Wars of the Roses - continuation scenario August 1459 - March 29th 2015 11am at Gaddesden

The briefing should be readable or downloadable HERE, but will in any case be distributed on the day.

There will be no problem if new players wish to participate, who did not play in scenario one; it may also be necessary to reallocate one or two of the roles, should there be a shortage of umpires on the day.

Some samples of the graphics on the maps and player aids:



Players from scenario one will note that the briefing now contains a much more comprehensive gazeteer of the fortified places on the board, giving their owners and their perceived factional sympathies (as there is a political element to the game too, though somewhat reduced in scenario two since many nobles have already committed themselves for or against the court party).

Looks like a good turn-out, but we could still fit more in.  The game will start at 11 am and we’ll finish at about 4.30 pm after debrief and a cup of tea.

If you’re interested, please register on the doodle here http://doodle.com/32e9fth89fknz2x7

Martin (J)

...Being A Kriegsspiel Scenario Set In The England Of The 1450's
Designed And Produced By Rufus Enterprises

THE POLITICAL BACKGROUND
We find ourselves in the England of King Henry VI. Unfortunately, this good and well meaning King suffers from catatonic schizophrenia. He believes he is made of glass and will shatter on the slightest impact. This naturally renders him inactive much of the time, and much under the sway of his French Queen and her favourite courtiers.
The latter form a party of insiders who have become generally known as the Lancastrian party. Lancastrian mainstays are Lords Audley, the Queens champion (rumoured also to be her lover and the father of Prince Edward), Clifford, Percy and Somerset. The three latter have sworn blood vengeance owing to the deaths of family members at the hands of the Yorkists after the first battle at St Albans.
The 'outsider'  Yorkist party aligns behind the powerful Duke of York, the Kings Lieutenant in Ireland, and includes the Lords of March, Clarence, Rutland, Salisbury, Warwick, Norfolk, Essex and Lords Fauconberg and Hastings. They enjoy the support of the merchant class, especially in Calais and London, and thus have the virtual freedom of the seas. It is estimated that Warwick might raise up to 20,000 men in the Home Counties, though many will be unarmed peasants.
York, Salisbury and Warwick have all been formally declared TRAITORS. A Traitor’s death involves hanging, drawing and quartering, and this extends to those who can be shown to have communicated with traitors.
A few other nobles naturally incline towards the Yorkist cause, including Bonville in the West country.  However, the Yorkists recently suffered a setback outside Market Bosworth. Warwick was defeated by the Kings army just before his uncle Salisbury could come to his aid, though he managed to retreat to Leicester in reasonable order, and Salisbury with Fauconberg and Hastings to Tamworth likewise.
Many nobles still remain neutral in the conflict, not least because many of them, including the Greys and Nevilles, have family members on both sides; these neutral lords have however been known to have been swayed by the prospect of gain, or the threat posed by armed bands in their local area. Earl Stanley was swayed only to join the King in the recent battle by the promise of a Dukedom, and the castles and estates necessary to sustain that increased status. Even so, he is reported to have held his troops back until the outcome appeared certain. He has not yet been granted any estates nor castles.
RECRUITMENT
The nobles featuring in the game will be assemble a retinue of about 1000 men (mixed longbowmen and men at arms) at each of their castle; more at the bigger castles like Ludlow and Warwick. King Henry has powers of ARRAY which compel all able bodied men to join his banner. However the King does not usually wish to feed ill-armed peasants who will desert at the first opportunity, and will therefore prefer to recruit only well-equipped troops, perhaps taking money in lieu from the rest.
MERCENARIES of varying quality are readily available from outlying areas and notably the Celtic fringes. Due to the cessation of wars in France and the Balkans, continental mercenaries are also arriving at UK ports in some numbers. The Burgundians specialise in the handgun.  
SUPPLIES will always be difficult to come by for large forces, which should be dispersed around the countrysisde if they are to stay in the area for any period of time. Hungry troops may desert, or worse join the enemy! Junior officers will complain to their commanders when supplies are running low.
The WEATHER has included some rain and there is not much dust on the road. The watercourses are of average depth. Guns, and especially siege guns, can cross most watercourses only at fords or bridges. Wind direction will be rolled for randomly at the chief umpire’s discretion. Prevailing winds are from the west or SW, and most ships have difficulty sailing at more than 45 degrees off the wind.
TOTAL TWO D6 DICE TO DETERMINE ORIGIN OF WIND:
2 = N, 3 = NW
4 , 5 = S
6, 7 = SW
8 = W, 9 = SE
10, 11 = NE
12 = E
