Pilgram-Lomnitz, 1618

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StuccoFresco
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Pilgram-Lomnitz, 1618

Post by StuccoFresco »

This time I'm leading Bohemian forces through a narrow gap between two woods, certain of the presence of Imperial troops in said woods. I have four Tercios at my disposal, a Later Tercio, an artillery battery and 9 Arkebusiers. My plan is to use cavalry on my left flank to ride on the border of the map skipping the woods entirely and go harassing the Imperials while my infantry marches through the map. My right flank's cavalry will instead helping clear the southern woods.

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By turn 5 my infantry is clumped in the gap and the enemy musketeers that were hidden in the woods are on the run. Sustainable losses for now; more Musketeers in the small town on the road. In Turn 7 I'm trying to move my guns on the small hill that dominates the battlefield while still trying to chase around the fleeing musketeers for some speed boost. Their path is unpredictable so it's not working flawlessly, but I am still able to engage the two Tercios blocking the road. The Catholic forces are moving forward now.

Turn 8: new plan. Seeing the Imperial forces converging toward me, I intend on forming a strong defensive line in the gap between the two small lakes and lead them in the killzone. My cavalry will be redirected on the flanks to counter any flanking move by the Hussars, and to flank the enemy themselves. It was a neat idea, but the Imperial cavalry found a gap in the lines and apparently can charge effortlessly through a stream, so they got a flank attack on a unit of Arkebusiers, that fled, and then they flank-charged another Arkebusier unit, fragmenting it. My left flank is now destroyed. Good.

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Turn 13: am I now in a good position? The entire right flank's cavalry of the Imperial forces has chased my fleeing Arkebusiers off map, and on the right flank I'm doing pretty well. In the center, Arkebusiers and cannon fire has routed two enemy cavalries, and my Tercio line is still unbothered.

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And then it all fucks off at the same time: the Imperial Kuirassiers break the Arkebusiers in front of them, and this causes a chain reaction that makes all my right flank to flee. I'll have to redirect two Tercios on the right flank to avoid an encirclement, and the Imperial cavalry on my left flank will come back sooner or later. I might just have lost the battle. Oh well, at least I got their guns with my Arkebusiers and broken the first Imperial Tercio that approached my killzone.

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In TUrn 18 my awesome Arkebusiers in the center finally rout their counterparts, and while chasing them they find the Tercio I broke earlier had regrouped. Being the badasses they are, they promptly charged the Tercio and routed it again! The Imperial Hussar chase down an Arkebusier unit right through the lines of my Tercios, almost reaching my artillery. Fuck this. At least I got my right flank properly covered now that my Later Tercio and a regular one have pointed their muskets at the stream crossing. The battle goes on, more cavalry gets routed here and there, and then nightfall comes and I lose the battle.

Meh.

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StuccoFresco
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Re: Pilgram-Lomnitz, 1618

Post by StuccoFresco »

Tried a different, more aggressive approach, obtained a much worse defeat.

Has anyone beaten this scenario at difficulties higher than Serjeant Major General or is it yet another impossible scenario?
SnuggleBunnies
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Re: Pilgram-Lomnitz, 1618

Post by SnuggleBunnies »

Yes, I held my cavalry back until my infantry could arrive, and then used musketry combined with artillery fire to force cohesion tests before charging with my foot. In your screenshots above your cavalry appears to have engaged the enemy well ahead of your infantry's advance.
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StuccoFresco
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Re: Pilgram-Lomnitz, 1618

Post by StuccoFresco »

I'm gonna try an infantry-only charge through the lake for next time.
Athos1660
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Re: Pilgram-Lomnitz, 1618

Post by Athos1660 »

SnuggleBunnies wrote: Fri Mar 20, 2020 4:22 am (...) your cavalry appears to have engaged the enemy well ahead of your infantry's advance.
Especially as the player's Arquebusiers might quickly have trouble, dealing with the AI Kuirassiers (+Tercios' fire).
StuccoFresco wrote: Fri Mar 20, 2020 6:52 am I'm gonna try an infantry-only charge through the lake for next time.
Don't forget the artillery as SnuggleBunnies pointed out (and Kuirassiers).
Might be devastating against large units like the Tercios.

