Historicon 2021 – Bicocca after action report.

Here is my Battle of Bicocca after action report. The 1522 Italian Wars battle was refought on Friday morning in the Grand Ballroom at Historicon 2021. It was originally for ten players, but we managed to fit in two or three extras.

Bicocca after action report

The battle was laid out on a “T” shaped table using 4 sets of 5′ x 8′ tables. The battle involved over 1600 figures in 28mm, all of which I painted since I got back into the hobby in 2017. All of the terrain was also hand-built, kit assembled or kit-bashed.

Without going too much into the Historical details of the battle, the Spanish had set up defensive positions along a sunken road near the Villa Bicocca north of Milan. Their left flank was protected by a marsh and their right flank was protected by a large drainage ditch. The Spanish were supported by their Landsknecht allies and the Milanese army was arriving from Milan to protect the bridge across the drainage ditch.

Against the Spanish was the French army. The French commander did not want to assault the prepared Spanish positions. Their Swiss allies threatened to head back to the Cantons if they did not attack and so the French commander reluctantly agreed. The French also had the Black Band of Giovanni as a scouting force and the army of Venice approaching the Spanish from the marsh side.

Our battle differed from the actual battle in that we allowed the Venetians to attack through the marsh and we allowed the French to commit significant forces to attacking the bridge over the drainage ditch. These changes meant that the Spanish were threatened not only from the front, but from both flanks. The Spanish overall commander would have to decide how to commit his forces to defend against these threats and these choices ultimately proved critical in deciding the outcome of the battle. Now to begin the Battle of Bicocca after action report.

Initial Spanish deployments.

The main Spanish force of arqubusiers and artillery was deployed at the field defenses at the sunken road. These troops were supported by two very large Landsknecht pike blocks. Out front of these troops were four units of Spanish Jinetes which are light cavalry. The Jinetes were to remove the Black Band screening forces so that the artillery at the defense could fire on the advancing Swiss pike.

In reserve at the camp were four Spanish Pike blocks, some Spanish artillery and a unit of Spanish knights.

Arriving on the Spanish right were the Milanese cavalry and infantry. Their role was to protect the bridge across the drainage ditch on the Spanish right.

French initial deployments

The French Gendarmes and other heavy Cavalry were on the French left facing the Milanese. The open table was designed to allow a fast moving cavalry battle.

Next to the French cavalry, near the vineyard were the French infantry.

In the center were the two massive Swiss pike blocks. They were ready to assault the prepared defense head-on. Supporting the Swiss was the French artillery and the Black Band of Giovanni to screen the pike blocks. the table was set up as a “T” shape to allow the Swiss room to advance against the defenses.

On the French right were the Venetians. Their job was to get through the marsh and pressure the Spanish right through the Villa Bicocca and its gardens.

Opening moves

On the left the French cavalry wasted no time engaging the Milanese cavalry. This resulted in a sweeping cavalry battle that lasted most of the game. The Milanese player fought this battle very well, but just had no dice luck. His efforts did result in keeping the mighty French Gendarmes away from the Milanese infantry.

Covered by the bold French cavalry advance to their left, the French infantry started to make progress towards the bridge over the drainage ditch. The Milanese infantry moved to engage them. All of this was done with the sound of church bells coming from the church (this was not done with Renaissance technology, but by bluetooth speakers and my iPhone).

In the center the Swiss Pike blocks started their advance. Ahead of them fierce fighting erupted between the Spanish Jinetes and the Black Band.

The Venetian tactics

On the Spanish left, near the marsh and Villa, was perhaps the most decisive of the opening moves, and the one that would have the most impact upon the result of the battle. The Venetians were only a small force consisting of light cavalry (Stradiots and mounted arquebusiers), foot arquebusiers and a couple of pike blocks. The light cavalry, unimpeded by the marsh, made a lightning raid towards the sprawling Italian gardens at the back of the Villa.

