After the very bad luck during Kettie's ambush, I had the chance to get my revenge using "Pikeman's Lament" [1] shortly before our event in Wackershofen [2].
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| A long road is leading to the town. (photo: C. Hanselmann) |
That was more of an typical adventure such as the secret meeting of the duke of Buckingham with the queen as we can see it in many versions of the Dumas-novel on screen [3]. We rolled for the building where a small treasure will be placed. We rolled a 5, which was a large building next to a small place where a small group of guards were waiting for trouble in the next tavern.
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| The faubourg of a larger French town. The two buildings in the foreground, the large building next to the spring, the small tavern, the house with the yellow roof and the large church could be used to hide the agent or the treasure. (photo: C. Hanselmann) |
I had 3 units of the Cardinal's Guards on Foot. One of them had halberts only and ranked as aggressive Forlorn Hope. They were standing at one end of the Faubourg. Two units of guards are waiting at a gatehouse with a tiny troop on horseback [4]. I had two tasks: 1st to enter the building and bring the treasure to the gatehouse. 2nd to arrest the agent, which was hiding in one of the 6 buildings (Kettie decided in secret where he was). The game was to be end if both missions were either successfully ended or not possible any longer [5].
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| In turn 1 we missed our activation and therefore Kettie decided to leave the pub with the agent and to run down the road. We had a very different plan before turn 1 - to post one unit of our troops at every road and to search in every building with the fourth. But that was to be changed immediately. We send out our guards on horseback to shoot down the agent and the musketeers. (photo: C. Hanselmann) |
Kettie had 6 brave guys to escort the agent out of the faubourg on one of the short roads. She would get 3 units of reinforcements (2 x Forlorn Hope and 1 x Veteran Dragoons) in turn 3. Therefore she could just let her agent in the building - it was the tavern - for the 3 turns with some danger that it would be the same building where my soldiers would enter for the treasure.
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| Regarding our task to arrest the agent - that was how far we came. Kettie could not know that we had our Special Mission "Draw no more than your handkerchief from your pocket" [6]. Therefore we decided to let Augustus von Wiesel himself to stay at the local garrision at the gate house. (photo: C. Hanselmann) |
After missing to move any of our units, we were under heavy pressure to change our plans and stop the agent, when he left the pub. But even with our guards on horseback, we were much too slowly. We had a small chance to rout the escort and to capture the agent, who would not follow the wavering musketeers...
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| Our guards on horses could fire at least once at the agent's escort. (photo: C. Hanselmann) |
After so much of bad luck, Kettie rolled a double 6 and that led to the order by her superiors to send one of her units and she had chosen the King's Musketeers on one of the shorter roads.
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| Kettie herself arrived at the long road towards the Faubourg. (photo: C. Hanselmann) |
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| Our guards on foot were of nouse at all. Some of them were send in the direction of the Place d'Armes to fight back the Musketeers, although these Musketeers left the stage soon. Some guards brought the treasure to our commander who stayed next to the Gate House, who had just to move the treasure into the Gate. (photo: C. Hanselmann) |
We noticed that we had little chance to catch the running mouse, especially after we failed to make a Skirmish Activation. Therefore we focused on the treasure and our second Special Mission [7].
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| Kettie's personal escort was firing at our mounted Guards which had just to prevent them from attacking our troops with the treasure. (photo: C. Hanselmann) |
Finally the agent was brought into safety after the escort lost one Royal Musketeer only, mostly because our mounted guards failed to move and attack quickly.
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| I loved the layout of the small suburb in front of a gate house and the city's walls. (photo: C. Hanselmann) |
At least we managed to bring the treasure into the Guardhouse and our mounted Guard succesfully charged the Royal Musketeers under Kettie's personal command in our last turn.
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| Augustus von Wiesel was happy to bring the treasure in a simple sack into the Gate House. He got a lot of praise. (photo: C. Hanselmann) |
Kettie failed to accomplish her personal Special Mission to fight Augustus von Wiesel. But she got 5 Honours for the escape of the secret agent out of the Faubourg. We will never know why he was there and if he maybe met the queen? Will we see the cardinal himself again in our next game?
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| Here is the final charge of the game. Both sides didn't lost a single man, but I had to retreat, That scenario was really special with only one soldier hit on both sides. It was breathtaking because we needed speed to catch the agent. (photo: C. Hanselmann) |
Photos: Cecilia Hanselmann
Notes:
1) Daniel Mersey & Michael Leck: "The Pikeman's Lament" Osprey Publishing, Oxford, 2017
2) https://wackershofenannodomini.blogspot.com/2026/04/der-zollner-und-die-zehn-musketiere.html
3) Such as in "The three Musketeers" (1973) with Michael York as the jealous d'Artagnan.
4) Ranked as Veteran Dragoons.
5) For example if the agent would be killed, who could die in the same way like heros in PML. Check the rules on page 15!
6) Page 47 in the rules. Our leader may not attack or shoot or be attacked himself.
7) Charge! - We had to charge first before the opponent could do so.
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