War of the Roses: Yorkist v Lancaster

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Paul K
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War of the Roses: Yorkist v Lancaster

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This scenario was deliberately set up to be a head to head encounter between 2 high quality retinue War of the Roses armies. The Lancaster and Yorkist forces were very similar in composition with only a few differences. The Lancaster army had 3 units of ‘C’ class crossbow with pavisses and 2 units of dismounted men-at-arms, whereas the Yorkists had just one unit of dismounted men-at-arms but 2 extra units of retinue longbow and an additional unit of billmen to achieve the same points value. Both armies had 4 generals and the longbow units of both sides were deliberately not given stakes so as to induce a more fluid battle. The dice dictated that Tony and Chris took generalship of the Lancastrians and Dave and I the Yorkists
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With a mostly open terrain punctuated by small areas of woodland and low 3 and 4 hex hills, the key features which would play a significant role in the game were two 3 hex escarpments with their steep slopes facing each other at a distance of only 3 hexes. These provided ideal elevated shooting positions for both sides to utilise.
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First moves by both sides saw the predictable advance of both shooting lines to take up position on their 3 hex escarpment and then extend their line across the open central area of the battlefield. I moved the Yorkist heavy cavalry and hobilars to our right wing and Chris, in response, did the same with the Lancastrian cavalry – the two armies were in effect mirroring each other!
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The missile troops closed the range and engaged in a shooting match, taking turns to drop down in front of their respective 3 hex escarpments only to be forced back by their opponents. Dave advanced the Yorkist bill units on the extreme left of our line to try and force the Lancastrian crossbow units from the woodland. This was not going to be an easy task and the Yorkists were constantly recoiled under a hail of crossbow bolts.
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It was Chris that decided to break the deadlock by launching a major attack on my right wing with all the Lancastrian heavy cavalry, hobilars and bill units. In response, I formed a defensive line centred on a 4 hex area of woodland with the Yorkist cavalry to the right and behind the defending infantry. The ensuing hand-to-hand combats produced mixed results for both sides! The Yorkist cavalry were victorious but the Yorkist infantry were badly defeated and forced backwards, eventually out of the woodland. On our left Dave’s infantry were still battling to push back Tony’s Lancastrian crossbow units who were still stubbornly defending their wood.
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Having destroyed 2 units of Lancastrian heavy cavalry and a unit of hobilars, my victorious heavies and a general were forced into a compulsory pursuit, which would have been great if only they had had some infantry support. Like the British heavy cavalry at Waterloo my initially victorious cavalry had charged too far! Three units of Lancastrian longbow had pulled back onto the 3 hex escarpment from where they could shoot down upon my heavy cavalry. Chris, also charged his 2 now rallied remaining heavy cavalry into my now isolated cavalry and general. After a very punishing round of shooting, and an equally painful round of hand-to-hand combat my initial success was completely reversed. I lost 3 units of heavy cavalry and 2 generals and 2 units of hobilars.
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On Dave’s wing the Yorkist infantry finally defeated the Lancastrians defending the wood and Tony was forced to pull back and then form a defensive line doglegged back to his table edge. In the centre the opposing longbow units had paused their shooting match and pulled back to lick their considerable wounds! On our right I had little choice but to pull back to the defensive line with my remaining but depleted bill units positioned in the wood and on the adjacent 4 hex hill, with my one remaining heavy cavalry unit in reserve behind.
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With both armies separated from each other it was, on balance, with the pros and cons evaluated for either side a draw which was accepted by all players.
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Game Analysis
For the territorial gain of one patch of woodland the Yorkist army had suffered at least as many losses as the Lancastrians, with both armies reduced to about 60% of their original strength and both sides losing 2 of their 4 generals. This proved to be a very close game throughout in which despite a herculean effort, neither side achieved a decisive advantage
Kind regards
Paul

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