1620s Dumas-Campaign?

At the request of a tabletop player, I want to sacrifice myself. We started a new PML campaign with a few new characters. We have previously used the ruleset for historical skirmishes [1]. A few manufacturers have released models of figures that fit the famous novels of Alexandre Dumas such as "Les trois mousquetaires" [2].

The escort is near the pont while Milady's troops are advancing. (photo: C. H.)

 

Some Commanded Shot are at the waggon with the war chest and some light riders are ready to defend them. (photo: C.H.)

A while ago the two films came out in France that have little to do with the novel. The second half of "Les trois Mousquetaires" shows the king's musketeers in action in the war. The many sets in 1/72 are of no use for the Thirty Years' War, as the king's musketeers, for example, were not there at Freiburg in 1644 [3].

After some bad luck for my forces finally I'm arriving with supporting units to attack Milady's left wing. The Bavairan cuirassiers are losing one of them and you can find Milady in the ranks of her musketeers in the center of the photo. (photo: C.H.)

 

Augustus von Wiesel has his duel with Milady and to my own surprise is victorious. (photo: C. H.)

Since "Les trois Mousquetaires" is set in the 1620s, I thought it would be appropriate to set a campaign in this time. For some reason, in a parallel world, Milady apparently survived the executioner of Lille. She has to make ends meet as an agent and in our first game she was looking for compensation for the lack of income from Cardinal Richelieu's donations. So, based on a scenario from the rulebook [4], a squad of mercenaries escorting a war chest was ambushed. The guard group wanted to go splashing in a pond on the side of the road and suddenly they were attacked.

After the loss of Milady it was a hard fighting for the waggon. I had to be very aggressive and lost many of my mercenaries. But Milady's troops brought the war chest into safety. (photo: C. H.)

 

After a lot of luck, the first battle of the campaign ended in a bit of a mess for Milady. I have a character (Augustus von Wiesel) who is pretty stubborn and can avoid duels with impunity. To Milady's surprise, my main character challenged Milady to a duel and got her out of the way. I still couldn't steal the war chest.

 

For some reason, Ketty now had to follow in Milady's footsteps. Maybe she has forgotten how badly Milady actually treated her? In any case, she has positioned her henchmen along a path to protect the unsuspecting Augustus von Wiesel on his way to an estate. Unfortunately I made the mistake of putting my main character at the head of his troops surrounded by his best men - the cuirassiers.

 

Ketty ordered some of her arquebusier riders to soon leave their hideout to shoot into the ranks of Wiesel's cuirassiers. (photo: C. H.)

 

 

 

Right at the beginning, a few gunmen shot from a small forest on the side of the road. The arquebusier riders under the direct command of Ketty left the ruins of a chapel. A few cuirissers quickly fell out of their saddles. The few men of my commanded shot in my troops were soon so decimated that they hardly played any role anymore. When I suddenly received the order to send these men back to headquarters, I didn't think it was too bad [5].

Shot from two sides Wiesel's bodyguard is losing men very quickly and they can't really move to reach the hamlet in the background. (photo: C.H.)

 

It looked very bleak and my leader hadn't even reached the bridge in the middle of the field, especially because some of my arquebusier riders misunderstood an order and attacked the arquebusier riders coming out of an orchard with their naked arms. Amazingly, my riders, who arrived later, managed to put Ketty's bodyguard to flight, causing her to leave the battlefield herself. Unfortunately, my ensign Augustus von Wiesel also fled shortly afterwards. Neither of us had achieved the goal of the scenario: I had not reached the homestead and Ketty had not captured me or otherwise rendered me harmless. Both main characters were wounded. By completing a special task, my officer at least gained some reputation (+ 1 Honour).

There's not much left of Wiesel's bodyguard and many of Ketty's troops (6 cuirassiers and 12 pikeman) still hiding in the woods and fruit trees next to the hamlet. When there was little chance to win left for my side - my support was finally arriving and decimated Ketty's personal unit and she had to flee the field before I had to do the same. (photo: C.H.)

 

Text: André Hanselmann

Photos: Cecilia Hanselmann

 

Notes:

1) 

https://wackershofenannodomini.blogspot.com/2022/08/das-gefecht-bei-hesselsdorf-combat-at.html

2) GerMan - Musketeers of the French King; Mars - French Mounted Guards Royal Musketeers; Ultima Ratio - Musketeers of the King of France; RedBox - Guards of Cardinal Richelieu

3) We wrote about the battle: 

https://wackershofenannodomini.blogspot.com/2021/02/schlacht-bei-freiburg-1644-teil-1.html

4) Michael Leck: "The Pikeman's Lament" Osprey, Oxford, 2017, p. 51

5) rolling two 1s and a 1.