Fall In! Battle Report: Czarnowa 1666- Civil War

1666, a Polish noble is banished from the Sejm (Polish Congress). Not taking this particularly well, he gathers a confederation (a Polish legal fiction to avoid the harsh if deserved label of  'rebellious traitorous scum') of disgruntled nobles- in effect, bringing civil war to Poland. So now the advance units of Rebels and Royalists clash in the small village of Czarnowa- can the Royalists break the back of this rebellion before it even begins? Or will the overworked and underpaid Royalist forces find themselves without the proper motivation to match the zeal of these 'freedom fighters'?

I took the command of one of the three Royalist elements. Rules are using a Computer moderated Carnage and Glory Pike and Shot rule set.

The Rebel forces before deployment, 'advancing' on the village that
they will be holding against the Royalist advance.

Main village compound- decidedly NOT cavalry territory.

The Royalist Banner's, tasked with driving the blasted traitors from
the village and breaking the back of this confederation once and for all.

Specifically my three units of Poles- two banner's of (underpaid) Pancerni and
a well-equipped (if less veteran than I'd like) banner of Hussars.

The second commander (703) is who I represented. My buddy took command of the 'A' team,
while an experienced third player took command of the light horse and overall commander.

Rebel infantry and dragoons taking cover in the buildings of the town
and a pair of heavy War Wagons.

Traitor cavalry on come down from the village's east side, sweeping
down to intercept the Royalists on the right flank.

Choosing to ignore the bridge in favor of the wider frontage of the creek, two elements
of the Royalist forces (3rd light horse followed by 1st) leave column to form into line even
as the enemy does the same.

My forces are charged with delaying the enemy reinforcements coming from the town,
giving enough time for the Royalists on the right flank to overwhelm the enemy.

Overestimating the damage the enemy cannons could deal, I charge a Rebel
2 pounder in the center of the village, moving my Pancerni into a dangerous
position.

They wipe out the cannon, but expose their flank to the danger of being charged.

Even as my own cannon element sets up, I am forced to send my second element
of Pancerni to charge even further to intercept the enemy cavalry.

On the other flank, this get very messy as the Rebels gain the initiative, forcing
the Royalist cavalry to be the ones charging across the creek.

Even though our numbers are overwhelming on this flank, the strategy imparted by our
'experianced' overall commander falls apart as his first wave is locked in combat, stranding
our heavy veteran's behind to watch and wait for far too long.

Even as my Hussars and Pancerni enter the fray, my intrepid 'cannon killers' move
around to cover my flank. Again our experienced commander advises me to not worry
about the infantry, and instead turn to support my other cavalry elements in combat...

Which turns out to be a terrible mistake as the Rebel infantry break doctrine
(and cover) to encircle my forces- exacerbated by my inability to break through
the enemy cavalry to the front.

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My Hussar's are abandoned as musket fire peppers the units behind, forcing them to
withdraw. I wish I could pull them out, but without support they would be cut piecemeal
by a rear charge- so they could only charge.

My 'brave' Pancerni racing each other to be the first over the river as they flee
the Rebel onslaught.

My Hussars fight to a painful draw even as the rebel dragoons charge my cannon.
The cannon's final grapeshot does enough damage to make sure that, even as they
are forced to abandon the cannons, these particular dragoons would spend the
rest of the game retiring to greener pastures.

Managing to (barely) escape the stranglehold, my Hussar's dig in against the creek even as
my Pancerni continue to flee. Over on the right flank the Royalist's FINALLY start to break
through- too late to have any hope of salvaging the left flank.

Exhausted and battered, my Hussars make a final stand against the horde.
They put up as good a fight as expected, but can't possibly hope to do anything
more than briefly delay the enemy.

On the left flank our veteran Hussars finally manage a charge on the
filthy traitor Hussars, the overall Rebel commander supporting them
while the element commander personally led the Royalists.

In what would be the last notable combat of the game, the Royalists smash the rebels. The
Royalist commander is captured in the fray, but the rebel overall commander suffers a
mortal leg wound- quite a blow to the Rebel's!

Despite that final resounding success, and the Royalist forces ready to stream in on the right flank, the battle would end there in a Rebel victory. 68% of the Rebel forces were still combat capable in contrast with the barely 60% of the Royalists, and with my force on the left flank smashed to pieces the DM declared that the Royalist forces would be forced to withdraw, leaving the village in dastardly Rebel hands. Still, the death the Rebel commander would be enough of a blow to allow the majority of the Royalist's to escape and gather their forces. Till next time traitors...

So one almost draw, and one solid defeat. Will I win anything this Fall in? Find out in the last installment, coming to a blog near you~