Battle of Pavia 1525 - Gus Murchie Memorial Game 2025

Each December, The Devon Wargames Group play a game in memory of Gus Murchie, a club member who passed-away before his time. This year, 2025, is the five hundredth anniversary of the Battle of Pavia, generally regarded as the climactic battle of “The Italian Wars”.

Background: The French de Valois dynasty had a claim to The Dutchy of Milan and three successive
French kings campaigned to incorporate Milan into France; while they captured the Duchy, they could never hold it. The third of these kings was Francis I and after winning the Duchy in 1515 and then losing it, he crossed The Alps in early 1525. 

Francis I of France c1510-15 - Jean Clouet

Milan city was yielded without a fight but the Hapsburg-Imperialists decided to defend Pavia. The city was better prepared for a siege than Francis expected and his commanders advised him to retire to Milan for the winter. But Francis refused as no French monarch had abandoned a siege before. The Pavia garrison commander’s main problem was money to pay his mercenary troops, but with a significant Imperialist forces nearby relief for the city was possible.

Charles V as Holy Roman Emperor moved more forces into Italy, and in 1525 met up with the French at Pavia some 20 miles south of Milan. At first the Habsburg troops were encircled, but then a large Spanish army, using muskets for the first time, attacked the French and virtually wiped them out. The French king, Francis I, was captured and, by the Treaty of Cambrai in 1529, was obliged to renounce his claims to Italy. Six years later Charles V was crowned king of Italy. The Habsburgs had triumphed.

North of the city lies a walled hunting park and large hunting lodge, Castello Mirabello. The park became the home to a substantial part of the French army. To the east was a series of ecclesiastical buildings, known as the Five Abbeys, that barracked Francis’s Swiss troops. 

Charles de Lannoy, Viceroy of Naples, Imperialist Commander

The Imperialists offered open battle but the French refused. The Imperialists aimed to bolster Pavia with reinforcements and money; in the misty morning hours of 24th February 1525, the Imperialists breached the northern end of the park wall. What followed was a rather confusing and uncoordinated series of engagements; Francis was captured along with the death or capture of the flower of France's nobility. Richard de la Pole, the last Yorkist pretender to the English crown was killed too, making this the absolute end of “The War of The Roses”.

Our game: The battle field was divided into five parts each with its own table. There was the French

camp, Castelo Mirabello, the Park, the road to Pavia, the Five Abbeys. Most Imperialist troops

entered from the north of the hunting park or sallied from Pavia. The French forces were distributed

between the various tables.

The main French camp, along with Francis and his Gendarmes, is in the top left and Castello Mirabello shown. Imperialist troops entered through a breach in the wall next to the northernmost gate and there were French troops waiting for them in the park. The Pavia garrison sortied up the Pavia Road, to link up with main Imperialist force but were opposed by the Swiss, from the Five Abbeys. The Imperialist camp was represented in the game but took no part in it.

Our game starts at 6am in mist and darkness; to simulate this, units were deployed using playing cards until spotted. Initially spoting distance is six inches plus a D6 inches rolled each move; as the mist recedes the spoting distance extended until daylight at 8am, when all blinds are revealed. Only when units are spotted were the models put on the table and, if the mist returned (per the D6 roll) they were replaced by a card again. Francis could send out scouts who could interrogate enemy blinds, so he wasn’t totally in the dark.

Initial deployment was historical but the commanders could then act freely. The Imperialists did have a game objective, to get three units of harquebusiers down the road to Pavia, via Castello Mirabello; the French had no objectives. 

The first half of the game moved quickly as it involved mostly blinds, but as visibility improved and the blinds revealed, clashes of arms ensued. What followed was a series of separate engagements between French and Imperialist troops as both sides, as was historical, but not in the same locations. The main park area saw little action as Spanish units closed in on Castello Mirabello, as per their objectives and the Pavia garrison marched directly to meet the relief force along the Pavia Road.

French forces, consisting of Swiss pikemen, moved from the Five Abbeys onto the Pavia Road to oppose the garrison’s sortie. A full-scale battle ensued along the road, as the French tried to stop the garrison linking up with the relief force; pikes blocks clashed and harquebusiers fired. To further deny any link-up, the French had withdrawn their forces in the park to defend the Pavia Road.

