Blood and Roses Battle of Bosworth Scenario

I played the Lancaster forces led by the upstart Henry Tudor Earl of Richmond against my friend Cisco and his Yorkist army led by King Richard III. Looking at the large marsh and bog- filled area in the center of the board, I thought this would be an infantry slugfest, but it turned out to be a cavalry battle between Tudor's mounted wing and the Yorkist cavalry on my left flank. I made several mistakes that caught up with me. I overlooked the fact that levy cannot attack unless supported by another unit and put them in the front blocking some lanes in the center. I also got engrossed with the cavalry fight and didn't get Stanley's forces into play. I also didn't realize how outnumbered I was when it came to mounted men at arms. Consistently failing continuation roles was the final straw leaving me helpless to respond to the cavalry charge which eventually won the game for my opponent and killing my commander in the process. Pictured also is a pint of ale from the good folks at Emerald Tavern in Austin,Texas where this battle took place.

 

This is the set up. Lancaster forces are the red counters to the SW while the Yorkist forces are the white counters NE facing SW.

 

 

I thought the most of the action would be in the marshy area in the middle of the board but my opponent worked his mounted men at arms around my right flank.

 

 

I shifted my own mounted men at arms led by Henry Tudor to my left. In previous games mounted troops are susceptible to longbow men but my archers were woefully out of position to bring any fire to bear. I did eliminate 2 mounted Yorkist men at arms with my own cavalry but that left Henry in a vulnerable position.

 



 

My opponent's counterattack catching Henry in the open.

 

 

This is the end of Henry. His loss plus losses I took earlier caused me to fail my flight check. Overall it was a fun game but I badly misplayed my army. I launched an infantry attack on the right (not pictured) and managed to reached some Yorkist longbow men with levy infantry only to notice after I moved them that they cannot shock attack unless supported by another unit. I failed several continuity roles and was not able to bring the Stanleys on the board. I'm sure at the end of the battle Richard III rewarded them handsomely for their neutrality on the field. Overall another fun game.