This is a battle that was fought recently by myself, and Don Furbush- "the dreaded Scot himself". This battle takes place during a lull in the Welsh Wars of Edward III. A Scottish force has pushed it's way south as far as Conway where it meets with a Welsh force commanded by Palomir, Earl of Conway. The Earl has gained the initiative and lures the Scots further across the borderland into Wales. The battle will take place on mixed terrain on of the Earl's choosing.

This Scenario uses all Advanced and Optional and Regimental rules. See The Knights Round Table #1 for Regimental rules. For this battle a 40 army point Welsh Army will face a 40 army point Scots Army. It was decided ahead of time that the Scots would forfeit their handicap of plus five army points because they were not fighting on their own soil (actually they forgot they had it). We pick the game up on turn two with the Welsh advancing and taking the high ground overlooking Llandevon's Marsh.

The Welsh: Chris Parker

Earl Palomir (Leader).
1 Regiment of Knights and a Hero (5Cos.).
1 Regiment of Longbows with a Master Archer (10C0s.)
2Co's of Men @ Arms with a Hero.
5Cos. of Welsh Spearmen and the Army Banner.
2Cos. of mounted Welsh Borderer Skirmish Cavalry.
4Cos. of Skirmishers.
4Cos. of Levy

The Scots: Don Furbush

Duke Donald (Leader)
3Regimentsof Yeoman Spearmen (10Cos. each).
(1 Regiment has the Army Banner)
1Regiment of Knights and a Hero (5Cos.).
5Cos. of Highland Men@Arms.
2Cos. of Scots Archers.
3Cos. of Skirmishers

Start Me Up

The battle begins with the Welsh gaining the iniative and racing forward to take the slope overlooking th marsh and the clear ground between it and the woods. From here Earl Palomir feels he can dominate the entire Scots advance. He would later be proved right. This narrow section of open field would become a funnel for the Scots advance and later a killing ground.

The battle was pretty much straight ahead right from the start. The Scots however chose way to much cover and it was laid out in such a way that they could only advance on a single Regiment front. In response to this they chose to move a Regiment of Yeoman through the marsh. This slowed them down and disordered them. It also left them in effective range of the Longbows on the hill.

Let me tell you if you have never experienced the sheer horror or glee (depending on which side you are) of firing 10Cos. of bows and a Master Archer you haven't lived. Their Combat Value is a 10 and their weapon bonus is +3. In all fairness we gave the Scots cover. This gave the Bows 10 dice for 1-6's and the Master Archer recieved a bonus die for an 1-11. With an average of 3-5 Strikes per turn it wasn't long until the Scots felt the damage.

This took a few turns because of the size of the Scots Regiments. Remember it takes 5 Strikes to score medium damage on them. But after two turns I called Harrassing Morale on them. They were under fire and in disorder in the marsh. Further more with no supports naturally they failed and fell back out of the marsh losing another figure as stragglers. This allowed me a bonus call which I used on their Men At Arms, forcing them back as well.

Finally the Scots had had enough, leading with their Knights they pushed everything they could fit down the clear opening. I took my Skirmish Cavalry and rode them up to threaten the left flank of the Knights. Then I fired on them and disordered them. Finally my Knights charged the disordered Scots and bested them in melee. They failed an morale check causing them to Break for facing Knights in the open. As they fled they disordered all behind them. My follow up Harrassing Morale Calls finished the game with more units rushing off the field.

Lessons Learned

Scots must decide ahead of time it they will be aggressive or passive in a battle. This will determine the terrain placement. If they are going to be aggressive they need wide open spaces at least two Regiments wide to advance in a asteady line. If they want to be defensive they need hills to sit on and woods and marsh for thir flanks. They should also make use of the stakes and pits offered to their army.