Peter Sides - Renaissance Battles 1494-1700 Vol. 1 (Gosling Press) (OCR)

RENAISSANCE BATTLES 1494-1700 Volume 1

by PETER SIDES

RENAISSANCE BATTLES 1494-1700 Vol 1

by Peter Sides First published 1996 ISBN 1 87435110 4 Copyright Gosling Press

Gosling Press 35 Cross Street Upton Pontefract WF91EU

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INTRODUCTION MORTEN SEMINARA FORNOVO CALVERN & FRASTENZ DONARCH BARLETTA CERIGNOLA GARIGLIANO KNOCKDOE AGNADELLO RAVENNA NOVARA GUINEGATE FLODDEN MARIGNANO BICOCCA PAVIA SEIGE OF VIENNE KAPPEL CERESOLE d'ALBA ANCRUM MOOR BOULOGNE THEPINKI JEMMINGEN

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The bit at the back

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1475 1495 1495 1499 1499 1502 1503 1503 1504 1509 1512 1513 1513 1513 1515 1522 1525 1529 1543 1543 1545 1546 1547 1568

Renaissance Historical battles is the fourth book in a series that allows the wargamer to re-fight actual historical battles with his own preferred set of wargame rules. I have based this book on WRG De Bellis Renationis rules plus I have included a section allowing the army lists to be read using other similar types of rules. My book gives enough information for you to re-enact the battle described in a concise and compact way covering why it took place; the forces engaged, given in elements and actual numbers of men; a deployment guide and illustration of the battles initial positions; the victory conditions and the historical outcome. The Battle map is drawn to scale and to simplify it I have used a. standard set of symbols to represent troop types , these are in 'The Bit at the Back'. I have described each battle in a compact form, my intentions are to allow people to re-fight the battle and in so doing learn the lessons on the battlefield. You will soon find the Renaissance was not the 'Golden Age' of tactical thinking and in order to stand a reasonable chance of changing the result of the battle a change in tactics may be necessary, but often the smallest army is supposed to win and in all cases the gap between victory and defeat is small. In representing the armies I have balanced the armies 'commands' to fit the historical command ability and flexibility of that battle, so in certain battles it will be this 'command' ability that will give the inferior force the edge it had in real life enabling it to win. The battles range from small to massive affairs and are for both for indi,vidual duels and battles requiring the resources of an entire club. Some of the bigger more spectacular actions making excellent demonstration games. The armies of this period are the most spectacular of the renaissance and certainly have the most character, from the hard professional Landsknechts to the wild an savage Swiss. Don't feel bound by history , you've got the army lists, you've got the terain , the rest can be up to you and your army.

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22 The BURGUNDIAN WAR Charles the Bold of Burgundy became involved in the war against the Swiss when, as the Swiss defeated their Austrian masters and expanded their borders to the Rhine, the Austrians attempted to buy them off and in doing so became heavily in debt to Burgundia who put up the money. The Burgundian plot to claim lands from Austria in security of payment was seized upon by both France and the Emperor who struck a deal with the Swiss and Austrians to pay this debt and foil the Burgundians. But when payment was offered Charles Duke ofBurgundia refused it. The result of this refusal was that local people seized the Burgundian nobleman a Peter von Hagenbach, already in possession of the pledged lands and cruelly exploiting them, and executed him in the presence of Swiss emissaries. Charles' re-action came in 1476 when he invaded Switzerland and the Swiss found the alliance with France and the Emperor worthless as they were abandoned to their fate.

