The Battle of Stoke Field, 1487
Our mate Chris Cound was up at the weekend and what better way of celebrating it than by eating, drinking and gaming! The game was held at Michael's house who chose to re-fight Stoke Field, the last real battle of the Wars of the Roses, in which Lambert Simnel (impersonating Edward Plantagenet) was just about the Yorkists last ditch attempt to put their own man (or boy) on the throne. Of the Yorkist force, led by Viscount Lovell and John de la Pole, Earl of Lincoln, half were made up from Irish supporters and a good amount of the rest were hired German mercenaries led by Martin Schwartz. King Henry had a bigger army heading Simnel's way with John de Vere, Earl of Oxford in the vanguard. His ward, or division, seems to have been the largest and Henry was happy with him doing most of the work in the opening stages of the battle.
In the game Michael set up the table according to Brooke's 1850's plan of the battle which then realizing it had the two forces the wrong way round went with it. Henry's approach was probably from the SW but the terrain would work this way round as well. The Yorkists were sitting on a shallow hill when the Lancastrians advanced on them in column of division. Also there wasn't enough Irish so Michael increased the number of English household troops that were recruited en route to make up numbers.
Alan played the Yorkists and arrayed his whole army first across the hill with the German division, 'brigade', on the left, Lincoln's household troops to their right and Fitzgerald's Irish divided and placed on the extreme flanks. The cavalry were placed in the centre.
Chris, a staunch Lancastrian, was more than happy be in control of Henry's army joined part way through the game by another mate, Rob Macfarlane, who was given charge of the right half of the force. Initially, Chris could have only one 'brigade', Oxford's, divided in two of four households each, the cavalry and field guns on the battlefield for the first turn. Henry's 'brigade' would need to be diced to come on to the table in the second turn and Jasper Tudor's in the third turn. Chris set up Oxford's stretching across the front of East stoke village with light cavalry on the flanks and heavy cavalry in the centre. Michael umpired and used a slightly adapted Hail Ceasar for the rules.
Chris moved the right half of his force cautiously forward but held back his right facing the Germans hoping for reinforcements the next couple of turns. The Germans were in larger units and could take more casualties and were sitting atop a hill so Chris had planned to out shoot them at long range. The heavy cavalry were kept in reserve. Alan had advanced with the Germans closer to the edge of the hill to get into handgun range and sent out two units of kern and the light cavalry in a wide sweep on the left flank. On the right, the other Irish, including the Gallowglass, invested the farm and covered the far flank. His heavy cavalry stayed put, watching what the opposing cavalry were up to. In the two subsequent turns the Lancastrian reinforcement arrived and Chris pushed forward on the left and handed the right side of the table to Rob who was eager, possibly too eager, to engage. As they advanced they came in archery range and poured arrows on to the nearest of the German blocks and also on Lincoln's household troops. However, Alan was being extremely lucky with his saving dice rolls but Chris and Rob equally bad with their rolling. The Lancastrian cavalry were pushed to the front in the centre intending on a charge as soon as a target presented itself, unfortunately, due to bad dice this didn't happen for two turns. Alan had by then shifted his heavy cavalry round to help the kern and light cavalry on the left flank. The two opposing light cavalry charged knackering both of them but sending Rob's reeling back. Rob's reinforcements of Jasper Tudor moved forward some facing the Irish who were, for some reason, keen on investing the church. Alan's heavy cavalry then charged in to the last Oxford infantry unit in the line breaking them but also shaking the heavy cavalry and in turn breaking the cavalry 'brigade'. The next turn that 'brigade' of Oxford's also broke due to handgun and artillery fire. Rob replenished the line with Jasper Tudor's troops.
On the other flank the Irish Gallowglass never got a chance to charge, being shot up by Oxford's men before they got a chance. The kern, on the other hand, were very irritating with their hit and run tactics and the axe welding kern did charge but were put to flight by arrows. Both sides had individual units sent back by archery only to rejoin the line thee next turn but the Lancastrians were definitely suffering more. Both Henry's 'brigade' and Lincoln's were at the point of breaking but it was Henry's that went first due to archery, javelins and artillery. Chris then saw his chance and at last with a luck dice roll managed to charge his heavy cavalry at a vulnerable infantry unit opposite. The result was seven hits on the infantry but five on the cavalry. This broke both units and both brigades and in turn both armies! The game was at an end, it was a draw. Tactics were good on both sides but Alan had the luckier dice.
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