A week ago Kyle and I play tested the scenario for Poitiers for Test of Resolve: Hundred Years War. Tim Couper had kindly sent me the scenario. I was planning on doing it solo, but fortunately Kyle was available. Given the scenario, and the fact that it was his first game with the rules, I gave him the Anglo-Gascon forces.
The first group of two mounted Men at Arms and 2 units of Crossbows with Pavises benefited from a good play of cards and high movement dice rolls, and waded through the Arrow storm with only minor losses. Here they are just shy of the hedge that marks the defender’s position.
One of the mounted troops has been repulsed (“turned tail”, but the other is locked in combat. Meanwhile, the 2nd group is moving up. Despite the horses, these units are in fact dismounted and advancing on foot.
Bow fire takes out one unit of my Crossbows.
French men at arms closing on the Defenders! In Melee, they actually manage to take out 2 units of Anglo-Gascon Men at Arms!
The Black Prince moves his men up up to fill the gap! Shortly thereafter, the French commands run out of Battle Morale Points, fail their tests, and disperse! But wait, there are plenty more French where those came from!
After the defeat of the French first wave, the defenders do a “Wave Reset”. This scenario then allows the defenders the option to defend their position in the same fashion as the first, OR, the Black Prince’s command can mount up along with up to 2 units of other Men at arms if they have not taken excessive casualties; no units qualified in our case. Also in that case, an ambush by a small Gascon force of mounted Men at Arms and Archers makes a flank attack. In both cases a D12 is rolled to determine how far from the French those two commands will set up; the remaining Anglo Gascons start just the other side of the hedge. Kyle rolled for both attacks – and rolled a “1”, twice. Talk about a good time to get your “ones” out of your system. Yikes!
Per the Scenario rules, the front line of the French must take a “panic test”. 2 of the French units failed, and dispersed (with the loss of their precious Battle Morale points). “Run away!” The remainder of the french front line musty then withdraw behind the second line, composed (mostly) of inferior troops.
Things get ugly fast for the French and King Jean. In combat, the opposing commanders are captured and recaptured with great regularity. The dazed back Prince is heard muttering something incoherent about “shubbery”, a result of one two many blows to his nibs noggin!
“It’s just a Flèche wound…. arrgh!” Frenchmen are dropping like they were uncertain as to the wing speed of a swallow.
Swallow’s eye view of the approaching doom of the French….
Crunch!
and crunch again!
The rest of the Anglo-Gascons are approaching now, too!
The few remaining Frenchmen break and run, a few being heard muttering some nonsense about bunny rabbits; in the process, the Black Prince escapes from his captors! “Hey Dad, I just saved you fortune in ransom!”
Another English Lord escapes (the loser of the battle returns all of their captives). The English have captured King Jean, as well as one of the French Commanders from the first attack. Time to roll for ransom; as a VIP, King Jean is worth 10,000 gold ecus x die roll, which is a … 12! That will 120,00 gold ecus for his Majesty’s return, s’il vous plaît! “He really shouldn’t have said those uncouth things about my mother and elderberries”, remarked the Black Price dryly.
Historically, Poitiers was a very hard fought, yet decisive Anglo-Gascon victory. After lengthy negotiations, the English gained sovereignty overt roughly 1/3 of France, and King Jean’s ransom was set at 3 million gold ecus, equal to the entire income of the Kingdom of France for 1 year! The French proved unable to p[ay such a massive amount, but what they did pay still markedly profited the royal treasury!
