The British had formed up on a slight rise overlooking a road, preventing the Italians from marching any further without engaging them. In addition, they had erected several simple defence works to further hamper the Italian advance, placing sandbags around their guns to protect them from any counter-battery fire, and also forming makeshift barricades from sharpened stakes to limit the effectiveness of the Italian cavalry and slow down any infantry advance.
Once the Italians caught sight of the British positions, they immediately switched from their marching formation into a battle line, the experienced Legionaries knowing almost instinctively by now where they were needed. A significant reserve was held back, ready to be thrown forwards wherever they were needed if the assault began to stall.
Immediately they came under fire from the British guns. In a single devastating barrage, Artillery Auxilia V was wiped out as they moved into position, whilst Artillery Auxilia IV also suffered significant casualties, preventing them from taking any further part in the battle.
In one moment, the Italians' had lost half of their artillery, seriously hampering their ablility to dislodge the British from their positions, though their howitzer batteries had survived, so they weren't completely toothless. As the Legionaries marched past the mangled remains of the cannon by the side of the road, it became increasingly clear to them that the British were not going to be a pushover, and it was going to take all of their skill and experience to defeat them.
Realising that the British artillery were doing some serious damage to the advancing legionaries, Vasari sent forwards Mounted Auxilia XII and XIV on the Italian right. Reynalds, the British General, saw the Italian cavalry move out, and counted with the 2nd Regiment of Horse in order to protect the guns. The two groups of cavalry clashed in the middle ground between the flanks of the two armies, crashing into each other at speed and forming a whirling mellee. The British Cavalry were heavier that their Italian counterparts, riding larger horses and wielding larger swords, but there were more of the Italians, and the numbers told, as they pushed back the British horsemen, eventually routing them and leaving the way to the guns free.
The Italians charged forwards, leaping over the sandbag emplacements, cutting down the artillery crew and showing them no mercy, gaining a small amount of revenge for the casualties they had caused amongst their friends and comrades already in the battle.
As the Italian advance continued, Reynalds sprung a trap on them. Hidden in a small forest, was the 3rd Regiment of Horse, concealed from the advancing Legionaries by both the trees and a slight dip in the land. As the Italians neared the trees, Cohorts VI and VII parted, so that one could pass either side of them, rather than losing order by going through the forest. This was what Reynalds had been waiting for, and the British cavalry charged forwards, hoping to exploit the gap in the line, and sow confusion amongst the Italian ranks. Against many armies, this plan would have been devastating. However, the Italian Legionaries were veterans of many campaigns, and their discipline and experience paid off, allowing them to form up into squares just in time before the charge hit home. Instead of finding themselves crashing into a unit in chaos, the British horsemen found a neat line of bayonets, stalling the charge dead. Despite this, the sheer weight of the charge carried them into the Italian lines, and for a moment it looked as though the square would collapse. In the end though, the Italian formation held, and the British cavalry were forced to withdraw, having taken heavy losses.
With this new threat out of the way, the Italian legionaries once again began to advance, a long line of white and red marching onwards in unison. Soon they came into range of several of the British regiments of foot, and firefights broke out between the two armies. The fiercest fighting occurred on the Italian left, where the British, led by the 3rd Regmient of foot, put up some stiff resistance, holding up the Italian advance for quite some period of time.
Meanwhile, more and more British troops came rushing to the aid of the 3rd, causing significant casualties among Cohorts II, III and IV, who bore the brunt of this counter attack. By now, the Italian howitzer batteries of the Artillery Auxilia VII and VIII had unlimbered their guns, and begun shelling of the British positions, causing several casualties amongst the advancing British troops. One of the shells exploded near to Reynalds as he was spurring his men on for the attack, a piece of the casing flying through the air and catching him in the stomach, knocking him from his horse and fatally wounding him.
A regiment of highlanders rushed forwards into the fight, firing off their pistols at the enemy ahead of them, before charging with their axes and shields, much like in the days of old. However, they were soon driven back by a close range volley from Cohort IV which managed to kill almost half their number in an instant, proving too much even for these brave men.
The Italian right faced much less resistance than the left, with the cavalry having taken out the guns, and the opposing British horsemen, and most of the infantry being focused on their left. This allowed them to pivot around Cohort VI, forming up in a line perpendicular to the British positions. They were now perfectly placed to advance on the British left flank and roll up their line, ending their resistance.
Seeing this danger, Colonel Fairfax, who had taken over command of the army in the absence of Reynalds due to his injury, sent the 6th, 11th and 17th Regiments of Foot to counter this threat and hold the Italians off long enough for their right flank to push through. These regiments advanced in good order, and engaged the Italians at a range of around 20 yards.
Whilst the Italians were focused on the immediate threat directly in front of them, a regiment of pike militia, consisting of locals desperately trying to defend their homes from the foreign invaders with whatever weapons they could find, charged forwards out of some trees into Cohort VII, taking them completely by surprise, pushing them slowly back.
Seeing that they were struggling, Vasari ordered the remains of Mounted Auxilia XII and XIV to charge forwards to their rescue.
This swung the fight back in the favour of the Italians, and soon the British pikemen broke and fled back into the forest where they had come from.
Much of the British resistance was now beginning to crumble under the overwhelming Italian onslaught. Though they fought bravely, many of the troops were new and inexperienced compared to the veteran Italians, and they were unable to match the rate of fire, or the accuracy of these men. Soon the British left had completely collapsed, whilst on the right, only the 19th Regiment of was still putting up any resistance, bravely standing firm whilst others around them fled. Seeing this resistance, Vasari ordered in the Legionary Cavalry, who charged into them from behind, catching them completely unprepared while they engaged the threat to their front. This was finally enough to break them, and they too joined many of their comrades in fleeing the field.
With the battle all but won, the pursing Italians suddenly found themselves under fire from the forest. The 28th Regiment of Foot had been on their way to reinforce the British army at Bristol, but arrived just too late to take part in the battle before it was over. Neverless, they were not going to just let their comrades be cut down as they ran, and so fired on the Italians from the cover of the trees, buying time to allow their comrades to escape.
Vasari ordered that they be cleared out using cold steel, leaving the job for the giants of Cohort I to do. These men rushed forwards into the trees, shouting their warcries, and crashing into the British troops. Few soldiers were able to stand up to these giant veterans at close quarters, and these British soldiers were no different, many meeting a gruesome end on the end of an Italian Bayonet before the rest chose to flee rather than face them.
In total, the British had caused over 600 casualties amongst the Italian troops, though they had paid a heavy price for it, losing over three quarters of their numbers as either dead, wounded or taken prisoner. It is said that the dying Jethro Reynalds wept as he learnt the outcome of the battle, before giving up the fight himself a few minutes later. |
Re: (DMUC AAR) Hail Caesar!
Originally Posted by Darth Napoleon
haha
Epic!!!
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Have you thought what you will do when Vasari dies?
you may like not like us, but at least we dont have jersey shore
Sorry to feed your addiction, lol.
