From: Ken Blackley Subject: Battle Report: Towton: (Chipco's Days of Knights) Towton - A Battle Report Using Days of Knights Introduction Just a fortnight ago Edward of March, King of England by grace of his army and not much else, had accepted the scepter of kingship at Westminister Abby. He had refuse the unction and crown until he had "annihilated the other king an reduced the island and realm to a stable peace". The opportunity for vengeance was close at hand. At Ferrybridge his advance guard had found the bridge over the Aire destroyed, and had repaired the bridge under heavy enemy fire. Nine miles north on the Tadcaster road the Lancasterian had arrayed the main body of their army in front of the village of Towton, setting the scene for what was to be the bloodiest battle ever fought on English soil. Dawn came grey with heavy clouds, a swirling wind and snow. The Lancasterians, under the Duke of Somerset, had chosen their position well. They were drawn up on a plateau between the villages of Saxon and Towton, their right flank on the steep slope down to the swollen River Cock, their left on the Tadcaster road. King Henry VI and his wife Margaret were safely away from the battle. From his position along the Yorkists battlefront, Edward could barely make out the enemy banners streaming over their great host,. The Lancasterian right, under the banners of the earl of Northumberland; the center, under Somerset himself; and the left under the Earl of Exeter, all boasted company after company of alternating bills and bows, as well as large contingents of tough northern borderers. A mass of heavy cavalry could also be seen in reserve. Edward bit his lip and tried not to show his nervousness. His army was considerably outnumbered, but stronger in the all-important areas of archers and fully-armored men-at-arms.. His right was under the Earl of Warwick, and the center under the experienced veteran Lord Falconberg while he himself took the left wing. The rearguard, comprised of the Duke of Norfolk's East Anglicans, was delayed and had not yet arrived. Nonetheless, Edward ordered the attack. "Advance banners! In the name of Jesus, Mary and St. George!", came the cry and Yorkists began the long, slow advance through the drifting snow. The Rules This is an account of a refight of the great battle, using Chipco's Days of Knights. Both armies are equal at 750 ecu, but the Lancasterians outnumber the Yorkists 27 units to 19. We decided two scenario rules. First, every turn the Yorkist, player would roll a six-sided die. If he rolled a one, Norfolk’s rearguard would deploy on the Yorkists rear table edge. Second, as the wind was blowing fiercely into the Lancasterian's faces, their archers could only fire at the closest target, and not pick their victims as is allowed under DOK. The Battle Edward had a problem. He was outnumbered even if the east Anglicans were there and badly out- numbered as they were not. To compensate, he marshaled his army into one long line, without reserves, to avoid being outflanked. He also knew Lancasterian missile fire would be severely affected by the blowing snow and that the could use his superior bowfire to force his enemies out of their strong defensive position. The Yorkists advanced into bow range and opened fire, pouring volley after volley into the think Lancasterian lines. The Lancasterians, realizing they couldn’t effectively return the fire, instead counterattacked, moving off the plateau and crashing into the Yorkists host, precipitating a vast, sprawling melee that was to last for the rest of the battle. The first advantage went to Lancaster, as they began to exert serious pressure on the Yorkist left. Two companies of longbows were destroyed, and the subordinate Marshall killed. The King himself, fighting with a unit of dismounted men-at-arms, was hard pressed; his presence alone allowed the foot knights to rally and continue the struggle. Things were no better anywhere else, as the tide seemed to moving decisively against Edward’s Yorkists. While not losing as many units as their opponents, gaps began to appear in their lines that they couldn’t fill. The Lancasterians, who were taking the heavier losses, could repair their lines from their reserves of Northern Borderers; the Yorkists, lacking such a second line, couldn’t. Then, all at once, everything changed. Down the Tadcaster road to the south could be seen the banners of the East Anglicans of Norfolk’s rearguard. At the same time, the Duke of Exeter was struck down fighting at the head of the Lancasterian right wing; and the destruction of his unit forced the Lancasterian to take a panic check. The check was disastrous, demoralizing most of the remaining longbowmen, and sending the rest into flight. The Lancasterian, realizing the critical moment was upon them, threw in all their reserves, including their cavalry, in an attempt to shore up their suddenly broken line and to force a victory before the arrival of the East Anglicans. But it was already too late. The East Anglicans arrived, throwing their weight against the flank of the Lancasterian left. This was too much for the Lancasterians, and the next unit loss forced their entire army into taking rally tests, the failure of which sealed their defeat and ended the battle. Conclusions Interestingly enough, the refight of the battle followed the original battle fairly closely. The large size of the armies (compared to the field), and the lack of mobile troops, turned the battle into one big slugfest, something I think works better under DOK than under DBM or Armati. Under DOK, supported longbows can at least put up a bit of a fight, and aren’t just squashed between the lines, as in DBM, or blown off the table in one turn, as in Armati. English longbows of the period could abandon their bows and fight fairly effectively with sword and buckler, something which seems to be ignored by the other two rules sets, and something that irks me about both. Ken Blackley