The next LCA will try to do the same thing.

Ed Note – These were both good uses of the French LCA units. Unfortunately, the last attack (which only needed to roll higher than a 2) failed. 

Below is a picture of the North side of the board after the French Move/Fire Phase.

Ed. Note – As you can see from the above picture, the next time the Spanish activate Cardona’s (Brown) wing they will decimate the French line. This is because the French have 3 disordered units and a couple of LCA holding the northern most part of the line. If they could have rallied these guys there would be hope.

Shock Phase

Note that the French SB MUST Shock both PK units he is adjacent to.

French Comment – I have just made this SB unit my Personal Imperial Guards Unit with a corresponding increase in pay..

Ed. Note – This next part we got wrong. The French PK unit was engaged with a Spanish PK unit in 4706. So, it has to attack JUST that unit. In this case it also attacked the Spanish unit in stack with Cardona. It could not do this legally. However, the results were pretty funny (from the French perspective).

Note that the Spanish Leader (Cardona) could not use his Charisma in the battle. You can only use Charisma when you are attacking.

The Spanish must now roll <7 to keep the Leader alive.

Spanish roll – 7, Cardona dies.

Spanish Comment – Really? Twice my leaders decide to die. That’s it. The next General that dies is fired!

Here’s a shot of the northern part of the map after the French Turn.

Continuation

The French will try to Activate Enghien’s (Black) wing.

The French need a 3 or less.

French roll – 5, No

Flight Point Totals

French – 20

Spanish – 40

Since the Spanish are close to their FP total, they must roll a die and add it to the FP total. If it is greater than their FP Level, they Lose.

Spanish Roll – 7 + 47 = 47, No

Spanish Free Activation for Replacement (Brown)

Spanish Comment – I have now officially renamed this Replacement Leader “Bob”. For the first time this game, we have units out of Command. Had Corona been in charge they would still be in command, but Bob can’t quite yell as loud

Here’s the map after the Spanish Move and Fire. The Fire part of it was a disaster. The Spanish caused the French SB and PK units to retreat which was the worst result the Spanish could hope for.

Shock Phase

No continue Attack Phase. Spanish player did not want to risk it.

Continuation

The Spanish will try to Activate Marduzzo’s (Blue) wing.

The Spanish need a 3 or less.

The French play a Seizure 0-6 counter

French roll – 4, Yes

Flight Point Totals

French – 30

Spanish – 40

Since the Spanish are close to their FP total, they must roll a die and add it to the FP total. If it is greater than their FP Level, they Lose.

Spanish Roll – 1 + 47 = 41, No

Dampierre (Blue) Activation (Free)

Here’s the map after the French Move/Fire. Note that the French fire was pretty effective but only one of the LCA’s actually hit.

Shock Combat

The Next French PK unit will attack both Spanish PK units in front of it.

The French also Rally some units.

Here’s the map after the French Turn.

Continuation

The French will try to Activate Enghien’s (Black) wing.

The French need a 3 or less.

The Spanish play a Seizure 0-5 counter

Spanish roll – 0, Yes

Flight Point Totals

French – 30

Spanish – 45

Since the Spanish are close to their FP total, they must roll a die and add it to the FP total. If it is greater than their FP Level, they Lose.

Spanish Roll – 3 + 45 = 48, No

Other Replacement Leader (Green) Activation

Originally the Spanish Player was going to activate the Brown Wing until he realized that the French player was able to Rally most of his troops.

Game End Die Roll – 4 + 39 = 43, Not yet.

Map AFTER Spanish Move/Fire. There were a couple of Disordered from fire.

The next Spanish SB has to attack both units to its front.

Leader Loss Check for the French OC Commander. Need to roll <= 7 for him to survive.

Roll – 8, Leader Dies

Flight Point Totals

French – 38

Spanish – 45

Flight Point Totals

Since the Spanish & French are close to their FP total, they must both roll a die and add it to the FP total. If it is greater than their FP Level, they Lose.

Spanish Roll – 1 + 45 = 46, No

French Roll – 10 + 38 = 48, Yes

SPANISH WIN

French Comment – I was oh so close. Had I lasted just one more turn I would have won. However, such are the fortunes of war. Looking back, my two outsides wings were the reason I lost. I think I paid too much attention to the center wing under Enghien (Black) which allowed the Spanish to push on with both his wings.

Spanish Comment – I’d like to say things went as planned but that’s not how I had things planned out in my mind. I think I made a mistake charging with Marduzzo’s (Blue) wing when I did. I should have moved them with the artillery and fired them from long range to soften up the French line before I charged in. Overall, I can see where getting your army to activate BEFORE the enemy is vitally important. When I needed to move before the French at the end of the game, I did. This allowed me to attack him before he could do the same to me.

Ed. Note – I think both players are correct in their assessment. First off, the Spanish player poorly handled his artillery which never fired the entire game. Then he compounded this mistake by charging ahead with his center wing getting it almost completely wiped out. However, he was lucky in the fact that the French then made two mistakes. First off he completely bungled his maneuvering of Boutieres’s (Red) wing. Had they stayed apace with Enghien’s (Black) wing they might have prevented the massacre that happened at the end of the game when the Spanish Green wing advanced. Secondly, he advanced way too far forward and not in good order with Enghien’s wing. He should probably have kept his line intact and waited for the Red wing to bolster him. In the end the game was very close with French dominating the middle part of the game and the Spanish dominating the end.

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Previous Articles: 

Arquebus Replay: The Battle of Ceresole — Part 1

Arquebus Replay: The Battle of Ceresole — Part 2

Arquebus Replay: The Battle of Ceresole — Part 3