WOTR - Stocktake for "The White Swans"

Ummmm......Another game where yet again I find myself short of troops for a pick up game.  As I am providng all the troops for this, it means that Peter Pig will be getting an order for collection at Salute......

16 Nobles
21 Captains
15 Men at Arms
161 Retinue Archers
102 Levy Archers
15 Levy Billmen
5 Welsh Spear
3 Gonnes

Means I am still short of.....
57 Bases of Retinue Archers - 171 Figures
82 Bases of Levy Archers - 164 Figures
5 Bases of Welsh Spear - 15 Figures

WOTR - "The White Swans" - Lancastrian Embattlement

Moving on we now look at the Lancastrian forces who will be commanded by Humphrey Stafford, the Duke of Buckingham.

Late Arriving - Duke of Somerset
Himself, Captain, 2 Men-at-Arms, 7 Retinue Archers, 3 Levy Archers (3)
Devon, 11 Retinue Archers, 2 Billmen, 2 Levy Archers (3)
Captain, 6 Retinue Archers, 6 Levy Archers, 1 Gonne (2)

Mainward - Duke of Buckingham
Himself, Captain, 8 Retinue Archers, 4 Levy Archers, 2 Billmen (3)
Wiltshire, Captain, 7 Retinue Archers, 4 Levy Archers, 2 Billmen (3)
Beaumont, Captain, 5 Retinue Archers, 6 Levy Archers (3)
Captain, 8 Retinue Archers, 1 Men-at-Arms, 3 Levy Archers, 1 Gonne (3)

Vanward - Duke of Exeter
Himself, 3 Men-at-Arms, 5 Retinue Archers, 2 Billmen, 4 Levy Archers (3)
Audley, 2 Captains, 1 Men-at-Arms, 9 Retinue Archers, 3 Levy Archers (3)
Shrewsbury, 1 Men-at-Arms, 8 Retinue Archers, 1 Billmen, 3 Levy Archers (3)
Captain, Captain, 2 Retinue Archers, 7 Levy Archers (2)

WOTR - "The White Swans" - Yorkist Embattlement

Embattlement is the process of splitting the assembled host into a fighting formation.  Companies can be anywhere between 6 and 16 bases of figures.  There are also rules covering who can command which magnate.  This is the Yorkist host assembled under the Duke of York as an Heir.  The "Captains" are minor nobles that I will name later on.

Mainward - Duke of York
Himself, Captain, 2 Men-at-Arms, 8 Retinue Archers (4)
Montagu, 5 Retinue Archers, 6 Levy Archers (3)
Herbert, Captain, 8 Retinue Archers, 3 Levy Archers, 1 Billmen (4)
Captain, 6 Retinue Archers, 5 Levy Archers, 2 Billmen (2)
Captain, 5 Retinue Archers, 5 Welsh Spearmen, 2 Levy Archers (2)

Vanward - Earl of March
Himself, Captain, 7 Retinue Archers, 4 Levy Archers (4)
Ferrers, 5 Retinue Archers, 10 Levy Archers (3)
Powis, Gonne, 4 Retinue Archers, 1 Men-at-Arms, 4 Levy Archers, 3 Billmen (3)
Captain, 5 Retinue Archers, 6 Levy Archers (2)
Captain, 5 Retinue Archers, 1 Men-at-Arms, 6 Levy Archers (2)

Rearward - Earl of Warwick
Himself, 2 Captains, 6 Retinue Archers, 3 Levy Archers (4)
Trollope, 9 Retinue Archers, 3 Levy Archers (1)
Captain, 7 Retinue Archers, 2 Men-at-Arms, 4 Levy Archers (2)
Captain, 8 Retinue Archers, 1 Men-at-Arms, 1 Levy Archer, 2 Billmen (2)

WOTR - "The White Swans - 1459" - Battle Generator

We played out the 1459 campaign the other night and have ended up with a large battle which should go to the table top.  It means a lot of proxy bases will be needed as I think it uses somewhere near 200 Levy Archers.

