Battle of Edgcote - a 28mm wargame

Welcome back to the next instalment of our War of the Roses scenarios. This particular engagement is a representation of the battle of Edgcote fought on the 24th July 1469. Please note I have taken some liberties with both the forces present and the table to make this a game worth playing for both sides.

Mark F and I would lead the Lancastrian rebels whilst John and Mark K would command the Yorkist cause.

Background

The Battle of Edgcote (also known as the Battle of Banbury or the Battle of Danes Moor) took place on 24 July 1469 .

Table set up for action

 

The battle took some 6 miles (9.7 km) northeast of Banbury in Northamptonshire; 

In April 1469 a rebellion broke out in the North lead by a mysterious figure known as Robin of Redesdale. History knows very little of this man. Confident that this revolt was being dealt with by John Neville (now Earl of Northumberland), King Edward IV, along with his personal troops, was marching north. It soon became apparent that this rebelllion was gathering strength and now very much supporting the Lancastrian cause. No doubt spurred on in support by Warwick (now estranged from Edward).  

Realising this was nop ordinary revolt and troubled by news that Warwick had landed in England from the continent Edward instructed his forces in Wales (lord Pembroke) and the west (earl of Devon) to meet him at Nottingham. As these two forces marched into the midlands they soon encountered the rebel army now under the command of Sir John Conyers.

Rumour has it that the Yorkist leaders disagreed over billets for the night and with no King Edward in the field Devon lead his forces away leaving Pembroke to face a superior army on his own. Unfortunately for the Yorkist cause the forces under Pembroke were predominantly spear and other foot. The majority of archers were under Devon's command. 

Unlike Pembroke's force the rebel army contained a large contingent of archers, putting Pembroke at a disadvantage; he ordered his troops forward and the two sides fought at close quarters for the rest of the morning. By early afternoon, the Yorkist army had gained control of the river crossing, but at this point, Warwick's advance guard arrived upon the field, led by Sir Geoffrey Gates and Sir William Parr.[9] Gates and Parr were able to hold the rebels together, but they were still under severe pressure when further rebel reinforcements arrived, led by John Clapham.

History does not record whether Decvon arrived to support Pembroke but in our game we will assume he might. Casualties were reported as 168 knights and gentry, plus 2,000 rank and file, losses significant enough to be remembered and referenced by Welsh poets a century later.

Pembroke was captured and executed at Northampton later in the week, on Thursday 27 July; his brother Sir Richard Herbert had been executed the previous day, Wednesday 26 July. Their half brother Sir Richard Vaughan died during the battle and Devon was beheaded at Bridgwater on 17 August.

There are few details on rebel casualties but they would have been considerably less than those suffered by Pembroke since most deaths occurred during a pursuit. Apart from Henry Neville, killed on the evening before the battle, these included Sir William Conyers, and Sir Oliver Dudley, youngest son of John Sutton, 1st Baron Dudley.

Special Rules

The orders of battle (below) reflect that the Yorkist army was both outnumbered at the onset and suffered from a distinct alack of archers (there were with Devon). The Welsh spears are portrayed as pikes in the game

Despite the lack of information on this battle it appears to have been a relatively straightforward engagement with the Lancastrian rebels under Conyers routing the forces of Raglan. However to try and make this an interesting game and one which the Yorkists might stand a chance we elected that the Yorkists forces might benefit from the appearance of Devon's forces sometime during the game. The appearance of these troops could conceivably tip the balance. 

Both Yorkist and Lancastrian resrves are off table at the beginning of the game and may/may not appear during the engagement. Each Reserve force is denoted as an 'Ace' from a pack of cards. The Lancastrians use the Hearts suit and the Yorkists the spades. The Aces are shuffled into the respective pack of suit cards and each turn turn over one card for both sides. Should the Ace appear the reserves march on from the rear of the table (dice for location) - the Reserves cannot appear in the first four turns. When the reserves appear add their morale tokens to the pot. 

The Table

We set up the battlefield between the two villages of Culworth and Thorpe Mandeville. Given it was summer we elected to place a few fields with crops growing. The Battle actuially featured several huills but we elected to forego these.

The Orders of Battle

Army size estimates taken from figure counts in Poleaxed books

 

Lancastrian – est 2000 men

Leader	Units	#units	#figures
Conyers (BC)	1 x MAA 1 x Sk Archers	2	18
Conyers	2 x Bow 2 x Bill	4	48
Marske	2 x Bow 2 x Bill	4	48
Gates	2 x Bow 2 x Bill	4	48
Fitzhugh	1 x MAA 1 x Sk archers	2	18
Hildyard	2 x Bow 2 x Bill	4	48
Willoughby	2 x Bow 2 x Bill	4	48
Parr	2 x Bow 2 x Bill	4	48
Clapham (reserve)	1 x Mtd Knights 1 x lght Cavalry	2	16
Total		18

