Calais Game III — The Flight to Guînes, 1415

GAME III — The Flight to Guînes
Calais, Autumn 1415

The roads south of Calais burn with panic.

What began as a swift English chevauchée against isolated farms and French sympathisers has become a desperate retreat.
The French have rallied faster than expected.

Captain Sir Thomas Neville of Blackmere, cousin to the Earl of Warwick, now rides hard for the bridge of Guînes, seeking to bypass the town, with the remnants of his mounted force. His men are burdened with stolen supplies, wounded retainers, and dangerous intelligence concerning French troop movements around the Pale.

Yet the bridge at Sanghen Marsh is blocked.  The anxious mayor Étienne de Malrecourt has armed the town crossbow guilds. Though nominally loyal to the French administration, the town’s loyalties are uncertain, and Malrecourt’s first concern is preserving Guînes from destruction.

A hastily gathered French force under Captain Gaston de Varennes, a hard veteran of border warfare, has been conducting a pressing pursuit of the English and his mounted French men-at-arms pursue the English column from behind, threatening to trap Neville between hammer and anvil.

Sir Thomas must break through and pass the town before the trap closes.

The English enter bottom right.

TABLE

Using my marshland battle cloth

Terrain

• Marshland counts as dangerous terrain.
• Stream impassable except at:
  • The bridge
  • One ford chosen before deployment
• Guînes occupies the top-left corner.
• Low scrub and hummocks provide scattered cover

Sir Thomas Neville of Blackmere and his retinue

FORCES

English Retiring Force

Commander

Sir Thomas Neville of Blackmere
Young, aggressive, proud of his kinship to Warwick.

Mounted Men-at-Arms (1 group)

• Veteran
• Fierce charge bonus on first combat

Mounted Archers (2 groups)

• May skirmish evade
• Carry partial loot train and wounded

English Objective

Reach Guînes with at least:

• Sir Thomas alive
• One mounted unit intact

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French Blocking Force

Commander

Captain Gaston de Varennes
An experienced marcher lord who prefers trapping enemies over glorious battle.

Infantry Men-at-Arms (2 groups)

• One deployed near bridge
• One in reserve

Crossbowmen (1–2 groups) Led by:

Mayor Étienne de Malrecourt

Merchant magistrate of Guînes. Nervous but practical. Determined to prevent English raiding from bringing ruin upon the town.  He has blocked the bridge.

Special Rule:

• Crossbowmen within short range of Guînes gain +1 Courage/Morale.

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DEPLOYMENT

English

Deploy on the right-hand table edge within 12".

They begin mounted and moving.

French

Deploy within 12" of the bridge and marsh crossing areas.

French infantry may begin in prepared defensive positions.

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PURSUIT RULE

Beginning at the end of Turn 1:

Roll 1D10.

On a 7+, French mounted pursuers arrive from the English table edge.

French Pursuers

Commander

Chevalier Lucien d’Arques

Mounted Men-at-Arms (1 group)

• Aggressive
• May activate immediately upon entry

Each following turn:

• Reduce the arrival number by 1.
• Automatic arrival by Turn 5.

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SPECIAL RULES

Loot and Prisoners

One mounted archer unit carries plunder and wounded.

• Movement reduced slightly.
• If destroyed or routed, French gain bonus glory.

Marsh Panic

Any mounted unit routing within marsh terrain risks bogging down:

• Failed morale retreat = disorder or casualties.

Guînes Uncertain

If English troops fire missile weapons within short range of Guînes:

• Roll immediately:
  • On high roll, townsfolk aid English.
  • On low roll, gates begin closing in fear.

This creates a tense finish as Sir Thomas races past the gates.

