Lord de Quincy and those sneaky Frenchies

Having prevailed upon the Honourable Chairman of the Marshal Petain Gentleman's Club to program an old school mini-campaign game I went proper old school...  Don Featherstone old school...

My 6mm medievals are completed.  Mainly Baccus, but with a few Irregular miniatures diehards still knocking about among them.  This was to be a game of the Hundred Years War, using a map from Don`s Wargames Campaigns, a book I owned before the big eBay sell up to retire to Cyprus.  £30 seemed a good deal at the time, but I sometimes wonder if I should have hung onto it.

Long time Don fans will recognise that I have taken certain liberties with his map in the interests of my own game.  I`m certain he would have approved.  This is the map that the chairman received in his guise as the Lord de Quincy, Marshal of the English Host.

Lord de Quincy,

 

Your lordship has been commanded as Marshal of the English host to extricate the Prince from the mess he now finds himself in Campaigning in France.

 

I will be commanding the French Pursuit as La Compte du Figuin, the French Constable..

 

Can you give me the march route of the English as they try to escape.  You enter the Map at point D, with the Prince the Earl and the Marshal, 6000 men.

 

The French Constable with the Count and Baron start at B, with 6000 men, but have the option of ferrying across the river for half a day to start from A.

The French King, Dauphin, Marquis, Herald and Duke begin at D in pursuit 24 hours later with 12000 men

 

The English have 1500 men at arms, 4000 archers and 500 bidowers.

The French have a mixture of 50% Men at arms, with lots of Crossbowmen and Spearmen

 

Terrain is impassable unless there is a track

Towns will surrender if besieged for a full day.

Castles will surrender if besieged for two full days

 

The English can evacuate back to their rainy islands by ship from point C

A French traitor has informed the Prince that there is a hidden ford across the river at village 2.

The English can also evacuate from point B if they encamp there for a day, or if they capture the town.

Capturing town 3 and its castle would be a major English victory.

The Plan from the English was devious, but constrained by Don`s terrain.  By the end of day 1 the English were almost at Castle 1.  It was held against them preventing a river crossing.  The French had already planned to use their blocking force to move from point A and prevent the English crossing at the ford at town 2.

This meant an encounter battle on the afternoon of the second day.  With a french army closing in behind him the English Marshal had to defeat the enemy and then get across that river.

The battle lines are drawn up.  Rules Sword and Spear, and ironically a big game!

 

The French close in

The English longbows cut down three of the Genoese Crossbowmen units.  Heayyy!

The French try to shore up a line as the English come pouring forward

Game over for the French. The Lord de Quincy escapes across the ford.  As the French Constable I came to a sticky end.  I can only hope that my King will avenge me when he catches up with the filthy Engleesh as this mini campaign develops.