Yorkist (58 Contingents/181 Bases - 8 Nobles, 12 Captains, 7 Men-at-Arms, 84 Retinue Archers, 1 Gonne,  5 Welsh Spear, 57 Levy Archers, 7 Levy Billmen )
Lord Herbert
(Himself, 2 Captains, 10 Retinue Archers, 5 Spear, 2 Levy Archers)
Duke of York
(Himself, 3 Captains, 2 Men-at-Arms, 17 Retinue Archers, 14 Levy Archers, 3 Bill)
Earl of March
(Himself, 3 Captains, 1 Men-at-Arms, 17 Retinue Archers, 19 Levy Archers, 1 Bill)
Warwic
(Himself, 4 Captains, 3 Men-at-Arms, 19 Retinue Archers, 11 Levy Archers, 1 Bill)
Barron Ferrers
(Himself, 1 Men-at-Arms, 2 Retinue Archers, 1 Gonne, 8 Levy Archers, 2 Bill)
Grey of Powis
(Himself, 5 Retinue Archers, 3 Levy Archers)
Master Porter of Calais
(Himself, 12 Retinue Archers)
Baron Montagu
(Himself, 2 Retinue Archers)

Lancastrian (52 Contingents/157 Bases - 8 Nobles, 9 Captains, 8 Men-at-Arms, 1 Named Captain,  77 Retinue Archers, 2 Gonnes, 45 Levy Archers, 8 Levy Billmen)
Exeter
(Himself,  2 Retinue Archers)
Audley
(Himself, 2 Captains, 3 Men-at-Arms, Named Captain, 10 Retinue Archers, 10 Levy Archers, 2 Bill)
Shrewsbury
(Himself, 1 Captain, 2 Men-at-Arms, 12 Retinue Archers, 6 Levy Archers, 3 Bill)
Beaumont
(Himself, 3 Retinue Archers)
Wiltshire
(Himself, 1 Captain, 4 Retinue Archers)
Buckingham
(Himself, 2 Captains, 1 Men-at-Arms, 15 Retinue Archers, 1 Gonne, 12 Levy Archers, 1 Bill)
Somerset
(Himself, 2 Captains, 2 Men-at-Arms, 20 Retinue Archers, 1 Gonne, 8 Levy Archers, 2 Bill)
Devon
(Himself, 1 Captain, 11 Retinue Archers, 9 Levy Archers)

Now comes the fun part which is to embattle these into actual companies within the wards

WOTR - "The White Swans - 1459"

Next up in my War of the Roses games is the campaign set in 1459 titled "The White Swans".

This will set the next set of painting priority and any purchases from Salute in April (unless I have everything I need :)  I had messed around with this before over a year ago but we never fought out the battles or finished the campaign game.  So a restart is required.

Lancastrian Forces
Humphrey Stafford - Duke of Buckingham
John Talbot - Earl of Shrewsbury
James Butler - Earl of Wiltshire
John Beaumont - Viscount Beaumont
James Touchet - Baron Audley
Henry Holland - Duke of Exeter
Henry Beaufort - Earl of Somerset
Thomas Courtenay - 14th Earl of Devon
Henry Percy - 3rd Earl of Northumberland
Thomas Percy - Baron Ergemont
Ralph Neville - Earl of Westmoreland
William Fitzalan - Earl of Arundel
Jasper Tudor - Earl of Pembroke

Yorkist Forces
Richard Plantagenet - Duke of York
Edward Plantagenet - Ealr of March
Walter Devereux - Baron Ferrers
Richard Neville - Earl of Warwick
John Neville - Baron Montague
Richard Neville - Earl of Salisbury
Andrew Trollope - 
John Mowbray - Duke of Norfolk
Henry Bourchier - Viscount Bourchier
William Herbert - Baron Herbert
John Clinton - Baron Clinton
Richard Grey of Powis

Uncommitted
Thomas Stanley - Baron Stanley

The next post will give a snapshot of the Nobles completed and their riding retinues which will give me an idea of what else I will need.  I am still working up the Gonnes after sorting through my spares box and they are the next scheduled unit on the painting table after I finish 15 Pikemen :)

WOTR - More Nobles

Not a great deal to show for my WOTR efforts recently.  Adding nobles which may or may not appear on a battlefield and then might die in that year isn't overly productive.  It is fun though :)

Next couple of bases have been prepared and will have the detail added over the weekend. This will add

• Scrope
• Ruthvyn
• Hungerford
• Fitzalan 

Which are reasonably simple schemes if I use the base information I orginally posted up here

• Scrope's contingent would have white livery.  The base I have made has three figures all in plate armour so it will be a case of just using the flags to denote him.

