Here's the info on the Italian Wars Campaign articles found in olde issues of Wargames Illustrated magazines:
#4 Dec. 1987 – 1499 Italian Wars Campaign Scenario
#135 Feb. 2003 – Italian Wars Campaign System
For #4 Dec. 1987 – 1499 Italian Wars Campaign Scenario, a fictional map of Italy is provided, consisting of 20 cities, with connecting lines of communication (roads), and average transit times between each listed on it. The suggestion is for each side to have 1,500 points to field their armies, and to do other things – spying, betrayal, treachery, etc. are suggested for a GM. No rules for open combat are really provided – presumably, you'll use the rules you have and prefer for such events, e.g. DBA, DBM, DBR, Maximilian, Impetus, Tactica, tc., etc..
There is a chart and rudimentary rules for determining the success of a siege, by comparing force levels for the attackers and defenders, and conducting a die roll to see the outcome for both sides.
The two factions in play are France vs. Spain, with a provision for neutrals too. Before play starts, the two sides roll 1D6 for the alignment of the cities on the map, with equal chances to be in league with the two warring factions, or to be neutral.
If desired, and you have more than two players, I see no reason why you couldn't also add in a unified Italian force, and/or various Italian City/State forces as well, if desired, e.g. Milan, Florence, Venice, the Papal State, and Naples, among the major players for the period.
For #135 Feb. 2003 – Italian Wars Campaign System, numerous factions are in play – 8 major ones, and one minor – the latter being a very small force under Piero di Medici with 100 Hvy. Cavalry and 500 infantry. Presumably, if in play, he will need to align with one of the other more major factions in order to have any chance of survival. The 8 major factions include: France, the Holy Roman Empire (Austria/Germany), Florence, Milan, Naples, the Papal States, Venice, and Spain. The Swiss are aligned with France, and the Landsknechts with the HRE.
Force levels are in hundreds of units for the cavalry, and thousands for the foot troops. The forces available to each are different, with some having only half the strength of the others, so you may need to create alliances in order to help deal with that.
No real rules are provided, per se with this campaign system, but a realistic map of Italy is provided that includes 52 provinces for Italy (grouped into larger regional sections too), as well as 7 more provinces for external countries (France, Switzerland, and Austria, etc..
Turns are defined as being two weeks long, and land forces can move two provinces at a time, so presumably, if forces are in close contact you could have them switch to one week turns and move to only adjacent provinces, if desired. Forces with fleets can move up to 4 sectors in two weeks, so almost all the way around Italy, if desired.
You may keep all your forces together in one large army if you prefer, but if you do, you will not have them to garrison provinces under your control.
The map includes locations of major cities and ports.
Each faction is provided with a starting number of: Cavalry, Foot Troops, and info on whether they have artillery and a fleet too. Force listings are pretty generic, but do list gendargmes or heavy cavalry, stradiots, and infantry – in some cases the latter is broken out into types, e.g. x-bows, arquebuses, and pikemen.
No numbers of artillery or ships are provided for the artillery trains, or the fleets. Not all have artillery or fleets.
There is a brief narrative to be provided to each faction in secret, letting them know the tactical situation, and informing them of any local regions that are being contested by others.
Free kriegspiel rules and negotiations are suggested for this, aided by a GM who will keep ALL plans and advances a secret. Open meetings and discussions are encouraged, in several rooms for such events, and all players are free to attend any of those openly. It is suggested that this will lead to intelligence discoveries, as well as open lies, rumors, etc., etc., creating confusion, and the need/desire for making and breaking military alliances in order to further ones aims.
A GM will be needed in order to keep track of events as they occur, and to determine the costs and results of any intelligence gathering, bribes, etc., occurring in the game.
While not directly related to the HYW, I think you could take some of the aforementioned ideas and use those to create or supplement a military campaign for the earlier period.
I'm not sure what the differentiation is between "heavy cavalry" and "gendarmes". Perhaps only the name itself, as preferred by the various factions, but perhaps it also identifies whether the horses have metal barding, or not.
I always thought that "gendarmes" for the period would/could relate to horses with/without metal barding, but perhaps I am mistaken.
It seems to me that "heavy cavalry" would imply that those ARE equipped with metal barding.
Any clarification on that point for the Italian Wars period would be appreciated.
gets medieval.