa. I still have to put a gravel path in front of the villa along with a small fountain. I should complete this work by the end of the week. The villa is assembled on a 1″ piece of foam board so that it can seamlessly integrate with the field defenses.

At the back I bought the railings and steps from a 3d printing company on Etsy. They were exactly 1″ tall so they worked very well with the foam board and allowed a smooth step down to the garden,

The garden has a number of statues. The main two statues were made from pdf plinths, I then added roman soldiers from Warlord Games. I then painted the statues to represent marble.

Some of the statues from the edge are Helen of Troy statues from the Foundry Greek mythology range. I scratch built the plinths for these from balsa. The plant pots were another find from Etsy, to which I added some flowers that I bought from Woodland Scenics.

The fountains were mdf kits. The stone paths were rubber stone tile mats that I bought at a previous Historicon. I cut these into the desired shape and then put grass mats down in between. I then scratch built some hedges.

To finish I put some trees around the edge of the garden.

Overall the Villa Bicocca and garden take up about 2′ x 4′ on the table. Overall I like how they have turned out. I think that they give a good representation of an Italian villa and Italian garden. They should provide a point of interest for the Battle of Bicocca terrain.

Historicon 2021 the final preparations.

With Historicon 2021 rapidly approaching, I am still preparing and play testing my two games.

Berestechko 1651.

My first game is the 1651 battle of Berestechko. The battle is part of the Khmelnytsky Cossack uprising against the Polish. I play tested this game at a local club games day in May this year. You can find the after action report here. The game performed reasonably well, but there are a couple of modifications that I will be making for Historicon. These modifications are designed to improve the play and lead to quicker combat. As a result of these changes, I have three units of Polish Haiduks on my paint bench that need to be finished. I also want to improve a building or two and paint some additional casualty markers.

The game will start at 9am on the Thursday morning, right at the start of the convention. There is space for eight players. The figures are 28mm. There will be about 600 figures with a large proportion of cavalry. There are also wagon tabors on both sides. I will use modified Pike and Shotte rules for easy game play.

Bicocca 1522 at Historicon 2021

My second game is the 1522 Battle of Bicocca in the Italian Wars. This game is going to be my larger game with a little over 1500 figures in 28mm. I am hoping to capture the spectacle of an Italian Wars Battle with large pike blocks and plenty of flags.

This weekend I play tested one portion of the battle, the assault on the defenses at the sunken road. I wanted to make sure that the game rules for the defenses made assault possible, but difficult. The Swiss managed to get to the defenses and engaged in fierce fighting before eventually being fought back. As a result of the play test I will be making a few minor changes to the rules.

The fight at the sunken road represents about 50 percent of the battlefield and about 50 percent of the troops that I will be using at Historicon 2021. There wasn’t enough space or players to deploy everything for the play test. Here are a few pictures of the play test.

A view of the Spanish defenses at the sunken road with Landsknechts behind.

A view from behind the Spanish line with the Ginetes out front.

Giovanni’s Black Band providing screening for the advancing Swiss pike blocks

The Rural Canton Swiss Pike block approaching the defenses.

The Swiss Pike block about to descend into the Sunken Road.

The final clash of pike between the Swiss and Landsknechts.

I still have a lot of work to do to be ready for Historicon 2021. There is the villa and grounds for the Villa Bicocca to finish. I have to make a large drainage ditch. I also have to paint a few more units. The Historicon 2021 counter at the HMGS website says I have 73 days left, so I should be ready.

I have scheduled the game for 9am on Friday morning and runs for 4 hours. There is space for at least ten players. In order to complete the game in the allotted time, I will need to keep things moving at a brisk pace. The rules will be Pike and Shotte. Some commands will be simpler to run for novice players and some will have a greater variety of units for experienced players. My aim for both games is to keep things moving fast and to focus on the enjoyment of the games. I will make sure that there are no long debates on rules.

Field Defenses for Bicocca.

This post is an update on the field defenses for Bicocca that I have built for Historicon. Even though the defenses are now finished, I still have a lot of work to be ready for the convention. The main item that I need to finish is the Villa at Bicocca and the gardens for the villa. I will be working on these items next week.

This weekend our club will be play testing the Historicon Bicocca game. The play test is to see if the rules that I have to represent the defenses work as I intend. I don’t want the defenses to be totally impregnable, but they should offer stiff resistance to a concerted attack.

Defenses length.

The field defenses are 6 feet long. The reason for the length was explained in the last blog post. The defenses have positions for three cannons and six units of Spanish arquebusiers that will be manning the defenses. There is also room for some landsknecht shot units as well as room behind the defense for the large landsknecht pike blocks to come up in support. the two Landsknecht pike blocks will be 100 figures each, so they need some room to maneuver.

