Who is going to turn down an opportunity to participate in a second play test of Jonathan's (Palouse Wargaming Journal) Blood n Roses rules for the War of the Roses? I'm certainly not. This report is a little truncated due to a vacation being taken between playing and reporting.
What follows is the scenario from Jonathan - see also his background for the battle here.
Battle of Solden Hill
Jon Freitag
Jon Freitag
SITUATION
An isolated portion of the Lancastrian Army occupies a strategic position on Solden Hill.
Edward IV receives reports of a lone Lancastrian Battle atop Solden Hill guarding the road
north. Edward sets out quickly to seize the hilltop before enemy reinforcements arrive.
ARMY SIZES
Both armies have three Battles. The Lancastrian Army has commands of Somerset,
Northumberland, and Pembroke. The Yorkist Army has commands of Edward IV, Stanley, and
Suffolk.
LANCASTRIAN ARMY
Somerset – 2x Men-at-Arms (CE6), Retinue Archers (CE4), Retinue Billmen (CE5)
Northumberland – Men-at-Arms (CE6), Retinue Archers (CE4), Retinue Billmen (CE5)
Pembroke – Men-at-Arms (CE6), Retinue Archers (CE4), Retinue Billmen (CE5)
YORKIST ARMY
Edward IV – 2x Men-at-Arms (CE6), Retinue Archers (CE4), Retinue Billmen (CE5)
W. Stanley – Men-at-Arms (CE6), Retinue Archers (CE4), Retinue Billmen (CE5)
Suffolk – Men-at-Arms (CE6), Retinue Archers (CE4), Retinue Billmen (CE5)
DEPLOYMENT The Lancastrians deploy one Battle atop Solden Hill, facing south. No Yorkist
forces are deployed at the start of the scenario. Each commander will role for Rating and
Priority after the Lancastrians have placed one command upon Solden Hill.
REINFORCEMENTS
Turn 1: The Yorkist Army arrives on the southern table edge.
Turn 2: Two Lancastrian Battles arrive on the northern table edge, either on or west of the
road.
TERRAIN
Solden Hill and woods are ROUGH ground.
SPECIAL RULES
No special rules apply to this scenario.
GAME LENGTH
Scenario lasts until one army breaks.
INITIATIVE
Yorkist Army has Initiative on Turn 1.
VICTORY CONDITIONS
Be occupying Solden Hill when the opposing army breaks. Otherwise, draw.
INSPIRATION This game derives from Scenario 4: TAKE THE HIGH GROUND in the
outstanding book referred to below. I have made slight modifications to the scenario but the
core concept remains intact – an army attempting to seize a vital objective before enemy
reinforcements arrive.
Thomas, Neil. One-Hour Wargames: Practical Tabletop Battles for those with Limited Time
and Space (pp. 72-73). Pen & Sword Books. Kindle Edition.
I chose to be the Yorkists attacking the hill from the south, led by Edward IV.
The Battle
The Yorkist plan was to overwhelm the Lancastrians on the hill with two of the wards (Suffolk and Edward) while Stanley rushed up the road to delay any help from the arriving reinforcements.
So far so good. Suffolk, who rolled up as a timid commander, started aggressively by charging Somerset's ward defending Solden Hill.
Edward also launched his ward up the hill. However, in a matter of moments and in the swirl of melee England found itself bereft of a king. Edward was cut down.
With the Lancastrian reinforcements fast approaching, the task of taking control of the hill was quickly becoming a much tougher one than anticipated.
Stanley, on the Yorkist left (on the road), fought long and bloody melees with Pembroke's ward while the rest of the Yorkist forces tried in vain to assault the hill and dislodge Somerset.
With Stanley desperately trying to restore order to his troops, the Lancastrian ward led by Northumberland swung onto Solden Hill. Such was the quickly declining condition and tactical situation of the dead king's army that I very nearly ceded the field of battle at this point. However, as this was to test Jonathan's rules, I decided to play on.
With Northumberland on the hill, he quickly threw Suffolk's ward back off the hill in disarray. Only Edward's ward, and Somerset failing to come off defence, stopped a total Yorkist withdrawal from the heights.
However, Stanley managed to rally his troops and started pushing at Pembroke's now depleted ward.
Desperate to not allow Pembroke from rallying his ward, Stanley charged down the road and broke the Lancastrian right. With Northumberland now showing his flank, Stanley turned his ward to take advantage of this unforeseen change of fortunes.
With fortune momentarily swinging in the Yorkist favour, Stanley hurled his troops into Northumberland's exposed flank.
With Northumberland's rearmost troops despatched Stanley's ward, now fired up from their success, charged the rear of the remainder of Northumberland's ward. The victory was swift. In defeat Northumberland's men have nowhere to go and duly surrender.
And so, with two Lancastrian wards broken, a Yorkist victory!
Afterthoughts
That was a really fun and exciting game. There was action, decision-making and frustration throughout.
When the king went down early in the game and then Stanley's ward was almost snuffed out, I thought the battle was lost. However, thanks to Pembroke being equally exhausted and Somerset not being able to change out of defend orders, the Lancastrians were not able to take advantage of the moment. With the changing of orders and the husbanding of troops, Stanley was able to act aggressively when the moment came. The honours for this victory certainly belong to Stanley.
Jonathan's rules worked a treat to create an entertaining game that felt right for the period. His inclusion of leader characteristics and missions gave a different and fun, almost role-playing, aspect to the experience. This is a mechanism that should be a lot of fun in multiplayer games especially. I don't want to say too much about our rules discussion. That is really for Jonathan to conclude on, but I would definitely play these again.