SCOUTING was notably poor throughout this period; armies will very often be surprised by the proximity of the enemy, and commanders may need to make swift decisions to avoid the consequences of disorder or of fighting from inferior terrain.
SIEGES
Some artillery is available, but is primitive and moves and loads very slowly. Much of the royal siege ORDNANCE disappeared when the Kings French territories were lost, and the four existing siege guns (with names such as EDWARD and DIJON) are now found only in the Tower Armoury, which Lord Scales holds with a small Lancastrian garrison. Warwick’s own castle contains many (static) guns however, and is virtually impregnable.  A well stocked castle can hold out against even a large enemy force, almost indefinitely in game terms.
TACTICAL ISSUES
It is very long established custom to divide armies into vanguard, main battle, rearguard and possibly reserve. In order to preserve order, armies will preferably march sideways onto a battlefield in this order, preferably from the left so that the vanguard occupies its traditional position of honour on the right of the line. It is possible also to march from the right, however, or for large armies to march on in three successive lines, with the vanguard in the front line, main battle in the second, and so on. Any other approach to the battle involves serious and perhaps fatal risk of disorder in face of the enemy.
Noble retinues, and the professional soldiers from the garrisons of Ireland and of Calais, consist of mixed bands of longbowmen and well-armoured men at arms. Handguns are very slow loading by comparison, but need less training, can penetrate armour better, and are less affected by windage. Field fortifications can include ditches and banks as well as sharpened stake abatis, and use is made sometimes of wagon laagers, chained together in the Hussite style, as at the Battle of the Herrings.
Missile troops of all kinds may be of more or less use in exceptionally wet weather. What field artillery is available moves too slowly to be dragged into encounter battles, and is only likely to appear in prepared positions. Archers and handgunners can normally evade heavier opponents on foot.
Battles in France, including Crecy and Agincourt, have proved cavalry to be too vulnerable to archery unless they can catch the enemy by surprise, as at Patay, before they have prepared a defence.
PURSUIT & CAPTURE
Unless a river or other obstacle slows their escape (as at Towton or Tewkesbury), breaking troops can only be thoroughly exterminated by noble or hobilar units who have remained mounted in reserve throughout the battle.
Though the commoner losers of a battle, and especially an assault on a fortified town, are often massacred, the code of honour requires that noble prisoners shall be captured and held indefinitely until an appropriate ransom be paid. That is, unless they have attacked in battle the personal standard of the reigning monarch, in which case the law states that they are traitors to be hung, drawn and quartered, unless the King pardons them. Or unless they have previously instigated a blood feud by themselves butchering noble prisoners, in which case revenge may legitimately be taken (impaling their heads over gates or bridges is popular).
Should rebels succeed in capturing the King, they should think more than twice before killing him. Such actions are dangerous to everyone of quality, since they undermine the established social order. Regicides will receive great opprobrium, even from their own family, for the hateful crime of killing a divinely appointed monarch, and are likely to be excommunicated by the Church, which remains a powerful presence in the land. In present circumstances, regicide is also wholly unnecessary, since recent experience has proved King Henry to be very amenable to nobles using him as a puppet to rule in his name - as do the Lancastrians presently.
A NOTE ON LONDON
The Corporation and population of the capital is heavily disposed towards the Yorkist cause, and particularly towards Warwick. He has spent an awful lot of money in currying their favour, most of it looted by the Calais based navy from foreign mercantile vessels (which also went down well with the dominant merchant class).
It is for this reason that the Royal family long since sought refuge in the Lancastrian heartlands of the Midlands.
Despite the existence of a small Lancastrian garrison with heavy artillery in the Tower of London, under Lord Scales, which could block most river access, all observers agree that the King could reduce London probably only by hunger after a very prolonged siege by large numbers of troops (due to the circumference of the walls).

ADDITIONAL BRIEFINGS TO COME:
- Laminated map with legend identifying noble owning each stronghold by his shield [ON THE DAY OF THE GAME]
- Gazeteer of the map strongholds [SEE LINK IN PREVIOUS POST]
- A further verbal briefing may be given for each role, when they are assigned on the day. Umpires will also receive a confidential briefing.

Just a reminder that the game is this coming Sunday at the usual time & place.

We have 8 or 9 at the moment per the doodle, but could certainly fit more in.  Doodle is here http://doodle.com/32e9fth89fknz2x7

Martin

And we have a volunteer to do tea & coffee on Sunday. Well done Sean!

Martin (J)