Tilly's Very Bad Day

[LetsPlayHistory]

A very bad day for Tilly, indeed.
The Battle of White Mountain, November 8, 1620, was a foreshadowing of the warfare that was to come during the Thirty Years' War. Armies formed by contingents from all over Europe and large mercenaries hosts with doubtable élan for their hosts' cause. Historically, the Protestant's defeat would crush the Bohemian Revolt and be the beginning of a "dark age" of imperial rule over the region. It would also mean the complete supremacy of the Imperial forces on the battlefields up until the arrival of Gustavus Adolphus in Germany ten years later.

Setting up the battle for Tilly's Very Bad Day, a free, quick playing ruleset for the Thirty Years' War, on my modular terrain boards, I boiled down the order of battle to make it fit the available space. The imperial forces under Maximilian of Bavaria fielded a superior army in numbers and quality, advancing in two wings or two rows each. The stronger left under Tilly, the right under Bucquoy. In order to get into position, Tilly had to cross the Scharka river, only passable via a few bridges.

The Protestant host was deployed in three wings, three rows deep, with a reserve formed by the King's guard and unreliable Transsylvanian cavalry.

In game terms, the imperial Tercios employed by Tilly are large units (8 resolve), most of the imperial units are of superior quality, thus having a resolve of 5 (morale/combat ability), while most of the Protestant forces are inferior, thus having a resolve of 3.

Hampered by the river-crossing, Tilly's wing slowly advances. Diverging from history, Schlick, commander of the Protestant right, decides to advance down the mountain to meet Tilly before he can bring all his Tercios' might to bear, but is repulsed and driven back onto the White Mountain. Detached Protestant musketiers manage to repulse an attack by heavy Polish lancers in the center.



The second attack of the lancers, however, breaks them, while Tilly's Tercios advance and drive back Schlick's battered command. Christian of Anhalt, the Protestant commander, is forced to bring forward the King's guard to plug the gap. On the imperial right, Bucquoy slowly advances, but Thurn's men hold the line.

In a turn of events, Tilly who is personally directing his massive tercios, is cought by a stray bullet and falls dead on the spot. This has massive consequences for the Imperial left wing as it is now out of command and all its units have to pass a command check in order to activate and move. Is this the opportunity the Protestant so desperately needed?



Trying to carry the staggering left with him, Rucquoy orders a sweeping attack against the Prostant left which is hanging out in the open, flanks unprotected. His attempts are repulsed, though, and Thurn personally takes command to charge home his cuirassiers deep into enemy lines.

In the center, however, the indefatigable Polish lancers manage to break through and rout Hohenlohe/Christian's command off the field. When the news reach the King's guard currently driving Tilly's tercios back into the river, it decides to leave the field and retire into Prague.

The Protestant morale is eventually broken and the imperial army pursues the enemy into Prague where little resistance is swept away. The Emperor rules over Bohemia again, but this victory is paid in one of his most capable generals' blood.

[bob48]

 

[besilarius]

Very nice battle report.
The Thirty Years War is such a delicious mess.  Not much later, Schlik joined the Imperialist side and became a Habsburg Field Marshal.
And Tilly's favorite, most reliable infantry regiment , Schmidt's, was raised from a Protestant region.

[LetsPlayHistory]

Danke!

It truely is. I spent some time studying the history of the Welf lands during the war and the impact of combat and passing forces on the local populace. They changed sides back and forth.