ARMIES SWISS

A) Duke of Lorraine 1800 Mounted Knights (CinC + 6 L(O)) B.) Vorhut (Vanguard) 9200 men (Sub-Gen.+ 6 B(F); 17 P(S)) C.) Gewalthut ( cenre) 8000 men (Sub-Gen. + 5 B(F); 30 P(S) D.) Nachhut (rearguard) 6000 men (Sub-Gen. + 6 Sk(O); 2 B(F); 10 P(S);l Ligh{ Gun.A(!)) E.) Defenders of Murten 2000 (Sub-Gen.+ l B(F);2 P(S);3 Sk(O))

BURGUNDIANS 1.)Duke ofBurgundy 1500 Knights (CinC + 5 L(O)) 2.)Hagenbach 1500 Knights (Sub-Gen+ 5 L(O)) 3.)3000 Knights (10 L(O)) 4.)2000 Pike (5 Pike(O)) 5.)2000 Pike (5 Pike(O)) 6.)1050 Handgunners(5 Sk(I)) 7-14.)1500 man Xbowunits (8 Sk(I)) 15) Artillery (5 Medium Guns A(O)) 16) Camp (23 Baggage Elements)

DEPLOYMENT The Burgundians deploy first and the Swiss move :first. The battle was fought in the pouring rain so any rules degrading :firepower due to rain/weather should apply. VICTORY CONDITIONS For either army to force a command to be broken they need to destroy l/3rd of the oppositions elements. To cause a rout result 2/3rds of the opposition's elements need to be destroyed. Lost baggage counts against both commands.

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HISTORICAL OUTCOME Charles ofBurgundia first struck at the fortress of Grari.dson, by the lake Neuchatel which quickJy fell to Charles' army. Charles had the entire garrison drowned in the lake or hanged. The Swiss force marching to relieve Grandson now fell upon the Burgundian army still at Grandson and utterly defeated it, capturing a hoard of booty unparalleled in its history. However the Burgundian army was not destroyed and in June of that year the Duke attacked the walled town of Murten (Morat) between Lake Neuchatel and Berne with over 24000 men. His intention was to capture Murten as a base to move against Berne. Murten was garrisoned by Von Bubenberg with a Bernese garrison and remembering the fate of the garrison of Grandson who had surrendered, held out for re-inforcements. The Duke also remembered the lessons of Grandson when his army was destroyed before it could deploy and so invested the town with a ring of earthworks and artillery positions facing outwards to forestall any attack by a Swiss relief army. Unfortunately his position was screened by a forests to his rear allowing the Swiss to move close to his lines undetected. The Duke had failed to place piquets or patrols in these woods. Having secured his position, the Duke attacked Murten, regardless of losses in full knowledge that a Swiss army was on its way. The siege had lasted l 0 days when the Duke became aware that S~ss were close but he did not prepare to face them until the following day the 22nd June. He marched out of the camp and deployed for battle. The Duke waited until noon before deciding that the weather was to poor for fighting and withdrew his main force to the camp leaving his artillery to cover the withdrawal At this the Swiss, deployed in column in the woods, attacked, charging in pouring rain through the guns and crossing the lightly defended earthworks. The Duke immediately counter-attacked sending whatever troops that came up, straight at the Swiss who slaughtered these piecemeal attacks and swept through the camp driving all before it. The Duke's army scattered escaping north and south. The Burgundians had lost 10,000 killed and Charles the Bold's campaigns had come to nothing. He was to die 6 months later at the hands of his former ally, Rene of Lorraine and a force of hired Swiss Mercenaries. 5

SEMINARA June 28th 1495 FRANCE versus SPANISH and NEAPOLITANS King Charles VIII of France set out from Lyons for Italy at the head ofhis army on 27th July 1494 and conquered Florence and Rome in rapid succession, moving onto Naples in the same year. At Rapallo he defeated an army of the Kingdom of Naples composed mostly of militia infantry in entrenched positions. The French Gendarmes with Swiss mercenaries under the Duke of Orleans, after initially being forced back recovered, and drove the Neapolitans from the field. Charles' success in Italy and his entrance into Naples in February 1495 bearing the Imperial Globe, symbol of imperial authority, offended the Germans in as much they had custody of the Holy Roman Empire and worried Spain's Ferdinand of Aragon over his rights to Naples. So on March 3lst 1495 the Venetians, Maximilian I, Ferdinand of Aragon, Ludovico Sforza the Duke of Milan and Pope Alexander VI formed the 'Holy League' or (Venetian League) in order to restore Italian independence - or more obviously to curb France's power. Ferdinand, King of Spain sent Gonsalvo de Cordova with approximately 5000 Spanish troops to support King Ferrante II of Naples in defeating the now encumbant French army.

