Ireland 1450 – A Collision Course game

The Medieval Irish and Anglo-Irish are recent additions to the War of the Roses project; these were recently used with both sides scoring a victory. Both games used the collision course variant and I decided today to experiment further.

Both armies appeared on the field and deployed for battle. The Anglo-Irish vanguard deployed to line and awaited the arrival of troops to form the left flank and the Irish auxiliaries on the right. At the opposite end of the field, the enemy were in a state of confusion as units were slow to move into formation.

As the Irish formed their line, skirmishers took cover in the woods positioned on both flanks.

Ready for battle, the colonist moved forward and once in range, began showering the Irish ranks with their arrows. On the Anglo right, Irish auxiliaries moved in the wood to clear the enemy positioned there.

Unfortunately, the conflict in wood took an unexpected turn as half the auxiliary units were put to flight. Seizing the moment, the Irish centre launched their attack on the vanguard aided by skirmishers on their right flank.

The battle hung in the balance (3-3), but Anglo persistency prevailed and the colonist would claim a pyrrhic victory (4-3). Nonetheless, the Irish felt satisfied at having struck a heavy blow against their rivals fighting on the other side.  

 

Observations.

This exercise lasted 13 turns. Poor pip scores hampered the Irish deployment, but in hindsight this worked well to draw the colonist closer to the Irish position. In the third hour (turns 9-12), the luck of the Irish returned, nearly turning the tide of battle bringing the score even. Certainly, worth a repeat.

Medieval Ireland

Adding the Anglo-Irish and Medieval Irish army came about by accident and not by design. Reorganising and refurbishing the collection to build a Yorkist and Lancastrian army, I ended with extra elements of longbowmen. Thinking how best to use them, I recalled the Duke of York spent time in Ireland prior to the Wars of the Roses and looked to the Anglo-Irish list for a possible solution. Other boxes with extra elements, I found enough to build a basic army. 

I had planned to order Medieval Irish from Donnington Miniatures, then remembered the Welsh army (III/19a) in the collection were actually Donnington Irish Kern. It did not require much thinking, the unbeaten “Welsh” were transformed into Medieval Irish (3 x LH, 3 x 3Ax, 6 x Ps). With little rebasing needed, the Anglo-Irish have an opponent. Extra elements of kern were used to fill the army of Anglo-Irish. Packing a lighter punch, the Medieval Irish should offer an interesting challenge to use. 

The armies complete, I spent time researching Irish history of the late 15^th century, the reverse of my usual approach to building any army. Conflicts between the two did not reach the same scale as in England, these being mostly skirmishes, raids, and a few sieges (Dublin). Of interest were the various clans aligning with one or the other faction, sending mercenaries on a number of occasions. The feuds among clans, such as the FitzGeralds and Butlers are covered in the Irish Medieval History channel. The bloodiest medieval battle, the Battle of Knockdoe (1504), is offered on the same channel, see link below.   

Readers wishing more information about Irish medieval history, I found the below listed topics extremely helpful. 

Recommended reading or viewing.

History of Ireland (1169–1536)

The Statutes Of Kilkenny

Irish Medieval History Channel

Clans and Dynasties Channel

Battle of Knockdoe, August 19, 1504.

French, Burgundian Ordonnance and German armies

The reorganisation and refurbishing of the late medieval collection have moved along nicely. All armies are double size or 24 elements strong to play the larger game or offer players a civil war option for a game. An element of mounted crossbow is missing from two commands and these have been ordered to complete the army. Finding a manufacturer with miniatures compatible to Legio Heroica was not easy, but two were found.

The Italian Condotta are last on the project list. There are more than enough crossbowmen and spear to fill out the infantry and cavalry will be ordered on Mirliton, their Condottieri look superb.

French Ordonnance IV/82b

With the exception of the Old Glory artillery, all figures are Legio Heroica. Next to the Swiss pikemen are French pike, based on a 40mm x 40mm stand as they are classed as horde and have nine figures to improve their appearance as solid horde. An element of skirmishing crossbowmen remained in their box while photographing, a slight oversight. Flags were remade giving a neater appearance to the whole.

