Early setup from the Rebels, clustered into a quarter of the table
Edward IV takes a position by the cavalry on the hill
Rebels begin the advance on Royals
View from the hill
BIG surge of the Rebel men at arms, which causes some costernation.
Royals prepare themselves for the attack
Obligatory "Warwick hanging around at the back" shot
Big cavalry charge ensues on one flank, but gets slowed
Royals begin charging down from the hill, as the Rebel line begins to lose momentum
Royalist flank trying to hold out against the cavalry onslaught
By this point, the Rebel line was getting well and truly stalled, with few charges happening.
Seeing this, an aggressive Edward begins leading the charges
Top left sees the Royalist reserves begin coming onto the table and threatening the flank of the main Rebel lines. This forces a choice of turn to face, or try to continue pressing the centre.
Too late though, the Rebel charges never really made the impact required, delayed and found themselves hemmed on three sides, so call the retreat
A solid with for Edward IV, but a fair bit of luck on his point, as the Rebels began slowing down rapidly and couldn't get an early punch through the line, combined with his own households being fairly stubborn to break.
Context: As Edward IV grew into his role as King, he recognised his over-reliance Warwick and broadened his support to include men personally loyal to him, like Herbert, Earl of Pembroke, and Stafford, Earl of Devon.
Warwicks plan at this point, was to marry his eldest daughter to the Duke of Clarence the Yorkist heir to the throne, Edward having no son at this point. A swift campaign resulting in a victory against Edward would put his son-in-law on the throne and the reigns of power into his hands.
Around the same time in early in 1469 there were several risings in the north. Although some of these may been spontaneous, by late May/early June a rebel named ‘Robin of Redesdale’ (likely a Warwick associated figure) was proving particularly problematic, and beyond the ability of local Yorkist forces to suppress. Edward started to raise forces to deal with the problem, but was slow in doing so.
During July, Edward was based around Newark and Nottingham, building his army, watching out for Redesdale’s forces (now openly led by Warwick retainers).
Shortly thereafter, Warwick and Clarence publish a manifesto outlining their grievances with Edward IV and begin moving North.
Despite Edward’s massing his forces in the North Midlands, the rebels move past him. Shocked to discover he is outnumbered by the rebel forces, Edward falls into a defensive position on Edgcote Hill.
Due to a quarrel over a barmaid amongst the Royalist commanders, Devon withdraws his forces and leaves in a huff, with the possibility of returning to the main field on the day.
On the evening prior to the battle, a small rebel force led by Sir Henry Neville, encountered the pickets protecting the royalist camp. Whilst asking for quarter, Neville was dismounted and slain by his captors, causing the following battle to be especially vicious.
Battlefield Description:
Royalist forces were camped on Edgcote Lodge Hill, overlooking an area known as Danesmoor, bounded on the far side by a tributary of the River Cherwell and a ridge line in front of Culworth.
The rebels were camped near Thorpe Mandeville, concealed by high ground.
The armies probably numbered 2-3,000 each
Objectives - Royalist: Engage and destroy Rebel forces, attempt to capture or kill Warwick
Objectives - Rebel:Engage and destroy Royalist forces, attempt to capture or kill Edward
Order of Battle - Royalist:
4 Households
2 Heavy Cavalry/Mounted Men at Arms
2 Medium Cavalry
1 Crossbows
1 Handgunners
2 Men at Arms
2 Cannon
Note, the below forces will arrive later in the battle from reserve:
Revenge of the Doomlord! Classic, classic, battle report and scenario from White Dwarf way back in the day. Mid 90s glory days! Remember it well.
By request, got this one onto the table, but using Midgard rules. Good excuse for me to tidy a few armies up, get some things built that have sat around too long and so on.
This is actually the second time we've played this scenario, having done it circa 2013 but nowhere near as well as we do it nowadays.
One major event in this game was we had to rerack slightly, due to the Undead commander getting a *bit* too overconfident with Dieter Helsnicht and getting him killed way way way too early, effectively ending the game haha. You know who you are!
Part 1
As the undead begin assembling and it became obvious a battle was to happen, there was a scramble for Imperial reinforcements from the North. Helsnicht diverted off all of his cavalry to meet this and tie them up, allowing his main lines to concentrate on attacking the town.
Accordingly, a smaller game using Erehwon rules happened a couple of days prior to the main game, with the results being kept secret to the GM, who would control the winners as appropriate reinforcements. This meant the players on the day knew something was going to turn up, but no idea what.
Each model was treated as a standalone activation, to promote the skirmish elements of this encounter.
Undead cavalry waiting their moment. They have all the time in the world.
Imperial cavalry arrives
Outrider heads straight out and shoots down the closest wight, signalling the advance
It very soon became a complete confusion of individual fights, but who would win?
Part 2
Table setup, with the village of Beeckerhoven waiting on the undead advance
Imperial positions
Undead begin their long advance towards the walls and town
Almost immediately the Doomlord swoops straight towards the village to menace the place.
At this point, he got himself killed by that mounted Imperial commander, so we had to rewind and start again from a suitable point.
So, Undead then begin pushing into the town with their faster moving units, while the main lines follow rapidly.
Pressure starts to tell on the defenders, who are doing a decent job of it, but being forced back
Just in time, the Imperial reserves begin arriving, under cover of a magical fog.
Poor skeletal crossbowyers find a bloody great war wagon charging out of the mist at them suddenly.
The reserves from the North appear (as they were successful at breaking through in part 1 above) and attack the undead supporting artillery.
Combat reaches the main defensive line, who need to hold until those reserves can march to assist.
Steam tank blows up on arrival, because of course it does.
Lines begin to buckle under attack from all sides.
War wagon crushes ANOTHER unit.
Imperial reserves start piling into the undead flank, forcing them to redraw their lines.
and it finishes with another combat between commanders, before Helsnicht takes to the air and leaves the armies to their fate.
Final result: Undead victory on table, Empire moral victory.
Great fun, great game, in spite of the fuck up early doors (I said be careful!)
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