Thursday 7 April 2022

Battle of Cuneo ( Madonna Dell' Olmo ) Piedmont 26th - 30th September 1744.

 This article is of my own perspective on the events of this battle. Any mistakes are my own.  

In this ongoing war in Italy, the Spanish and French Governments realised that they needed to take out the Sardinian Kingdom in order to secure northern Italy for the Spanish Crown. The politics in France were convoluted, however the French Crown was at this point in the war, commited to helping Spain.


Acting on the advice of the mountain warfare expert, General *Pierre Bourcet, the French army under the Prince of Conti had split into nine columns and moved east through the valleys of the Alps bypassing Piedmontese strong points, then successfully regrouping to storm the Citadel of Demonte. The Spanish army under General  the  Maquis of La Mina had moved from Genoa to link up at Cuneo.

( * Napoleon also sought the advice of this General prior to his invasion of Italy. )

The Prince of Conti had a plan to take the fortress which was a key part of the defence of Piedmont. This combined Franco-Spanish  army was 50,000 strong. The Prince's plan involved in splitting the army into three parts. The first part was to dig the siege lines. The second part was east of Cuneo to stop any Piedmontese forces interfering with the siege. The third part was to be the field army


Meanwhile Charles Emmanual 3rd, King of Piedmont-Sardinia was not sitting idle. This Monarch and his First Minister, the Marquis D'Ormea were absolute masters of the Machiavellian politics of the 18th century. The King was also very much involved with his army on a par with Frederick of Prussia though not so draconian!!..

While the French and Spanish Generals, themselves no novices in the 18th century art of war, were starting their attack, the King had devised a plan of his own. He did have 3,000 Grenzer light infantry and a Regiment of Hussars sent by the Empress of Austria, however his plan was entirely dependant on his own army in which he had complete confidence. 

I thought at this point it might be worth giving some information on this army, as the Italian theatre is often overshadowed by the events further north and east. The Piedmontese army at this time was an Infantry army much like the Dutch, Danish and the other Italian States. There were only four regiments of Dragoons and two  of Horse. There were no Light Cavalry so , during this war the Piedmontese relied on the Austrian Hussars.


The bulk of the army were the Infantry. There were 32 Regiments, totalling 58 battalions. Of the Regiments, there were 8 National, 10 Provincial, 3 Italian, 3 German, and 7 Swiss.

There were also the Vaudois which were a regular Militia of up to 10 Battalions. Finally there was a peasant militia ( another 10,000 )that  the King could call on if required. The army had a well trained Artillery Corps of 1,500 men to service the Guns and to instruct other staff. In addition there was a very respected Corp of Engineers attached to the Artillery.

( I obtained this information from " The war of the Austrian Succession, A Wargamers Guide Part 8 uniforms of the Italian States" by  Stephen Manley ).

Within Cuneo was a garrison of 3,200 men commanded by General Leutrum who, although into his eighties led a spirited defence!!.

As the siege of Cuneo commenced, the King moved his army from Saluzzo, South toward their opponents. As the two armies moved into position to the West of Cuneo, the Piedmontese placed abattis on broken ground to defend their right flank from being overwhelmed.. Battle commenced when the Austrian Grenz charged toward the village of Madonna Dell'Olmo ----..


THE SPANISH ARMY;

23,000 Infantry ( including artillery )= 23 points x 2 = 46 points.

2,000 Cavalry = 2 points x 2 = 4 points.

1 General   ( La Mina ) @  1 point.

2 stands of Spanish Guard @ 4 points = 8 points.

2 stands of Irish Infantry @ 3 points = 6 points.

2 stands of Walloon Infantry @ 3 points = 6 points.

5 stands of Spanish Infantry @ 3 points = 15 points.

1 stand of Spanish Light Infantry  @  1 point.

2 stands of Cavalry  @  2 points = 4 points.

3 stands of Light Artillery @ 1 point = 3 points.

THE FRENCH ARMY;

21,000 Infantry ( including artillery ) = 21 points x 2 = 42 points.

4,000 Cavalry = 4 points x 2 = 8 points.

1 General ( Conti )  @ 1 point.

2 stands of Grenadier Infantry @ 4 points = 8 points.

9 stands of Line Infantry @ 3 points = 27 points.

2 stands of Heavy Artillery @ 2 points = 4 points.

2 stands of Light Infantry @ 1 point = 2 points.

