Pages

Thursday, January 27, 2022

Battle of Bosworth Redux

William Stanley - Kingmaker

Following the Battle of Bosworth played three weeks' ago (See Battle of Bosworth), there was discussion and much interest in a refight.  On Tuesday, Richard presented an encore presentation of his Battle of Bosworth game. 

In the first game, I took the role of Henry Tudor.  I would not be reprising that role in the second battle.  For this battle, Richard (the host) appointed to me the role of Richard III.  Richard III met an untimely fate in the first battle at the hands of an ambush by a French and Welsh rabble.  I would try to avoid that demise and attempt to reverse history.

Richard (the host, not the King), offered several pre-battle decisions that Richard (the King not the host) needed to weigh.  He opted to keep Lord Strange alive as a bargaining chip and to fight dismounted with his Household MAAs in conjunction with his Battle.  Henry would have choices to make too.  Having played Henry in Game 1, I was curious to see which course the new Henry would take.

On to battle!

In the van, Norfolk marches to meet the enemy.
Henry crosses the stream to join Stanley.
Richard's army marches on to battle.
Oxford arrives as Henry pushes on.
Henry's artillery splashes across the stream.
Henry seems to be trying to escape!
Richard moves to cut him off.
Norfolk closes in on Oxford's rear.
Seeing Oxford form up,
 Henry countermarches back across the stream.
Norfolk forms up as Richard maneuvers
 to cut Henry's route to Stanley.
Oxford's archers let loose into Norfolk.
Richard's artillery finds Henry as he recrosses the stream.
Norfolk and Oxford exchange volleys of arrows. 
Henry's guns open up against Richard
 as the battle escalates.
Henry's Battle suffers heavy casualties
and is forced to withdraw.
William Stanley remains motionless.
Oxford and Norfolk collide as Stanley moves off the hill.
Henry returns to the fray.
As Norfolk and Oxford clash,
Henry's Battle again absorbs great casualties.
Richard takes artillery fire too
but the Tudor guns are not so sharp today.
The bombardment against Henry continues.
Richard and Stanley crash into one another.
The fight is on!
Melees continue as losses climb.
Henry wheels as he prepares to aid Stanley against Richard.
Will Henry arrive before battle is decided?
As Henry swings around, more artillery pounds his Battle.
Tudor counterbattery reduces
 the effectiveness of Richard's guns. 
With heavy losses, Stanley is driven back up the hill.
Richard pursues.
Henry wades into the marsh to relieve Stanley.
Henry continues taking artillery fire.
Leading from the front,
Richard is surrounded and captured.
Oh No!
Watching helplessly as Stanley has their King executed,
 Richard's troops lay down their arms, demoralized.

With Richard dead, the battle ends.  Henry will be king.

Wow!  That was an exciting contest.

While Norfolk was holding his own against Oxford, Richard was beating the stuffing out of Stanley.  Northumberland never made it into the fight.  Had it not been for two very low probability die rolls, Richard could have been King.  

History is not reversed and Richard still winds up in a car park.  

51 comments:

  1. The War of the Roses does make for very attractive gaming. Poor King Richard does not seem to have much luck, either in real life or on the gaming table.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. WotR games do offer a lot of color. One big bonus is that not a lot of figures are need to recreate most battles. I am anxious to get my figures out and into a game now that I can field the standard three Battles per side.

      Poor King Richard, indeed.

      Delete
  2. Sweet lord, really great battle! One of my favourite period / conflict.
    best regards

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad you enjoyed the battle report! It is a colorful period.

      Delete
  3. Great looking game Jonathan. Another sad end for Richard III

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Game presentation is all Richard's fine work. Another sad day for Richard III, indeed!

      Delete
  4. Very nice encounter and played out as a ‘good Bosworth’ especially with the question of Northumberland still remaining - and a game that looked like it had good balance, giving both sides a good game. It is a most splendid period to get to the table, your 2021 painting will come good this year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bosworth was a fun battle to replay especially since the battle flowed differently than in the first game. Well balanced with plenty of chance to snatch victory. Richard was close but no cigar.

      With some luck, I can get my collection out onto the table in 2022.

      Delete
  5. Superb looking bash, the King is dead, Long live the King!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This was a fun one, Ray! With a little less aggression, perhaps, RIII could have survived this battle?

      Delete
  6. A fine looking set to and no mistake, alas poor Richard seems condemned to a perpetual stuck end🙁

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bloody spill checker "sticky end"

      Delete
    2. Richard does seem stuck in perpetual purgatory.

      Delete
    3. Bloody "spill" checker, indeed! I make plenty of typos when responding especially from bed with the iPad. No need to worry about it.

