The English won the initiative and the terrain favoured them, with enclosed fields protecting one flank and an area of uneven ground on the other. Their (my!) plan was to use artillery to force the Milanese to attack the keils and men-at-arms in the centre, hoping that the weak mounted wing on the left would hold up for long enough.
The English centre: billmen, keils, light guns and men-at-arms
The Milanese centre and left at the start. The elmeti are facing the keils and Superior men-at-arms; the plan is to switch them leftwards to face the billmen supporting the English medium artillery
The Milanese trotted forward. Early artillery fire damaged an English men-at-arms BG and a Famiglia di Casa BG (Superior gendarmes), while some mounted crossbowmen foolishly exchanged shots with longbowmen in enclosed fields and retired discomfited and fragmented.
On the Milanese right their elmeti confidently went for two BGs of demi-lances, with mounted crossbowmen in support on one flank and mounted arquebusiers, unaffected by the uneven ground, on the other.
After a long struggle in which the staves charged although disrupted by crossbow shooting, a mounted crossbow BG broke and the demi-lances finally beat the elmeti, thanks to the Earl of Northumberland valiantly fighting in the front rank. The mounted arquebusiers exchanged shots with the longbowmen until both BGs were one base from auto-breaking, then prudently retired leaving the heavy guns to try finishing off the longbows.
In the centre the cream of Milanese knighthood charged home; one BG crunched through the Average billmen and captured the medium artillery, but another was rapidly destroyed by the landsknechts, who then took on and defeated the victorious elmeti BG.
Meanwhile the English men-at-arms, led by King Hal himself, advanced to attack the arquebusiers. Despite losing two bases to shooting, they charged and made short work of their opponents; seeing this, the militia crossbowmen lost heart.
The battle ended when the victorious demi-lances attacked and broke another unit of mounted crossbowmen, who couldn’t evade. This broke the Milanese army for a 21-4 win to the English.
The centre at the end. King Hal and his men-at-arms are approaching the quaking militia crossbowmen, while the landsknechts are grinding down the remaining elmeti.
The Milanese right flank in ruins – defeated by inferior but more numerous English cavalry.
No doubt we got lots of rules wrong and didn’t use sensible tactics… but it was a good learning game. Given the terrain, it was difficult to see what the Milanese could do to avoid the keils; charging them never looked like a good idea but it was either that or be gradually whittled down by artillery.
