Ill Met in Flanders: The Battle of Fleurus, August 29, 1622

The battle of Fleurus was fought during the so-called Bohemian phase of the Thirty Years War, but the battle occurred in the Flanders, fought between a Catholic Spanish army under the command of Gonzalo de Cordoba and a Protestant Protestant army led by mercenary leaders Mansfeld and Christian of Brunswick. The battle of Fleurus was initiated by a call from the Protestant Dutch to relieve the city of Breda, then under siege by another Spanish army under the command of Ambrogio Spinola. The aim of the Protestant troops was to cut off the retreat and trap the Spaniards, not just to end the siege. The Protestant army encountered their opponents near Fleurus, and a furious battle ensued, where the better led (even if weaker) Spanish army was able to crush their Protestant enemy and provide a means of retreat for Spinola’s force. Each combat unit represents from 300 to 1000 soldiers, and it is rated, from left to right, for combat factor, morale factor and movement factor. Each infantry strength point is around 150 men, each cavalry strength point around 60 men. Each leader is rated for Command (indicating how many activation chits that leader has) and Movement. Each hex is about 100 meters. Each turn represents a half hour of time. Players draw leader markers from an opaque container (mug, envelope) to activate their leaders' formations. Units move about a hex map of the battlefield and use a six-sided die to resolve combat. —description from the publisher