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VICTORY CONDITIONS

English Major Victory

• Sir Thomas escapes
• At least 2 units pass Guînes
• Loot preserved

English Minor Victory

• Sir Thomas escapes alive
• One unit survives

French Major Victory

• Sir Thomas killed or captured
• English trapped south of bridge

French Minor Victory

• Loot captured
• English badly mauled

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CAMPAIGN RESULTS

If English Win

• Warwick gains intelligence on French concentrations.
• Guînes morale improves.
• Sir Thomas earns reputation: “The Blackmere Fox.”

If French Win

• French pressure increases around Calais.
• Guînes becomes politically unstable

CHARACTER NOTES

Sir Thomas Neville of Blackmere

A younger cousin of Warwick. Brave, reckless, eager to prove himself before the Agincourt campaign.

Captain Gaston de Varennes

Scarred veteran of Gascon border wars. Believes English cavalry can be beaten through exhaustion and terrain.

Mayor Étienne de Malrecourt

A wealthy wool merchant turned civic leader. Publicly loyal, privately terrified that Guînes will be burned whichever side wins.

Mayor Étienne de Malrecourt and the blocking force

The Game

Sir Thomas Retinue.  I have a few mounted longbow men miniatures, and I added a pack mule.

Sir Thomas presses forwards against the crossbows

And the Mayor has his crossbows volley.

The longbow response is devastating.

The French use their first favour, no change in the roll, three casualties 

The English Men at Arms charge and throw the crossbows back.

A second French favour is needed but again, it's dreadful

And two French Men At Arms units appear 

And they press in on the longbows immediately.

The Longbow men are in trouble.  A favour is used and it helps.

The Longbow men fight back, limited success.

And they don't survive a second round.

The longbow unit is broken

Sir Thomas Men at Arms escape.

And the second Mounted Longbow unit escapes.

But it only escapes by drawing a higher card and moving first!

The end game 

Sir Thomas will have a reduced Retinue for the final game, but he does win clear.

The next battlefield goes down.

Calais 1415 Game II — “The Charge of Sanghen”

THE CHARGE OF SANGHEN

Narrative

French raiders strike near the village of Sanghen, suspected of aiding English patrols.

The civilians are trapped between both sides.  I've deployed them to a flank, crossing between the lines, under their Priest, Father Pierre.

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Table

4' x 4'

Terrain

• Still in the marshlands.

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Objectives

English Goals

• Rescue local informant, Fr Pierre
• Capture French captain

French Goals

• Destroy the English
• Silence informant
• Make a glorious charge.

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Campaign Effects

Result	Effect in Final
Fr Pierre survives	English gain local guides
Villagers destroyed	French gain fear reputation
Informant captured	Reveal enemy deployment zone
Captain captured	Ransom income buys extra troops

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Gautier Sieur de Bournonville

The Butcher of Sanghen

Role in Campaign

Primary antagonist of Game II

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Background

A brutal Picard knight with a reputation for:

• hostage-taking,
• village burnings,
• and savage reprisals.

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Retinue

“The Black Torch”

Built for brutal close fighting

• 12 mounted knights
• 6 men-at-arms
• 6 militia infantry
• 12 crossbowmen

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Tabletop Personality - the AI bit

• Slow but dangerous
• Loves melee.  A charger.

The Earl of Warwick's Force

• 6 Mounted Men ar Arms 
• 6 dismounted MaA
• 18 longbowmen

Found my proper Crowns cards

The Earl of Warwick, Captain of Calais.

The battlefield, 2 x 6 French Cavalry, 2 x 6 Foot Men at Arms, 2 groups of 8 crossbow and pavisier, 

The Earl brings 3 x 6 archers, 6 Foot Men at Arms, 6 mounted Men at Arms, and the "small folk" villagers off to a flank

The French press forwards into the arrows

And a counterchafge by the Earl.

The French suffer poor rolls

And they start burning through favours, big silver coins here.

More French mounted charge into the melee.

And needed yet another favour.

Waves of French Men at Arms charge in

But in a bloody melee the French are massacred and shaken.

The small folk charge onto the flank of the French crossbows.  Pitchforks at the ready!

