The Challenge of Barletta
The Challenge of Barletta Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
A - Introduction
La Disfida di Barletta (The Challenge of Barletta) simulates the clash that took place on February 13, 1503. On this occasion, 13 French and 13 Italian knights battled, arranged in opposing lines, facing each other in an area, enclosed by the judges of the two parties.
B - Components
La Disfida (DdB) is played by two Schiere (parties) of 13 knights who compete on a leveled playing field (which is a fenced in area previously chosen) that has been overlaid by an hex grid.
B1 - The Knights
Each Knight has indicated on the counter his name and his value (VC), which is fighting capability, morale, strength, etc.
The front shows the knight on his horse, the back the horseman on foot (from now on simply foot).
In addition to the 26 knights to play DdB you also need the two "Pass" counters and from the game Braccio da Montone you need the two "Order Points" counters and the numbered counters green (indicating the Hits) and red (indicating the injuries sustained) and the markers "Attack" and "Reorganization".
Note: You must have the game Braccio da Montone to play La disfida.
C - Sequence of the Game
The joust in DdB lasts 5 rounds, in addition to the initial charge.
Note: The Game Turn marker was not included in the countersheet, use any marker of your choice.
C1 - Beginning
At the beginning of each turn players roll two dice. The player who has the highest result takes the initiative and decides whether to play first or second.
Players alternate activating a knight of their Schiera. Players are obliged to spend 1 PO (see D1) to activate a knight or spend their first pass (see D2).
D - Command Capacity
Knights must receive an order to be activated.
D1 - Order Points
Each game turn the number of order points (PO) for each player is the same as the VC of a knight of your side (usually the one with the highest VC) less 1 PO for every 2 knights out of action (fractions do not count). At the beginning of the turn players place the counter "Order Points" on the Order Track in the box corresponding their current PO value.
Example: At the beginning of round 3 the Italians have lost 3 knights (Abignente, Solomone and Romanello) captured by their opponents. Four French knights (de Baraut, de Sachet, de Forges and de Pises) are prisoners of the Italians. The Italians put the marker Order Points on the 6 box (7, that is the value of Fieramosca, minus one for the three knights captured), the French on the box 4 (6, which is the value of La Motte, minus 2 for the four knights captured).
D1.1 - Using the Order Points
During the turn, a player can activate the knights of his Schiera using the PO.
To activate a knight costs 1 PO for every knight.
D2 - Pass
Players receive 1 Pass every 2 knights out of action (fractions do not count). Passes can be used in their own phase instead of giving an order to a knight.
Example: Continuing the above example the Italian player would also have one pass and the French two (place the Italian Pass counter on one of the Order Track and the French Pass on two).
E - Orders
The activated knight receives an order. Each knights can receive only one order per turn. A player activates a knight of his schiera that has not already been activated this turn (spending 1 PO) assigns an order, executes it, then play passes to the opponent.
E1 - Types of Orders
In DdB there are 2 types of Order: Move and Reorganization.
E1.1 - Move
The knight who receives this order can move (see F). If the knight ends his move adjacent to an enemy knight he may decide to attack, but is not obliged to do so. The maximum number of attacks that a schiera can execute in a round is 5 (five). At the beginning of the round the players receive 5 "Attack" markers. Place an marker attack on each knight that performs an attack during the turn.
Knights who begin their activation adjacent to an enemy knight and receive a Move Order can attack the enemy knight without moving first.
A knight can attack a single enemy knight: if there is more than one opponent in adjacent hexes, he must specify which one he will attack.
E1.2 - Reorganization
You can assign a Reorganization Order to a knight who has not been attacked by an enemy during the current turn. Only foot and knights who received Hits may receive this Order. Place the "Reorganization" marker on the knight in question.
If before the end of the round the knight is attacked he loses the ability to perform a Reorganization (remove the "Reorganization" marker).
At the end of the turn all knights with a "Reorganization" marker can recover Hits or try to remount his horse (but cannot do both).
Recover: Simply remove from the knights up to 2 Hits (wounds can never be removed).
Remount: A foot can try to recover his horse and remount. The foot rolls a die: from 2 to 6 he remounts (turn the piece over). Subtract from the dieroll any wounds and Hits (see also E1.3).
Example: A knight with 1 wound and 1 Hit will subtract 2 from the diceroll.
