Sunday, 29 May 2022

Medieval Polish vs Tudor English - posted by Vince Cholewa, 30 May 2022

A big thank you to Kevin O’Kane for a good game of toy soldiers on Saturday at the Hutt Valley Wargaming Club. I used medieval Polish, c1500, vs Kevin’s Tudor English, Henry VII, c.1490. It was a good day for me, one of those where the plan just works. For Kevin it is a new army and it was good to talk during and after the game about how he might exploit its considerable strengths.
When we stopped the game in the sixth bound, Warwick’s command on the English left was broken and Warwick was no more (or, as a significant personage, he had been captured to be ransomed for good profit). The shire levy on the English right was taking casualties to its front and Lithuanians were about to hit its flank and rear. Polish losses were light.
Both our armies are low aggression, 1, and as it turned out, England was being invaded. The first part of my plan was to play on a billiard table, so I used very small pieces of difficult going to try to limit where Kevin could place his two very big gentle hills. This worked, Kevin could place only one hill and that at the centre line on his right flank. Later, we spoke about terrain, particularly that using difficult going to help reduce frontage and limit your opponent’s manoeuvring is a better option for the English than are gentle hills to defend and shot from.
My plan was to use the CnC’s command (knights, cavalry and hussars) to sweep around the open English left flank (my right) to take out his light horse and overwhelm Warwick and his superior knight bodyguard by weight of numbers. The Polish command next to the CnC’s (knights, cavalry and Tatars) would support the CnC, use a pair of cavalry to stop the English in front of them marching (this was Warwick and also the large foot command in the English centre), and have the Tatars as a mobile reserve to exploit or plug gaps. The knights’ job was to not get shot at by longbows (!) but still be enough of a threat that many longbows could not be used against the CnC’s command. In effect, I was using two commands against one and, importantly, could swap the CnC’s and sub-general’s PIP dice if needed – I have a regular CnC and irregular sub-generals.
In the centre and out towards the English right, the other Polish sub-command (knights, cavalry, hand-gunners and an organ gun) were to delay, using another pair of cavalry as march blockers, with the gunners lurking on a small, difficult knoll and the organ gun being next to them (they were delaying the other part of the English centre and the irregular shire levy on the English right flank). The Lithuanian sub-general was flank marching on the theory that if the shire levy moved forward there would be room to sweep around behind them, and if the levy stayed on the hill, then they would have to flee from the Lithuanian’s arrival. The Polish delaying command would counterattack the levy.
Overall, the plan is pretty much how the game played out. Discussion, in addition to that about terrain, was that Kevin’s list is well put together and there are only a few minor tweaks that could be made to improve it. Tactically, the Shire levy are not useful for attacking on a flank, they are slow and clumsy. Instead, they are good for being held back to block and defend – they could have done that on Saturday, angled in the centre, with the English refusing the open left flank. Warwick has a powerful command to attack with (superior knights and longbows, with four light horse to provide cover behind it) but a flank can’t be exposed because the only useful defence becomes sending some of the longbows in different directions, draining PIPs and risking penny packets of longbows being overwhelmed.

Watch this space as Kevin gets more practice. Henry VII’s is a formidable army – with flanks covered and being able to move forward safely, it is a death star! 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/824840264342234/posts/2079782222181359/

Kevin had the first bound. On the right of this pic the Polish CnC is ready to move around the English left flank. You can see the two pairs of cavalry march blockers pushed forward. The gunners and organ gun are at their little hill. The Lithuanians are flank marching on the left.

Warwick

English longbowmen

Engish light horse

Shire levy archers

Shire levy billmen

Kwan Waihung
O~only two commands?
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