My OperaDBA(R) project – part 2
Sunday, January 11, 2009 9:26:25 PM
Test Driving the Rules
A few solo games familiarised me with the rules. They seemed to work OK! So I took them down to my local club to try out. Surprise! Surprise! They actually worked without too much of a hitch.
There were, inevitably, a few niggles – or so I felt. They were:
(a) Pistols – this category seems to include both hard-charging horse and caracolling pistoleers. The two seem to me to be an incongruous mixture.
(b) Pistols – can they stand off and fire? I made up a rule “on the spot” to allow them to do so but suffer a -1 factor if caught before they could re-load. I wasn't entirely happy with the results.
( c) Pike & Shot – these are separated into different elements with relative factors of 3(6) and 4. The ratio of one to the other was not taken into account and nor was the addition of small supporting guns used by the Swedes.
(d) Commanded Shot – another troop type not included.
Once home I started looking through my old wargaming magazines . I came across the article by Stephen O'Leary(see Bibliography) that seemed to answer some of the above. Under his interpretation:
Reiters are “horsemen, usually armoured, with pistol or arquebus ...... they fought by caracole.”
Pike-and-Shot are “composite units of small bodies of pikes and muskets in co-operation, sometimes stiffened with light artillery or polearm-men.”
Knights “covers also those hard-charging cavalry ...... including Swedes. They were often supported by small bodies of musketeers.”
Looking more closely at “Reiters” shows a factor of 2 just like Light Horse. Post-melee Lh can flee whereas “Reiters” are likely to be destroyed. This seems in keeping with an Imperial commander's complaint that he had to keep an eye on his (later) Reiters else they revert to caracole tactics leaving them vulnerable to opposing heavy horse.
Pike-and-Shot units have factors of +5 v foot and +3 v mounted. This compares with Musketeers at +3. The main problem here is that no separate factors or outcomes are quoted for non-mixed units.
Knights with supporting 'commanded' shot, unfortunately, leaves a whole raft of problems involving basing, movement and separate actions.
Next stage is to try them out – watch this space.
Bibliography
“Renaissance 'DBA'” by Andrew Thomas – WI 61 pp 34-35
“Renaissance DBA Revisited” by Stephen O'Leary – WI 71 pp 33-37
“Pike & Shot Rules c. 1600-1670” by Paul Trickett – WI 6 pp 11-13
“ECW DBA” by Matt Pickard – WI 110 pp 42-47
“ECW Update: Part 1” by Thomas E Shepherd – WI 114 pp 49-52
“Commanded Muskets, Firelocks, Independent Companies, Cavalry Troops and other such Fun Stuff: Part 2” by Thomas E Shepherd – WI 115 pp 22-29
“Lion of the North” by Michael Peters – WI 127 pp 10-13
A few solo games familiarised me with the rules. They seemed to work OK! So I took them down to my local club to try out. Surprise! Surprise! They actually worked without too much of a hitch.
There were, inevitably, a few niggles – or so I felt. They were:
(a) Pistols – this category seems to include both hard-charging horse and caracolling pistoleers. The two seem to me to be an incongruous mixture.
(b) Pistols – can they stand off and fire? I made up a rule “on the spot” to allow them to do so but suffer a -1 factor if caught before they could re-load. I wasn't entirely happy with the results.
( c) Pike & Shot – these are separated into different elements with relative factors of 3(6) and 4. The ratio of one to the other was not taken into account and nor was the addition of small supporting guns used by the Swedes.
(d) Commanded Shot – another troop type not included.
Once home I started looking through my old wargaming magazines . I came across the article by Stephen O'Leary(see Bibliography) that seemed to answer some of the above. Under his interpretation:
Reiters are “horsemen, usually armoured, with pistol or arquebus ...... they fought by caracole.”
Pike-and-Shot are “composite units of small bodies of pikes and muskets in co-operation, sometimes stiffened with light artillery or polearm-men.”
Knights “covers also those hard-charging cavalry ...... including Swedes. They were often supported by small bodies of musketeers.”
Looking more closely at “Reiters” shows a factor of 2 just like Light Horse. Post-melee Lh can flee whereas “Reiters” are likely to be destroyed. This seems in keeping with an Imperial commander's complaint that he had to keep an eye on his (later) Reiters else they revert to caracole tactics leaving them vulnerable to opposing heavy horse.
Pike-and-Shot units have factors of +5 v foot and +3 v mounted. This compares with Musketeers at +3. The main problem here is that no separate factors or outcomes are quoted for non-mixed units.
Knights with supporting 'commanded' shot, unfortunately, leaves a whole raft of problems involving basing, movement and separate actions.
Next stage is to try them out – watch this space.
Bibliography
“Renaissance 'DBA'” by Andrew Thomas – WI 61 pp 34-35
“Renaissance DBA Revisited” by Stephen O'Leary – WI 71 pp 33-37
“Pike & Shot Rules c. 1600-1670” by Paul Trickett – WI 6 pp 11-13
“ECW DBA” by Matt Pickard – WI 110 pp 42-47
“ECW Update: Part 1” by Thomas E Shepherd – WI 114 pp 49-52
“Commanded Muskets, Firelocks, Independent Companies, Cavalry Troops and other such Fun Stuff: Part 2” by Thomas E Shepherd – WI 115 pp 22-29
“Lion of the North” by Michael Peters – WI 127 pp 10-13
