Volontaires de Saint-Victor

Crann Tara "Early French Hussars" painted as the Volontaires de Saint-Victor by Leuthen Studios.

A Coat of Steel

On January 23, 2017, our monthly Craft Day was devoted to a Wars of the Roses wargame using the rules of The Perfect Captain: "A Coat of Steel". This is now the 3rd game we have played, the first 2 really being training sessions. I have been working to increase the size of both Yorkist and Lancastrian retinues using Perry 28mm figures and most recently, the excellent figures sold under the Crusader brand. The figures were painted by Leuthen Studios and Carl Robson with some by myself. The numerous flags are mostly by CitadelSix.

Jeff and I took the Yorkist cause and Will and Steve the Lancastrian. The photos are either by myself or, where noted by Steve. His own Blog can be found at:

http://veteransergeant.wordpress.com

This game was designed to maximise our experience of A Coat of Steel. I had fabricated some time ago all of the cards, counters and other parts and sleeved them where possible. 

Each side formed the maximum of four Wards each. The Companies within each Ward were composed according to the rules. The rules were studied in advance under the guidance of Jeff who sent out various links and study hints during the days leading up to the game. 

Although set-up is quite time consuming, once battle is joined the game moves quickly. In this game a bold Yorkist attack with the vaward and mainward on the opposing Lancastrian vaward and rearward looked promising. The first Lancastrian arrow-storm of light flight-arrows fell short in the centre. The Yorkist mainward under Warwick closed quickly on the forces of Northumberland and Somerset. Unfortunately the early death of Warwick caused Army morale ("the Cause") to decline and the Yorkists took higher losses in the melee.

The Set-Up

Yorkists

Lancastrians

Drawing Chits to Determine Ward Activation

Battle Joined Between Warwick and Exeter (photo by Steve)

Henry Percy Holds the Right Center (photo by Steve)

Clifford (viewer right) Attacks a Weak Yorkist Vaward Under Fauconberg (viewer left)
(photo by Steve)

Lancastrian Vaward Under Pressure. Jeff's Archery Taking a Heavy Toll
(photo by Steve) 

Lancastrian Counter Attack (photo by Steve)

Lancastrian Archers (photo by Steve)

Percy Supported by French Mercenaries (photo by Steve)

Salisbury Brings up the Reserve Ward (photo by Steve)

The Yorkist Right Collapses (photo by Steve)

At close of play, a Lancastrian victory was declared. Henry VI looked on from a distance and mumbled his thanks for the good outcome.

Henry VI Looks on. Brocaded Coat of Royal Standard Bearer by Carl Robson
(photo by Steve)

A Coat of Steel is an unusual but excellent game system designed specifically for the Wars of the Roses and we recommend it highly.

A Coat of Steel: Our First Game

On June 9th, 2016, Will and I played our first full Wars of the Roses miniatures wargame using The Perfect Captain's rules: A Coat of Steel. Will fielded his excellent Lancastrian army painted by the very talented Martin Robson for his private collection. Will augmented his force (reluctantly) with a few units provided by myself. My own army of Yorkists was painted by a variety of artists, depending on the "faction".  The majority are painted by Leuthen Studios, Carl Robson and myself, the latter with a lot of help from Jeff Lower. The flags are by CitadelSix. The 28mm miniatures are all by Perry, both plastic and metal.

Will and I have been building our armies for several years. I fabricated all of the character cards and other "props" provided on line by The Perfect Captain. I cannot recommend The Captain (whoever he is/they are) highly enough. The artwork and the rules are outstanding. They produced a very colourful  game which really felt like late medieval English warfare.

We played one practice skirmish to learn the rules. The game was technically a Yorkist victory. However, I consider this another learning game. In particular, we did not get quite right the Company and Ward composition. The Wards should have had more, smaller Companies. We did not really need to have all four Wards for both sides. The forces were not evenly matched and my superior firepower from Retinue archers skewed the final result. However, it was a fun and instructive game.

Here are a few photos taken during various stages of the battle. Jeff decided to spend his time on this Craft Day painting some miniatures but opined that it was a good game! 

Fire & Maneuver: Rossbach 1757

On April 24, 2016, I hosted a game of Fire & Maneuver. The subject was the Seven Years War Battle of Rossbach 1757. Frank Patterson and I took the Prussian army and JG Randall, the founder of Battlebook.com and author of Fire & Maneuver. and Rod Galati commanded the French and Reichsarmee forces. Here are some photos of a very colorful and dynamic game.  

We were prepared to use all 1,031 pieces of my Prussian, French and Reichsarmee forces. Here are the figures we used for each of the 3 armies. They are not 100% exact for Rossbach, however they come quite close. The French/Allied line of march was organized as per the historical battle. Researching and arranging the painting of this collection has taken many years. The Reichsarmee in particular took much research. I wish I had commissioned larger regiments of 24. As it is, I had to combine two 12-figure units into demi-brigades to make the game work. However IR17 Manteuffel is a 24 figure unit. This regiment uses the excellent Black Hussar figures which are very compatible with Foundry. Likewise, the von Finck Combined Grenadiers 13/26 is also a 24 figure Black Hussar unit.

Elsewhere on this Blog, referenced under "Labels", you will find photos of the individual units.

Unfortunately, the constraints of time and space meant we only deployed about half the available forces before the game was "called" with a Prussian victory. The three 6 ft tables were just big enough to recreate the centre of the battlefield defined by the Prussian camp in the NW, Rossbach village in the SW, the Janus Hill in the N/NE and Posendorf in the SE.

The Prussians were deployed off-board to the West of their Camp facing what they thought was the French/Allied army. They were allowed a constrained mobilization until the action began in earnest. The French/Allied van entered the southern edge of the board between Lunstädt and Posendorf, the light cavalry aiming to occupy the critical Janus Hill before the Prussians could react.  They then made a heroic sweep to the West towards the Prussian Camp. The Prussians reacted by immediately activating 4 battalions of Combined Grenadiers to form a defensive line facing East.

The firefights were "lit-up" by this "Volley Fire" light strip from Warlords which works very effectively.

The Prussian Camp and Frederick's HQ

Prussian Pioneers clearing a hedge at Rossbach. A coin is paid to do so.

French  Infantry advancing in column

Prussian Combined Grenadiers moving up

Prussian Cuirassiers move to secure Rossbach

The Prussians are mostly Foundry 28mm metal figures with some Crusader cavalry and the Black Hussar figures noted above. The French are from Front Rank with a few figures by Eureka. The Reichsarmee is a mix of Foundry and Crusader figures. The flags are mostly from GMB with several hand-painted by Leuthen Studios. Most of the figures were painted by Leuthen Studios.

Frank Patterson made the roads. Joe Linares of Wargames Terrain made the rivers. The Saxon buildings were purchased from the on-line store at the Cröbern diorama .

The Prussians managed to hold the line, anchored on Rossbach village. The French/Allied army arrived in successive lines according to Soubise's battle plan to which the French commander was constrained. However, with shorter lines of communication, the Prussians were able to concentrate quicker. The Janus Hill was eventually re-captured by a superb charge by the Markgraf Friedrich von Bayreuth Dragoons which chased off the opposing light cavalry and overran the French grand battery painstakingly assembling on the hill.

Charge of the Markgraf Friedrich von Bayreuth Dragoons