Note. We recommend placing a "Fired" marker on the units that moved without attacking or who have lost the ability to perform a Reorganization as a result of an attack during this turn as a reminder that the knight(s) have already received an order.
E1.3
A knight who is in his camp (H4.2) and did not receive any order in the current round will automatically receive a Reorganization Order at the end of the turn. This Order does not cost any OP.
If the knights decides to remount the action happens automatically, you do not need to roll the dice.
F - Movement
A knight who receives a movement order has 5 movement points (MP) if he is on horseback, 3 MP if he's on foot. Each hex costs 1 MP. Declaring an attack costs 1 movement point, if the knight does not have any remaining MP he cannot attack.
A knight who is in his camp (H4.2) and receives an order to move can exit from any hex of the camp or enter the hex which has his shield (the hex he enters costs 1 MP).
Example: Fanfulla can enter the field in any of the hexagons from 1512 to 1914 or in hexes 2114, 2213 or 2314.
G - Stacking
There can never be more than one knight in a hex. The knights cannot pass through hexes occupied by other knights (friendly or enemy).
G1 - Facing
In DdB the units do not have facing.
G2 - Zone of Control
In DdB there are not zone of control.
H - Combat
A knight with an "Attack" marker at the end of its activation makes an attack on the opponent's knight.
A knight who has not yet been activated but has suffered one or more attacks during the turn can only make an attack against a knight which attacked him earlier.
H1 - Attack Resolution
The base column for all Melee combat is the 0 column of the Melee table (using the same table as in Braccio da Montone). The attacker rolls two dice on the appropriate column (0 if there are no adjustments), adding modifiers to the dice roll, and applying the results given in the Melee table.
Combat is resolved with rolls by the attacker and the defender on the SCT.
- Both calculate their column adjustments (10.6.1) and modifiers to the dice roll (10.6.2).
- The attacker rolls two dice, adds modifiers to the roll of the dice and reads the result in the correct column after adjustments on the Melee Table (SCT).
- The defender rolls two dice, adds modifiers to the dice roll and reads the result in the correct column after adjustments on the Melee Table (SCT).
- Apply Hits as required.
- Apply the unhorsing test as required (see 10.6.6)
If the defender has received more Hits than the attacker, he must now retreat (the attacker never retreats)
If the attacked hex is empty because the defender has withdrawn the attacking knight must enter the hex.
H1.1 - Column Adjustments for Melee Combat
Regardless of the total modifiers, the cumulative column adjustments can never be less than -5 (5L) nor greater than +5 (5R).
The column adjustments are:
- Combat value: The knight gains a shift of a number of columns the right equal to the difference between its VC and the VC of the defender. Negative numbers shift to the left, positive numbers shift to the right.
- Numerical advantage: For each knight who has already attacked the defender earlier in this turn the attacker gains a column shift to the right.
- Type of Knight: A mounted knight attacking a knight on foot receives a column shift to the right. A knight on foot attacking a mounted knight is shifted one column to the left.
- Wounds: A knight receives a column shift to the right equal to any wounds the defender has suffered and a column shifted to the left equal to the number of wounds he has incurred.
H1.2 - Modifiers to the Melee Dice Roll
You must add 1 to the roll of the dice for every Hit suffered earlier by the opponent and subtract one for every Hit your knight has suffered.
The modifier to the dice roll cannot be greater than +/- 5. Dice rolls greater than 12 are considered 12 and those less than 2, are considered 2.
H1.3 - Shock Combat Table
The numbers on the SCT are the results expressed in Hits. The number to the left of the bar / indicates the number of Hits received by the attacker, the number to the right indicates the Hits suffered by the defender, a D means the knights must test if he has been unhorsed (11.0, ignore this result in the case of foot) a - indicates no result.
Whenever a knight takes a Hit, place a Hit marker (green numbers) corresponding to the total number of Hits received.
H1.4 - Outcomes
Once the number of Hits is equal to the VC of this knight he suffers a wound. Remove the Hit marker and place it with the number of wounds sustained (red numbers).
Example: Fontaines (VC4), who already has 1 wound and 2 Hits at the end of a fight receives another 3 Hits. Since every 4 Hits become 1 wound (because he has a VC of 4) he now has 2 wounds and 1 Hit.