Take care of your Arquebusiers but use them too (especially their fire).

:-)
StuccoFresco
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Re: Pilgram-Lomnitz, 1618

Post by StuccoFresco »

I have only a single artillery unit, that I place on the single hill, and it's useful but not enough. If I'm really lucky it can disorganize a single Tercio.

Given how narrow is the path between the lakes, if I attack with my Infantry the cavalry won't be able to do anything. A smart opponent would however just let me advance so much that I expose my flanks, use his superior cavalry to smash my own and rear-charge my Tercios. If I manage to frontally charge the Tercio, I'll probably lose the melee because they are better than my own.
Athos1660
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Re: Pilgram-Lomnitz, 1618

Post by Athos1660 »

StuccoFresco wrote: Fri Mar 20, 2020 3:03 pm I have only a single artillery unit, that I place on the single hill, and it's useful but not enough. If I'm really lucky it can disorganize a single Tercio.
Disorganizing 1 enemy Tercio out of 4 might be enough as you have 4 tercios + 2 late raw tercios.

Besides, I ran this scenario several times on several difficulty levels to check it : the player often have the possibility to take a second medium artillery unit. So if you want 2 arty units...

One possible tactic : safely firing artillery at enemy Tercios (and/or its nasty Cuirassiers as horses are not keen on cannonballs) to force cohesion tests till a weakened enemy feels obliged to come forward to you.
StuccoFresco wrote: Fri Mar 20, 2020 3:03 pm Given how narrow is the path between the lakes, if I attack with my Infantry the cavalry won't be able to do anything.
While some of your infantry units attack head-on between the lakes, the rest of your army (especially your cavalry) can attack down the wings. There are 3 "gates" to the enemy near the lakes :

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btw, against the IA and its Cuirassiers, you can use the ZoC of one of your infantry to pin an enemy Cuirassiers and fire, fire... (with your Arquebusiers too). It won't always attack and fall back. If so, step ahead and do it again to force the cohesion test. In general, with a weak cavalry, you can protect it a bit with P&S.
StuccoFresco wrote: Fri Mar 20, 2020 3:03 pm A smart opponent would however just let me advance so much that I expose my flanks, use his superior cavalry to smash my own and rear-charge my Tercios. If I manage to frontally charge the Tercio, I'll probably lose the melee because they are better than my own.
You have weaknesses (the weakness of your cav (compared to the enemy cuirassiers) and of the 2 raw infantry units, the enemy infantry already in position between the lakes...). You have strengths (your artillery, the size of your army and its firepower, the three "gates"...) So you'll have to adapt your tactic to that.

Have fun :-)

(edit)
You can also try to use the streams at your advantage, firing at the enemy cavalry, with your Arquebusiers or the raw tercios, on the other side and forcing him to cross the stream to attack you with a disadvantage or to take a cohesion test or to retreat.

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StuccoFresco
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Re: Pilgram-Lomnitz, 1618

Post by StuccoFresco »

I tried it: the streams do nothing to the enemy, they can charge right through it and you will lose the melee. Moving my cavalry there led to a worse defeat in my second try.
Athos1660
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Re: Pilgram-Lomnitz, 1618

Post by Athos1660 »

StuccoFresco wrote: Sun Mar 22, 2020 12:56 pm I tried it: the streams do nothing to the enemy, they can charge right through it and you will lose the melee. Moving my cavalry there led to a worse defeat in my second try.
If I were you, I'd look at the Point of Advantage tables (manual section 11.2) during the force selection and the battle, to know what are the stength of your army and its, depending on the terrain...
In this battle, if I am not mistaken, only the Early Tercio Keils lose their Impact PoA+100 when crossing a stream.
imho, during this battle, you'd better take care of your cav and protect it with some infantry (fire and ZoC) as I said.
You might attract one of its Keils near these streams with your infantry...

Know your units. Be patient.
None of my modest 'tips' are magic tricks that work anytime with any unit. They are rather general ideas you can use, adapt or... not :-)
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