The speed of this advance spooked the Spanish commander. Rather than send a small screening force to protect the easily defended villa, they sent the entire Spanish reserve of four elite pike blocks towards the gardens. In addition they moved one of the massive Landsknecht pike blocks towards the villa. The Landsknecht pike block therefore vacated the position behind the field defenses and was no longer able to defend against the advancing Swiss pike blocks.

Not only did the Venetians draw the pike blocks across to face them, but they enticed them to advance through the gardens. The advance of the Spanish through the gardens was slow due to the need to stay in formation. It therefore took them a long time to make progress. More importantly, every turn that they spent advancing into the gardens would take a turn to get back out to support the main defenses.

The Venetians, once they had sucked the Spanish in, kept on harassing them with mildly effective shot as they slowly withdrew back towards the safety of the marshes – not wishing to engage the vastly superior Spanish forces. This was a tactical masterpiece by the Venetians, who Paul, who commanded some of them, will talk about for years.

The middle battle.

On the Spanish right things were not going well for the Milanese cavalry. Despite excellent tactics, the dice just would not roll for their commander and their force was slowly reduced by the relentless French Gendarmes.

This French Cavalry victory protected the flank of the advancing French infantry and allowed them to battle and push back the Milanese infantry after much fierce fighting.

In the center the Swiss Pike blocks continued their advance. The Spanish Jinetes fought valiantly to try and clear out the Black Band skirmish force to allow the cannons on the field defenses to open fire on the Swiss Pikes.

With the Swiss pike almost at the defenses, the Spanish commander realized the tactical error of over concentrating on the Venetians. It was too late to recover.

The end game

On the Spanish right, the French infantry continued to make progress. The Spanish moved their reserve artillery to fire on them from the other side of the drainage ditch, but this fire was ineffective. The French would go on to capture the bridge, leaving an unopposed advance to the Spanish camp – with all of the reserves committed against the Venetians.

In the center the Swiss reached the field defense. The pike block from the urban cantons was almost unopposed with the Landsknecht pike block that was due to face them having been diverted against the Venetians. The arquebusiers put up a valiant fight for a turn, but were never going to stop a massive Swiss pike block.

The Swiss pike block from the rural cantons also hit the defenses. They were met with the Landsknechts in prepared positions. The clash of pikes between the two was intense and lasted three or four turns. Eventually the Swiss got the upper hand and managed to push back the Landsknechts, but the battle was close until the end. We were left wondering if the both Landsknecht pike blocks had remained at the wall and had even been supported by a couple of Spanish Pike blocks, could the result have been different? I suspect that the Spanish would have held.

The final result

In the end both Swiss pike blocks crashed through the defenses at the sunken road. Nothing was between them and the Spanish camp. With the camp being attacked by the French infantry and the Swiss Pike, the battle was over. The Venetians were the only forces not to make it to the Spanish camp, but they had been instrumental in the result of the battle.

Conclusion

I hoped that you enjoyed seeing and reading this Battle of Bicocca after action report. The battle had gone very differently from how I expected it, but that made it more fun. With attacks on the Spanish center and both flanks, the game was always going to come down to both the frontal assault of the defenses and how the Spanish deployed and committed their reserves. I had not expected the Spanish to over commit against the Venetians, even to the point of pulling the Landsknechts away from the defenses. The Venetians tactics were a masterclass.

I hope that everyone that played had a good time. The positive comments that I received from players and those that walked by were pleasing, particularly as this convention was the first time I had hosted games at a con.

I was also very pleased to receive an award for the game. This made all of my efforts on this Italian Wars project for the last three or four years worthwhile.

Update 27th November: HMGS just officially announced the Best of Show award and it was awarded to my Battle of Bicocca game. Considering the number of great looking tables at Historicon (see my last blog post), I was honored to receive Best in Show.

I am now considering what to do as my next project. The favorite may be the 451AD clash at the Catalaunian Plains between the Romans and the Huns. That project would need about 1500 cavalry – it wouldn’t be ready for 2022, but maybe 2023.