ARMIES SPANISH NEAPOLITANS 1.) King· FerranteII 900MenatArms (CinC + 3 GendarmesL(S)) 2.) de Cordova 300 men at Arms (Sub-Gen. 1 Gendarmes L(S)) 3.) 1050 Italian Xbow Foot (5 Sk(O)) 4.) 2000 Spanish Pikemen (5 Pike(I)) 5.) 1050 Spanish Buckler men (3 B(F)) 6.) 1050 Spanish Musket (3 S(I)) 7.) Artillery (1 Medium Gun .A(O))

FRENCH A) Duke of Aubigny 1200 Gendarmes (CinC + 4 Gendarmes.L(S)) B.) 3000 Swiss Mercenaries (Sub-Gen. 8 Pike.(S)) C.) 1200 Gascon Xbow Foot (6 Sk(O)) D.) 3000 Gascon Xbow Foot (15 Sk(O)) E.) 2000 Gascon Pikemen (5 Pike (I)) F.) Artillery (2 Medium Guns. A(O))

DEPLOYMENT The Spanish deploy first and the French move first. VICTORY CONDITIONS Both sides must lose l/3rd of a command to count as beaten and 2/3rds of the army must be lost to count as being defeated.

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HISTORICAL OUTCOME The Neopolitan army under King Ferrante II supported by his Spanish ally Gonsalvo de Cordova with about 5000 Spanish foot attacked a numerically superior French Army under Robert Stuart Duke of Aubigny. The French response consisted of the Gendarmes charging the Neopolitan men at arms and the Swiss mercenaries taking on the Spanish centre. The remainder of the French force stood in reserve. The French Gendarmes soon broke the Neopolitian men at arms and at this the Neopolitan foot threw down its arms and fled leaving the Spanish to face the Swiss alone. Though the Spanish fought well they were no match for the massed ·Swiss pike and were soon overwhelmed. De Cordova left the field with his own men at arms on seeing his army rout. The remaining French army in Naples under Gilbert, Comt de Montpensier found himself fighting on· three fronts, firstly the Spanish under Cordova ; the Neapolitan Barons and the people of Naples. Though he was to win all his pitched battles his army was destroyed through guerilla warfare and he surrendered in June 1496 at Atella. The King of Naples returned to his throne and Charles VIII was forced to sign a truce with Spain.

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FORNOVO

July 6th 1495

FRANCE vs MILAN and VENICE Following the battle of Seminara Charles VIII of France quickly conquered Naples early in 1495 • He then began to march North to re-open his lines of communication with the re-inforcements commanded by Louis, Duke of Orleans who was camped at Piedmont. The Milanese and Venetians under Giovanni Francesco Gonzaga, Marquis ofMantua were camped along the French line of march, two miles north of the village ofFomovo overlooking the river Taro. The French arrived at Fomovo on 5th July and Charles attempted to negotiate with the Venetian/Milanese faction to continue his march, but to no avail. Charles then deployed his force in a march column that could tum quickly to face its right flank in the event of an attack by the Italians.

ARMIES FRENCH A.}King Charles VIII, 300 French Gendarmes. (CinC + 2 L(S)) B.}MarshalDe Gie, 350 French Gendarmes. (Sub-Gen. + 2 L(S)) C.)Count ofFoix, 300 French Gendarmes (Sub-Gen +2 L(S)) D.)300 Gascon Crossbow (3 Sk(O)) E.)200 Royal Xbow (2 Lh(F}) F.)3000 Swiss Pike. (14 P(S);l B(F)) G.)2400 French Crossbow (24 Sk (0)) H.}2400 French Crossbow (24 Sk (0)) I.) Artillery (2 Medium Guns .A(O)) J.) Baggage(! Horde; 10 Baggage)

