The Battle of Hedgeley Moor - A 28mm Wargame

Welcome back to the latest in our series of Wargames focussing on the Wars of the Roses. To review all of the previous battles fought I have added a page tab to the top of the blog home page that will take you to a list of all the engagements.

Monday night's action featured a double header both the battles of Hedgeley Moor and Hexham. The second of which will be published in a separate post.

Background

The Battle of Hedgeley Moor was fought on the 25 April 1464 north of the villages of Glanton and Powburn in Northumberland

It was fought between a Yorkist army led by John Neville, Lord Montagu and a Lancastrian army led by Henry Beaufort, Duke of Somerset. The battle ended in a Yorkist victory. Estimates of force size vary but I elected to have both forces sized around 5000 men with comparable compositions. 

At the beginning of 1464, after setbacks in 1463, the Lancastrians were hoping that the Welsh Marches and the West Country would rise in their support. The Yorkists wanted to remove the threat of Scottish invasion, by reaching an agreement with the Scots. The English parliament was due to meet at York on 5 May to discuss terms with a party from Scotland, but a burst of Lancastrian activity in Northumberland and North Yorkshire meant that it would be difficult for the Scottish party to travel safely to York. Lord Montagu was therefore sent north with a small force to escort them to York.

 The Duke of Somerset tried to ambush Montagu near Newcastle but the latter was able to evade this attempt. He continued his journey northwards, gathering troops as he went. When Montagu reached Hedgeley Moor he had an army of five or six thousand men. There he met a Lancastrian army of five thousand men commanded by Somerset. The Lancastrian army also included Lords Ros and Hungerford and Sir Ralph Percy

The battle began with the normal exchange of archery between the two armies. Montagu then advanced across the 1,500 yards of moorland, only to be forced to halt and readjust his lines when the Lancastrian left flank, under Lords Ros and Hungerford (some 2,000 men), faltered, broke, and scattered.

The whole Lancastrian force gave way when the Yorkists clashed with their line. Pushed back by weight of numbers all but a few of the remaining Lancastrians fled the field. Sir Ralph Percy stayed with his household retainers and made a brave last stand. However, deserted by the rest of the army, including all the other commanders, he was soon slain. As he died he is said to have uttered the enigmatic words: ‘I have saved the bird in my bosom’.

The defeat and dispersal of the Lancastrian forces made it possible for the Scottish negotiators to be safely escorted to York, where a peaceful solution was successfully negotiated.

 A square sandstone pillar stands near the site of the battle, and is known as ‘Percy’s Cross’. It can be found on the east side of the A697, a couple of miles north of the village of Powburn. The road at this point is following the line of the Roman road known as the Devil's Causeway.

The Battlefield - the North Road

The Battlefield

The battlefield should contain the northern road running from Newcastle north - either side of the road is light cover typical of a northern moorland. We decided to play this game as an ambush given the Lancastrians need to stop the Yorkists heading north. 

Special Rules

The Yorkist force should be laid out in column of March along the road with the Vanguard no closer than 24” from the North edge where Somerset awaits.

The Lancastrians are lying in ambush for this scenario. Somerset, Beaufort, and Hungerford’s commands are deployed across the road north on the table edge – the remaining troops (ie the infantry) are in ‘concealed’ positions either side of the road.

They should be positioned no closer than 24” from the road

To reflect this on the table six playing cards are played on the table - use three royal blacks & reds. These are placed face down. Red cards denote actual troops – the blacks are feints. Add to the deck six blind cards – when one of these is activated carry out usual orders with the blind card.

The true nature of the blind is only revealed when one of the following criteria are met

a)      The Yorkist force moves within 12” of a blind card

b)      the blind card attacks/shoots

In the real battle Lord Roos and Lord Hungerford's troops fled the field as the approaching Yorkists advanced. To reflect this ‘loss’ of either Roos or Hungerford's troops removes an additional morale token when that force is daunted. In other words rather than losing two tokens when routed three would be lost. 

 

The Yorkist column marching North

  

The Lancastrian Road block

The Orders of Battle

Lancastrian – est 5000 men

Leader	Units	#units	#figures
Somerset (BC)	1 x MAA 2 x SK Bow	3
Beaufort	1 x MAA 1 x Bill 2 x Bow	4
Percy	1 x Mtd Knights 1 x Light Horse	2
Hungerford	2 x Bill 2 x Bow	4
Roos	2 x Bill 2 x Bow	4
Tunstall	1 x Bill 1 x Bow	2
Finderne	1 x Bill 1 x Bow	2
		21

 

 

The Head of the Yorkist Column

Yorkist – est 5000 men

Leader	Units	#units	#figures
Montague (BC)	1 x MAA 2 x Sk Bow	3
Neville	1 x Mtd Knights 1 x Light Horse	2
Stanley	1 x MAA 1 x Bill 2 x Bow	4
Scrope	2 x Bill 2 x Bow	4
Borough	2 x Bill 2 x Bow	4
Talbot	1 x Bill 1 x Bow	2
Middleton	1 x Bill 1 x Bow	2
		21

The Yorkist force was deployed along the road - stretching almost 7ft in column. The column was lead by the Cavalry wings of the Yorkist forces. Sitting in front of this column was the main Lancastrian force with three other commands hidden in the woods either side of the road. 

The Yorkist rearguard

The Yorkists had a real issue in this game - their rear was so far from the action could it get into action. With both sides evenly matched this was going to be a tough ask.

The action kicked off with the cavalry on both sides launching in a desperate charge. Heavy knights are brutal - 16 attacks and all misses rerolled. In one short action the Yorkist cavalry evaporated but badly mauling their opposite number 

Watching their heavy horse collapse the lead elements of the Yorkist column attempted to get into battle line. All the Yorkist troops started in march column so an order was required to change formation.

Further down the column more troops arrayed themselves into line.

As the head of the column came under sustained fire from Lancastrian arrows the Yorkist troops in the middle of the column began to fan out.

The advantage most definitely lay with the ambush forces - their archers and skirmish troop harassing the the lead elements. Casualties began to mount.

The Yorkists attempted to charge the rightwing of the Lancastrians - this only exposed more hidden troops in the woods.

Before long the rest of the Lancastrian forces emerged from the woods. Their focus to destroy the head of the column

Pressing home their advantage in numbers the Lancastrians stepped forward into close range unleashing deadly volleys into the panicking Yorkists troops.

More Yorkist units succumbed to the fire and before long the Lancastrians had decimated the head of the column.  

Melee ensued between the men at arms at both sides with Yorkist troops just about getting the upper hand but their forces were so spread along the road no concentration of force could be brought to bear. 

With the head of the column destroyed the Lancastrians advanced towards the centre of the column. The picture below clearly shows command of the field lay with the neatly deployed Lancastrians. It was chaos in the Yorkist force.

The Yorkists just couldn't bring their forces to bear in any numbers and morale was collapsing quickly. Tokens were exchanged but in the favour of the redrose

Finally the rear of the column was getting into action and there were targeting the less reliable troops of Hungerford and Roos. Even with the draw of a treachery card for the Yorkist cause this battle was only going one way.

As the end drew near the Yorkists did drive off Roos's command the damage was done - a Lancastrian victory.

This clearly did not play out like the historical action - however an exercise of how an ambush might play out it proved to be a most excellent game. In hindsight, and to make this more balanced, the Lancastrians cxould possibly have been reduced in number.

Onto Hexham next....