Battle of Hereford AD1055 w' "Chainmail" rules

Last post, I adapted an historical battle into a scenario and the troops into game terms - I chose Scenario #9 "Double Delaying Action" from One-Hour Wargames, and for rules "Chainmail" 3rd ed. by Gygax / Perren as the ruleset that has been inspiring me quite a bit lately.  

Earl Aelfgar and some ferocious and sympathetic Welsh. 

The Earl is a Grenadier fantasy figure - "fantasy" of the best sort.... it is based upon history. The Welsh are Old Glory 25s, from the later Welsh medievals with longer spears and smaller moustaches.  There's a few Foundry figs floating around also.

King Gruffydd ap Llywelyn of Wales [really...William Marshal, but whatever].

Earl Ralph the Timid and some foot Knights determined to hold the camp and keep the road open for the retreat back to the castle. Historically, he should be with the Knights, but I have to give players a choice of deployment... besides, he may stick around longer if on foot!

Now, to fight it out!

Saxon Plan: hold both crossings, causing greater casualties on the Welsh and slowing them down so three Units can escape on turns 4, 8 and 12 - if not, the Saxons lose.

Welsh Plan: The Welsh need to get to grips with the Saxons as hard and fast as possible, preventing the retreat of the three units AND getting two of theirs off the table by turn 15.  If not, the Saxons can retreat to Hereford castle, which is only 2 miles away, close the gates and deprive them of major looting. This would be a Saxon victory based upon the historical result. 

Strategically speaking, if the Welsh drive the Saxons into the castle, they will still be able to ravage the countryside, as there aren't other Saxon forces around to help Earl Ralph and his Norman / French mercenaries.

At the ford, the Saxons contest it with a Fyrd unit on the spot - this give them an up slope advantage, and they have a bit of bow support [a small bit]. 

Opposing them, are the Welsh teulu heavy cavalry supported by their retainers who've managed to just barely be in javelin range, and a unit of Archers.

At the bridge, the Earl, his most powerful unit of heavy infantry bow, some fyrd and on the hill the 'knights'.  The Welsh plan is to pin the Ralph in place with a body of 24 Welsh spearmen lead by Earl Aelfgar and supported by archers - one hopes his spirit of indignation will infuse them with energy!

The Welsh archers enter the table, inflict a hit [25%] on the tiny unit of hunters, who roll a measly '6' and flee.

The fyrd are not to be outdone in ignominy, and flee when charged by cavalry on a '6'.

the Teulu adjust a bit as they pursue, but can't catch them.

At the bridge, the Outraged Earl Aelfred and his warriors advance while the Archers plink away at the Armored Foot knights in their camp, to little effect [1 kill].

Turn 2, the Welsh win Initiative, and take first move to press on against the Saxons.

The Wesh push their Teulu onwards, looking for a scrap with the knights. Their retainers charge against the fleeing fyrd, who fail to turn and fight.  The hunters depart in search of smaller game as they roll a measly '1' to rally, retreat again, and leave the board.

The knights are game to fight and charge the teulu in their move phase.

Meanwhile, in the center, arrows fly...

In the melee phase, the Impetuous knights [they probably weren't... but I wanted to have some difference, so what the heck] and Teulu slam into each other for many kills but neither is willing to give up.

On the other side of the board, the Welsh take 4 and inflict 2 kills, but don't lose the melee by much of a margin as they are twice as large a unit.

on the far let, the light cavalry retainers hit the rear of the fyrd and trash them. But they are too big and stupid to run.

Turn 3, Saxons win, and force the First Move on the Welsh, so they have to check Morale before the Saxon Move Phase. This will also help the Fyrd to stick around fighting the Welsh retainers.

The Welsh spearmen check morale at the start of their move, now being at 33% from Saxon arrows and swords. They fail the roll on a '6', but pass with the leader bonus that makes them an '8'.

Turn 3 Saxon Move Phase. The Fyrd manage to pass - barely - on an '8'. They

Saxons move the other Fyrd to the edge of the board - it must exit on Turn 4 or the Saxons will lose.  The Archers Rest and remove 5 Fatigue.

In the melee phase, the Welsh take it on the chin, 7 kills to 3!  Early Ralph isn't looking very Timid at this point...The Welsh fall back a half a move.