ITALIANS 1. )Marquis ofMantua,500 Men at Arms (CinC + 3 L(O)) 2. )Count of Caiazzo,600 Men at Arms (Sub-Gen. +4 L(O)) 3.) de-Montone, 500 Men at Arms (Sub-Gen +3 L(O)) 4.)Pietro Duodo,600 Stradiots (Sub-Gen+ 6 Lh (0)) 5.)1000 Milanese (5 Bw(O}) 6. )2000 Landsknechts (20 Pike(O)) 7.)500 Italian Mounted Crossbow. (3 Dr(I)} 8.)4000 Italian Xbow Foot (20 IBw(O)) 9.)3000 Italian Xbow Foot(15 Bw(O)) 10.)250 Papal Knights(2 L(O)) 11.)1000 Papal Xbow Foot (10 Bow(O)) 12.)300 Milanese (2 L(O)) 13.)250 Venetian (2 L(O)) 14.)300 Mounted Xbow Foot (2 Dr (I) 15.)Artillery (2 Medium Guns A.(O)) 16.)Camp (1Horde,=16 Baggage)

FIGURE SCALE 1 FIGURE= 50 MEN DEPLOYMENT The French deploy and move :first. Count the river as bad going. VICTORY CONDITIONS Both sides must destroy l/3rd of a command to cause a Broken result, and 2/3rds to win. The baggage counts as casualities as long as it's held by the enemy.

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HISTORICAL OUTCOME The Italian plan was to halt the colunm and engage it frontally with the light cavalry , p:inning it down so a mass charge in the flank by the mounted men at arms and knights, supported by the infantry could smash the French army. The Italian guns opened fire in support of the Stradiot's attack as soon as the French colunm was in range. The French brought up its own artillery and countered the light cavalry with missile troops, at this the Italian light cavalry broke off their attack, circled around the French army and raided its baggage train. The Marquis ofMantua saw the French starting to deploy and ordered an all out attack. The Italian plan failed at this point in that, as the Italians crossed the river, they became disordered and easy meat for the French. On the Italian right the Gendarmes halted in the face of French Infantry and artillery and were promptly routed by the French Gendarmes. The Milanese and Landsknecthts also attempted to cross the river but were smashed by the Swiss pike. In the centre much the same happened with the Italians being attacked as they emerged disordered from the river and being driven back into the river. After the initial Italian attack by the nobility and the first line of infantry the reserve lines seeing the debacle at the river withdrew to the camp. The Italian light cavalry thinking that the day was lost also broke off raiding the baggage. The battle had lasted 15 minutes. The Italians had 3300 men and been soundly routed. King Charles did not pursue the Italians beyond the river to destroy them utterly, but continued his march as before. 9

CALVERN March 22nd 1499 SWARIAN LEAGUE versus SWISS The cause of the war is explained under Domach. Maximillian I advanced on Orisons with a Swabian force of 15000 men and constructed earthworks close to the town in preparation for an assault. Benedict Fortana attacked with 6000 Swiss rather than await the inevitable assault and siege.

ARMIES

SWISS A.) Fortana, 3000 Swiss (CinC + 2B (F); 6 P (S)) B.) Orisons, 3000 Swiss (Sub-Gen.+ 2B(F); 6 P (S)) C & D) 300 Xbow (3 Sk (0)) E.) Artillery (2 Light Guns A(I))

IMPERIALISTS 1.) Maximillian I, 1500 Gendarmes (CinC + 5 L(O)) 2.) 1500 Men at Arms (5 L(O)) 3.) Reserve 3600 men (7B(F); 2P(O)) 4 & 5) 800 Pike. (2P(O)) 6.) 2000 Xbow (10 Sk(O)) 7 & 8.) 4000 Xbow (20 Sk(O))

DEPLOYMENT The Imperialists deploy first and the Swiss move first. VICTORY CONDITIONS The Swiss must destroy 24 elements to cause a Broken result and 48 elements to cause a rout. The Imperialists must destroy 1/3rd of a command's elements to cause it to be broken. and destroy in total 14 Elements to win. filSTORICAL OUTCOME The Swiss charged the thinly held earthworks and quickly drove the defenders back. The retreating first line of the Imperialists soon disorganised the reserves and cavalry in the rear. Then whole imperialist army fled. Fontana was to die shortly after in a skirmish close by, at a crossing on the Calvem River.