• Ruthvyn's contingent would be in red.  This means that I have a solid block of figures in red for Warwick, Ruthvyn, Butler and Courtenay.  One standard bearer has a livery coat, the other in plate as is Ruthvyn himself.

• Hungerford's contingent would in red and green along with John Clifford and Henry Grey.  Same as for Ruthvyn, one standard bearer has a livery coat, the other in plate.

• Finally, Fitzalan.  His contingent would be in red and white which is a striking combination. Again a now common set up with the Lord and one standard bearer in plate the other with a livery coat.

The Perfect Captain have recently added 40 or so nobles to the later years to finish off the period.....120 or so figures potentially, I am not sure how much further I can go adding nobles.  Hopefully I will be able to match the liverys to that of nobles who died earlier in the period to allow me some reuse.  I am already thinking of adding a note on the bottom of the base to indicate who else the stand "could" be used for.  Alternatively it means I can just leave the major commanders who are nearly all done and then proxy in the lesser nobles.  Both ways work for both TPC rule sets as well as Bloody Barons.

WOTR - Livery for ACOS/ACOP Nobles

I have been back through my FW book on Standards & Livery and updated the picture below

Still adrift some information on the Nobles in the unconfirmed row

WOTR - ACOS Riding Retinues

This is the current state of my WOTR collection in terms of just the Riding Retinues.  The RR are the troops each noble starts the campaign with and normally form his most trusted and loyal companions. I have concentrated on the nobles who appear most frequently in the campaigns and hope to use non liveried models for those appearing less frequent.

There is by no means enough for what I want to do with it using A Coat of Steel. So far we have just started the 1459 campaign so I am in the process of adding those nobles these existing forces.  I still need to add:

• John Beaumont - Viscount Beaumont
• James Touchet - Baron Audley
• Henry Percy - Baron Egremont*
• Henry Percy - Earl of Northumberland*
• Ralph Neville - Earl of Westmoreland*
• William Fitzalan - Earl of Arundel*

and

• Walter Devereux - Baron Ferrers
• John Neville - Baron Montague
• William Herbert - Baron Herbert*
• Richard Grey of Powis*
• Andrew Trollope
• Thomas Stanley**

* - Inactive at game start so may not appear
** - Traitorous and may be recruited by either side

However, the pictures do show my entire collection of retinue archers. Since the 1455 game I have added another 96 archers (32 bases) taking me upto 300.  And still not enough.




The figures for Richard, Duke of York and Jasper Tudor need to be finished next.

WOTR - Battle of Northampton 1455

Is a fictional battle generated using the ACOP campaign system. The 1455 campaign sees King Henry VI heading towards Leicester to call a Royal Council, while Richard Duke of York, pledging his loyalty, gathers his forces to deal with his corrupt advisors.

This should have resulted in 1st Albans, however here the engagement occurs at Northampton. Salisbury and Warwick had both managed to recruit sizeable contingents on the way south.  The Lancastrians generated smaller forces than expected. So a mismatch was on the cards. The beauty of ACOP is that it generates something akin to reality and not match equal forces. You have to work for you win.

The Lancastrian forces

The Yorkist host

The commanders. Cobham

Northumberland and Somerset

Wiltshire and Shrewsbury

Stafford, Clifford (being represented by Oxford) and Jasper Tudor with Courtenay on the far right.

Warwick

Salisbury had recruited the largest force, but their commitment wasn't on par with the rest of the Yorkist army

The Lancastrian left

The Yorkist army attacks with Salisbury trying to turn the flank. The Lancastrian left has to react creating a dangerous dogleg

The noose begins to close

With the Lancastrian left pinned in place, the Yorkist Rearward goes for the kill

Combat is joined

The Yorkist Mainward exploits the dogleg. It looks ominous for the Lancastrians.

All over for Lancaster, as Nobles are struck down and the line disintergrates 

Cracking game, we did lots of things wrong but have learnt from this. Need more troops as usual so another 100 archers are now on their way. Then I will need to work on the levy spears

WOTR - A Crown of Paper Nobles

No wonder the WOTR could be confusing.  I was looking at how to represent the nobles needed.  In 15mm it wouldn't break the bank to paint all of them (unless of course you are on about individual coat of arms). But they also come with their personal retinue and I was looking for some economy of force.  So......
meandering through the web leads me to this pictorial representation.

