The enemy seems to advance only with his infantry. My artillery units aren't cutting it: their fire has disorganized a Later Tercio (I hope to make one of these flee and try to force some other morale check with it), but not much else. I'll try using Arkebusiers against those, to stop them in their tracks (they can't charge cavalry IIRC) and disorganize enemy attack line.
In Turn 5 one Imperial Later Tercio has been routed by artillery and musket fire, and another one disorganized by the Arkebusiers on the left flank. This is by far the weakest flank, with a single isolated Veteran Tercio advancing, and I'm considering an all-out counterattack against it. Enemy cavalry still holding their ground so far. On the right and center, a critical mass of four Veteran Tercios have made contact with my fortified line, having suffered hundreds of losses by gunfire but not being even disordered by it.
Turn 6: the enemy Tercios attacks the fortifications, that hold for now. Enemy cavalry starts moving forward. I have routed another Later Tercio on the left flank and managed to disorganize the single Veteran one. Enemy cavalry surging forward, so I have little time to win this battle or it's gonna turn into a bloodbath.
In Turn 9 a section of my fortifications blow up via event, because of course situation wasn't desperate enough so here it goes fortifications AND the musketeers manning it. Counterattack on the left flank is sort of working thanks to the nonstop fire of my musketeers from the forest. Enemy rallies a fleeing Later Tercio, that gets two rounds of shooting in the back of my units because it was fleeing THROUGH my ranks; I have to divert a Musketeer unit to re-rout it. LAter, a Veteran Tercio I managed to disorganize rallies as well, but another one flees after being shot to shreds for 9 turns straight.
Turn 10: enemy's left flank routs, but enemy cavalry is filling the center and I can do nothing about it. Enemy Veteran Tercio that got shot for 4 turns then faceplanted in my fortifications against Musketeers AND a Later Tercio has routed the musketeers and then routed my Tercio too. Alone. On the right flank things are going better than expected: my fortified Later Tercio managed (with the help of several other units' shooting) to rout and disperse a Veteran Tercio, and another Later Tercio has been routed by a combination of shooting and an Arkebusiers charge. I'm mounting up a counterattack in the area. Meanwhile, my center is collapsing.
Enemy units break through the fortifications, but my artillery blasts them at close range and reserves try to contain them. Left flank is now facing swarms of enemy cavalry. In Turn 13 I reach the 40% threshold of Imperial units routed against 25% of mines, but the game doesn't award me the victory, instead going on with Imperial turn, where they rout one of my Arkebusiers, so I have more than 25% routed units. Veteran Tercio pushing in the center rallies, as well as several other fleeing Imperial units. I have lost the battle. A Kuirassier charges frontally one of my Later Tercios and, just like that, makes them Disrupted, then Fragmented in the next melee, then routs it. Just like that. They must have had rubber pikes or something. Another Kuirassier charge my own Kuirassiers and rout them in one turn flat, then follows by charging in my artillery. Ok.
By turn 15 it's a pointless struggle: Kuirassiers are roaming in my backfield routing everything they charge into. Another lovely thing: a Kuirassier of mine routed and chased an enemy Arkebusier unit, only to stop at the exact time and in the exact spot where an enemy Kuirassier could rear-charge it. It could have kept chasing the Arkebusiers, moving to safety and even threatening the remaining Imperial artillery battery but noooo, let's stop RIGHT HERE and RIGHT NOW. Rear charge, routed. Lovely. Can't wait to reach the 60% rout threshold and be done with this battle.
Reached it in Turn 17, good riddance.