On the left, the teulu and knights continue fighting hard, altho King Llewellyn is keeping a small edge for the Welsh. As both are at 50%, they have to check to stay in the fight, and easily do so with a 10 and 12.

The Fyrd take two kills and give none, but hang in there due to numbers.

Things were looking pretty good for the Saxons at the end of Turn 3.  

In Turn 4, the Fyrd leave the field as planned, and on the right both sides Rest and remove Fatigue, preparing for more fighting ahead.

In the melee phase, the Knights reached their breaking point and were removed...

...as did the Fyrd, who also were removed.

The whole center is open to a Welsh advance - they could also cut the road!

Turn 5, the Saxons win and take the First Move.

This may enable them to exit the foot knights by Turn 8 if they can break the Welsh spearmen with shooting from the Archers. It doesn't solve the problem of the Welsh cavalry on the left, however.  These two units choose to Rest.

The Welsh Archers meanwhile have positioned themselves to engage the Saxon archers.  In the shooting phase, the Serjeants earn their paycheck, and push the Welsh spearmen over its casualty limit - they are removed.

Unfortunately, the Welsh archers manage to put one kill on the foot knights, who leave the battle being at 66% - they take Ralph with them, who is earning his nickname!

Turn 6, the Welsh win Initiative and force First Move on the Saxons.

The Saxons check the morale of the Archers, who pass.

Unfortunately, the Saxons no longer have enough units to meet their victory condition to retreat one on Turn 8 and one on Turn 12.  The Archers are also vulnerable to more shooting and a charge by mounted heavy and light cavalry, so will probably be wiped out.  They concede.

Well, the historical result came about.  I'm uncertain it was because history had to repeat itself here, however.  I think I made an error in trying to hold the ford, and should have collected all my Saxons on the hill and closely supporting the road and the camp.  Then it would have been easier to retreat another unit or two, even if they were only the hunters and a Fyrd.

This is an interesting scenario, and I will have to play it again with different tactics for the Saxons.  One of the great aspects of the One-Hour Wargame scenarios is their immense replay value.  Try a different plan, change a unit or two, and the scenario could play completely differently.

I felt the "Chainmail" rules worked well, altho I need to clarify a couple of aspects of the Retreat / Rout rules, and I'm still not satisfied with shooting.  I like the Fatigue mechanic, and the supporting / withdrawing from melee mechanics. This was my first use of the leader rules, and they worked just fine, helping to tilt the balance a bit but not overwhelming the game.  Felt very realistic.

More reasons to play more games!

History to Table - Creating Hereford 1055 Scenario

How does one take an historical event and put it onto the tabletop?

If we are to call our games "historical" and present them as an even that happened, or may have happened, there are a number of factors to consider in the translation of history to the tabletop game. The game must:

- be based upon plausible history, best as we have it,

- work with our table, time and tiny tin limits,

- be a balanced game, with both sides able to achieve their victory conditions; that being said, the most likely outcome should be the historical one.

In this example, I'm working with the following Limits:

1. Table. I'm keeping it to my 3x4' office table which is just adequate and never needs to be cleaned off for others [as opposed to the dining table!]. 

2. Time. About two hours, start to finish, is doable.

3. Tiny Tin. My 25mm early medieval miniatures are more than enough. Based upon the Table and Time above, I can field 4-6 Units, around 50-60 figures a side.

For the plausible history source material, I turned to the excellent volume by Paul M. Remfry [hereafter "PR"] Medieval Battles Wales 1055-1216 v2p1  

I have found it to consistently assert evidence-based likelihoods, which is usually the best we can get.  There's lots of poorly informed opinions out there, but PR gives such evidence as is available and doesn't over state a case.  I appreciate this restraint on his part, and hope it inspires young archaeologists and historians in the future to answer the many open questions that are lingering.  My copy was not  difficult to obtain from him:

I encourage you to consider his work at his web site [CLICK] if you've any interest in medieval military history. It may not be "the latest hard scholarship", but it is readable and makes a lot of sense!

