Kingmaker Campaign: Map Moves

The Battle of Milford Haven was a serious loss to me. Half my nobles were destroyed in one battle. I had effectively become the Lancastrian force with Jack controlling 2 Yorkist royal pieces.

The next turn saw a partial reversal of fortune. Jack attacked London with the aim of capturing Henry of Lancaster. He failed in the attempt and crucially, Percy was killed. This was a major loss for Jack but still left him in a commanding position. 

I had Stanley disembarking in Preston and Greystoke now stranded in Wales. Pole and Howard were in the north.

As I tried to extricate Greystoke from Wales he was attacked in the area of Ludlow by the triumphant Buckingham and Worcester.

The intention was to play this out as a wargame but after further discussion with Jack we both felt it would be a pointless exercise. Greystoke's small force is so heavily outnumbered we would be playing out a short massacre. We therefore agreed that at our next meeting we would use the boardgame mechanism to resolve this battle. So the next posting for this campaign will be the result of that action and further map moves. 

Kingmaker Campaign: The Battle of Milford Haven

This is the first battle in the Kingmaker campaign with my son, Jack. A reminder of how this battle has occurred:

In the early moves of the campaign it was very much a case of assembling forces and identifying the best way of capturing Royal Pieces. Jack developed a clear lead on this gaining control of George of Clarence and Edward Earl of March. He had also assembled a sizeable force in the vicinity of London threatening to capture King Henry VI who was in residence there. I, on the other hand, controlled nobody! 

I saw an opportunity though of capturing George of Clarence from Jack who was busily attempting to evacuate him through the port of Milford Haven (south west tip of Wales). I sent a force under the command of none other than Neville - Earl of Warwick (The Kingmaker) together with Nobles, Clifford, Scrope and Cromwell towards Milford Haven with the intention of intercepting Jack's force before they could embark their ships. Using the road network I achieved my aim and Jack's force under the command of Stafford - Duke of Buckingham with Hastings - Earl of Worcester moved out to meet my force.

Buckingham positioned his force across a valley blocking Warwick's advance.

Scale = 6mm

Figures = Baccus

Rules = My own*

Table size = 3'9" x 3'

* A brief note about my rules.  They use the basic General de Brigade engine but heavily reworked for ancients/medieval. They are very much a work in progress. Readers familiar with General de Brigade will recognise some of the mechanisms used in the after action reports.

Kingmaker Campaign: Prelude to the Battle of Milford Haven

I have now completed painting the Wars of the Roses figures (6mm) for the first battle in the Kingmaker campaign, the Battle of Milford Haven. As soon as Jack (my son) is free the battle will be fought but in the meantime here are the forces involved:

Stafford Duke of Buckingham (Jack) with Hasting Earl of Worcester gathers the troops:

Buckingham's Battle (right), Worcester's Battle (left)

Plans for 2018

With 2017 coming to a close, it is now time to look at what I intend to do in 2018. 'Intention' of course is not necessarily what I achieve and it will be interesting to see at the end of next year precisely what I have completed! I will break it down into 'Battles', 'Campaigns' and 'Painting'.

Kingmaker - Wars of the Roses

With the Wars of the Roses campaign about to start with my son, Jack, here is an overview of what this is all about.

The boardgame 'Kingmaker' is being used as the source for the campaign. We are essentially playing the boardgame as is but instead of resolving any battles as per the game, these will be played out on the tabletop. Sieges will be resolved as in the boardgame however, although we may chose to play one or two on the tabletop if viable.