H2 - Retreat and Advance After Combat
If the Shock combat table (SCT) indicates that the defender has suffered more Hits than the attacker, the attacker never retreats.
H2.1
When forced to retreat, the defender must retreat one hex in the opposite direction from which the attack came.
H2.2
If a knight cannot retreat because of the presence of another knight (friendly or enemy) in the retreat hex, he receives 1 additional Hit.
H2.3
If a knight is forced to retreat off the field of play surrenders (H4.2)
H2.4
The attacking knights must ALWAYS advance into the defender's hex if he retired at the end of the fight. This movement does not require an Order.
H3 - Unhorsed
Whenever a knight in combat suffers one or more Hits, or a D, he must also test to see if he is unhorsed.
H3.1
The player must roll a die and add the result to the HITs and the wounds that the knight has suffered. If the result is greater than the VC of this knight he is unhorsed and receives 1 Hit.
A unhorsed knight turns his counter to its foot side and does not advance into the attacked hex if his opponent is retreating.
H4 - Capture
When a knight receives a wound, or an already wounded knight receives a Hit he must roll to see if he surrenders to his opponent. If both knights are wounded and receive Hits the knight that has received the most Hits in this combat must roll for surrender. In case of a tie there is no surrender roll.
H4.1
The player rolls a die and adds the result to the number of wounds his knight has and any modifiers on the Surrender table (H4.3). If the result is greater than the VC of this knight he surrenders.
On a unmodified roll of "1" a knight never surrenders.
H4.2
In case of surrender you place the counter of the surrendered knight on the corresponding Surrender table (French if the knight is French, Italian if Italian) in the lowest empty space.
The knight who has captured the enemy is put in his camp, keep on the knight the "Attack" marker as a reminder that this knight has already received an order in this turn and cannot Reorganize
H4.3 - Surrender Table
When a knight must roll for surrender he must add any to the die roll the modifier indicated on the table in the first empty box above the knights captured.
Example: If a French knight has to make a test and five French knights have already surrendered during the game the player will add 2 to the die roll.
H5 - Dead Knight
If a knight receives a number of wounds equal to its VC he is killed. Remove the knight from the map and place him on the Surrender table as if he was captured, but leave the knight who killed him on the map in the hex where the knight died.
I - The First Clash
The initial clash of DdB follows special rules. The two formations of knights arrange themselves in two ordered rows, facing each other, then each charges the knight opposite.
I1 - Initial Deployment
Players roll the dice, the one with the highest score has the initiative and places his first knight in the center of the map where there is the melee line (from 1807 to 3007 for the Italians, from 1806 to 3006 for the French) on his side of the line. Then his opponent places two knights along the melee line on his side. The placement goes on, alternating the placement of two knights at a time until all 13 knights of each player are placed opposite each other along the melee line.
I2 - Initial Charge
The player who won the initiative chooses one of his knights who attacks the enemy knight opposite (in front of the central hex). Once you have completed the attack, play passes to the other player (the player who lost the initiative) who chooses his own knight who has not fought to attack the enemy knight in front of him.
These combats are resolved as a normal combat (see rule H) with the only difference being that only the attacker rolls the dice on the SCT.
I2.1
A knight who unhorsed an opponent during the initial charge and is still on horseback is placed in the hex behind the unhorsed enemy knight.
Example: The Italian player decides to attack with Miale (VC6), who is in hex 2407, the opponent French knight de Sachet (VC4) in hex 2406. The attack is on the +2 column of the SCT, the diceroll is 7 with a score of - / 1. De Sachet receives 1 Hit (put a green 1 marker on the knight) and since he is mounted he must roll to see if he is unhorsed. The French player rolls a 4 to which he must add 1 for the Hit suffered; the result (5) is greater than the VC of the knight (4) who is then unhorsed. Turn the de Sachet counter to its foot side and flip the Hit marker to two. Miale is now placed in hex 2405.
J - Victory
Players earn Victory Points (VP) capturing or eliminating the opponent's knights.
J1 - Victory Points
At the end of the game each player receives a number of VP equal to twice the VC of each knight captured and a number of VP equal to the VC of each enemy knight killed.
J2 - End of Game
The game ends and a player has automatically lost if at any time he has no knights on the battlefield. Knights in camp are not considered on the field of battle.
K - Optional Rules
The following rules are optional. Players can use then by mutual agreement. You should use them to increase the balance of the game.