Lancastrian Rebel Archers

Yorkist – est 3000 men

Leader	Units	#units	#figures
Pembroke (BC)	1 x MAA 1 x sk Archers	2	18
Herbert	1 x MAA 2 x Bow	3	36
Vaughan	2 x Pike 1 x Archer Sk	3	30
Vaughan	2 x Pike 1 x Archer Sk	3	30
Dwnn (BC)	1 x MAA 1 x Sk Archers	2	18
Latimer	2 x Bow 2 x Bill	4	48
Wogan	2 x Pike 1 x Archer sk	3	30
Devon (reserve)	1 x MAA 1 x Bill 1 x Bow	3	36
Codnor (reserve)	1 x Knights 1 x Light Cav	2	16
		22

The Battle Report

With the forces set up both sides jockeyed for position in the maneuever phase. Recognising they were outmatched by archer the Yorkists pushed up on the wings whilst the centre held firm with the welsh spears (pikes)

The Yorkist forces push forward on the Right wing - the fields in full crop slowing down the advance.

The Lancastrian centre massed it archers ready to blunt any advance.

The rebel left marched out to meet one of the flank attacks'

Whilst their right wing was fixed in the fields offering great cover.

Opening shots on the Rebel left wing with Herbert (Yorkist) gaining the upper hand

Frustrated by the lack of results on mthe wings the Yorkists advanced their welsh spearsin dense columns

An arrow storm erupted across the field dropping several advancing Yorkists.

Seizing the initiative and with a superiority in archers the Lancastrians pressed home their advantage

Their left wing just holding back the eager Yorkist commander.

Eventually the blocks crashed into the Lancastrian lines - dealing significant damage

Despite the Yorkist advances in the centre the Lancastrians were massing a big push on the right wing. This was starting to tell on the Yorkist morale pot.

Across the field melees were breaking out and casualties were starting mass on both sides

The Pikes were still pushing forward but were still taking heavy fire and were now having to deal with the Lancastrian bills and foot knights.

The Yorkist left wing almost buckles.

But things were starting to go well for them on the other wing with more Lancastrians falling to Yorkist attacks

A unit of Welsh knights pushes forward on the rebel right and crashes through effectively wiping out rebel resistance on the flank...if those reinforcements from Devon can arrive the Yorkists might just snatch the victory

Their prayers are answered as Devon's forces arrive - archers, men at arms and knights in the vanguard.

But its all to late as the welsh spears succumb to a brutal charge from the rebels men at arms. A single unit in the centre fails its morale and takes much of their force with them in rout...

A lancastrian/rebel victory just like the real thing !

And that Ladies and Gentlemen was our refight of Edgcote - not entirel historic but it gave a great game. 

What's next - well in a couple of weeks we head to Barnet.

More soon

The Battle of Hexham - a 28mm wargame

Whilst Mark K, Mark F and myself were bashing about with the battle of Hedgeley Moor (see previous post) Alastair and John were refighting the smaller engagement at Hexham. I decided to refight the two battles on the same night as they were both relatively small affairs and I had five players. Fortunately the table arrangement in the shed allowed the configuration of two games simultaneously. Both games played well but the concensus of opinion was that the two game approach was less sociable and one not to be regularly repeated. 

The Battle of Hexham (source Wikipedia)

The Battle of Hexham, 15 May 1464, marked the end of significant Lancastrian resistance in the north of England during the early part of the reign of Edward IV.

The battle was fought near the town of Hexham in Northumberland. John Neville, later to be 1st Marquess of Montagu, led a modest force of 3,000-4,000 men, and routed the rebel Lancastrians. Most of the rebel leaders were captured and executed, including Henry Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, and Lord Hungerford. Henry VI, however, was kept safely away (having been captured in battle three times earlier), and escaped to the north.

With their leadership gone, only a few castles remained in rebel hands. After these fell later in the year, Edward IV was not seriously challenged until the Earl of Warwick changed his allegiance from the Yorkist to the Lancastrian cause in 1469.

After the Battle of Towton, the Lancastrians failed to prevent the Yorkists from concluding peace negotiations with Scotland in 1463, and soon found that their northern base of operations was now threatened. It was decided to mount a campaign in the north of England to gather Lancastrian support before a huge force under Edward IV could muster in Leicester and move north to crush the rebellion.

The Lancastrian army moved through Northumberland in late April 1464 under the Duke of Somerset, and gathered support from Lancastrian garrisons. After the Lancastrians lost the Battle of Hedgeley Moor on 25 April 1464 to a Yorkist force led by John Neville, Lord Montagu, the Lancastrians again met Neville, this time near Hexham. The two sides met outside Hexham on 14 May 1464.

Details of the site of the battle, the composition and number of combatants and the events are sketchy but it is thought that the battle was relatively bloodless.

The Lancastrian camp was near Linnels Bridge over the Devil's Water found slightly to the south of Hexham. The Yorkists crossed onto the south bank of the Tyne on the night of 12–13 May and were, by the morning of the 14th, in a position to attack Hexham. Presumably the Yorkist advance was at speed, as despite warnings by their own scouts the Lancastrians had little time to prepare for battle.

