Battle of Breitenfeld (1631 AD)

“The Thirty Years War was a complicated period of military conflict in Europe. The war was fought primarily in Germany as the various German Principalities allied themselves with the Holy Roman Empire or their opponents, France, Sweden, and Denmark. A religious conflict between Protestant and Catholic forces was an important factor early in the war, but later it developed into a struggle for power among the great nations of Europe." "During the war armies fought in massive, slow moving formations called Tercios. The Tercio consisted of a large oblong formation of pike men with smaller formations of musketeers at the corners. During battle the Tercios would trudge together and battle it out ‘at push of pike’ until one side broke." "King Gustav of Sweden changed everything, however, by introducing revolutionary tactics that relied on smaller formations and emphasized movement and firepower instead of brute strength. The genius of his innovations was demonstrated in 1631 at the battle of Breitenfeld when his Swedish army handily defeated Tilly's larger old style Imperial army.” A miniatures wargame intended for classroom use with two teams of students (grades 6-8). The game is designed to be played using 1/72 scale plastic miniatures mounted two per stand. Free print-and-play paper miniatures are also provided for use with the rules. Forces portrayed in the game include musketeers, pike men, cavalry, commanders, and cannons. The musketeer and pike men units are grouped into three different types of formations: Imperial Tercio, Commanded Muskets, and Swedish Battalion.