Father Pierre seems a little confused about whose side he's on!

Dame Isabel and her crossbow/Pavise unit inflict deadly casualties on the Earl's surviving Men at Arms.

The French Captain and his foot Men-at-arms are hammered by the longbows.

The small folk do really well, Crossbows broken.

I check the devastation of the French casualty pile.  It includes all their favours.

The French quit the field

And three units survive to add to the French hosg for game three.

The Chronicle of Calais 

Kept by Brother Matthieu of Saint Mary’s House Beyond the Water Gate

"In the Year of Our Lord 1415, in the reign of King Henry of England and France

And in those days there was unease within the Pale of Calais, though the markets remained open and ships still crossed the Narrow Sea.

For men spoke quietly in taverns and at the weighing houses that French gold had crossed the walls before French swords.

Certain Lombards and wine merchants were accused of carrying messages southward by night, whilst two Flemish sailors were seized near the harbour with strange seals sewn into their jerkins.

Likewise, wagons bearing salted meat and bowstaves from Guînes failed to arrive at the King’s stores, though no wreck or dead horse was ever found upon the roads.

The marsh folk whispered that armed riders moved through the reed beds after dark carrying no banner.

Worse still came scandal among the English themselves.  Three soldiers — Poins, Bardolph, and Nym — lately returned from the king’s wars, were said to have broken into a roadside chapel near Fréthun and stolen a holy pyx of silver gilt.

One priest swore they struck him bloody with a cudgel. Another declared the men had sold the sacred vessel to gamblers in Calais Low Town.

Yet others claimed the three had deserted entirely and fled south into Artois under protection of French captains.

God alone knows the truth of it.

At the same time alarming tidings came from the villages near Sanghen and the roads below Guînes.

Scouts reported mounted men gathering near the frontier woods.

Crossbowmen had been seen near the old Roman causeway.

Fires burned in distant farmsteads after sunset.

Some believed the French intended only brigandage.

Others feared a greater design: to cut the roads, isolate Calais, and test the strength of England before King Henry sailed deeper into France.

Therefore did the noble Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick and Captain of Calais, order mounted patrols abroad and trusted fighting men into the marsh country.

And many who rode out upon that business did not soon return.

Pray God preserve this Pale and all Christian men within it."

 A 3 game arc set around the English Pale of Calais during the Agincourt campaign

I have a new battle cloth and just spent three weeks painting 100 years war forces.  Gamebone will use only my newly painted guys. 

In 1415, the Captain of Calais was Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick. He had been appointed in 1414 by Henry V, just before the Battle of Agincourt campaign.

Warwick was regarded as one of the great soldier-nobles of the age. Calais under him was effectively:

• an English military colony,
• a fortified port,
• a raiding base,
• and a tense frontier zone surrounded by hostile French territory.

Against Richard of Warwick im using a fictional French Commander, Marshal Enguerrand de Vervins Marshal of the Northern Marches, alongside three French Captains with retinues, each similar in size to the English.

The Calais area is ideal for:

• cattle raids,
• ambushes,
• ransom-taking,
• escort missions,
• smuggling,
• and skirmishes with French men-at-arms from nearby towns like:
  • Saint-Omer
  • Boulogne-sur-Mer
  • Guînes

Historically, Calais also depended heavily on the surrounding countryside for food and timber, so control of villages and roads mattered enormously.

A good campaign flavour is that everyone is technically at truce one week and raiding the next. Medieval frontier warfare in the Pale of Calais was gloriously murky.

Captain of Calais 1415

CAMPAIGN PREMISE

Summer–Autumn 1415.

Henry V is  preparing his invasion of France, Calais becomes critically important. French captains around Saint-Omer and Ardres begin probing the Pale.

Rumours spread:

• French agents inside Calais,
• missing supply wagons,
• English deserters,
• and a planned strike against the roads south of Guînes.

