The bastion at the river ... and Kettie's castle P 5 of the Dumas campaign

After her bad luck at Le Lion Rouge [1] Kettie's had to pay the price and got some weaker units such as militia pike and shot under her personal command. She heard that she would find some gold coins in the ruins of a small chapel at the French border (4 honours for reaching the chapel).

(She had 1 x Aggressive Forlorn Hope, 1 x raw pike and 1 x raw musketeers under her personal command AND 1 x Commanded shot, 1 x Forlorn Hope (the famous musketeers!) and 1 x trotters on the other road.)

Our forces have a strong position behind the river. The vanguards exchanging volleys... Please notice the priest at the chapel! (photo: C. Hanselmann)

Unfortunately for her, her very elegant and somehow sly enemy Augustus von Wiesel had the order to defend two bridgeheads against all Spanish or Imperial troops which would try to cross the bridges over a small river. Augustus would get a nice award for holding a small redoubt with a gun (4 honours for 8 turns) if he would be under attack. 

(I and my good friend had 1 regimental gun, 1 x pikes, 1 x elite trotters (cuirassiers), 1 x trotters, 2 x musketeers and 1 x Commanded shot devided in two wings defending one bridge per wing.) 

 

Kettie's Commanded shot have their first losses. (photo: C. Hanselmann)

But Kettie had some bad luck resulting in most of the units arriving one after the other at the bridges. Her swordfighters for example moved so late that they arrived after Kettie's own pike unit already suffered heavy losses. Therefore I could concentrate my fire on one unit after another.

 

Finally our gun is firing at the advancing enemy. (photo: C. Hanselmann)

However in the first turns I feared that I would pay a high price too, because not only my Commanded Shot run away fast but soon later my arquebusier riders followed that example (and in my Special orders we had to rout or kill more enemy units then we would lose and in my second Special order I had to rout at least half of Kettie's units).

After some bad luck we are successful in stopping Kettie's forces. Early in the game our vanguard was routed. (photo: C. Hanselmann)

After 4 or 5 turns Kettie's subcommander became frustrated because they lost too many of their best soldiers before even crossing one of the bridges because our light regimental gun finally started to shoot very effectively (after missing to fire for 3 turns or so).

Kettie's best unit with their swords and shields lost too many to really attack our fortifications. (photo: C. Hanselmann) 

Running out of options and troops Kettie and her surviving units decided to fall back and lick their wounds until they will see a better chance to get their revenge.

I was surprised that the Spanish shock troops this time had so little of an effect. After a lot of bad dice rolling at the start of our game, the musketeers and artillery shot very well and more or less won the encounter. For his fine conduct at the engagement he was rewarded with his promotion to lieutenant (and got the musketeer master's trait). Let's see if she will have her opportunity to give me a lesson and my happy comrades... 

Finally Kettie had lost too many of her best troops and decided to retreat with all she had left. (photo: C. Hanselmann)

Some weeks later we had another game. The story is easy. There is the ruin of an old castle surrounded by some more recent structures of fortification. But they were never completed. After some success in our previous game Wiesel decided to occupy Kettie's headquarter which was defended by a group of Royal Musketeers, a company of Musketeers and pikemen. My son called it "Kettie's castle".

 

 

My musketeers and pikeblock are moving towards the castle while the second part of my army is waiting behind a small wood in a distance. (photo: F. Hanselmann)

I had split my troops in two division. The larger one had a unit of pike, a unit of shot and a troop of cuirassiers [2]. I decided that August von Wiesel had to join the musketeers.

My smaller division was managed by my son. It had a unit of musketeers and some sharpshooter (forlorn hope). Later on I had the luck to get a "hero" which was the mysterious man from Meung [3].

 

The king's musketeers are waiting for our attack next to the ruins of the inner castle. (photo: F. Hanselmann)

 

Kettie herself was to arrive in turn 3 which gave me 2 turns to attack the castle with superior numbers. Unfortunately especially the two units with the gentleman from Meung didn't advanced soon enough. Most of our bullets were absorbed by the small but substantial walls...

