Friday, February 26, 2016

The eastern bridgehead


Captain d'Arson and First Lieutenant Criceto of the Civita Maria militia were tasked with removing the defenses of the bridge between the city and Forte Prada. The enemy had a light infantry and a provincial battalion, supported by two heavy cannon. The rebel leaders commanded two battalions of foot, 240 men altogether, and two wings of cavalry, both 80 strong, the battle-hardened Calvacasa's Own Cavalry and the freshly raised and equipped Calvacasa Outriders.

Monday, February 22, 2016

Planning ahead


The current military situation of the rebellion on the Count's map. With the capture of Civita Maria, everything north of the river belongs to Calvacasa. The small garrison the rebels passed by to advance on the city had left and moved south towards the nearest stronghold across the river. The Count knows that the next logical step in the campaign is the capture of Forte Prada in the southern swamps with its extended series of fortifications and control of river trade.

Sunday, February 14, 2016

Muster


The Count of Calvacasa reviews the troops supplied by the Civita Maria council. In one week, two more infantry companies were raised, along with a wing of 80 cavalry.


As the rebel army is still very small, there is not a formal higher command or higher formations. Battalion and company are also interchangeable most of the time as a battalion is usually 100-120 men strong.
The town officials will gain their respective military ranks from the Count after the ceremony, and the same time the reinforcements will be organized to an infantry and cavalry regiment (the three gun crews will merge with the rebels' existing artillery unit). Of course calling eighty men a regiment is far-fetched, but as the count pointed out earlier, the rebels are in dire need of any mounted men available. On the other hand, the three units of infantry (one Civita Maria household infantry and two volunteer militia) are a quite formidable 400-men force, The only problem is their training: no matter how enthusiastic the volunteers are if the provincials have the advantage over them by frequent practice. 
And while the Count rests and plans his next moves, the Parmigiano court receives news about his recent conquests...

Monday, February 1, 2016

The trap is sprung


Knight-Colonel Ricco Furfante was trusted by the Parmigiano government to bring peace to the freshly established frontier between Calvacasa's territory and that of the loyalists. The colonel was famed for his knowledge in the art of la petite guerre. And one thing was established about him: as a dragoon officer, he was fond of being in the middle of action. 
The northern bandits received intelligence about an army surgeon's medicine wagon being escorted through the border. They decided to capture the goods at the edge of cultivated land where an ambush is least expected. They did not know however that the intel was forged by Furfante himself, and he made sure two cavalry guards of the central army were in close support, but unseen by rebel spies.

The rebel group consisted of two swordsmen, two leaders, two riders and three men with muskets. There were two dragoons, two Cacciatori, a provincial sergeant and five footman in the loyalist detail (both parties are worth ~500 points in Flashing Steel).

Loyalist objectives: (1) Destroy more than half of the enemy force; (2) Escort the medicine supply across the field to the top of the hill.
Bandit objectives: (1) Destroy more than half of the original enemy force (the cavalry guard not counted); (2) Capture the medicine supply and retain the hold of it for three turns.