"Herein lies one eyewitness's account of the Battle of Blech, fought this day, the 14th of July 1703 in the kingdom of Unkerlant.
Twas a rainy night in Blech. Borogravian troops had bee spotted late in the evening entering the valley from the east. The army of the Arch Duchy of Volborg, commanded by General Wulfe, had spent the night in formation, lined south to north from Blech. Their far right flank, rested on the town itself.
When the rain ceased in the early morning, Borogravia was still arriving. It wasn't until late afternoon that the hostilities finally began. As a foreigner, in a very xenophobic kingdom, I was not allowed in either commander's tent. Instead, I watched, like many, from the walls of Blech. There, I was witness to a very bizarre ceremony. A party rode out from each side. There, a very animated discussion ensued. Something was tossed in the air, then both sides rode away. I was later to find out that they were discussing who would get the honor of the opening cannonade. As invader, Borogravia brought a ceremonial burnt sausage. This was then thrown in the air. Whichever side the sausage rolled toward, would get the honor.
A few moments later the canons of Volborg opened up.
From my perspective, the left flank of volborg was the farthest away. General Wulfe had massed his Dragoons. These sad louts were barely horsemen. Merely mounted infantry really, astride on poor nags. So it was to no one's surprise when the Borogravian Kuirassiers charged them, destroyed half the Dragoons and carried the position. They were not to stay though. The dragoons had merely been a screen to protect the deploying infantry. The dragoons fell back, revealing the Volborgan regulars, who delivered an almost point blank volley into the Borogravian heavy horse. The Kuirassiers fell back, never to play a part in the battle the rest of the day.
Closest to me the Volborgan Guards had deployed and awaited their equals on the other side. The Borogravian Guard led by the grenadiers and the vaunted Dutch Guards seemed to have trouble moving forward. Was it nerves or terrain? Regardless they spent most of the fight trying to get in position, under a constant rain of cannon balls.
Indeed, Volborgan artillery was proving to be particularly brutal and accurate. In the center, contingents from those counties and duchies conquered by Borogravia, called Traitor Legions by most in Unkerlant, were taking the brunt of it. Some regiments, like those from Graveholm managed to survive the onslaught only to be wiped out by infantry fire.
As the last of the day was waning, the infantry finally closed. General Wulfe could be seen under a hastily erected pavillion having an evening meal with his staff as his infantry collided with the Borogravians.
Both sides delivered brutal volleys at close range, but int eh end, the softening up by the cannons early had made the infantry clash a foregone conclusion.
Despite rallying attempts by Prince Ruprect himself, his troops left the field for the shelter of the forest beyond. By then, night had fell, and darkness quashed an attempts at pursuit.
Volborg had twarted another Borogravian invasion."
From: My Travels and Travales in Unkerlant by Dolpheus Thewd
The opening moves. As you can see, I have lots of minis to paint.
But, as it was St Pat's day, the fridge was well stocked.....