It is thought that Somerset rushed his forces to a site near Linnels Bridge and deployed his troops in three detachments in a meadow near the Devil's Water, there he hoped he could engage the Yorkist army before it moved past him into Hexham. No sooner had the Lancastrians taken their positions than the Yorkists charged down from their positions on higher ground. Upon seeing the Yorkist advance the right detachment of the Lancastrian army, commanded by Lord Roos, turned and fled across the Devil's Water and into Hexham, before a single blow had been struck. The remnants of Somerset's force were in a hopeless situation, hemmed in and unable to manoeuvre; the Yorkist troops charged through the one opening at the east end of Linnel's Meadow and engaged the bewildered Lancastrian soldiers.

Lancastrian morale collapsed, and after some token resistance the remains of Somerset's army was pushed into the Devil's Water by the Yorkist infantry. A chaotic rout followed, men either drowned in the river or were crushed as they tried to climb the steep banks of the Devil's Water in the retreat towards Hexham. Most, however, were trapped in West Dipton Wood on the north bank of the river and were forced to surrender when the Yorkists approached.

Somerset himself, with a few loyal supporters, attempted to fight his way out of the carnage, unhorsed and badly wounded, he took shelter in a cottage but was discovered and taken to Hexham where he was imprisoned in Hexham Gaol. Reports conflict as to whether King Henry VI was camped with the Lancastrian troops or nearby, and whether he fled the area before or during the battle, but he did manage to escape and avoided capture.

 

The Refight of the Battle

This is very much a one sided battle with the Yorkists holding all the advantages of terrain, timing, and numbers. However there are some elements that could make this a good game.

As before at Hedgeley Moor the quality of the Lancastrian troops was debatable and Roos once again fled the field at the beginning. To reflect this all of the troops under Roos command will start with one less morale token (ie two token taken from the pot)

The Lancastrian army has its back to the river unit pushed into the river suffers a disarray and any daunted unit retreating into the river is routed.

Furthermore historic accounts suggest that Keng Henry VI was at the battle but managed to escape before the melee. In our refight the King is on the table and should he be able to escape via Linnels bridge the L:ancastrianbs will win a minor victory. The Yorkists must not only catch catch the king to win the day but also crush the Lancastrian army

 

 

The Orders of Battle

Army size estimates taken from figure counts in Poleaxed books

 

Lancastrian – est 2000 men

Leader	Units	#units	#figures
Somerset (BC)	1 x MAA 1 x Sk Archers	2
Beaufort	1 x Bow 1 x Bill	2
Wentworth	1 x Bow 1 x Bill	2
Lord Roos	1 x Bow 1 x Bill	2
Hungerford	1 x Bow 1 x Bill	2
Grey	1 x Lt Horse 1 x SK archer	2
Neville	1 x Bow 1 x Bill	2
Total		14

Yorkists to the left, Lancastrians on the right with their backs to the river

Yorkist – est 3000 men

Leader	Units	#units	#figures
Montague (BC)	1 x MAA 1 x Sk Archers	2
Neville	1 x Bow 1 x Bill	2
Stanley	1 x Bow 1 x Bill	2
Middleton	1 x Bow 1 x Bill	2
Wells (BC)	1 x MAA 1 x Sk Archers	2
Talbot	1 x Bow 1 x Bill	2
Scrope (BC)	1 x Lt Horse 1 x SK archer	2
Borough	1 x Lt Horse 1 x SK archer	2
		20	174

A big thank you to Alastair for his battle write up and for the photos that follow...

The outnumbered Lancastrians, with their backs to the river had little chance of holding off the larger Yorkist army...their hopes rested on getting the King over the bridge to safety.

After a few cautious arrow volleys the Yorkists charged their light horse into a combined Archer and Bill block.  The archers stood and fired, devastating the Yorkist cavalry which was then charged in turn by the Lancastrian horse.  The Yorkists were forced to push forward as fast as possible to prevent the King making his escape but disaster struck when the Yorkist Men at Arms were routed by bowfire and a charge from Somerset and his foot knights, causing other units to waver and break.  Suddenly the Yorkist centre looked very empty and it looked like history might be about to be re-written.

The King continued to make his way slowly to the bridge but was delayed for a turn by a sneaky Yorkist bonus card which would prove crucial.

Somerset's  Men at Arms crashed into more Yorkist Billmen but were then caught in a flanking charge by the few remaining Yorkist Men at Arms (another sneaky use of a card!), routing and taking Billmen and Archers with them.  By the bridge the Lancastrian Bills were caught in a fight with archers who defied the odds and held them up for several turns.  

The battlefield was in chaos with units falling back daunted or charging again into their enemies.  The Yorkists, although starting the game with a large advantage in morale tokens, were now wavering and had lost 3 of their commanders.  The toll on the  Lancastrians was too much though and their last token was lost, ending the game.  The King stood on the bridge, almost making it to to safety...

Once again thank you to Alastair for acting as chronicler in this action...