GUINEGATTE 1479
Posted: Sat Apr 20, 2013 5:37 am
This is a complete rewrite of the battle. Most of the cavalry are now outside of the main battlefield as it happened historically. Major revision on the numbers involved. For all intent and purposes this is a new scenario.
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Louis XI, the scheming 'universal spider', hastened to claim by force the Burgundian inheritance (Burgundy and the Low Countries) on the death of Charles the Bold at the battle of Nancy in 1477. Charles' heiress, Mary of Burgundy, quickly found a capable defender, and husband, in Maximilian of Habsburg. In 1479, Maximilian assembled a large army, 25,000 strong, whose core was the excellent urban militia of the populous Flemish towns. The Flemish had retrained as pikemen (they already had a long and successful history as spearmen) following the Swiss victories that had broken Burgundian power and killed its duke. The French army in Artois had with it the largest contingent of native infantry seen until then, the Francs-Archers, 8,000 strong, to supplement its powerful heavy cavalry of more than 1,000 lances. The two forces clashed on August 7 at Guinegatte.
I have used both MF and HF, mostly mixed units, for francs-archers, given there was little standardization.
The French 'lance' at the time consisted of one heavy armoured knight (the corps was still aristocratic then), 3 mounted archers and two other personnel. Some of the archers would fight on foot, some as cavalry.
Some sources speak of 3,000 landsknechts and arquebusiers. It must be a mistake given the date of the battle. I have used german crossbowmen instead, which fit the narrative better.
Historically the French cavalry drove off its weaker counterpart but then rode off in pursuit (looking to capture enemy knights for ransom). By the time it came back, the French infantry had been routed and Maximilian claimed the field and the victory. This won't happen in the game and French cavalry will be lurking. On the other hand, the weaker Burgundian cavalry will not fight alone but with the support of its pikes and therefore will also be more dangerous.
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OLD
- Guinegatte 1479.zip
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I have used both MF and HF, mostly mixed units, for francs-archers, given there was little standardization.
The French 'lance' at the time consisted of one heavy armoured knight (the corps was still aristocratic then), 3 mounted archers and two other personnel. Some of the archers would fight on foot, some as cavalry.
Some sources speak of 3,000 landsknechts and arquebusiers. It must be a mistake given the date of the battle. I have used german crossbowmen instead, which fit the narrative better.
Historically the French cavalry drove off its weaker counterpart but then rode off in pursuit (looking to capture enemy knights for ransom). By the time it came back, the French infantry had been routed and Maximilian claimed the field and the victory. This won't happen in the game and French cavalry will be lurking. On the other hand, the weaker Burgundian cavalry will not fight alone but with the support of its pikes and therefore will also be more dangerous.