As per their objectives, the Spanish advanced towards Castello Mirabello, the lighter Spanish troops moving through the woods to its north and the supporting heavier troops both pikes and cavalry moving through the main park; using the mist as cover Spanish harquebusiers, broke into the Castello, which turned out to only contain the French baggage train.

The French had not been idle and after a short delay, Francis called them all to action. The main French army, led by Francis, marched towards the Castello; clearly a large clash would take place there. French and Spanish pike blocks clashed outside the Castello walls as the French arrived from their main camp. Other Imperialist units continue on their original route towards Pavia and soon appeared on the Pavia Road table, sandwiching the French force between themselves and the garrison sortie.

As the mist cleared Spanish harquebusiers, occupying the Castello, saw King Francis and his gendarmes outside the perimeter wall. With a crescendo of shot the harquebusiers fired at the gendarmes, but only caused one casualty. As Francis was attached to the gendarmes a “risk to leader” test was rolled and Francis was unhorsed. The gendarmes stopped their advance as a remount for the king was produced.

Everywhere units were locked in mortal combat and the battle could have gone either way. The next turn the Spanish harquebusiers fired again at the gendarmes causing another casualty, but Francis had a second horse shot out from under him again. This time the gendarmes were less content to wait for the king’s remount and pressed forward towards the scene of the action, leaving the King and his entourage covered by some skirmishers.

As ill-luck would have it a unit of Spanish light horse, Jinetes, were emerging form the woods behind the Castello and charged the French skirmishers easily scattering them. To their surprise, as they rolled-on they encountered Francis’s party and captured the King. Francis, as a premier European monarch wasn’t going to surrender to a bunch of Spanish roughs, but only to a gentleman of similar status to himself. The Spanish Captain-General. The Viceroy of Naples, was less particular about the company he kept and had been riding with the Jinetes, so Francis had no option than to hand over his sword to the enemy general.

Initially I was surprised that history had repeated itself in our game. The Imperialists had been lucky with the “risk to leader” rolls though. On reflection, the same terrain, visibility conditions and troop types had been replicated in our game as at the original battle, so such the result was perhaps less implausible.

Acknowledgement: I would like to thank Chas and Alex who were my assistant games masters, the game was too big for one person to coordinate. Some figures were from my own renaissance collection and Chas, Alex, Vince, Everett and Colin contributed many figures too; I certainly didn’t have nearly enough! Likewise, terrain was provided by other club members too. 

Overall, it was pleasing that the DWG has enough resources to put on a large historical refight game of this size. I mustn’t omit, Ian who turned up in period costume and lent out suitable hats from his costume collection; some say the better attire of the Imperialist side is the real reason for their victory. 

https://www.alternative-armies.com/products/furioso-renaissance-wargame-rules

The rules were Furioso by Alternative Armies. Figures were Perry, TAG, Casting Room Miniatures, Steel Fist et al.

My thanks to all the club members who participated sportingly and forgave my mis-steps.

Stephen Huntsman

Editor's Note: I should like to extend my thanks to Stephen for volunteering his services early last year to plan and organise the Xmas game for 2025, that also involved a series of warm-up games through the year, and reported on here on the club blog, to get a group of club players familiar with Furioso. 

It is not easy setting up and running a large game like this, with the coordination required to organise terrain and figure collections held by club members to be made available on the day, and as club chairman my role has been made so much easier by having members like Stephen ready to volunteer their efforts to help make our club the great place it is.

Thank you Stephen, on behalf of the Devon Wargames Group.

JJ

Devon Wargames Group & Friends - Fleet Air Arm Museum 2025.

 

This weekend just gone, the Devon Wargames Group together with friends spent the weekend doing what wargamers do best, gathering around a large table, with plenty of toys on it and playing to our hearts content, followed by and accompanied with the usual good humour and banter such opportunities present, all courtesy of the wonderful folks at the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm Museum at Yeovilton and their excellent facilities for running such a weekend.

With our club now boasting a healthy membership and a regular attendance of some twenty-five players gathered around four sometimes five games during our normal club calendar, our games have to be tailored to accommodate everyone wanting to play and our time is more limited to play them than perhaps we would want.