The battle in question is Hereford in Wales, October 24 1055. PR presents no less than nine [!] versions of this battle from various chronicles, some very brief, some much longer, grouping them by date and likelihood. He gives us a chance to consider which account seems most likely to be true but also analyzes them himself.  This is a good representation that I favored from p.13-14:

And this account presents a different view of the fighting, from p.15:

From these, I decided to work with the following "most likely" facts:

- Two leaders, Earl Aelfgar and King Gruffydd ap Llywelyn of Wales

- A largely Welsh force of the King, a "well equipped army of all his kingdom" with the possibility of 18 shiploads of Irish with Aelfgar.

- Opposed by one leader Early Ralph "The Timid", nephew of King Edward "The Confessor" and a 'mighty host' including Normans and French.

- The Saxons "arrayed forces and prepared to fight" 2 miles from Hereford

- The Welsh "without delay attacked them with well-ordered forces"

- Ralph and his Normans and French fled as battle was joined, and/or there was a bitter fight after which the Saxon force fled, losing 400-500 men.

- The Saxon "fleeing" may have been precipitated by their Leader [!]

- The Welsh followed so closely the two miles to the fortress of Hereford, that they were able to enter and destroy it.

Thoughts: 

- The Saxons arrayed their forces in open battle a few miles from their castle.

- - Ergo, they must have thought the Welsh force could be defeated in open battle.

- The Saxons fled, perhaps after a brief struggle, perhaps after a bitter one

- - The size of the Welsh force may have been much larger than they thought - after all, it was raised by the King of Wales from "all his kingdom".  

- This may have caused their flight to Hereford in an effort to save the castle as the field battle appeared unwinnable. 

- - This would explain why the leaders led the retreat - it is more important to save the strategic asset [the castle] than a tactical asset that can be replaced [a field force]. Let us not accuse them of cowardice when those who live on the borderlands are more likely to be veteran campaigners with "the long view"!

So the category of battle here is "a fighting retreat", requiring some forces to escape [to save the castle] while they delay an overwhelming force of Welshmen that has surprised them, original reports likely indicating a more modest raid.

Arriving at this decision joggled a memory in my "something wanted always buried" brain, and I turned to Neil Thomas' "One-Hour Wargames" for a scenario about a retreat that I couldn't quite remember. This book has not only been the most-used book I've owned, but it is also the best bargain at a measly $15 or so!

After a bit of page-turning, I found it: #9 "Double Delaying Action".  

While I do not usually print the entire pages, here this is VERY promotional of the OHW book, which I heartily recommend you hurry to buy!  

Red needs to exit three of six Units [50% of the force] off the table. Blue needs to exit two Units off the table.  ALL must exit by the road, which is an interesting condition that suits the history perfectly - the Welsh need to harry the Saxons closely so that they can gain entryinto the castle.

My logic for picking this scenario is that:

- it is an equal force per side

- Earl Ralph initially planned to fight a battle...when he saw the immense size of the Welsh force [imagine it is several times larger, and off the south end of the table], he decided that discretion was the better part of valor and began evacuating his force.  

So makes sense from the history, and will be an interesting challenge.  In this case, it may be said to be a clash between the entire Saxon force and the Welsh vanguard.

Translated onto my 3x4' table [1' wider than the book], it looks like the below:

The "town" from the original scenario is now a fortified camp, giving a defensive bonus to the defender as it is on a small hill improved with barriers of felled trees.

The River has a ford to left and the bridge to right, where the Roman Road is.  Those fellows, always on a building project.... The two armies are just laying on the table, NOT set up, waiting for their Kodak moment.

Now, with a scenario, and 5-6 Units in mind, which fits the One-Hour Wargames size limit, what do the forces look like?

Earl Ralph "The Timid", aka Saxon / Norman / French.  I imagine this as a levy force from the area and the castle itself.  Therefore some professionals with some levy to prevent what appears to be a raid from Wales:

The Army of Ralph "The Timid" in terms of "Chainmail" rules, by Gygax / Perren

"Knights" [in quotes as it seems Ralph was working on developing this force]

1 Leader, Ralph "The Timid" [I love writing that...!]

10 Heavy Cavalry, Impetuous, [on the hill]

2 x 16 Levy Heavy Infantry "Select Fyrd"

12 Dismounted Knights, Armored Foot

16 Garrison Mercenary Archers, Heavy Infantry, Bow

4 Hunters, Light Infantry, Bow

TOTAL 336 points 

The invading Welsh:

Two leaders, Earl Aelfgar and King Gruffydd ap Llywelyn of Wales

10 Teulu, personal bodyguard, Heavy Cavalry

6 Servants, Light Cavalry, Javelins

2 x 10 Archers, Light Infantry, Bow

1 x 24 Heavy Infantry

TOTAL 318 points, + a second Leader

The force selection is based upon a variety of sources, from Ian Heath's "Armies of Feudal Europe" to this article by the redoubtable Daniel Mersey [CLICK].

