Nothing Gained but Glory

The 7 battles included in Nothing Gained but Glory are:

Nyborg 1659
Fehrbellin 1675
Halmstad 1676
\'Lund 1676
Nyborg 1659
Malmo 1677
Landskrona 1677
Warksow 1678
Nyborg -November 14, 1659:
(While not part of the Scanian War, this bonus battle from the Northern War of 1655-1660 features many of the same participants.) The Swedes had occupied the Danish island of Funen, but following the landings of two Allied forces and their subsequent combination the Swedes had to fight to win time for an evacuation from the island. With no more room to retreat and the port town of Nyborg\'s fortifications in a sorry state, the 7,000 strong Swedish Army positioned itself in good defensive terrain between a lake and a forest. While command difficulties in the 11,000 strong Allied Army almost cost them the battle, the Allies eventually prevailed, forcing the Swedish Army to flee to Nyborg, where it surrendered the next day.

This is a medium sized battle on a half map. Special rules cover the intense command rivalry that plagued the Allies and the uncoordinated nature of their attack as a result of this.



Fehrbellin - June 28, 1675:
Returning from fighting against France to face the Swedish invasion, the highly mobile Brandenburg Army of 5,600 cavalry and 13 guns faced a retreating Swedish Army of 7,000 infantry, 4,000 cavalry and 7 guns outside the town of Fehrbellin. A poor deployment of the Swedish Army combined with aggressive handling of the Brandenburg cavalry forced the Swedes from the field. Although the losses in the battle were about equal, the previously unbeatable Swedish Army was severely reduced by the subsequent pursuit, raiding parties, desertion, and starvation. While only of minor importance militarily, the victory had an enormous psychological impact: the Swedes, long considered unbeatable, had been bested. With the myth of Swedish invincibility broken, Denmark decided the time was right to settle its scores with Sweden and entered the war. Frederick William henceforth was known as the Great Elector, and the army that he and Derfflinger had led to victory became the core of the future Prussian Army.

This is a medium sized battle on a half map. The special rules cover opening Brandenburg artillery bombardments as well as the ineffective Swedish command system.



Halmstad - August 17, 1676:
After the initial great successes for the Danish forces following the landings in Scania in late June 1676, a small Danish force of 3,500 men under Jacob Duncan was detached from the main army and ordered to advance north to take the town of Halmstad and if possible link up with the Norwegian forces under General Gyldenlove. Sensing the possibility of destroying the unsupported Danish detachment, the Swedish king reacted and by heavy force marching succeeded in cutting off Duncan from his line of communications, forcing him to fight his way back. Duncan moved against the Swedes, but then went on the defensive. The Swedes took the initiative, collapsed both of the Danish flanks, and then overwhelmed the center, forcing the army to surrender. This battle ended the Danish plans of linking up with the Norwegians, and provided a much-needed boost to Swedish morale.

This is a small battle on a half map, and includes both a historical main battle scenario and an early start scenario for players who wishes to try alternative plans for the Danish Army. Special rules cover the heath terrain, the stream and its fordable points, the Swedish king, and the possibility of a Danish breakout towards friendly territory.

Lund - December 4, 1676:
This was the bloodiest battle in the history of Scandinavia, with almost 9,000 killed (out of 12,000 Danes and 8,000 Swedes) after an intense day-long battle fought in the chilling cold of the Scandinavian winter. After a cross-river standoff that lasted for a month, the Swedes attacked when the river froze. The Swedes initially had the advantage, and their right wing (along with the king) routed the Danish left and pursued it off the field. The rest of the Swedish Army was then outnumbered, and just as they were about to succumb, the king and part of his wing showed up in the Danish rear, saving the battle for the Swedes.

This is a full one-map battle that includes 3 very different scenarios:

An early start scenario that gives players the freedom of movement to manouver their armies onto the map and recreate the race to outflank the other.
A historical main battle scenario with the armies in their historical positions when the main battle started.
A late start scenario covering the final phases of the battle where the outnumbered Swedish army struggle to hold on untill the return of their King and the cavalry from their pursuit of the Danish left wing can turn the battle around.
Special rules cover the effects of the winter weather, the Danish and Swedish kings, the use of Danish sailors as ill-equipped infantry, the possible return of the pursuing Swedish cavalry and the stone wall that that lined parts of the battlefield.
Malmo - June 25-26, 1677:
Malmo, the regional capital of Scania, was the only major town that didn\'t fall during the 1676 Danish offensive, and had been a thorn in the Danish side ever since. In June 1677 the Danes decided to take the town by besieging it.

When news arrived that the Swedish Navy had set sail to break the blockade of the town and that the Swedish Army was moving to relieve the town, the Danes decided to force the issue and storm the town, even though the siege hadn\'t progressed very far. On the Swedish side, the town commander Fabian Fersen prepared his 2,300 strong garrison well, and they fought with desperate courage as they knew it was victory or death. While the Danes were able to scale the wall and break into the city, a determined Swedish counterattack destroyed them before they could open the gates for more Danish troops.

This is a medium sized battle on less than a half map. The special rules reflect the many special circumstances of storming a fortified town at night, and provide a set of special rules that can be used to show other fortress assaults in future MPBS scenarios.



Landskrona - July 14, 1677:
After the defeat of the Danish Army at Malmo, the Swedish king decided the time was right to attack them before they could be reinforced by their German and Austrian allies. He thus moved his 10,000 regulars and 4,000 peasant militia towards the Danish Army located at Landskrona. However, the Danes had received their reinforcements that replenished their numbers to 14,000, and the Danish king felt confident about fighting a field battle. This was a hard-fought battle which saw both armies experimenting with combined arms wings and the personal involvement of the monarchs of both armies.

This is a full one-map battle. Special rules cover the intense summer heat, the Danish and Swedish kings, the Swedish use of ill-equipped peasants as infantry, and the earthen walls that were a dominant feature on most of the battlefield.

Warksow - January 18, 1678:
As the war had reached a stalemate on the Scanian front the Danish forces invaded the island of Rugen in the fall of 1677. They quickly conquered most of the island except for a small Swedish fortified bridgehead. As supplies ran low and attrition ravaged the army, large parts of the Danish expedition were withdrawn from the island, leaving just under 5,000 men. This allowed the Swedes to transfer 3,500 men from their field army in Germany to the remaining bridgehead in early January 1678 and try to take back the island. The armies met at Warksow, where a Swedish cannonade killed the commander of the Danish Army, paralyzing it. Most of the Danish expeditionary force was captured during the battle or in the aftermath as the Swedes quickly cleared Rugen.

This is a small battle on a half map. Special rules cover the effective and flexible use of field artillery by the Swedes, the command confusion following the death of the Danish army commander and the stud farms of Rugen.

Contents

2.5 map sheets, 2 of which are backprinted
3 counter sheets (840 counters)
Musket and Pike Battle Series Rulebook
Nothing Gained But Glory Playbook
3 Player aid cards
1 10-sided die
Complexity Medium (5 out of 9)
Solitaire Medium (6 out of 9)
Time Scale 20-30 mins per turn
Map Scale 100 yards per hex
Unit Scale Strength point = 80-100 men
Cavalry Regt/Sqdn = 300-500 men
Heavy Infantry Regt/Bde = 500-2000 men
Light Infantry Unit = 100-200 men
Artillery unit = 3-4 guns; or a double battery of 7 to 8 guns