ER Bickford
United States
Auburn
Maine
-
Poitiers: France, September 19, 1356
The games opens with the German command charging the English hedge line. As expected, this does not go well. The English long bows manage to unhorse Audrehem’s mounted men. Clermont is more successful, but after the initial contact, both of the units are disordered. Warwick’s long bows fire at Clermont’s mounted men and these retire, fleeing to Saarbrucken’s standard.
While Audrehem’s men-at-arms attempt to retreat, Count Saarbrucken begins an advance with his mounted men and crossbows. These are still out of range of the English longbows. Some of the terrain is swampy and this inhibits the movement somewhat.
Salisbury’s longbows fire at Audrehem’s men as they retreat toward the village and unfortunately, they are eliminated. Saarbrucken and his battle advance on the English position. His crossbows fire on the English longbows and men-at-arms. This causes the English longbows to return fire. Both sides are left with disordered units.
The Dauphin also advances and begins to make an advance on the French right. This is the swamp area. Of course the left has the ditch, dug out by the English. Saarbrucken’s men in the center, attempt to fall back in order to regroup.
Salisbury’s longbows resume their fire into the left flank of Saarbrucken’s Battle. Several of the crossbows are disordered or retired. The French player activates King Jean II and his battle advances on the flank. Then Warwick’s longbows fire at Saarbrucken’s crossbow men. Another French unit is eliminated.
Saarbrucken’s mounted men-at-arms continue to charge the English troops in the hedge rows. This leaves both sides with disordered units. The battle temporarily dies down in the center as King Jean II and his battle advance along the English right. Additionally, the young Duke of Orleans’ battle also starts to arrive along the French left, following behind the King’s men.
Jean II’s men-at-arms make contact with the English right flank. The longbows and crossbows inflict some damage. Then there are the ditches. Edward, Prince of Wales decides to move his men-at-arms to meet the threat to the right flank. Of course he has his ditches which he wisely dug. Jean II’s battle continues to attack. While some men are recovering disorder, one unit crosses the ditch and attacks the hobilars in the flank. These become disordered and Captal de Buch is killed!
Edward gets his battle active again and the hobilars fire on Jean II’s battle. Then the men-at-arms conduct shock combat. Two of Jean’s men-at-arms retire. This places Jean is the position of choosing to continue his attack or to rally his men. He chooses the latter, so things slow down on the English right. Edward doesn’t want to leave his defensive positions, so he orders the hobilars to fire at the French troops. Meanwhile, the Dauphin’s battle advances on the English left.
The Dauphin attacks the English left, which is defended by the Earl of Warwick’s Battle. The longbows inflict disorder on the French men-at-arms that are advancing. Both sides suffer setbacks. Meanwhile, Edward of Wales battle returns into its position and the hobilars fire at Jean II’s battle. A disordered formation retires.
Jean II’s battle is still poised on the English right. After a brief pause, he resumes his attack. This has the beginnings of success, leaving two of the English formations disordered. The Earl of Warwick’s longbows hit the Dauphin’s men-at-arms. These are already disordered and are consequently eliminated. Edward, Prince of Wales, has not given up the flank. His men continues to employ their defensive advantages. The hobilars send another men-at-arms formation to the standards.
The Earl of Warwick’s longbows eliminate another of the Dauphin’s formations. The French flight level is now up to 34 points. Jean II makes a trip to the standards and rallies three of his formations, which lowers the French flight level.
Edward’s men-at-arms venture a ways out of their safety net and two formations exchange disorders, but finally, Edward’s men are wiped out. This is a break for Jean II’s forces. Jean orders his men-at-arms to move around the flank.
Jean II’s men-at-arms continue to advance around Edward’s flank and into the rear. Edward leads his men-at-arms to the standard. He valiantly fends off the enemy but is mortally wounded. As soon as possible, The Earl of Salisbury moves some of his longbows to help protect the standards. These successfully penetrate the French men-at-arms. A formation retires.
Jean’s battle continues to take out Edward’s formations. Two of the hobilars suffer heavy losses. The English men of iron repulse the attack on the right flank, with the aid of the ditch. Then the Earl of Salisbury again seizes the initiative. His longbows eliminate a formation of un-mounted men-at-arms. Then, Salisbury orders his men to attack the disordered men-at-arms along the road through the hedgerow. This unit is eliminated too and this places the French player over the flight threshold, at 46 points. England ekes out a victory and wins.
-
Andrei Shlepov
Russian Federation
Moscow
-
I think this is the best battle in the box no matter whether you're using historical rules or not.
-
Alexander Meyer
Germany
Hamburg
-
Never saw a French victory in this scenario, but just as in your game it sometimes has been pretty close. Great game!
-
|
|
