Today's game was hosted by Charlie and he had created a wonderful scenario based on the Battle of Tewksbury for us and we used 'Never Mind the Billhooks' for rules. We were all a bit rusty with the rules and with around 400 points per side it was a big game to get our heads around. However, after a turn or two we soon speeded up. Charlie even made extra cards to cope with the number of leaders and units.
The General's deploy their troops, Ian must have know he was going to be Lancastrian as he came dressed in red. Charlie and Nigel were commanding the Yorkists and I was helping Ian.
The Duke of Somerset deploys his troops...
...and Edward IV deploys his men.
Let battle commence.
William Stanley and his ward heading of on a march round to attack the Lancastrian right flank.
First artillery attack of the day from the Yorkists and 4 hits scored!
Ian sends his troops forward on the Lancastrian left.
Sir William Stanley advances down the road (mid photo on the right).
At this stage of the battle it was mainly missile fire as the two sides jockeyed for position.
On the Lancastrian right some of their troops were delayed in their advance by the terrain and by needing to cross the river by the bridge.
The Duke of Gloucester advances.
On the first 'Special Event' card the Lancastrians were able to launch a surprise attack towards the rear of Yorkist troops. Despite catching Nigel in the flank, my troops threw poor dice and Nigel not only survived the flank attack but he was then able to turn and easily defeat my troops. (note to self, try not to attack enemy Men at Arms with anything other Men at Arms).
The close packed terrain and sheer number of troops meant that we Lancastrians struggled to get as many of our troops into the battle as we would have liked. Our artillery never had the chance for a shot all game.
Suddenly, the Yorkist, Sir Maurice Berkeley arrived far on the Yorkist right with his light horse who immediately advance towards the Lancastrian troops near the bridge.
Meanwhile the Yorkist artillery piece that was causing damage exploded!
Five turns in and with most missile troops running out of arrows etc... it was time to get stuck in.
The Duke of Gloucester with his Men at Arms thumping some of Ian's Billmen.
At this point we ran out of time but we all felt that the Yorkists had the upper hand and were steadily pushing the Lancastrian's back. Despite Edward Prince of Wales actually surviving our battle unlike in the real fight a Yorkist victory was declared and history was mostly repeated suggesting that Charlie had got the balance of the scenario just right?
Once again this was a great game and we all agreed we had left it far too long in between games of Billhooks. Next week we hope to play test the new ECW version of Billhooks called 'Never Mind the Muskets' which author Andy Callan has very kindly shared with us.
That's a stunning looking game.
ReplyDeleteThanks misterC. I think if we re=played that game Ian and I would be more defensive, using the terrain to help us rather than try and get to the clearer ground.
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