Charlie very kindly offered to host our next Wars of the Roses game using the recent Hail Caesar supplement. Charlie has a much larger gaming table than me which meant we would have so much more room for deployment and manoeuvre. His gaming room is also nice and light which has helped with the quality of my photo's. Charlie chose Blore Heath as the scenario with himself commanding the Yorkists leaving Ian and I controlling the Lancastrians and determined to alter the course of history.
Deployment, largely following the suggested deployment in the book but Charlie had evidence of artillery being in the Yorkist baggage camp so he took one medium gun deployed there. Yorkists on the left, Lancastrians on the right. You can clearly see Wemberton Brook and the road with Blore Heath Mill at this end of the table. Charlie was even able to model the rise and fall of the landscape to great effect with various 'lumps' placed under his wargames mat. .
Looking along Baron Welles' division led by Ian. They took a bold move forward on the 1st turn hoping that Sir Hugh Venables and his cavalry would follow. Sadly Venables failed his 'whole division advance' order on each of the first three turns.
Yorkist baggage camp.
Blore Heath Mill
Turn 4 and finally Sir Hugh Venables gets his cavalry moving. So Ian and I started to advance the rest of our troops. Crossing the river played havoc amongst the Lancastrians with 'disorder' all round. Charlie added to our misery by laying down a real arrowstorm at the same time.
Happily Baron Welles (Ian) had replied with an arrowstorm of his own breaking a Yorkist household unit over on our left.
Sir Hugh Venables boldly leads his cavalry in a charge through a gap in the Yorkist defensive line of stakes. Managing to throw a grand total of '3' on his break test caused by the Yorkist closing fire Venables' lead unit was forced back.
Baron Dudley led the charge by his infantry division on our right wing and after some fierce fighting also started to break through the Yorkist division led by Sir John Neville.
Charlie hoped that Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury would lead his troops forward but Neville was killed by Venables cavalry. Some of the Yorkist foot were pushed back so much they left the table. By turn 8 the game was really going the Lancastrian way. Salisbury's division was broken and Sir John Neville's division was in real trouble. At this point after lots of fierce fighting over the last 3 turns we had to halt the game but it looked like a convincing Lancastrian win and history was rewritten.
This was a very enjoyable game that seemed to be going the Yorkist's way until the Lancastrians finally managed to get their superior numbers into play. Thanks to Charlie for hosting a really fun afternoon of gaming.
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