Battle of Lesnaya, September/October 1708

 

Another Great Northern War scenario and game.  My favourite period and my favourite style of game- an historical clash.

The Battle of Lesnaya was a decisive clash of the GNW. It took place on September 28th 1708 between a Russian army commanded by Tsar Peter I of Russia. (October 9 for the Swedish Calendar) His number two was Prince Aleksandr Menshikov who ably assisted the Russian ruler. The Russians numbered approximately 14,000 men. The Swedes, numbering 12,000 were commanded by General Adam Ludwig Lewenhaupt. Lewenhaupt was one of Sweden's foremost generals and commanded a well trained and motivated force. Some of his regiments were veterans of many years' campaigning. 

For Peter the Great it was his first great victory over the Swedes.

The Russian guns from the southern column deployed.

Swedes waiting by the town

Overview of the table. The Swedes were tasked with holding the village and the crossing in it- and the crossing at the very bottom right of the picture. They had no troops at all at that point- and as is marked a Russian column was headed straight down the road.

Ottomans and Teutonic Knights!

 

Sticking with my late medieval/ early Renaissance themed battles-  another game one afternoon when both Ross and I were on holidays- and it was a bloodbath!! 

His late Teutonic Knights came out of hiding to take on the Glorious Might of the Sultan and his Janissaries! 

The Ottoman army had Janissaries, finesse, style, colour, dash, archery, Janissaries and a nice big bombard.  Oh...and did I forget to mention I had Janissaries?

The Teutonic Knights lacked all that. They just charged. That's all..hell for leather, heads down, get the flock out of the way because here we come, charge.  

My Ottomans- heavily weighted on the right with Cavalry.

The Teutons....as you can see, off into the distance, a long line of people who think that diplomacy, negotiation, tact and any other sort of interaction starts and ends with a charge.

Renaissance Clash: Spanish vs Maximilian's Imperials!

 Ross and I played a game from the late Middle Ages/ Early Renaissance a little while ago.  I took all these photos at the start....then forgot to take more as the game progressed. It was Spanish vs Maximilian Imperialist. One of those games where I totally forgot to take the pics because it was such a close fought engrossing engagement.....so for posterity...I'll put them on the blog and in years to come kick myself for forgetting to take more pics!

The Spanish- left flank anchored on wood- lots of pike, some supporting shooters and a bit of cavalry.

Maximilian's boys- not quite as much pike- less shooters...but a bit more heavy metal- The Knights!

Thracians vs Samnites

 An interesting game between two armies that never actually met on the field of battle- but were both from the same time frame. Ross' Thracians came out to take on my Samnites. Both armies are made up of predominantly Light Infantry or Light Heavy Infantry.  Ross' Thracians have a lot more cavalry- I had two units for the Samnites- he had four for the Thracians. His Thracian Cavalry also have the ability to mix in Light Infantry , which slows the cavalry but gives a crucial +2 dice in melee.

My best troops- Linen Legion

Battle lines moving up.