Not brilliant, but does give you an idea.  This is the breakdown, as of today of all the nobles in the ACOP scenarios that I am looking at using.  It isn't complete by any means but what it does mean is that I can block up several large numbers of Retinue Archers in just a couple of schemes and use them for a variety of nobles.

The other piece I have noticed with ACOP is that there aren't any pure MAA stands in the Riding Retinues (RR).  The RR MAA are all Red which indicates a minor captain.  What that means is that they can be represented by my normal command stands plus the dedicated ones I have made up adding more colour to the companies and battles.  It does mean that the only figures that I really need to start with in livery are the Retinue Archers until the Well Wishers (WW) get recruited. Again they will wear the livery of their magnate which again keeps the actual numbers of colour variations down.

This is my starting theory as I look at getting some forces down on the table.

WOTR - Flags

Simple title and an idea of what the focus is going to be over the next couple of weeks or so. Order from Vexillia of some more of the excellent Freezywater flags and a reprint of the WOTR flags which they provide as a download together with whatever was left over from my initial attempts.

The Downloads from Vexillia have been rescaled and now match the freezywater ones which is a bonus and means that I have loads to choose from.  But, that will only give me the Heraldic flags and I still need to look at Banners and Livery flags.  Livery I don't think is going to be too much of a problem with ACOS as Captains can take from the heraldic set.  I might add one or two for where I have to use a noble as a proxy.  I now have the second pack of Lancastrian standards and while I prefer York it does mean at least that my hand is somewhat forced in terms of which nobles I will be representing on the table for that house.

WOTR - A Coat of Steel

I have found a new set of rules for the War Of The Roses which have tempted me into some more purchases and painting.

A Coat of Steel (ACOS), are a rule set produced by The Perfect Captain.  They have a good following and are written exclusively for the WOTR rather than a generic rule set with special rules.  They caught my eye and from a couple of read throughs and play tests I have done, I think they are a cracking set.

As with any thing new however there is pain associated with it and this rule set is no different.  It wants more figures......but then again so did Hail Caesar (HC).  Spearmen, Kerns, Galloglaich, Scottish Pike, European Mercenaries are all needed for Bloody Barons (BB)  anyway and I had a rough plan on how to add them in the coming year. 

This is what my two Armies consisted of at the beginning of January 2015. A lot of bases WIP scattered across units as I started to bulk out already painted units for HC.

A lot of holes as well.  Which luckily don't need filling just yet as ACOS uses Men Arms to include both fully armoured MAA and also the personal retinue.

What I am really short of is Archers, mostly of the levy variety.  For my standard armies that would be 3 figure bases.  ACOS has a recommendation that 2 figure bases are used for levy.  So possibly not too much pain and suffering if I go that way.  I have 6 packs of Archers on the way which will give me about 24 bases of Levy Archers.

The other big thing that I don't have enough of is Nobles and Captains.  These feature quite heavily in ACOS, as they did in the period.  Both BB and HC only use 3 Generals per side where as ACOS generated 8 on one side alone in one game.  They also have a lot more captains of contingents where as both BB and HC normally use one per "unit".  In ACOS there is a lot more and I needed 25 between both factions.  This is the Lancastrian host generated from the campaign game which accompanies ACOS which is called A Crown of Paper. I had to proxy in units to get a feel for what ACOS looked like on the table and also get the creative thoughts going for new bases.  What I do like is that your ward structure is very variable between games and it depends on what contingents turn up that dicate how you fight.

This Ward for example only had enough contingents to form one large company but containing two nobles and four captains (there are specific rules for who can command what which is very refreshing as you cant always do what you want :)  ).

The Mainward had enough for two companies with 2 nobles and three captains in one company and a noble and two captains in the smaller one

The final ward had three nobles assigned to it and again one large and one smaller company with four and two captains assigned respectively..

So.....a rummage through the spares box netted enough figures for 5 additional bases and an order into the nice people at Peter Pig for command packs which hopefully will arrive by the end of the week.