4 stands of Cavalry @ 2 points = 8 points.

Note; I have no information on the composition of the French and Spanish forces in the battle, so the above list is my best guess.

THE PIEDMONTESE ARMY;

1 General ( King Charles)  @  3 points.

1 General ( Castagnole )     @ 1 point.

1 stand of Cavalry  @ 2 points.

2 stands  of Dragoon Cavalry @ 1point. = 2puts.

1 stand of Austrian Hussars @ 1 point.

1 stand of Guard Infantry @  4 points.

1 stand of Grenadier Infantry @ 4 points.

2 stands of Vaudois Militia @  2 points = 4 points.

4 stands of Light Artillery @ 1 point = 4 points.

( I've added the Engineers to the Artillery ).

1 stand of Austrian Grenz Light Infantry @ 1 point.

8 stands of Line Infantry  @ 3 points = 24 points.

GARRISON OF CUNEO;

3,200 = 3.2 points x 2 = 6points r/d.

1 General ( Leutrum )  @ 2 points.

2 stands of Garrison Artillery@ 1 point = 2 points.

2 Stands of Infantry @ 1 point  = 2 points



Notes,

* The rivers cannot be crossed by any troops except at the bridges.

*Any stands entering the rough ground cannot move further that turn and suffers a minus 2 on a Die roll if engaged in close combat.

* For the purposes of fire and close combat the abbatis counts as a trench for the Piedmontese to defend, as do the gabions for the Spanish.

* The Piedmontese move and fire first every Game-Turn. The Piedmontese retain the initiative Point for the entire game.

* The Piedmontese win any tied results.

* The garrison of Cuneo cannot sally out during the battle although the garrison can fire at any enemy targets.

The Winner:

This is tricky! because the Piedmontese lost so that their militia had time to play havoc with the enemy supply lines. Therefore. The Piedmontese must attempt to stay on the field for 8 Game-Turns. If they do, they win

If the Piedmontese retreat before 8 Game-Turns are complete, they have lost.

Historical Note.

As stated above, this was the the Kings plan. To keep the Spanish and French focused on his army while the Piedmontese Militia wrecked havoc on the enemy supply lines and magazines. This was exactly what happened.

Spanish and French jubilation gradually turned  to depression in the days following the battle. La Mina and Conti realised that without supplies their position was untenable. As the autumnal rains set in the army retreated back to France.

Credits;

The figures are mostly Miniature Figurines with some Peter Pig and Essex Miniatures.

The abattis is from Irregular Miniatures.

The gabions are made by Last Man Last Bullet Miniatures.

The tent models are from Peter Pig.

The citadel and house are scratch built.

The trees are from various manufacturers.

Most of the hill sections are made from cork tiles. There are some made by Brian at Essex Miniatures.

The river and road are made from thin card.


The battle was fought on  the  3 foot by 2 foot table. ( 90cm x 60 cm ).

FOOTNOTE:

I managed to fight this battle solo. After 8 Game-Turns the Piedmontese won the battle.

However, it was a near run thing!. This was the situation at the end of Game-Turn eight.


These Modenese were glad to sit out this battle.





Thursday 13 January 2022

Battle of Soissons, Northern Gaul 486AD.

 This article is my personal interpretation of historical events based on the limited information available. Any mistakes are my own.

As Arthur struggled against the invading Seaxons in the north of Britannia, the political landscape was changing in Gaul. Childeric, the King of the Franks had died leaving his son Clovis to rule the *Kingdom.

*Note; Childeric may have been a Roman appointed Dux or Comes but by this time these Officials were being regarded as a Rex or King.

When Aetius died there was no single person in the West with enough influence or the military strength, to keep the tribal groups from breaking out of their  settled areas. Therefore Clovis decided to expand the Frankish Kingdom by first using a combination of force and diplomacy to unite all the Frankish tribes under his rule.

Secondly, having suceeded his father, Clovis had no compunction in continuing the alliance with the Kingdom of Soissons which he saw as the last vestige of the failed Roman Empire in the west. Soissons itself was also an armoury.

In June 486 AD, Clovis led an army of 5,000 warriors south across  the river Aigne, to the east of Soissons. Syagrius, being told of the approach of the Franks realised that he would have to meet this army head on. There was no help coming from the Empire because the   " Roman Army" in the west was Visigothic and they held all the ground between the river Loire and Italy.

