Impetus Battle Report - The Defeat of Dertflinghan

After driving Stockwood and his mercenaries across the Milanese border, Austrian general Karl Von Dertflinghan and his Milanese companion Francesco Prosciutto garrisoned the region and lapsed into a position of comfort and safety. As the seasons changed and Spring came around once more, Prosciutto was alarmed when one of his scouts galloped into his border villa with his trumpet blaring. The Free Companies were on the march again and, much to Prosciutto's dismay, mercenary veterans were converging with new recruits from France. With less than a fortnight to respond, outriders were sent throughout the Duchy to deliver the summons. Noblemen and their men were mustered near the northwestern border and, on a sunny morning in May, Stockwood's archers formed battle lines and prepared to face the defenders of Milan.

The Battlefield:

For this battle Chris and I laid out a few hills but otherwise, kept the table as an open field. That's one of the great things about Impetus - you can play a game with little to no terrain. The interaction of the different unit types makes for engaging gameplay, even with flat, featureless terrain.


The Battle:

As is customary, both generals sent skirmishers across the field to harass the enemy troops and to counter enemy skirmishers. In this photo, Karl Von Dertflinghan (Austrian general in the employ of the Milanese) watches as his crossbowmen are bested by mercenary crossbowmen from France and Burgundy.


English knight Sir Jonathan Deere and his men guarded the mercenary right flank.


Seeing Deere's men facing his own flank, Dertflinghan dispatched Italian knights to deal with the enemy cavalry.


The first unit found themselves overwhelmed by mercenary crossbows and longbows and, by the time they reached Deere and his men, they were so disordered and worn that they were easily dispatched.


Meanwhile, Stockwood's veteran longbow line rained down death from a distance on the Milanese.


The countering Italian knights were either slain or driven from the field by Deere and his men.


Worn from battle (and seeing more Italian knights approaching), Deere commanded his horsemen to re-order and fall back.


Stockwood, seeing Deere's signal, sent his veteran men-at-arms through the line to counter the second wave of knights. With archers' assistance, the men-at-arms saw the knights routed from the field.


While the Italians were suffering defeat on their center and right flank, their left flank was crumbling under the bumbling leadership of Prosciutto (who had no doubt grown soft during his off-season).


The impetuous Rodger of Lynn led the mercenary knights in a head-on charge towards the Milanese right flank.


Beauregard LeFleur wheeled his unit and crashed into Prosciutto and his knights. Both sides fared pretty badly in the exchange, however, the Italians lost one of their generals and, with no leadership, the entire command suffered.


Meanwhile, Rodger of Lynn, refusing to be outdone, went straight up the middle and engaged the Milanese footmen in a fierce exchange. It was another bloody affair and, when the dust settled, Rodger and his men, in spite breaking the enemy line, fled the field in rag-tag fashion.


When all was said and done, Stockwood and his well-rested (not to mention well-reinforced) mercenaries won a solid victory against their Milanese adversaries. With the north-west Milanese border occupied and reinforced, Stockwood was finally in position to undertake a major military operation to the southeast.

It has been too long since Chris and I had a 15mm Impetus match. However, Impetus is now on the rise again. Marc is painting (finally) his medieval English, Chris has just primed some 15mm Norman infantry, and Ken has announced that he is ordering miniatures to build a Burgundian army. As I've said before, it's become a well-loved game in the group and Impetus isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

Thanks for reading,
JET