Burgundian Ordonnance IV/85b

The ‘b’ sub list represent the Burgundian Netherlands army of the Maximillian era and for that reason I have Flemish pikemen in place of the German mercenary. This army has yet to be tested but should prove an interesting opponent for the later German armies.

Medieval German IV/13d

The ‘d’ sub list represent the Imperial armies of the Italian Wars and feature landsknecht mercenaries for the units of pikemen, swordsmen, handgunners and artillery.

Medieval German IV/13c

This sub list offers a better representation for the clerical, city-state or princeling armies that fought within and outside the empire. For our games, I have used the DBMM army list to modify the composition of infantry and the number of cavalry in wedge formation. Both commands lack an element of mounted crossbowmen and these have been ordered on Blue Moon miniatures. 

Fine Tuningthe Medieval German Army

WedgeFormation in DBA3

Refurbishing the collection

In an earlier post, I described plans to reorganise the late medieval collection reducing the number of armies by half while increasing the number of commands for each. On completion of the project, I would have double size armies for the Yorkist, Lancastrian (both IV/83a), French Ordonnance (IV/82b), Medieval German (IV/13d), Italian Condotta (IV/61) and Burgundian (IV/85b). 

First phase of the project places the English armies on the work bench; each have at its core 1 x general (4Bd), 1 x currours (Cv), 4 x billmen (4Bd), 4 x archers (4Lb, 1 x guns (Art), 1 x Welsh (3Pk). The optional mounted knights, Irish and mercenaries will be added later. 

Reorganising

Very pleased that the exact number of figures to make 16 x 4Lb and 20 x 4Bd (commander included) were collected, in some cases this meant cannibalising no longer active armies. The French Ordonnance (/82a) surrendered its longbow, but will see an upgrade to the “b” sub-list.

Repainting/touch-ups

Figures in livery are kept to a maximum of two per element, giving them a ‘rough and ready’ appearance. As both armies have a similar composition and appearance, the standards and banners they carry will be the sole means to differentiate the two. These are interchangeable, as needed to play a particular scenario. Using the collision course option for deployment, the third column can represent an “allied” contingent making their non-appearance deemed treacherous.  

Standards and Banners

The boardgame “Kingmaker” will be used to drive the campaigns diplomacy and politics, this may result in a non-historical alignment of nobles. Sourcing information standards and banners is not difficult and the boardgame supplies the heraldry for 24 nobles, making this a good start. Long tailed standards will identify the commanders and, in the case, when fewer nobles appear in the armies, then generic flags with the white or red rose can be used.

Update 16-07-2024

Standards and banners are done and will be cut and shaped for latter use. Others will be added as the research continues to find new allies. 

Recommended viewing:

The Causes of the Wars of the Roses (History Hit)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_c_RBFEHeg

A Clash of arms - Theodoric II and Childeric I

The Visigothic northward expansion by Theodoric II caught an unprepared Childeric I of the Franks. Undeterred by the superior numbers of Visigothic cavalry, the Franks advanced their line. Eager to clash with the Frankish infantry, the Visigothic cavalry outpaced their infantry centre to strike at the vulnerable flanks of the Franks.

The fight that ensued proved no easy task as the gardingi (Cv) were repulsed leaving the Visigothic nobles (3Kn) isolated as they broke through. This was followed by the crashing of both army’s centre. 

The battle was brief and hard fought, but the Franks prevailed to gain a narrow victory (4 - 3).

A rematch found the Franks deployed with both flanks protected by wood and its rear protected by a river. Visigothic cavalry formed on the flanks of a strong infantry centre with tribal warriors on the right and city militia on the left.

This time, the Visigothic infantry moved forward to engage the Franks leaving the cavalry to be held back in support.

Seeing the Franks heavily engaged, the Visigothic cavalry struck home to turn the Frankish flanks. Suffering heavy losses, the Franks fled the field (5 – 1).

Observations

Seemingly a mis-match, an infantry force against a mobile one, the Franks played an aggressive game one.  were fortunate to have won the first battle. Facing the cavalry wings, the Franks extended their line knowing the Visigothic cavalry could run the down. 

Luck served the Franks well repelling the cavalry leaving the knight isolated. Although a slight advantage, the Franks kept one step ahead of the Visigoths.