K1 - Claudio Grajan D'Aste
Whenever D'Aste tests for surrender if the result indicates that he surrenders he receives an additional wound instead.
Historical note. Grajan D'Aste is often reported by Italian sources as Grajano d'Asti, an Italian knight of Asti that other Italians considered a traitor because he chose to fight for the French side. His figure rose over the time as a stereotype of the traitor. There are doubts even about the fate of the knight: although it seems certain that he was seriously wounded it is not clear whether he surrendered to the Italians and died several days later from his injuries or he was killed on the battlefield.
K2 - Italian Gallantry
When an Italian knight faces an enemy on foot, before the fight turn the Italian counter to its foot side. This takes place immediately before the fight and it does not cost MP.
Historical note. Some sources report that the Italians gallantly dismounted horse when facing dismounted opponents.
The Historical Context
The fate of southern Italy was decided by the Treaty of Granada signed in 1500 which provided for the division of the Kingdom of Naples into four provinces: Campania, Abruzzo, Puglia and Calabria, assigning the first two to France and Puglia and Calabria to Spain, but this division did not take into account in the province of Capitanata. France claimed the latter province was part of the Abruzzo region and under their rule, while the Spanish insisted that the Capitanata was a part of Puglia.
In the summer of 1502, hostilities broke out between the two armies, commanded respectively by Louis d'Armagnac and Gonzalo de Cordova (El Gran Capitan). During the early stages of the war, the French advanced to the south and occupied a large part of the Spanish territory. The Spaniards, outnumbered, placed in Barletta (at that time an important commercial center on the Adriatic Sea) their headquarters as the war progressed with small skirmishes. In one of these skirmishes the French, who had raided up to Canosa, were engaged in a brief battle by the Italian-Spanish and at the end the troops of Diego de Mendoza captured and led into Barletta several French soldiers, including the noble knight Charles de Torgues, nicknamed Monsieur Guy de la Motte. On 15 January 1503, the prisoners were invited to a banquet held by Gonzalo de Cordoba in what is now called the Cantina della disfida (Cellar of the Challenge). During dinner, la Motte challenged the value of Italian soldiers, insulting and accusing them of cowardice. The Italians decided to accept the challenge and so it was decided to resolve the dispute with a joust. La Motte proposed that 13 knights per side participate and that the joust been held on February 13 on the plain between Corato and Andria (territory then under the control of Venice, at the time neutral). Prospero and Fabrizio Colonna took care to build an Italian "team" contacting the strongest fighters of the time, and Ettore Fieramosca, noble of Capua, Duke of Mignano and since 1500 Baron of Rocca d'Evadro was chosen to command it. The duel was planned in detail, the place, the day, the number of contestants, judges and witnesses were settled.
The Duel
The duel took place in an area enclosed by judges of both parties. The Italians were the first to arrive on the scene, followed shortly thereafter by the French. The two teams of knights arranged themselves in two orderly lines, facing each other, and then charged one another "lance in rest" (go full tilt)[1]. The first clash did not cause serious damage to the parties, but the Italians remained essentially in a steady position, while the French line was disrupted. The battle continued with swords and axes; Ettore Fieramosca faced Charles de la Motte, who surrendered after a fierce duel both on horseback and on foot. At the end of the joust all the French were captured or wounded one after the other by the Italians, who gained a clear victory[2].
Confident in a victory, the French had not brought any ransom money with them, and were thus led into captivity in Barletta, where it was Gonzalo de Cordoba in person to pay out of pocket the ransoms due to set them free. The victory of the Italians was greeted with long celebrations by the people of Barletta and with a mass of thanksgiving to Our Lady, which was held in the Cathedral.
[1] Jean d'Auton, however, states that the Italians made use of a stratagem: instead of charging, they retreated to the edge of the battlefield and left gaps in their ranks so as to allow some of the French knights to exit from the field, succeeding with some of them in the attempt. Paolo Giovio reports that the Italian knights stood firm on their positions with lances lowered, waiting for the French charge.
[2] Jean d'Auton reports that Pierre de Chals, of Savoia, was the only French fighter to stand up to the last: de Chals, however, is not mentioned by any other source. Giovio says a French fighter, "Claudio" (presumably referring to D'Aste), died of a severe head injury.