Under the Lily Banners

Under the Lily Banners is a tactical battle game featuring five battles from the Thirty Years War. This is the third volume from the award winning Musket & Pike Battles Series detailing 17th Century warfare, often known as the Dawn of Modern Warfare. This volume features the rise of the French Army after their entry into the Thirty Years War in 1635. Two of the greatest captains of French history - Louis de Bourbon, the Grand Condé and Henri de la Tour, the vicomte de Turenne - take the field to set the stage for Le Grand Siecle - the Golden Age of France under Louis XIV, the Sun King.

After taking on the English Civil War in This Accursed Civil War and the combined arms tactics of the Swedes and Imperials in Sweden Fights On, the Musket & Pike Battles Series looks at the French, Spanish and Bavarian armies. The Spanish tercios face the superb French gendarmes. The stalwart Bavarians with their excellent cavalry and love of entrenchments battle the veteran Weimarian cavalry corps.

Armies are divided into several wings. Each has a commander and an order that limits the types of actions that units of that wing may perform. Victory goes to the player that can coordinate the actions of his wings in the heat of battle. Units are infantry battalions, cavalry regiments and artillery batteries. Rules include cavalry charges, cavalry pistols for skirmishing or for close combat, and artillery grazing fire. Play is highly interactive and most battles can be played through in one sitting. The five battles in Under the Lily Banners are:

Rocroi 1643 - The debut of the young duc d'Enghien (later known as the Grand Condé). The most famous battle of the Thirty Years War that broke the power of the Spanish tercios. The French faced a larger Spanish army but the energetic Enghien refused to quit when all seemed lost and snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.

Freiburg 1644 - Enghien joined forces with Turenne facing the well entrenched Bavarians. The battle raged for over 3 days until the French were worn down. The French declared victory then bypassed the town. A very different style of battle than any other from the period due to the terrain, style of attack, and duration.

Mergentheim 1645 - The Bavarians surprised Turenne's army and inflicted a stinging blow. This is the smallest battle in the series and is included as a learning scenario.