In the Service of the Jesuit King
A Swedish Deluge Scenario for While the Devil Rules
It is 1656, and Sweden and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth are again at war. They have been fighting for decades, with John Casimir II, known as the "Jesuit King", unwilling to abandon his claim to the Swedish throne. He is unpopular, and with Muscovy threatening Lithuania, many of the nobles are looking to Charles X of Sweden to serve as a more-able protector, for all that his relationship to the Swedish royal House of Vasa - unlike Casimir's - is only through marriage. Sweden has invaded the Commonwealth, even while Muscovy is doing the same, and the picture is grim for the Jesuit King.
Stefan Czarniecki - the Polish Regimentarz - has proposed a raid into Swedish Pomerania, knowing that the outposts there are not well-defended, and that one, in particular, is said to be full of military stores. Without these, the Swedish ability to push further into Commonwealth territory will be diminished. Other nobles voice opposition to the plan, but King Casimir decides to allow Czarniecki to proceed, knowing him to be a loyal and able commander. Raising some mercenaries from among the cossacks and elsewhere, he pulls together his band and sets out to see what damage he can do to the Swedish invaders.
The raid has both military and propaganda objectives: the outpost to be raided is not only a collection point for military supplies, but is also in a Lutheran area. The destruction of the church there is seen as a viable objective, in making the case against Sweden among the populations both in the region and at home. (With the control of the contested area shifting between various powers with regularity, the population is split between Protestants, Catholics, and even some Orthodox elements.)
The commander of the Swedish outpost knows that a Commonwealth raiding party is in the area, but does not know exactlky where they are, nor which direction they will be coming from when they strike. They have time to prepare but no specific information about the threat.
The tabletop is shown below. The Fort is a wooden stockade which will provide hard cover to units inside it (maximum of 1). The Church and town will both provide soft cover (they are made of wood and stucco, primarily, with low walls, etc. not designed for defence). Movement inside the village uses rough movement rates, unless the moving unit is in column. The woods and hill are both rough and provide soft cover. The marshy area is rough, but provides no cover and does not block line of sight. The stream is rough but fordable at all points, but will give an "uphill" bonus to troops defending a far bank from an attacker.
The Swedish player must distribute stores in the allowed locations (see below), and may deploy units in any area north of the stream. The Polish player will move onto the table from the southern board edge in an area 12 inches across, indicated before they see the Swedish deployment.
The Swedish player(s) may divide forces into 2 or 3 commands as desired. These must be specified before play starts. (Giving an individual command to Skytte is optional.) The Swedish player has between 5 and 7 supply markers - the number and location must be decided before play as described below. Swedish player sets up after Polish have indicated their zone of entry, but will not know where that zone is until play begins.
Count Gustav Skytte: Overall Commander
Captain Jacob Wrangel: Division Commander
Captain Hans Wittenberg: Division Commander
Regular Infantry: 2 Dutch Brigades @ 3 bases
Garrison Infantry: 1 unit Commanded Shot @ 2 bases
Uppland Cavalry Regiment: 3 Reiter units @ 2 bases
Smaland Dragoons: 1 unit Dragoons @ 1 base
Town Militia: 1 unit Levy @ 2 bases
Regimental Guns: 1 unit Light Artillery @ 1 base
Field Guns: 1 unit Medium Artillery @ 1 base
The Polish player(s) may divide forces into 2 or 3 commands as desired. These must be specified before play starts. (Giving an individual command to Czarniecki is optional.)
Hetman Stefan Czarniecki: Overall Commander
Rotamaster Gostomski: Division Commander
Rotamaster Slabowski: Division Commander
Haiduk Infantry: 2 units Streltzy @ 2 bases
Registered Cossacks: 1 unit Streltzy @ 2 bases
Dragoons: 1 company of Dragoons @ 1 base
Haiduk Riflemen: 1 unit Forlorn Hope @ 1 base
Winged Hussars: 1 unit Lancers @ 2 bases
Pancierni Cossacks: 3 units Reiters @ 2 bases
Cossack Light Horse: 1 unit Irregular Light Horse @ 3 bases
Wallachian Light Horse: 1 unit Irregular Light Horse @ 3 bases
Regimental Guns: 1 unit Light Artillery @ 1 base
Field Guns: 1 unit Medium Artillery @ 1 base
Stores: The Swedish player secretly selects between 5 and 7 "stores" markers, and indicates where they are located. Options include the Church, the village, and the Fort. Stores may be placed in any or all of these locations, and should be marked on a map or concealed on the tabletop so they are not visible. If any of these locations is occupied by the enemt, free of Swedish units, any stores markers there must be surrendered to them. Stores may not be moved during the course of play.
Burning the Church: A Commonwealth unit which spends a turn un-demoralized and neither being fired on, firing at, nor in combat with the enemy while in base-to-base contact with the Church may light it on fire (use a Rest action). Any units inside must exit, or will be destroyed, along with any stores located there.
Winning the Game: The game is played until one army or the other breaks, or players agree that it is done. A broken army conveys 1 victory point on its opponent. Having the majority of the stores in possession at games end conveys another victory point. If victory points are equal, and the Church has been burned, that will decide the game in favor of the Commonwealth, if un-burned, of the Swedish.