The Captain of Calais rides out to secure the frontier.

The Earl commands a small retinue:

• English garrison troops,
• mercenary archers,
• His personal men-at-arms,
• local scouts,
• French border captains and their retainers.

Against

• The Marshal of the Northern marches, 3 French border captains and their retainers, and local town militias.

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CAMPAIGN STRUCTURE

Game	Type	Theme
I	Skirmish	Ambush and reconnaissance
II	Skirmish	Burning village / hostage rescue
III	Larger Battle	Frontier clash outside Guînes

Victories affect the final battle.

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⚔️ GAME I — “THE MARSH ROAD”

Narrative

A supply courier riding from Guînes toward Calais disappears near the marsh tracks east of Fréthun.

Both sides rush to seize the satchel he carried.

Inside are:

• payroll records,
• names of spies,
• and marching orders tied to Henry V’s invasion plans.

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Table

3' x 4'

Terrain

• Marshes and wet ground
• Causeway road
• One small bridge
• Reed beds
• Abandoned shrine
• Scattered farms

Movement should be awkward and channelled.

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Forces

Small Blood and Crowns retinues:

• 20–25 figures per side

• Men-at-arms
• Archers/crossbows
• Brigands or scouts
• Foot serjeants

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Special Rules

The Satchel

Place objective marker (the body of Long Dick the archer) centrally.

A figure must spend one action to seize it.

Mounted troops may carry it but move reduced speed in marshland.

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Marsh Fog

Missile fire beyond medium range suffers penalties first 3 turns.

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Victory

Result	Reward
Hold satchel	+1 campaign advantage
Enemy leader wounded	enemy begins next game with injury roll
Escort courier alive	bonus scouts in Game III

Compte Jean de Créquy

The Iron Hawk of Saint-Omer

Background

A hard northern French noble from Artois, Jean has spent years fighting:

• brigands,
• Flemish rebels,
• and English raiders.

He despises the English occupation of Calais and knows every marsh path between Guînes and Saint-Omer.

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Retinue

“The Marsh Hawks”

• 1 mounted captain
• 3 mounted Men at Arms
• 6 crossbowmen
• 4 brigands/scouts
• 5 dismounted men-at-arms

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Tabletop Personality (Solo AI)

• Aggressive flanker
• Excellent in rough terrain
• Uses missile troops cleverly

Knows the Marshes
Ignore first movement penalty through wet ground each turn.

D6 a 6 = an off table flank attack.

The Game

My new battle cloth.  The English appear and see the French across th0e stream.

The Earl presses forwards.

The French file across the footbridge

Perry Agincourt range.  Really nice figures.

The longbows start up and kill some French Men at Arms.

The French crossbows kill a longbowman in response.

The stream is revealed to be a raging torrent.  Those spearmen are in trouble trying to wade it.

The French Men at Arms are hammered again.  As a unit they are now broken.

The French Mounted Men at Arms race in from the flank.

And the French Crossbows move to support.

However the longbows add to the misery of the 4 stream wading spearmen, breaking them.

The clash, Mounted vs foot men at Arms.

And the Earl personally charges in with his one supporting guy. He makes a pair of kills!

Although these killed guys are actually mounted longbowmen pretending to be French MAA.

The foot Men at Arms see off the French mounted.

The French casualty pile is well over 50%

The French Captain breaks.

And the Town Militia Crossbowmen withdraw.
A random event reveals a new Campaign character.

Dame Isabel of the Cross, a French Lady Knight, unlikely Captain of Crossbows.  

Vintenar

A rank sometimes granted to an archer that put him in 

charge of 19 men.

+5 command points 1 command 

range 6”

Restrictions

May be added to any unit armed with bows, war bows, 

or crossbows. Max 1 per Company.

Special Rules

Wanted, Specialist (Archery)

Pacifiers? Pavisiers!

My new battle cloth, or half of it, 4 x 3 ft here.