Good Friday 1204 game 2

Game 2 Good Friday 1204; the feud between de Lacy and de Courcy.

"King John commanded Sir Hugh de Lacy to do what he might to apprehend and take Sir John de Courcy, and so devised and conferred with certain of Sir John's own men, how this might be done; and they said it were not possible to take him, since he lived ever in his armour, unless it were a Good Friday and they told that his custom was that on that day he would wear no shield, harness nor weapon, but would be in the church, kneeling at his prayers, after he had gone about the church five times bare-footed. And so they came at him upon the sudden, and he had no shift to make but with the cross pole, and defended himself until it was broken and slew thirteen of them before he was taken..."

The account of de Courcy's capture from the Book of Howth

de Courcy and his men have travelled to Ballyclog Church in Tyrone, intending to trap de Lacy, but the old fox, who has made himself Earl of Ulster, and is compared by some to the Conquerer himself, is aware of their approach.  A battle occurs at the Church, and I will allow a "Risk to the general" on a roll of 1 or 2 because of de Lacy's pious lack of armour this holy Good Friday.

The de Lacy's arrive with a strong cavalry force

They are obviously planning a big charge

De Courcy counters that, but his forces contain many wild Irish

My 15mm dark ages Church getting a rare outing.

De Courcy's bow and spear whittle away at the de Lacy Mounted.

Its a somewhat pyrrhic victory as they dispose of the bow, but the spear stubbornly hold on.

De Lacy charges in his own knights as the spears are routed.  He smashes de Courcy's weakened men, and de Courcy himself is killed.

De Lacy's Irish fight well

And de Courcy's colonist bowmen make a last stand

But its all over.  de Lacy is dead and King John must be furious...

King John's 1204

The Forces involved:

The King of England and his loyal barons.
The Rebel English Barons
The Marcher Lords
The Welsh Prince
The King of Scots
The Irish Pale
The Irish Kings
The French King
The Norman, Breton and Anjou Nobles
The Flemish Wool Citys.

The deck

1.      French Invasion of Normandy
2.      First Barons War
3.      Second Barons War
4.      War with Scotland
5.      Welsh Marches raid
6.      War with the Welsh
7.      Revolt of the Irish Kings
8.      Revolt of the Marcher Lords
9.      Battle of Bouvines
10.    Pope threatens excommunication Unrest +1 per year until the King pays.
11.    The Royal treasure lost in the wash
12.    Royal marriage. Unrest -1
13.    A powerful Earl or Bishop in play Unrest -d6
14.    Magna Carta is raised Unrest -d6
15.    Reform of the English legal system Unrest +1
16.    Bad harvests double all prices and Unrest +1
17.    Scutage is levied on all of the King's nobles. Unrest +1
18.    French Pirates in the Channel.  Unrest +1
19.    Revolt of a noble character in play.
20.    Royal Birth or Death, Unrest -1

 

Troop types
Good Cavalry. 5. BR
(May dismount as foot knights. 5)
Average Cavalry. 3 BR
Good Infantry. 4 BR
Average infantry. 3 BR
Good Missile infantry. 4 BR
Average Missile infantry. 3 BR
Skirmishers. 2 BR

Nobles in Play

1. Robert Fitzwalter
2. William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke
3. Prince Louis, Dauphain of France
4. William Longsword, Earl of Salisbury
5. William Earl of Arundel
6. Ranulph Earl of Chester
7. King David of Scotland
8. King Louis of France
9. Simon De Montfort Earl of Leicester
10. Theobald Lord  Butler of  Ireland
11. De Burgh, De Braose, De Lacey. Lordship in Ireland
12. Geoffrey Fitz-Henry, Archbishop of York

1204 

Card 1 Royal marriage. 

Card 2 Unrest -1

Card 3 The Flemish challenge the French

Card 4 A battle in Ireland 

Actual events 1204:

8 March – French capture Normandy. They take Château Gaillard from the English.

Good Friday, Ireland, Sir Hugh de Lacy captures Sir John de Courcy whilst he is at prayer.  I`ll extend this into a battle.