      Delete
  7. Yes seems like history keeps repeating....obviously, the Tudors were the rightful kings after all! A great looking game and it seemed like you were on track to help Richard avoid all the bad press about princes in the tower and other Shakesperian slanders!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. History repeats itself, for sure.

      I thought Richard, under my leadership, could pull out a victory. No dice. Literally!

      Delete
  8. I meant to say, I am currently re reading John Gillinghams "Wars of the Roses, Peace and Conflict in 15th Century England" My favourite part so far has been page 114 at the conclusion of a description of the Battle of Northampton in 1460, which finishes off with this anecdote...." Among the three hundred casualties the most unfortunate according to common report was Sir William Lucy. A knight who lived not far from Northampton, he heard gunfire and decided to come to the kings aid. As it happened, by the time he got there, the battle was all over but his arrival was noted by John Stafford, and, since Stafford was in love with Sir Williams wife, he took the opportunity to make her a widow. Not long afterwards, he married her!"

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That is a good anecdote and poor old Sir William!

      Delete
    2. Thanks for sharing that anecdote, Keith. This one sounds familiar to me. I wonder if I read this account in Graham's book on the Northampton battle?

      Delete
    3. The story of Sir William from Dallington is in Mike Ingram's book on Northampton (I didn't write that one). The story of the gunfire is significant, as it gives the lie to the idea that none of the guns present fired.

      Delete
    4. In this recreation, Richard's guns were taking big chunks out of Henry's Battle.

      Delete
  9. Amazingly beautiful game! Luxurious historical period. Played without cavalry?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, our host, Richrd, sets a fine-looking table. No cavalry in this one. All cavalry fought dismounted on this day.

      Delete
    2. Fighting on horseback in the Wars of the Roses isn't a recipe for a long and happy life.

      Delete
    3. "Fighting on horseback in the Wars of the Roses isn't a recipe for a long and happy life."

      Nor, seemingly, is fighting on foot!

      Delete
  10. Another keenly fought contest and I did think Richard III was going to win this time. For such a well known battle there are certainly plenty of options/what if's to keep thing interesting for both sides.

    The beauty of this period is that you don't need too many figures to have a great game, which is very useful of course. In my current reading on the HYW I'd forgotten how small a Company could be, often only around 15 men, so perfect for Lion Rampant etc.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Steve, I thought he could sneak out a victory too! Alas, history won out again.

      You are exactly right in that one does not need a huge number of figures for these battles. I can field six Battles with just over 300 figures.

      Delete
  11. What an exciting battle and game.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Replies
    1. Really bad luck, for sure. Really, really bad luck...

      Delete
  13. Good lord, my previous comment deserved deletion. Utter prattle.

    A fine game and fun to read a long with sir. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're welcome! Glad you enjoyed the report. While Richard III went down in defeat, winning or losing matters little when gaming with friends.

      Delete
  14. A keenly fought battle with a historical outcome. Long live the King

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was a good scrap with plenty of drama and intrigue.

      Delete
  15. Well done on finding a different solution to the tactical problem. Fighting away from the Tudor ambush was a wise move, and combined with fighting your best troops dismounted meant you had a good chance of breaking the Tudor cwentre.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! I think the plan would have worked, too, if it had not been for Ian's Dastardly Dice followed by my pitiful response. Richard was giving Stanley a good pounding before he found himself isolated and captured.

      Delete
  16. That was a great scrap! I honestly thought R III was going to pull it off this time.
    But I have a question. How did you determine that Richard was killed/captured when it seems that his Battle was disengaged from both Henry’s and Stanley’s? Was it missile fire? Or is there some specific rule dealing with leader capture even when disengaged?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mike, I thought RIII would see victory too.

      On your question of capture, you have a sharp eye. The separation between the two Battles shows only Stanley's position denoted by the position of his back rank. Both Battles are still in contact but to keep the troops from toppling over on the hill, they remain on the flat.

      Delete
  17. Nice report, a great looking battle...well, except for Richard's troops!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad you liked the report, Phil, despite, Richard's demise.

      Delete
  18. Nicely done Jon , a nice period which I might get round to one day ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Matt, I would not take the bet against you tackling the WotR one day!

      Delete
  19. Poor Dickie. I always end up rooting for him, and he so often ends up as landfill . . . .

    ReplyDelete
  20. A bold man was Richard, someone should write a play about him........

    ReplyDelete
  21. Yes, an exciting game - but the wrong result yet again! You'll have to keep playing Bosworth until you get the right result... ;-)

    Cheers,

    David.

    ReplyDelete