Therefore, Syagrius could not sit behind the walls of his Capital. He was not to know that this would be the " Last Hurrah" of the Old Empire,-------


ARMY OF SOISSONS;

6,000 Infantry = 6pts x 5 = 30 points.

1,000 Cavalry = 1 pt x 5 = 5 points. (No armour, shield, helmet, sword, javelins, )

1 General [ Syagrius ] @ 1 point.

1 Tribune [ Arbelius ]fictional @ 1 point.

2 stands of Regular Infantry @ 3 points = 6 points.

8 stands of Auxilliary Infantry @ 2 points = 16 points.

7 stands of Light Archers @ 1 point = 7 points.


THE FRANKISH ARMY;

5,000 Infantry = 5pts x 5 = 25 points.

Clovis @ 2 points.

Ragnachar @ 1 point.

Chararic @ 1 point.

3 stands of Archers @ 1 point = 3 points.

9 stands of Warriors @ 2 points = 18 points.


Battle Notes;

* The Franks retain the Initiative Point for the entire battle.

* The Frank's move first and fire first on the first Game-Turn.

* The river Aigne can only be crossed at the bridges.

* If the Franks retreat, they can only exit the board over the bridge at Venizels.

* If the Romans retreat ,it will be southward  at Berzy-le-Sec.

*Chararic  and his group of three stands cannot move for the first two Game-Turns. On the third Game-Turn his group can be moved as part of the Frankish army.

* The battle is played for 8 Game-Turns. The Winner is the side that inflicts the greater number of casualties and/or manages to push the enemy to their respective exit points.

* The game board is  3 feet x 2 feet ( 90cm x 60cm).

Here is the map;

Historical Notes;

Nearly everything written above is pure conjecture. The only information known, is that there was a battle, the combatants, the place and thats all. I went on to the British Battles website as , during World War 1, Soissons was part of the battle of Arras. I could also be wrong because in referring to Soissons the old writers could have been referring to any place within the entire Province rather than the City itself.

 However I reasoned that if this was going to be a decisive battle, it would be at the City. The map on the British Battles website gave me some detail about the terrain. Soissons is at the head of a valley which stretches south. I have represented the eastern side of the valley, known these days as the Noyant Plateau.


  In regard to the armies I referred to the Internet. On paper the army of Soissons should have been 25,000 strong but having seen a list of units, I worked on minimum numbers. With the Franks, I used the numbers given on Wikipedia.

The positioning of the opposing armies is my best guess. At the end of the battle, Syagrius, having lost, took off south in order to gain the safety of the Court of Alaric the 2nd, who had succeeded his father Euric as King of the Visigoths. Therefore, my conclusion was, that the  army of Soissons must have been positioned south of the town


Clovis had to cross the Aigne to attack. By all accounts the river itself is difficult to cross and without boats or any major engineering capability, the Franks must have used a bridge. The closest bridge to Soissons is at Venizels if the bridge existed at that time.


I wondered why if this was the case, that the bridge had not been guarded. I came to the conclusion that Syagrius would want the Franks to attack confident that he could wipe out the army and in the process eliminate Clovis. Syagrius didnt know that initially, Chararic, one of the Frankish chiefs hung back at the start of the battle hoping to join whichever side gained the upper hand. In the event, he stayed with Clovis.

I leave to you, the reader, to draw your own conclusions. In regard to Syagrius, well, he arrived at Alarics Court hoping he could claim sanctuary but it was not to be. Clovis threatened Alaric with military action if he did not give up Syagrius.

Syagrius was sent back and executed by Clovis.. The last of the " Roman Provinces" in the West had fallen.

CREDITS;

The figures are mostly Hat Miniatures, mainly the Gothic and Roman Medium Infantry sets. 

The Roman Cavalry are modified Hat Light Cavalry Archers.The Roman archers on the ground are Newline Designs as are the Roman Regulars. A few of the Frankish warriors are by Miliart. 

The hills are made by Brian of Essex Miniatures. The trees are from various manufacturers. The wood outline stands are from S and A Scenics. The dark age buildings are from either Hovels or Peter Pig ?. The town walls and buildings within are scratchbuilt.

The square stands are 40mm and made from picture framing cardboard. The round stands are 40mm circular mdf made by Minibits. The road and river are made from thin card. One of the bridges is from Kallistra and been modified. The standards are made from sticky labels and hand painted. The poles are from Northstars pack of Javelins.