24 June – Philip II takes Rouen ending Plantagenet rule in Beaulieu Abbey founded in Hampshire.

King John frees all of Devon except Dartmoor and Exmoor from royal forest law.

Jersey, Guernsey and the other Channel Islands become self-governing possessions of the English Crown.

Game One

The Flemish challenge the French King

Low Countries

1 General Good Cavalry 

6 Good Infantry Guildsmen pike 

1 Good Missile Infantry Guild Crossbowmen

2 Ave Infantry Feudal levy Spearmen

1 Skirmisher archers

Feudal French

1 Good Cavalry, General and Knights

4 Good Cavalry, 

1 Ave Cavalry Hobilars

2 Good Infantry Communal Militia

2 Average Infantry Feudal Spearmen

2 Average Missile infantry Crossbowmen

1 Skirmishers Breton Javelinmen

The Low Coutries dice for deployment and get the Northern (top) edge.  Its a game of defend the stream then!

The defenders deploy

The French attackers ready themselves

The French surge forward

But the Low Countries get their line to that stream

Some good work with the bows

And Stirling Bridge is in the future, so the French don't realise how unwise this attack across is

In fact its defeat in detail

and before I realise it the French have lost critical numbers

although the Low Countries are not far behind.

The French slope off.  A victory for king John`s allies

Scottorum Malleus Armies

Dan Mersey's Scottorum Malleus rules have been a real eye opener and source of fun for me lately.  I rebased and freshened the paint jobs on my 6mm Feudals as well as rebasing and fixing up the 15mm guys to square with the rules.  It occurred to me that I needed some bespoke terrain and maybe a board to use with them.  

I`m planning to extend the 15mm forces over the summer, to cover the armies of the British Isles, France and Northern Europe in general.  For that I need an idea of my figure requirements.

I've read into the 13th Century battles in France and the British Isles, looking at troop types, terrain and organisation.  I can build up most of the armies I need from only s core of troops.  

Troop types
Good Cavalry @5. BR
(May dismount as foot knights @5)
Average Cavalry @3 BR
Good Infantry @4 BR
Average Infantry @3 BR
Good Missile Infantry @4 BR
Average Missile infantry @3 BR
Skirmishers @2 BR

I've added Poor Infantry (Levies etc) @1 BR, but I don't expect much from them.

Bouvines 1214   "German" vs French
Lincoln 1217  Anglo French vs Royalist English
Dover and Sandwich 1217  French vs Royalist English

Battle of the Currah 1234  Anglo Irish vs Royalist English
Taillebourg 1242  French vs English

Ballyshannon 1247  Irish vs Anglo Irish 
Largs 1263  Scottish vs "Viking"
Lewes 1264  English Barons vs Royalist English 

Evesham 1265  English Barons vs Royalist English 
Orewin Bridge 1282 N. Welsh vs English
Mays Moydog 1295  N. Welsh vs English

Stirling Bridge 1297  Scots vs English
Falkirk 1298  Scots vs English

The Cavalry
4 bases of Knights
2 bases of Hobilars
4 bases of knights in earlier armour types

The bow
8 bases of Longbow
4 bases of Norman style bowmen

The Foot
6 bases of dismounted Knights
2 bases of Norman Spearmen
3 bases of Communal type spear
2 bases of levy spear, shieldless rabble
3 Kerns, 1 Galloglaich