On the table, this will look like... 

Ralph "The Timid" and his "not so timid" dismounted knights, occupying camp.

Earl Aelfgar and a force of Welsh spearmen:

King Gruffydd ap Llywelyn of Wales and his mounted Teulu, bodyguard.

OK, so the coat of arms is really William Marshal...sue me.

Now, we are ready to fight! 

The question is, will the historical outcome be the "most likely" outcome?

"Chainmail" post 3 - Return to Wales!

The Cantref Campaign Continues...

Lovely river!  Who *wouldn't* want to fight over it? Impressive bridge as well...

Been having so much fun with "Chainmail" that I got my medievals out for another romp. After the random throw-down for a key village in the cantref [a Welsh township, more or less, perhaps a small county], Lord Ranulf and Maddog ap Twentig face off once again, this time at a key crossing over a river farther in the cantref.  Ranulf is attempting to secure his hold on the area after his first victory, while the Welsh are attempting to beat them back to their territory.  Obviously, a bridge is a significant feature that could make or break a campaign depending on the river and the trade routes.

Here, I picked a scenario from One-Hour Wargames, an old standbye, Scenario #5.

The key to the scenario in my experience is the woods near the bridge. Whoever controls it will be able to keep forces near the bridge, and most likely drive off the other. Overall, it is likely to be a drawn scenario due to the difficult victory conditions, which demand that the attacker have no units north of the river within 12" of the bridge. The random appearance of the defenders is also a problem. But these challenges make it all the more fun!

Below, Welsh defenders: two units of Spearmen, two units of Archers, a Unit of 10 Heavy Horse and a unit of 6 Light Horse. A nice balance of melee and shooting.

Norman attackers.  Two units of Levy Heavy Infantry [formerly Saxon Fyrd], a unit of dismounted knights - 12 Armored Infantry - and knights, Heavy Cavalry...

...and the most expensive and dangerous Unit in the battle, 16 Heavy Infantry Archers, Serjeants from various mercenary contingents.

Below, the battle elongated from 3x3' to 3x4', but otherwise the same.  The Archers have been selected to protect the small bridgehead the Normans have made.

Norman knights are have their plastic ready and will charge at the drop of a hat...

Random arrival...two Archers enter at point A on a '2'. Interesting, as they together are about as strong as the Serjeants.

"Look behind you, Gaston!"

Turn 2, the Serjeants lose Initiative and are forced to go first. They move away from the Welsh and bring the dismounted Knights on the board to help them secure the Bridge from the advancing enemy.

Turn 2 Missile Phase, the Welsh beat the Norman dice roll to shoot after moving full with one unit, while the other rolls up on its shot, inflicting 3 Kills. The Serjeants strike back for 2 at the far Archer since the closer one gets Cover in the woods.

Turn 3 will see both sides reinforced, defending Red and attacking Blue [Normans].

Turn 3 roll-off, the Normans win and definitely want to see where the Welsh reinforcements will be arriving so make them take First Move.

Two Welsh spearmen arrive, again at Point A, again rolling a '2'. This is good in the sense that all the Welsh are on one side, but bad in the sense that they now have balanced force of melee and missile troops closely supporting each other.

Turn 3 Normans move the foot Knights up. In the Missile Phase, their Serjeant Archers get shot up by a Welsh Archer, roll a '3' for Morale and flee across the bridge!  The Knights take three hits from the  Welsh archers in the woods - brutal!

Turn 4, the Normans win Initiative, and take First Move!

They charge the dismounted Knights against the archers in the woods, and advance their knights across the bridge.

The Armored Foot line up against the Archers, who will not likely fare well...

And the Serjeant Archers roll only a '2' to Rally, fail, and depart the board -  ugh!

