Collision Course – Late Medieval era

By way of an introduction to the collision course variant for Jan, I had two identical Late Medieval German armies meet on a relatively open arable land, consisting of a small hamlet positioned along a road and woods. Readers may recall the ‘fine-tuning’ of the German lists I designed to reflect the feudal, city state, clerical and mercenary options for 1440 - 1518. Follow the link to read:  

Basically, the number of knights in wedge formation is reduced to one, retinue pikemen, classed as solid horde with nine figures placed on 40mm x 40mm bases, are present in both armies.

 

Battle

The vanguard and the first element of the main body of both forces are deployed on the table.

Four turns pass as both forces move out of column to line, one side producing three lines in echelon, the other reposition troops in two divisions.  

Another hour (4 turns) is needed to shuffle battle lines to charge distance. One side has wheeled its left division forcing the enemy to conform. The attack is supported by artillery and here, crossbowmen effectively fend off an attack by enemy knights.

As the lines close, both knights in wedge formation destroy enemy pike as they pass one another.   

Quick off the mark, a subsequent charge by supporting knights destroy the remaining pike to tip the balance and win the contest.

In retrospect

Both armies comprise a mix of troop types requiring at least four turns to shake columns into line and anther four to shuffle the lines to a point of no return. Once contact is made, a few turns are needed to reach a win.    

Having a perfect plan is nice, but be prepared for the unexpected. The sequence of elements within each column may cause delays as it moves from column to line as would the proximity of columns would cause a shortage of space.

Another cause of worry is the third column. A high score may bring the column ahead of plan or worse, consistent low pip scores, may delay its arrival.