So the chance to play a big game over several days on a big table with all the swings of fortune and drama that a big game can offer over and above the more normal fare of skirmish type offerings, now very much in vogue with wargamers and wargame manufacturers, was too good to turn up; and we were very happy to take the opportunity offered by the FAA Museum to play on the Saturday and Sunday and to run five large games, with most attendees staying overnight for some evening association, and others coming up for one of the days to play.

As you will see the games were very much in the 'Grand Manner' to quote a legend of the hobby, and with a broad mix of eras and themes to appeal to most folks preferences.

So in no particular order our games featured:

The Battle of Cape Ferrol, 22nd July 1805, better known as 'Calder's Action', run using Far Distant Ships, and hosted by 'Yours Truly', with thirty-five 1:700 model ships of the line battling away in a thick Atlantic gloomy fog.

I have posted a full AAR on my own blog JJ's Wargames for those interested to know more, but suffice to say here that the two days of play illustrated well the frustrations commanders faced trying to fight a battle and manage their respective forces in the kind of weather the Atlantic can produce, that was a real problem in the days before modern radar and ship to ship communications.

JJ's Wargames - Battle of Cape Finisterre (Calder's Action) using Far Distant Ships

A Cold War Scenario in 10mm, run and hosted by the chaps from the Penarth & District Wargames Group using a home-brewed set of rules 'Chieftain' battling away on the North German Plain.

ACW Gettysburg 28mm using Fire & Fury 2nd Edition hosted and presented by Jack and Charlie with the Union having a tough time holding the line.

In the 250th anniversary year of the start of the American War of Independence in 1775 it seemed very appropriate that we should have a game in 28mm using British Grenadier and hosted by Ian and Paul with a lot of buildings, toys and ships!

 

Finally we had Willz and Guy presenting The Battle of Dettingen which took place on the 27th June, 1743, during the War of the Austrian Succession and here using Austrians for the French and British for the Prussians in 20mm, with some 1200 infantry, 250 Cav and using the Osprey rule set 'Honours of War'.

Many thanks to the Fleet Air Arm Museum for making their facilities available to us on this hopefully our inaugural Devon Wargames Group event and to all those who took part in making this a gathering for the memory.

Cheers all.

JJ

Haufen and Harquebus - Mass Battles in the Age of the Pike.

In November, I was allowed to run the first playtest of the set of Renaissance rules I have been working on for a couple of years. The ruleset, currently called 'Haufen and Harquebus', focuses on the mechanics of large pike blocks from the height of Swiss ascendancy until the redevelopment of linear tactics at Nieuwpoort, with a secondary focus on the decline of chivalry and the rise of firearms on the battlefield.

I have played a few Renaissance rulesets and hold the opinion that most are adaptations of medieval or later ECW/TYW pike-and-shot systems, which to me always feel a little inauthentic to the period. My goal was to represent the power, chaos, and uncertainty that commanders of the time faced, and to allow the strange interactions arising from the melting pot of technology, organisation, and social upheaval the Renaissance presented.

The first scenario used to test the ruleset was my interpretation of the Battle of the Sessia, 1524; the first recorded instance of firearm-equipped troops winning a battle without previously fortifying their positions. This engagement poses a challenge for most rule systems to model accurately or authentically, and several issues became apparent during planning. 

Battles in Lombardy (1521–1525). The engagements at Bicocca, the Sesia, and Pavia are labelled.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Battles_in_Lombardy_(1521-25).svg

The Spanish and Italian forces consisted predominantly of firearm troops, while the French relied mainly on heavy cavalry and pikemen. For the scenario to feel authentic, the French should not be able to easily overpower the Spanish arquebusiers in melee, nor should the Spanish be able to annihilate the French with gunfire before they could respond. 

Historically, the French began the battle at a disadvantage, retreating from Italy in good order, while the Spanish only needed to prevent their escape. In the scenario, the Spanish begin with only their light troops, with heavier units arriving later. The French start in the centre and must cross a bridge one unit at a time, encouraging a rearguard action and slowing the Spanish advance.

Units act in initiative order, with initiative determined by rolling dice. Similarly, how far a unit can move and how effective its shooting is are also decided by dice rolls. Most rolls involve a pair of dice, meaning units will generally perform within a predictable range while still allowing for exceptional or disappointing outcomes. 

