POW - Another Renaissance Poles vs Turks Battle

A game played at Tom's house at the very end of 2022.

For today's game, the Turks concentrated their two cavalry formations on the right flank to make a sweeping attack around the scrub and the central objective, hinging the attack on the baggage and artillery (with two units of skirmishing cavalry attached) in the centre of the table. The Poles (having forgotten about the objective) formed up in a regular formation with their wagons and infantry on the broken ground in the centre of the table with hold orders. The C-in-C and one cavalry formation on their left and the other cavalry formation on their left with orders to advance and hold the hill in the centre of the table.

On turn one the Turkish cavalry formations rush up the right flank to the centre of the table. They also chose to advance with their infantry and artillery. The guns on the Polish wagon lagers bring the Turkish artillery and infantry under long range fire, causing some morale disruption and slowing their advance. The C-in-C manages to change the right cavalry wing's orders to get them to advance to attack the Turkish infantry and artillery in the flank.

In the following turns the Polish C-in-C attempts to stall the onrush of the two Turkish cavalry formations while their cavalry on the other flank move round to attack the Turkish infantry and artillery. The Turks using their skirmishing cavalry to stall the Polish advance. The Turkish artillery lose the long range battle with the Polish wagon lagers and are forced to retire. The Polish C-in-C leads his cavalry forward the two hussar units, breaking two Turkish cavalry units and forcing several others to retire but eventually getting overwhelmed, losing all units except for one unit's tartar cavalry. The Turkish cavalry advance is eventually halted by the Polish infantry and wagon lagers, but they occupy the terrain objective.

The Polish right wing cavalry flow round the broken ground and attack the Turkish infantry wing. The Turkish light horse stall the Polish Cossacks but the Polish hussars charge and force back the Dervishes and overrun the Turkish artillery before they can reform. The Janissaries attack the Polish hussars as they reform after catching the Turkish artillery but the hussars hold them of then pull back to charge in again only to be routed by the concentrated fire and fighting on behalf of the Janissaries.

At the end of the game it was a good victory for the Turks as they held the objective and had inflicted heavy casualties on the Poles.