Gun tower construction.

The gun positions use the log defenses from Anyscale models at the top. However, I also needed to build some extra log barricade at the bottom as retaining walls. These were constructed by cutting down balsa rods.

Finishing the terrain.

As explained last time, the base was made from foam covered by Killing Fields mats. A mixture of brown paint, model railroad ballast and PVA glue was the applied to the rest of the model. This mixture provided a base covering. The wooden defenses were then added using caulk to fix them and fill gaps.

Some rocks were then cast in dental stone using woodland scenics rock molds. These rocks were then painted and stuck to the model using the paint/ballast/PVA mixture. Once the rocks were fixed and dry, various shades of flock were added. I then fixed grass tufts and bushes to finish the model off. I also dry brushed some of the dirt areas to give a little more depth to the model.

The defenses took a little longer to make than I had hoped. However, they do blend very well with the Killing Fields terrain mats that they will stand on. I will add a road on the terrain mats to represent the sunken road. This road will run in front of the defenses. On the other side of the road I will put foam under the terrain mats to provide the opposite slope.

Although the field defenses for Bicocca are not model railroad quality, they turned out well for portable wargaming terrain. I am hoping that all the terrain items for this game at Historicon will work well together. The game will be reasonably large with 1500 figures and space for ten players.

Defenses for the Battle of Bicocca

As I have mentioned in previous blog posts, I am planning on running the Battle of Bicocca at Historicon. One of the most important terrain features will be the defenses for the Battle of Bicocca.

Historical description of the defenses

From the book “History of the Art of War in the Sixteenth Century” by Sir Charles Oman: On page 179 the defense width is listed at no more than 600 yards. On page 178 the defenses are described as: “On the North front, where a sunken road leading to the manor-house ran along the front of the park enclosure, he had deepened the hollow, and made a rampart along it, with the cast-up earth, piled above the existing bank. In several places he had constructed high platforms in this rampart, and placed guns upon them, which would sweep not only the fields in front, but laterally the ditch immediately below.

On page 181 he discusses the earthworks height. “the obstruction was so deep and the rampart behind it so high, that the head of a pole could hardly be stretched from the bottom of the ditch to the top of the earthwork.

Design of the defenses

From the description, there are some important factors to consider when designing this terrain feature for the game. The first is the overall length, the defenses are not a small item. The second feature is the height and the third feature are the gun platforms.

Length

On the length of 600 yards, this is 21,600 inches. If we take a 28mm at 1:56, scaled down this would be 385 inches. However, we need to remember our figure scale. I am running the game at 1 figure is about 25 men. For the pike blocks one figure would be about 5 men deep by 5 men wide. Using this frontage, I calculate that the required defense length would be 385 / 5 or about 77 inches. For table appearance, I actually made the defenses a little short of 6 feet long (72 inches). This size looks and feels about right. The defenses for the Battle of Bicocca are a dominant feature on the battlefield terrain.

Height

On the height, a pike is up to 18′ long. Using our 1:56 scale this would have meant that the defenses would need to be about 3.8″ tall. The height of the defenses is where I decided to make an artistic compromise. I used some inch thickness foam and then mounted some log barricades from AnyScale models on top. The barricades cost 2 UK Pounds a piece, which seemed reasonable. These barricades are around 0.75 inches high so the overall height of the defenses is just less than 2″. These are a little low, but still look imposing on the table top. I could still add another layer or two of foam board under these defenses to increase the height.

Close up of the gun platform which is still under construction.

Gun platforms

The next job was the gun platforms. It is important that they stick out so that the artillery can fire along the length of the sunken road. The image above shows the early stage of construction of these emplacements. I am going to add logs at the front and sides of the platforms to retain the earth. Also along the entire defenses I will add terrain and rock outcrops to give a better finished appearance.

Construction of the defenses

I used a hot wire cutting tool to cut the earthworks from a 1″ foam board. I then cut and laid some terrain mats from Killing fields terrain to give the bulk of the ground cover. This ground cover will allow the earthworks to blend with the rest of the terrain. I then shaved paths to the gun emplacements with hair trimmers. After I painted a mixture of paint, Elmers glue and rail road ballast over the paths and uncovered foam board. Finally I painted, weathered and glued down the log barricades.

I still have work to do to finish the defenses, but I feel that basic design and structure is complete. I hope to finish them in the next few weeks.

The defenses for the Battle of Bicocca will allow me to deploy 6 units of arquebusier and 3 artillery pieces. The Landsknechts can be easily moved up to the barricades due to the gentle slope at the back. Combined, there should be enough firepower to cause the advancing Swiss Pike some problems.