The famous man from Meung came to inspire some sharpshooters [4]. The pike and musketeer units in the lower part of the fortress are their target. (photo: F. Hanselmann)

 

My infantry under my own command is very slowly too. I had chosen to charge first and was determined to do so with my pike unit, when my musketeers shot some holes in the small group of Royal Musketeers. (photo: F. Hanselmann)

 

Kettie is arriving with some Spanish lancers to smash my poor musketeers before arriving in the inner castle. (photo: F. Hanselmann)

 

Kettie's garision had little to no losses. Especially the pike unit didn't lost a single man. (photo: F. Hanselmann)

Kettie had a troop of Spanish lancers, which suffered too heavy by the volleys of our shot unit next to the small wood. Therefore she had not much left, when she made her wild charge which caused some loss in our ranks but resulted in the rout of Kettie's lancers.

Our pike block suffered heavily under the musketeer's fire before they could pass over the open ground in front of the inner castle. (photo: F. Hanselmann)

 

Here we still have some units, although my own musketeers are wavering in that situation. (photo: F. Hanselmann)

After the rout of Kettie's lancers her arquebusiers played a crucial role to prevent our success. (photo: F. Hanselmann)

 

My pike block is under heavy fire from the famous Musketeers of the King. (photo: F. Hanselmann)

 

Kettie's pikeunit still waited to cross the wall to the inner castle to reinforce the Royal Musketeers. (photo: F. Hanselmann)

 

Our musketeer unit at the small wood. (photo: F. Hanselmann)

 

My cuirassiers lost most of their men. When I was commanded to send reinforcements to my superior commander I decided to chose my weakened horse unit. (photo: F. Hanselmann)

 

I lost most of my pikemen in front of the wall and they could not fight their way into the walls. (photo: F. Hanselmann)

 

I had to concentrate all of my efforts against the elite unit using all of my units. (photo: F. Hanselmann)

 

 

Kettie's final charge before crushing into my son's musketeers. (photo: F. Hanselmann)

 

Kettie ordered his pikemen to cross the wall to the inner fortifications. Kettie send her arquebusiers to break my cuirassiers. (photo: F. Hanselmann)

 

A view on the actions around the castle. (photo: F. Hanselmann)

 

Unfortunately for us - there our luck runs out. All of Kettie's units passed their morale test after losing their leader. The Royal musketeers were reduced down to half strength, but all of the other units were still in good shape and except my pikes which were routed when storming the wall of the inner castle, not one of my units made it really far.

Here you can see my son's perspective from the small wood. His musketeers advanced and had to fall back several times. (photo: F. Hanselmann)

Finally both commanders left the field. My two counterparts called it a draw. However I had only my Forlorn Hope left and no other options - I retreated. In our next game Augustus von Wiesel will try to get fresh money for new adventures...

A picture from one of the final turns. At this moment I just moved back my battered cuirassiers and moments later I will send them to my superior. (photo: C. Hanselmann)

Shortly before our musketeers at the small wood are routed. Our sharpshooters try to inflict at least some losses among Kettie's musketeer unit. (photo: C. Hanselmann)

My second unit of musketeers is wavering. Wiesel's own unit is very much reduced to not much more then half strength. (photo: C. Hanselmann)

Finally Kettie's pikeunit came out and routed my musketeers and Augustus von Wiesel himself. (photo: C. Hanselmann)

Text: André Hanselmann

Photos: Cecilia Hanselmann, F. Hanselmann

Notes:

1) look here: https://wackershofenannodomini.blogspot.com/2026/01/le-rendezvous-au-lion-rouge-part-4-of.html

2) With a Bohemian banner. 

3) More about him here: https://wackershofenannodomini.blogspot.com/2026/02/more-musketeers-for-king.html 

4) A typical event if you roll a double 6 in PML.