As a result, the game began with aggressive movement and firing from the Spanish arquebus-armed troops, while the French awkwardly manoeuvred around the small area of open ground. The Spanish arquebusiers quickly overwhelmed the French light troops in the rearguard, who were still armed with crossbows, and the survivors were finished off by the jinetes. Meanwhile, many of the Italian troops, some of them mounted, moved into the marshy ground to set up a crossfire against the advancing French.

The rearguard, however, had begun to form a defensive line in response to the brutal Spanish fire and advanced toward the Spanish with the demi-lancers and French pikemen. The Spanish then moved directly up to each unit’s front to open fire at close range. 

This provides a good opportunity to explain the shooting mechanics: shooting effectiveness decreases over distance, and most ranged units are only reliable within the first twelve inches. However, good dice rolls can extend a unit’s effective range. By closing in on the pikes and heavy cavalry, the Spanish ensured that their shooting would be devastating. If the French survived, though, the Spanish light troops would be left dangerously exposed. 

The gamble paid off; both French units were shaken by the sustained Spanish fire, making it harder for them to act in the following turn. Meanwhile, some gendarmes attempted to assault the Italian skirmishers in rough terrain but stalled at a line of ditches and were decimated in the resulting fusillade.

The French managed to rally some semblance of order and pressed the attack, with a unit of pikemen catching a group of dawdling jinetes and scattering them. The jinetes were presumably busy looting the remains of the French mounted crossbowmen they had finished off in the previous turn; they rolled uncharacteristically poorly for initiative, unlikely but not impossible. This outcome highlights a core philosophy of the system that surprised many players: the jinetes did not have the option to evade. I am not a fan of special rules; instead, the jinetes could evade only by winning initiative and moving away first. In nine out of ten turns, they would comfortably do so, but in this case, it did not happen.

On the other side of the improvised French defence, the demi-lancers lost their initiative roll. Before they could rally, they were shot to pieces; however, since casualties are resolved at the end of the turn, they were able to rally and charge the arquebusiers, managing to push them back and shake them before finally breaking. This represented a desperate last-chance cavalry charge.

At this point, the Spanish pike began to arrive, and the French commanders decided their best option was to commit their entire force to the defence. The Landsknechts, Swiss, gendarmes, and demi-lancers advanced to meet the Spanish. The gendarmes caught two units of Italian shot in the open in succession, preventing any flanking manoeuvres against the Landsknechts, while the demi-lancers charged into the marshes to drive off the Italians firing on the Swiss from within. They were counter-charged by more jinetes, and the resulting chaotic combat left all units badly mauled, with both the demi-lancers and the jinetes breaking.

The Landsknechts then ploughed into the Spanish pike, devastating them and initiating the first push of pike. The Swiss advanced against the surviving Spanish arquebusiers, only to be flanked by Spanish gendarmes and Italian arquebusiers emerging from the marshes on both sides. The Swiss managed to defeat all three units but suffered heavy casualties in the process. They now faced the Spanish Landsknechts and another unit of Spanish gendarmes. The Landsknechts broke the initial Spanish pike push but were left shaken. The Spanish Landsknechts then broke the Swiss, though they too became shaken, and the remaining Spanish gendarmes routed the French Landsknechts. The French gendarmes made one final, desperate charge to break the Spanish Landsknechts but dissolved in the process.

Although there were some teething issues, I am overall quite pleased with how the game played out. Firearms proved decisive but not dominant, requiring short range and careful positioning to be effective, yet often leaving units in risky positions. Cavalry felt powerful but fragile, and the push of pike produced grinding, attritional combats well worthy of being called “bad war.” Terrain played an important role, levelling the field between light and heavy units in close combat.

In terms of balance, the Spanish held a clear advantage in this scenario, but that fits the historical context. Overall, I felt the ruleset successfully captured the feel of Renaissance warfare—brutal, uncertain, and chaotic. Some of the mechanics were a little awkward and will need refinement in future drafts.

Many thanks to Ian, John, Mark, and Mark for being the guinea pigs for this system. It was a great session, and I’m incredibly grateful for all your feedback. I plan to have the third draft of the ruleset completed based on what we learned playing the game.