MURTEN 1476 (Morat)

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Fm Murten 1476.zip

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With the temporary eclipse of France during and in the aftermath of the Hundred Years War, Burgundy backed by the economic prosperity of its Flemish possessions had emerged as a dominant power. Duke Charles the Bold's sheer aggression in the pursuit of expansion and the webs of intrigues spun by his Valois cousin Louis XI of France, the 'universal spider', precipitated a series of conflicts culminating in the fateful trial of force with the Swiss confederacy. At Grandson in March of 1676 the Burgundians were routed but their losses were minimal. Three months later Charles was again on the move. But as he stopped to besiege Murten/Morat on the road to Bern a huge Confederate army gathered. It was early afternoon 22 June 1476 when the horns of Uri sounded.

Designer's notes:

When the Swiss attacked, most of Charles's army was in camp and unprepared. His forward defensive position was strong but without immediate backup and could be outflanked. It was overwhelmed after a bloody fight. The Confederates poured onto the plain towards Charles main position on a hill and the siege lines at Murten. Charles was still putting on his armour when they approached. In the event, the Burgundians were swept off the hill and the besieging Italians, caught between the Confederates rapid march and a sortie from Murten were largely destroyed.

To keep the rear Burgundian units busy and randomly deplete their ranks (due to disorganization), accessory counters called 'Confederate Negative Points' are used. It is so called because their other function is to reduce the total break points available to the Swiss player. In effect, the Swiss player will lose the game if his losses are too high. This remedies the problem of not being able to dictate army breaking point. Similarly the Burgundian army breaking point is increased by accessory counters called (positive) 'Burgundian points' (this is an older design cue introduced in the Adrianople scenario)

Some of Charles' heavy cavalry took a long time to get ready. The treatment for his tardiness in joining the action is the use of map overlay as if he was coming on as reinforcement, randomized by the presence of 'Confederate Negative Counters' in his path.

An important map overlay is the one that separates the main Burgundian position and the predominantly Italian position near Murten. Its function is to prevent an easy linkup between the two battle groups and preventing the Italians from withdrawing.

Map overlays were also used to simulate the bottleneck at the Burgundian forward defensive position and to seal off the Count of Romont's command which took no part in the battle. There is evidence Romont, from the house of Savoie, and the Swiss were already talking. He was not attacked in the pursuit which destroyed the Burgundian army and a peace treaty was concluded quickly between Savoy and the Confederacy in the aftermath.

Burgundian player: a lot depends on how long the forward defensive position holds, when Charles and his potent cavalry is available, how badly the rear units are damaged by the 'Confederate Negative counters'. the main decision is how many units should the 'grand batard of Burgundy' move to bolster Charles main position on the hill; how many units should stay in front of Murten to beat back the inevitable Swiss sortie.

Confederate player: has to get past the bottleneck quickly, divide up his army judiciously, the main thrust towards Charles, the other towards Murten. There is little time to shore up the lines, the advance has to be relentless.

The Swiss will sweep the battlefield clean as in 'real life' but time limits and 'negative points counters' mean that winning the game will not be as straightforward.

Main source: Pierre Streit: 'Morat (1476) L'independance des cantons suisses.' (Paris: Economica, 2009)

77 moving BGs, 22 turns