Colin and I played our second Wars of the Roses game with Midgard Heroic battles, using the Mortimer's Cross list that the author (James Morris) had published online. I have a sizable 10mm WotR collection, so was providing both armies.
Our first game, using the smaller 300 point army lists, had been an outstanding victory for Edward IV (technically still Duke of York at this point). It had also been a very bloody game for the various commanders, of the 7 involved, 3 had died and 2 had been wounded!
For this game we were using the expanded 400 point lists, with gave Colin 11 units for the Lancastrians and me 10 units for the Yorkists.
The two forces deployed fairly conventionally, both putting their single mounted unit of knights out on the same flank, which made sense as there was a wood on the other flank! I put Edward of York in the centre of the army, where he could influence most units around him. Colin however, put his commander, Jasper Tudor, out with his mounted knights. His plan was to use his generals combat bonuses to quickly dispose of my mounted unit and allow him to get around my flanks.
In Turn One the two armies trundled towards each other, exchanging long range archery with little effect.
In Turn Two I took a chance and launched a charge on the Lancastrian cavalry, thinking I might as well get the charging bonus in before I was crushed. In a hard-fought melee the two forced battered each other to almost the point of mutual destruction!
Most of the rest of both armies repeated Turn One, moved closed and using long range archery. Except the Lancastrians pulled one unit of bowmen back to allow their Flemish mercenary pikemen to come forward.
On the far flank, Colin threw his Irish Bonnachts into a unit of my archers rather than wait and be riddled with arrows.
Turn three saw the last of my mounted knights falling to the Lancastrian onslaught, but that had effectively taken out their opponents as a effective fighting force. To avoid allowing my flank to be threatened I charged my dismounted men-at-arms into Colin's unit opposite, forcing them back.
In the meantime I turned my supporting unit of billmen to face Colin's surviving cavalry. After a nasty experience in the previous game, he was very wary of engaging the billmen head on!
On the other flank my archers held the charging Irish, in fact pushed them back. Following up in Turn Four they destroyed them, but were reduced to half strength themselves.
Colin's cavalry decided to move well away from my billmen, effectively taking them out of the game. Jasper Tudor in the meantime moved across to join the Flemish pikemen.
Which was needed, because the pikes charge into the billmen facing them was no going as planned! The bills not only help them, but pushed them back.
Turn Five and I went for an all out assault with the Yorkists, launching three new charges. In the centre Edward led his household men-at-arms into the unfortunate bow unit in front of him, who had failed their test to swap positions with the billmen behind them!
Elsewhere the other men-at-arms units kept battering each other into the ground, but unlucky dice meant that the Lancastrian unit routed when they were pushed back.
In an final attempt Colin threw his fresh Irish into the fray, combining with a flank attack by his kerns out of the wood. It pushed the billmen back, but at a heavy cost to the lighter armoured Irishmen.
In the final phase of Turn Five high scoring archery cut down the last of the Yorkist men-at-arms, costing me 43Reputation points.
But it was too little, too late. At the end of Turn Five the Yorkists had 4 Reputation left to the Lancastrian -2. Another historical result with a Yorkist victory! Easier on the generals this time, only one killed and two wounded.
Another fun game, played in just over two hours. We are really enjoying these rules and they are working well for different eras. Unfortunately, sorting the two armies out has made me realise that my ratio of longbowmen to billmen and men-at-arms is out. Either I have too many melee units, or not enough longbow units.
Of course, I'm a wargamer, so I have ordered more bowmen!!!
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