Rebellion in Flandres

At the turn of the 14^th century, in response to French taxation and general disruption of trade, Flanders rose in revolt. Ghent, Brugge and Ypres formed a coalition army and crossed the frontier into Artois.

The game

Each command was double the standard 12 elements making this an interesting historical match. The French used the IV/64 list to meet the Flemish IV/57b, bringing a large number of mounted knights to battle the Flemish pike.

 

Battle one

In centre of the French deployment were the knights in two lines. To either flank, were the Genoese crossbowmen supported by spearmen. The Flemings, forming three blocks of pike, deployed these in echelon with artillery and crossbowmen on the left facing the French centre.

Moving in echelon, the Flemish pike and White hoods mauled the French left while. French knights struck the central Flemish block, but could make little impression on it nor the supporting troops. Suffering severe losses, the French retreated from the field (8-4).

Battle two

A lesson learned; French knights were deployed on the flanks as well as the centre. In response, the Flemish pike blocks were now deployed in line.

The battle that followed demonstrated the effective firepower of the artillery and crossbowmen to eviscerate the French centre in three bounds and together with the losses to the French left flank guaranteed a decisive victory for the coalition (10-3+Hd).

 

Battle three

Departing from the usual deployment, the French placed its spearmen and Genoese crossbowmen in centre with the knights positioned to both flanks and forming a central reserve. The Flemish responded by deploying a contiguous line with artillery and white hoods on the right.

The change in deployment enabled the French to engage the entire Flemish line simultaneously. The battle was hotly contested, and though brief, lasting four turns, resulted in a French narrow victory, 8-7.

Overview

In the first two battle, French deployment followed more or less historical lines, cavalry placed in a dominant position, in centre with crossbowmen placed to each flank. After two humiliations later, a change was needed. The change proved fortuitous as the French held sufficient knights in reserve to maintain pressure along the Flemish line.