Feudal English 

1 Good Cavalry, General and Knights

3 Good Cavalry, 

1 Ave Cavalry Hobilars

2 Average Infantry

2 Average Missile infantry 

2 Poor Infantry Levies
1 Skirmishers 

English Barons

1 Good Cavalry, General and Knights

2 Good Cavalry, 

1 Ave Cavalry Hobilars

2 Average Infantry Spearmen

2 Average Missile infantry 

1 Good Missile Infantry  (Longbowmen)

2 Poor Infantry Levies
1 Skirmishers 

Anglo Irish

1 Good Cavalry, General and Knights

1 Ave Cavalry Anglo Irish Horse

1 Ave Cavalry Hobilars

2 Average Missile infantry Colonist Archers

1 Average Infantry Colonist Foot Sergeants

1 Good Infantry, Mercenary axemen 

4 Poor Infantry Kerns

1 Skirmishers 

Scots Common

1 Good Cavalry, General and Knights

1 Ave Cavalry Norman Scots Nobles

1 Average Missile infantry Feudal Archers

5 Average Infantry Yeoman Pikemen

1 Good Infantry, Mercenary axemen 

2 Poor Infantry Small Folk or Rabble

1 Skirmishers 

1 Good Cavalry French Knights

Feudal French

1 Good Cavalry, General and Knights

4 Good Cavalry, 

1 Ave Cavalry Hobilars

1 Good Infantry Communal Militia

2 Average Infantry Feudal Spearmen

2 Average Missile infantry Crossbowmen

1 Skirmishers Breton Javelinmen

North Welsh

1 Good Cavalry, General and Uchelwyr

10 Average Infantry Welsh Spearmen

1 Skirmishers archer skirmishers

Viking, the Danes and Norwegians

1 Good Infantry General and Huscarles

10 Average Infantry Hird

1 Skirmisher archers

Norse Irish and Isles

1 General Ave Cavalry 

2 Good Infantry Nobles and household troops

5 Average Infantry Warriors

3 Poor Infantry Rising Out

1 Skirmishers javelinmen

Medieval German

1 General Good Cavalry 

3 Good Cavalry Knights

1 Ave Cavalry Mercenary Knights

1 Good Missile Infantry Crossbowmen

2 Good Infantry Dismounted Mercenary swordsmen or Brabanter Pike

2 Ave Infantry, City Militia Spearmen

2 Skirmisher archers

Low Countries

1 General Good Cavalry 

6 Good Infantry Guildsmen pike 

2 Good Missile Infantry Guild Crossbowmen

2 Ave Infantry Feudal levy Spearmen

1 Skirmisher archers

13th Century Battles Terrain

Having gone through each of the major battles listed above, and a lot more besides, I've come up with the following terrain.  

Roads, hills, town or village, marsh, stream, castle or city walls, river, arable cultivation, woods, hedgerows, steep mountainside, walled abbey, fortified manor.

Squarebashing Polygon Wood, 19-20 October 1914

7th Division front, just before 11 am on 20 October, in line with Field Marshal French’s strategy of offensive operations by I and IV Corps, a reconnaissance in force from 20 Brigade, accompanied by the divisional cyclists and cavalry (Northumberland Hussars) and a battery of artillery, was pushed down the Menin Road towards Gheluwe. The left flank was covered by the advance of a strong flanking group, two battalions and some artillery from 20 Brigade, which first cleared Becelaere and then advanced along the Terhand spur.

Good progress had been made until, about midday, the situation of 3rd (Cavalry) Division around Passchendaele and of 22 Brigade, east of Zonnebeke, threatened IV Corps’ left flank. The movement was halted, 20 Brigade returning to its line without difficulty; the two battalions from 21 (Guards) Brigade, 2/Wiltshires (Wilts) and 2/Scots Fusiliers (RSF) faced a more difficult task, in particular 2/Wilts, which suffered some sixty casualties before getting back to its former positions north of Reutel.

The Menin Road 1914

"This advance began on October 19. Unfortunately for the British, the Germans knew the attack was coming, as they had captured a British officer carrying his orders. The 7^th Division advanced into an overwhelming enemy force and had to retreat.

Aerial reconnaissance told the British they now faced a massive German force."

Ypres 1914

A rules reminder game,  based loosely on the advance of 21 Brigade on 19th October 1914 near Polygon Wood.  2/Wiltshires (Wilts) and 2/Scots Fusiliers (RSF) are attacking three German reserve battalions from 52 Reserve Div.

I'm using companies as the base units rather than battalions, as in the rules.  It gives the two attacking British battalions, with their constituent mgs, four companies each.  

The barrage creams off a substantial part of The German units.

The Hun casualty pool.

The 2Wilts find the Germans firmly in control of the village

And the RSF face a road embankment, with Germans behind

The Scots are pretty soon shattered.

And the Wiltshires don't much better.
Game over pretty quickly.

too fast, and a rematch is in order.