This was not the case in game two as the both centres clashed first while the Visigothic cavalry waited for the right moment to attack.   

Late Medieval buldings

Re-organising the late medieval collection, I will add a few terrain pieces appropriate for the period. Enclosures were made earlier, requiring little time to complete, however, townhouses will require a few weeks at least. Newer models will replace the older models; construction will use the same material but will be covered with Milliput (white) suitable for detail work. This differs from the original buildings, being sculpted pressed foam board, then painted and based. Being all of equal height, they were based in pairs with simple vegetation and trees added to fill the gaps between structures. In the end, they were rarely used and most likely will be disposed of.   

The new structures will vary in height and covered with Milliput, this will allow windows, doors and timber supports to be sculpted. Applying the Milliput was a long process, longer than I anticipated, as the process was done in stages. Half of the building was covered, when allowed to dry, before finishing the entire surface. This avoided leaving finger prints or accidental impressions made while scoring the Milliput.

It was during this process I thought about salvaging the older buildings. These are fixed firmly to their bases and cutting close to the base as possible eight buildings were salvaged. Trimming the underside, the buildings varied in height improving their look. Rather than covering these with Milliput, I decided to save time, and repainted the timber supports, stone walls, doors and window to match the newer pieces. Roofs were added using embossed sheeting produced by Vollmer, available where trains sets are sold.

Pictured in foreground are the new buildings and the row to their rear, the restored older models. Before fixing them to bases, I will explore different combinations to maximise their use.  

Recommended Reading

Germany in the Later Middle Ages by F. Du Boulay (re. chapter about towns)

29-05-2024     Additional Medieval buildings

Two gatehouses, a tower and bridge were added to the project list. In the photo, the four pieces have been cut and shaped ready for an application of Milliput (white). Like the townhouses, the Milliput will be applied in stages. Doing so will necessitate extra time to complete but will avoid mistakes.

Thoroughly hardened, the structures are ready to be painted in a similar style, darker first coat, then highlighted a light shade. All structures are mostly finished stonework with the exception of the tower having an added floor.

At the moment, there are no plans for a wall as this could represent a city’s growth beyond the old city. The pieces will remain unbased until I find ideal combinations to fit within a BUA size. 

Aegidius confronts Armorica

Aegidius, magister militum per Gallias, held one of the remaining fragments of the Western Roman Empire. Following the assassination of Majorian and the placement of Libius Severus as emperor prompted Aegidius to rebel and declare an independent kingdom of Soissons. It would not be long before rival kingdoms would seek to expand their own territories. 

First to invade the kingdom of Soissons, Armorica found the army of Aegidius prepared and deployed for battle. The field, flanked by wood and a river forced Armorica to deploy its infantry in deep columns with the majority of its cavalry on the left facing the Gallo-Roman infantry.

Sensing an opportunity, Aegidius launched an attack to catch the Armorican as they exited the bottleneck created by terrain.

The nearby wood, flanking the field, soon became hotly contested forcing Aegidius to send mercenaries from his reserve line. Unfortunately, their departure left Aegidius with fewer troops to staunch the breakthrough made by the enemy. To salvage the situation, Aegidius led his own guard into the breach only to find himself surrounded. Seeing their commander fall, the Gallo-Romans lost heart and fled the field (3+gen – 1). 

A second battle was played but deployment areas were exchanged.   

Advancing forward, the Gallo-Roman line wheeled its entire line, seemingly to invite the enemy cavalry to attacks its exposed right flank. In response, Armorica repositioned the infantry to meet the approaching line and, in that moment, the Gallo-Roman line struck.

Caught off-balance, Armorican light horse could make no impression on the open flank as they were soon ambushed by troops hidden in the wood. Elsewhere, the legion and auxilia crashed into the Armorican line, The carnage that followed crushed the entire Armorican right forcing them to flee (4 – 0). 

Observations

Both games ended quickly, four turns were needed to reach a decision. Both sides made use of the restricted terrain and avoided the temptation to place troops on the opposite bank, the distance between river and wood was less than 7BW. 

Game one, Rome planned to catch a disadvantaged Armorica before their light horse could move onto the open plain, Roman troops however, were not ideally placed to make an effective assault and Armorica easily countered to break through part of the Roman line.