Meanwhile, one Archer removes 5 Fatigue, while the other prepares for a beating from the Armored Foot - while not properly equipped for chasing bowmen thru the woods, the homicidal instinct of the knights should see them off the board...

Also, one Welsh Spearman is able to move half up, then enter the melee as within 3" and therefore support the lowly archers!

In the ensuing melee, the Spearmen take a kill, the Archers take 2 kills.

Yes, this game involves math, or "maths" as the Limeys say. The Armored Foot knights get a slight edge, but not enough to bring about a decisive result.

Still, the Archers have taken 50% losses, and flee the field automatically.

Turn 4, the Welsh win Initiative, and force the Normans to move first. They bring on a Unit of Levy and adjust the facing of the Knights to cover more of the field.

In the melee phase, the Welsh take 4 but inflict 3 kills, not bad!

After calculation, the Armored Foot go Back a Move, dashing for the bridge and safety.   But is it really safe?

Turn 5, the Normans win and force the Welsh to move first, revealing their reinforcement plans and deployments!

Entering at point "B" on a '4', the Welsh teulu and retainers threaten the Norman heavy cavalry with wild shouts and thrown javelins. Combined with high volley fire from the remaining Welsh archer Unit, the Knights have lost 3 figs of 10!

As it is the half move, the Normans decide to "Charge if Charged" and attack the teulu and their retainers.  Pretty bold!

The Welsh spearmen rest and remove 5 Fatigue, while the other spearmen attack the Fatigued knights on the Bridge [who will melee only as Heavy Foot].

They "close the door" into edge to edge contact.

As for the Cavalry Charges, the Welsh pass easily on a 9 and 10.

As do the Norman Knights on a '9'.

In melee resolution, the Normans inflict 3 kills on the Light Horse, and take 1 Kill in return.

The Normans go Back one Move, and the Welsh must pursue!

These units will melee again soon.

Meanwhile, the Welsh spearmen roll like poo and take 2 kills while inflicting none...

...so they go Back a 1/2 Move.

Meanwhile, the Fyrd Levy are working on fording the river. While the scenario says the river is impassible, Chainmail allows a slow crossing of a river.  Here, I decided to go with the Chainmail rules instead of the scenario as it was more interesting!

In the melee, the Teulu lose and go Back a 1/2 Move. Bleh!

Below, the Normans are trying to force the river despite the North Bank being held by doughty Welshman. Arrows fall, but the Normans are not dismayed.

In melee resolution, the Welsh give some ground to the larger Levy foot unit.

While the foot Knights inflict three kills and see off the Welsh spearmen!

Turn 9, the Normans win Initiative, and take First Move for themselves.

The Fyrd charge against the Welsh, mostly to get out of the river.  The Welsh archers see off the foot knights with a few more Kills putting them over the limit.

This time the Welsh spearmen do well, inflicting 3-1 kills on the greater Fyrd.

But the Norman Knights inflict 4-1 kills on the Welsh teulu.  They also have handy loads of bodies at hand, altho they are almost Fatigued...

Turn 10, the Fyrd roll crazy well, and inflict massive kills on the Welsh spearmen, pushing them past their rout point and they flee the field.

However, they themselves take a Hit and retreat across the river!

The Norman levy leave the river, flank the Teulu, and with the knights see them from the field.  The Welsh archers will not be able to withstand all these incoming units most likely, but for a draw they just have to stay near the bridge!

Despite Fatigue, the Fyrd rally in the river!

Unfortunately, the Teulu do not, and leave the field.

The Norman knights are feeling aggressive, and charge the Archers - they are not dismayed and inflict some kills on them, wiping them out!

No more Knights!

But now the Fyrd advance, and there are too many of them for the humble archers to hold off, plus they are Fatigued.  They lose a melee and Retreat a move.

With another Fyrd advancing to help, it seems that the Normans have managed to take the bridge and advance farther into Welsh lands!

Another solid game, and an interesting one.  I've played this scenario a bunch and it went down the usual way, except that the Welsh were unable to hold off the Normans as they entered too close to them.  Would've been better if the Archers had entered at points B or C, so they would have more space to shoot up the Normans.  It was impressive that they saw off their two best units, the Serjeant Archers and the Knights, but in the end the humble greater Fyrd were able to mob them and force them off the table.

Interesting fight, lots of fun!