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SWABIAN LEAGUE versus SWISS See Donarch for the cause and process of the war. There is little detail of the proceeding events other than the Imperialists were marching towards Bern when they were con.fronted by Wolleb.

ARMIES SWISS A) Wolleb 1200 Forlorn Hope (CinC + 4 B(F)) B.) Cantonial Commander 1800 pike (Sub-Gen. + 5P(S)) C.) 1800 Pike ( 5 P(S)) D & E.) 1200 Halberd (3 B(F)) x2 F & G.) 600 Xbow (6 Sk(O)) x2

IMPERIALISTS 1.) Furstenberg 1500 Men at Arms (CinC + 5L(O)) 2.) 3000 Men at Anns on Foot (8 B(F)) 3 & 4) 800 Pike (4 P(O)) x2 5 & 6) 3800 bow (17 S(O))x2 7.) 1200 Xbow (6 Sk(O))

DEPLOYMENT The Imperialists deploy first and the Swiss move first. VICTORY CONDITIONS The Swiss must destroy 21 Elements to cause the Imperialists to be broken and 42 Elements in total to rout them The Imperialists must destroy 1/3rd of a command to cause the Swiss to retreat and 11 Elements in total to cause them to rout. Forlorn hope do not count as casualties if destroyed. HISTORICAL OUTCOME Heinrich Wolleb positioned himself amongst a larger than normal forlorn hope, supported them with his Halberdiers and charged head on at the Imperialist army that occupied a good defensive position on a hill. Wolleb's Forlorn hope smashed the centre of the Imperialist force and drove the whole army back in confusion. Heinrich W olleb was killed in the attack but again the Swiss had broken another Imperialist army through sheer ferocity.

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SWABIAN LEAGUE versus SWISS The founders of the Swiss Confederation had not intended to break their ties with the Empire and in fact they had been eager to have the Emperor confirm their special privileges. But successive Imperial officials high handed attitude had turned the Swiss away from acceptance of Imperial power. This animosity was :further embittered when during the Burgundian wars the Hapsburg Emperor did nothing to protect the Swiss garrison at Grandson from being massacred. This background of mistrust gave way to open rebellion against the new Emperor Maximilian I when he levied a tax on the entire Empire and overode local laws with an Imperial supreme court. Maximilian's response to the Swiss refusal to obey was .to head the Swabian League (a group of southern German states who had formed to prevent Swiss expansion and now saw the chance to expand into Switzerland with Imperial approval) in a punitive expedition to bring these unruly Swiss to order.

ARMIES SWISS 1.)Conrad 3600 Foot (CinC+ 7 (S);2 B(F).) 2.)d'Erlach 3200 Foot (Sub-Gen.+ 6P(S);2B(F)) 3.)3200 Foot( 6P(S);2 B(F)) 4.)1500 Xbow( 8 Sk(O)) 5.)1500 Xbow( 8 Sk(O)) 6.)Artillery (3 Light Guns A(I))

IMPERIALISTS A )Furstenberg 900 Men at Arms (CinC+ 3 L(O)) B.)600 Men at Arms ( 2 L(O)) C.)5000 Foot ( 9 P(O); 3 B(F)) D.)1800 Crossbow Foot (9 Sk(O)) E.)1800 Crossbow Foot (9 Sk (0) F).Artillery (2 Medium Guns A.(O))

DEPLOYMENT The Imperialists deploy first and the Swiss move first.

VICTORY CONDITIONS The Imperialists must destroy l/3rd of a command to cause Broken and 29 Elements in total to cause rout. The Swiss must destroy 13 to cause Broken, 26 Elements to cause Rout.

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